tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43386224794551884712024-02-06T19:07:52.135-07:00Intelligent Life<b>"How great will be your joy . . ."</b>
<br><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/18/16#16">Doctrine and Covenants 18:16</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-81869915694759726192021-07-21T14:52:00.001-06:002021-07-21T14:52:39.407-06:00PrinciplesWell, I haven't updated this blog in a while...in fact, the last time I did, I also posted a sacrament talk! So...this is my sacrament talk from this past Sunday. Enjoy and share, if you feel so inclined! :)Good
morning, my spiritual siblings. I’m pleased to have the opportunity to address you today. I was asked to speak
on the topic of “How the principles of the Gospel have blessed me and my
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-41524171001288540222019-01-14T15:59:00.001-07:002019-01-14T15:59:22.939-07:00Sacrifice Brings Forth the Blessings of HeavenWe just moved into a new ward last month, so of course we were given the opportunity to give sacrament talks this past Sunday. Without further ado, here is what I had to say:
I've been asked to study a talk from the April 2018 General Conference by Elder Taylor G. Godoy of the Seventy, called “One More Day,” and to let that inspire my remarks today. The focus of that talk was sacrifice, and I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-23536376508830769792017-08-28T22:06:00.001-06:002017-08-28T22:08:38.552-06:00The Book of Mormon: It's True and it Helps MeI conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon our 12-year old son, Seth, earlier this month, and ordained him to the office of deacon. And within three weeks, he got his first chance to give a Sacrament Meeting talk this past Sunday! And he did a wonderful job. He wrote it himself and really nailed it. As he told me later, "33 people" said he did a great job...one even said it was the best youth talk Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-79267017436049782292017-08-28T21:51:00.002-06:002017-08-28T21:52:26.697-06:00Faith: the Center of Our Lives
I had the opportunity to speak in our local elderly care home's sacrament meeting a couple of weeks ago. It was pretty special, because my parents were there, and because it was Seth's first time passing the sacrament as a newly-ordained deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood. Definitely a wonderful day. So...here's my talk:
Good
morning brothers and sisters. I’m glad to be with you here
today. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-32634619767408168612017-01-09T22:55:00.002-07:002017-01-09T23:11:11.474-07:00Obedience Enables AgencyI know we often speak of agency enabling our obedience: we can only choose the right if we have the ability to make choices. We understand this principle intuitively...choices have consequences that affect our agency. For example, if we choose to steal, we may find our agency limited by the fact that we are now in a jail cell. If we choose to do drugs, we may find our agency greatly impaired by Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-84020427643027223142016-07-05T01:14:00.000-06:002016-07-05T01:14:37.175-06:00Please Excuse My CharityIt's been a very long time since I've posted here...I've had things to say, but little time to say it. Alas, time remains short, so I will jump right in.
A few weeks ago as I sat in a Sunday School class at church, I felt inspired to say something...not in that class, but here at Intelligent Life. What I had to say would have been difficult to address during that lesson, but I felt strongly thatUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-21527012025389629372014-11-30T22:21:00.001-07:002014-11-30T22:40:04.812-07:00What's Up With Utah Mormons?
Everyone knows that there are a lot of Mormons in Utah. It seems that many people, both in and out of the state, have the general impression that Utah is some kind of monolithic demographic block - that virtually "everybody" in Utah belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or "LDS" Church. To many, this is Mormonville, USA.
It's true that we have a high concentration of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-52417852669360102342014-05-28T15:09:00.003-06:002014-05-28T15:10:52.517-06:00Will PowerAll God ever asks of us throughout the scriptures, in all the commandments, and in all the covenants we ever make, can be summed up in one short phrase: "Not my will, o God, but thine, be done."
Consequently, consecration is all about us obediently giving God the one and only thing we truly have to give: our will. Once we voluntarily relinquish that fully to Him, He will take care of everything Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-13914231124120179892014-05-04T23:51:00.002-06:002014-05-04T23:51:37.052-06:00Faith and Blind FaithAs part of a long discussion thread on Facebook the other day, a friend of a friend who subscribes to no religion stated that he thought "faith and blind faith were synonymous."
I was quite surprised that anyone would make that mistake, and my first reaction was "REALLY? Wow. So that's what you think of believers." Yes, it felt a little insulting.
But I thought better of it and deleted that Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-28624380413913361452014-02-24T09:44:00.000-07:002014-02-24T09:45:45.900-07:00GoalsLast night, I co-hosted our latest quarterly dual-ward Ward Mission Conference - a fireside we hold once every three months. We get together with another ward with whom we share the building, and focus on ways to hasten the work of salvation - namely, to get the members fired up about member missionary work and give them tools for success in their missionary efforts. It's one of my Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-13853731111024191582013-09-15T18:34:00.001-06:002014-02-24T08:41:36.072-07:00Repentance
After I baptized Seth eight days ago, we stepped out of the water and into the changing
room, and I asked him how he felt. After a tepid “good,” I asked what was
wrong, and he told me that now that he’s accountable, he’s concerned about his
ability to keep the commandments. I briefly talked about repentance as we dried
off, but it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to have our next few
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-45865978816427799242013-09-08T23:38:00.000-06:002013-09-08T23:52:54.720-06:00Baptism!My son and I have something in common: we both remember our baptisms. Mine was nearly 17 years ago in Oregon. His was yesterday, in Utah.
About to enter the waters of baptism...
Baptism is an essential saving ordinance. It is a commandment, and our Savior, Jesus Christ, set the example by being baptized Himself by John the Baptist in the River Jordan.
"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-87635782164103696482013-07-28T23:02:00.002-06:002013-07-28T23:06:08.185-06:00The Lord is Hastening His WorkWow, what a day!
It started at 8:00 a.m. with a meeting with the bishopric to discuss missionary work in the ward, and the new directive from the stake to provide two appointments per week for the full time elders. We made some specific plans for the next ward council. Then I gave a talk in sacrament meeting on missionary work. For the third hour of the block, I presented some of the material Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-80894238849650814182013-06-23T20:40:00.003-06:002013-06-23T20:48:20.737-06:00Time for ChangeExcuses.
I have so many of them. Most of them are pretty lame. Many of them are quite common:
I'm too busy. I am too shy. I don't want to offend anyone or make them feel uncomfortable. I would rather keep to myself. I don't want to open up that "can of worms." The status quo is just fine. I feel awkward - I don't even know where to start. Someone else is better qualified. I don't know anyoneUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-15777931117834591142013-05-24T12:17:00.003-06:002013-05-24T12:17:45.658-06:00On the BSA Kerfuffle: Faith Brings PeaceAlthough it's been almost four months since my last post here, this subject actually dovetails very nicely with the subject of my previous post.Several weeks ago, when the BSA was debating the policy changes, I discussed the situation with my closest friends and with my wife. I took a very hard-line attitude toward the issue, believing that any move to be inclusive of boys who struggle with Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-5130915743296701512013-02-03T15:51:00.004-07:002013-02-03T16:03:30.482-07:00Receiving Revelation and "Receiving" RevelationMembers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that we are each entitled to receive revelation. That doesn't mean we are all prophets - it just means that we are all capable of getting communication from our Father in Heaven.
As I've mentioned previously, revelation is specific to the sphere of influence of the receiver. For
example, each person is entitled to receive Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-20628351316964994392013-01-15T23:24:00.001-07:002013-01-15T23:24:27.156-07:00Book of Mormon ChallengeBack on November 8th, my wife said we should have a Book of Mormon challenge: that is, to try to read the Book of Mormon, in its entirety, between November 8th and December 31st. I said, "Sure!" and created a Facebook event, in case any of our friends wanted to participate, too.
I invited 250 of my 500 Facebook friends (it turns out half of my friends are LDS). Of those invitations, 26 signed upUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-69086297629884850392012-12-18T15:56:00.001-07:002012-12-18T15:56:33.665-07:00Cool ReadI know it's been a while since I posted here...and I do plan to get back on track very soon. In fact, Sunday night I almost wrote a post about home teaching - and plan to act on that prompting in the very near future.
But in the mean time, I thought I would bend the parameters of this blog ever so slightly by posting about a story I read that I quite enjoyed. It's the best melding of science Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-56655589356990211322012-09-19T10:38:00.002-06:002012-09-19T10:39:19.223-06:00Intelligent Life Named #1 Religion Blog of 2012Today, this blog was named the #1 religion blog of 2012 by Theology Degrees Online. Thanks! I appreciate the recognition, and continue to hope people find what they are looking for here.
I know I haven't been very diligent lately (that is, not posting much), but I promise to get back to it. I do love sharing my testimony here, and appreciate my readers.
I guess this is one of those cases of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-15711355849264553152012-07-29T23:05:00.001-06:002015-01-11T22:24:19.136-07:00Home Teaching & Visiting Teaching: Letting Love Change Your Heart
“As I have fulfilled my assignment regarding you, fulfill your assignments regarding one another.”
You’re
right – that’s NOT how the hymn goes.
That’s also not how John 13:34 reads – the scripture upon which that
hymn is directly based. Doesn’t quite
have the same spirit the way I sung it, does it?
Unfortunately,
many of us in the Church regard home and visiting teachingUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-86293253681165565142011-11-08T21:50:00.002-07:002011-11-08T21:57:27.933-07:00A Shout Out to Our New SponsorMore meaty doctrinal posts are on the way . . . I hope to write some before the year is out.
Meanwhile, I wanted to let you know about my friends at Mormon Market. This great company is doing its best to put out family-friendly LDS-themed products. They have, for instance, a cute electronic keyboard for kids that helps them learn Primary songs, and cute "I am a Child of God" teddy bears.&Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-8565942553565217682011-08-21T21:34:00.000-06:002011-08-21T21:34:27.841-06:00Believing is DoingCan a person have a testimony of a doctrine and not live it? Conversely, can a person not live a doctrine and still have a testimony of it? I suppose the question really comes down to (as so many seem to) a matter of definitions. That is, is a testimony an all-or-nothing thing? Is it binary, like a light switch? Can you only be "a little bit" pregnant? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-46672636556518167102011-08-11T21:42:00.000-06:002011-08-11T21:42:56.049-06:00The Book of MormonI know, I know.
I get an award for my blog, then virtually abandon it. Sorry.
I have just been crazy busy for the past few . . . months. But I do intend to get back to this. Soon.
Meanwhile, I want to provide this awesome link.
And this awesome video. It speaks for itself quite well.
I add my testimony to the wonderful Elder Holland's: the book is true, the book is Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-79482952322912725492010-10-03T13:28:00.007-06:002010-10-03T13:48:37.635-06:00General Conference - one of my favorite things!The following is a refreshing of a post from a couple of years ago . . .I am a HUGE lover of Conference. In fact, I am very particular about making sure not to miss any part of this twice-a-year event.Each General Conference consists of five two-hour sessions: Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon, and a special Saturday evening session for the Priesthood holders Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338622479455188471.post-57528260328553167962010-09-10T08:22:00.003-06:002014-11-23T22:04:27.407-07:00A Hug on the StreetThe following is something I wrote in 2006.
It's about charity.
I hope it touches your heart.
_____________________
When I first started my new job in downtown Salt Lake City, along my walk to the bus stop I found myself frequently approached by homeless people asking for money. At first, I would just continue on my hurried way to the bus stop, rationalizing to myself that I could not stopUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1