Intelligent Life

A Shout Out to Our New Sponsor

2011-11-08T21:50:00.002-07:00

More 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. Some

Believing is Doing

2011-08-21T21:34:00.000-06:00

Can 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? Only mostly dead? A testimony is

The Book of Mormon

2011-08-11T21:42:00.000-06:00

I 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 of God, the book will

General Conference - one of my favorite things!

2010-10-03T13:28:00.007-06:00

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

A Hug on the Street

2010-09-10T08:22:00.003-06:00

The 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 stop and

Award

2010-08-04T14:42:00.003-06:00

I just want to say "THANKS" to whoever it was who nominated this blog for an award (see badge, right).Info on the award and judging process can be found here.This makes me want to bring this baby back out of dormancy and start posting again! :)

Scouting - the Missing Piece of My Testimony

2010-02-21T18:47:00.006-07:00

. . . And how I FOUND IT.For about 15 years, I thought I had a complete testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and all of its doctrines and programs.I was wrong.I actually knew I didn't have a testimony of scouting, but I was kind of in denial about it. I figured it just wasn't that big of a deal - which was part of maintaining the state of denial.I've been working with

Another Perspective on Christmas

2009-12-20T17:09:00.003-07:00

Sitting in sacrament today, I thought of something that inspired this. I call it, "Joseph Delivered." It considers the most celebrated private moment in history, and the figure we don't often focus on:Joseph was told in a sacred dreamOf the Life entrusted to his careHe stood beside Mary and took care of herAn outstanding man, and his wife so fairJoseph delivered the DelivererInto his calloused

Gratitude in Adversity

2009-11-29T21:42:00.010-07:00

I'm BACK! :)My wife and I were asked to speak in Sacrament meeting today. We were both asked to speak on the subject of gratitude.So, as an easy way to get back into the blog, I thought I'd just post the text of my talk. So, here it is (with minor adaptations for the internet).Gratitude in Adversity – Giving Thanks in ALL ThingsAlthough Thanksgiving is over, and the turkey has moved to “

Temporary Hiatus

2009-07-26T22:03:00.004-06:00

Well, something's gotta give.Just got back from 18 days in Oregon and while we were gone, we sold our house, so we're now packing and looking for a new home, and have SO much on our plates.So . . . rather than NOT post tonight, and the next few Sundays, and feel GUILTY for not meeting the goal of posting each Sunday, I am giving myself permission to NOT post. :)I will therefore be on hiatus for

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

2009-07-05T22:11:00.003-06:00

Well, I started this blog one year ago this week, on 7/7/2008.Right now, I'm traveling, and don't have time to post (for the next three weeks), but will get back to it at the end of July.If you read this blog - thanks. I hope it serves you well. If you haven't read my earlier posts, now may be a good time to get caught up on a year's worth of posts (44 of them, actually).See you in a few weeks.

Two Topics

2009-06-28T20:03:00.004-06:00

A brief, linkless post tonight - really just some stray thoughts on two topics relevant to some lessons in church today.First, for Sunday School, we have been attending a special Marriage & Family Relations course (taught by my friend Ryan). Today we talked about unity in marriage. My wife and I were asked to prepare, in advance, some lists of complementary attributes of each other, and answer

Sunny Skies

2009-06-21T18:26:00.006-06:00

My message tonight is short and sweet.It's based on a message from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, found in the June 2009 Ensign magazine. He talks about "Prayer and the Blue Horizon," a discussion of prayer in the familiar terms of flying an airplane (Pres. Uchtdorf often uses aviation analogies, as he used to be an airline pilot for a living).I've flown quite a lot myself, from the time I was

My Sacrament Talk

2009-06-14T20:30:00.008-06:00

Today, my wife and I were both assigned to speak in Sacrament. I've decided to post a transcript of my talk here: “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the

April 2009 General Conference

2009-04-05T23:28:00.002-06:00

This weekend was the 179th Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (You can click on that link to watch it online.)It was absolutely awesome.I so enjoy General Conference - it really is my favorite pair of weekends for the year (it's the first weekend in April and the first weekend in October).This conference was really edifying and strengthening. I was

Fasting

2009-03-29T21:46:00.004-06:00

The law of the fast is a wonderful law given of the Lord to His people in all dispensations of time.In particular, it was reinstituted by commandment with the restoration of the Gospel in this dispensation.There are 118 separate references to fasting in the scriptures (that's not instances of the word, that's separate discussions of the topic). Seems pretty important, I think.Members of the

Family

2009-03-22T21:46:00.003-06:00

We interrupt this blog to bring you this cute family photo.March 2009I sure love my family SO much, and I am so thankful that I will get to spend eternity with them, because Jean and I were sealed in the temple and Seth was born in the covenant.The Church exists to support and strengthen the family. This is why I am so happy to be a member.

Draper Temple Dedication

2009-03-22T20:52:00.003-06:00

My wife and I had the opportunity this evening to attend the dedication of the Draper, Utah temple. We weren't at the actual temple site, we were in our stake center. They broadcast the dedication session to all the stake centers in Utah. Each of the stake center buildings was considered, for the duration of the session, an extension of the temple itself.So, yesterday our ward had the

Letting It Roll Off Your Back

2009-03-16T10:38:00.006-06:00

For about 180 years, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has endured persecution in one form or another - from the Governor of Missouri issuing an "extermination order" (legalizing the murder of the Saints from 1838 to 1976) - to people in modern times picketing outside temple open houses to the publication of attack literature that continues today.It's nothing new.Recently, with the

The Articles of Faith - essential principles

2009-03-08T23:28:00.002-06:00

What are the Articles of Faith? They are 13 statements about what members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe.The Articles succinctly lay out the main beliefs of the Church, and form a great primer to the basics of our doctrine.The Articles of Faith can be found in a set of LDS "standard works" - the set of scriptures that includes the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and

Opposition: A Necessary Evil

2009-03-01T00:33:00.007-07:00

First off, I'm sorry I missed last week. I've been pretty consistent for the past couple months, putting up a new post each Sunday. But last weekend I was in Oregon at a professional fiction writers' workshop and didn't manage to post, as I was traveling that day. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming . . .The subject of "why bad things happen" came up twice in the past week with two

Prayer - Communication with God

2009-02-15T19:07:00.009-07:00

In the early 1990s, rap star MC Hammer had the courage to use a popular song to publicly state to the contemporary music world: "You've got 2 pray just 2 make it today."Something not often stated regarding the Hammer: he was right.Prayer is our opportunity to communicate with our Father in Heaven. He expects us to pray - it is even a commandment.This is one of those principles where I find it

The Sweet Feeling of Forgiveness

2009-02-08T17:43:00.008-07:00

Forgiveness is a central principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.It is forgiveness, as a function of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and our own repentance, that allows us to be cleansed from sin, freed from guilt, and able to live in peace. It makes salvation possible, because forgiveness actually eradicates our sin - wipes it from existence."Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is

Obedience

2009-02-01T11:03:00.009-07:00

Obedience is the key to true happiness.That is to say, real happiness and freedom comes from keeping the commandments of God.Think of it this way (this one's a lot easier to grasp if you have children of your own): You love your child (or children) and want them to be happy. You want them to be safe, and to enjoy their freedom and health and to have a good life. You hope they will share your

Saving the Dead - a Labor of Love

2009-01-25T19:04:00.010-07:00

Our Father in Heaven loves all of His children so much. So He's provided a way that everyone who has ever lived can receive the saving and exalting ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.That way is by vicarious temple ordinances.We are baptized for our dead. We are confirmed members of the Church for our dead. We are ordained to the priesthood for our dead. We receive the temple endowment

A Brand New Year

2009-01-18T22:46:00.004-07:00

Eight days ago, I had the great opportunity to be involved in a special event for the youth of the Church, called "A Brand New Year."At that link, you can read all about it and watch the cool videos (some very talented kids). One thing that I took away from it all was a set of three personal commitments. The youth were asked to take a look through the "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet and

Book of Mormon Challenge

2009-01-04T17:53:00.008-07:00

At church, I teach the 14-15 year old boys, known as the "Teachers Quorum" (as they each hold the Aaronic Priesthood office of Teacher).Today in the class, I taught about the importance of scripture study.I'd like to share some of that lesson here.What are the scriptures?The scriptures we use today are:The BibleThe Book of MormonThe Doctrine & CovenantsThe Pearl of Great PriceThese four comprise

Baptism

2008-12-28T21:07:00.005-07:00

Last night I had the opportunity, with my family, to attend the baptism of a 22-year-old man in our ward (local church unit).It was a really nice experience, and reminded me of my own baptism just over 12 years ago. I really felt the spirit as we sung "I Am a Child of God" (which Seth sung really loudly - quite cute), heard a talk on baptism, witnessed the baptism, heard some nice piano music,

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T13:29:00.003-07:00

What does that mean, anyway?Well, it is simply my way of expressing a desire that your Christmas be a happy one. But what makes you happy?For me, it's all the things I mentioned at the bottom of this post, especially the family.Of course, with Christmas, we remember the reason for true joy, Jesus Christ.Each year in early December, the First Presidency of the Church has a special event held at

Update: How Do You Know That You Know?

2008-12-21T10:30:00.001-07:00

I just came across this great talk, and wanted to share it with you as a supplement to my earlier post.That's all for now. Expect a Christmas post sometime soon!

Revelation

2008-12-14T22:03:00.003-07:00

No, not the "Book of" - the last book of the New Testament (as compiled). What I'm talking about here is revelation in general, and more specifically revelation in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Revelation is, put simply, communication from God to man. This is most commonly achieved through the Holy Ghost. Here is an excellent piece on the subject - worth the read.There are

The Godhead

2008-11-30T14:54:00.010-07:00

Who are these Beings we worship, anyway? Yep, it's time for another meaty doctrinal post. The Godhead consists of three personages: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Father The Father is our Heavenly Father - literally the Father of our spirits. He is God, the Almighty. He is not a floating rainbow cosmic sparkle spirit; He is a person like you and me, with a body of flesh and

One More "Thank You"

2008-11-23T23:23:00.002-07:00

I'd like to thank the many people who have signed a letter of support to President Monson and the LDS people, regarding the uncivil response to Prop 8. It's found here. Read the letter - if you agree, sign it! Again, thanks.

Giving Thanks

2008-11-23T22:15:00.015-07:00

I'll begin with a lengthy quote: "It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed

A Warning: Prophecy and Today's Economy

2008-11-16T21:02:00.015-07:00

I'm no doomsayer, but let me just say, "Doom. DOOM!"Okay, I'm kidding - but my topic today is a serious one: preparation for the tough times ahead.In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members are assigned to give talks in sacrament meeting. In a sacrament meeting talk today, the brother speaking brought up an interesting point - a connection I hadn't noticed before.He mentioned

A Victory for Marriage

2008-11-09T15:46:00.009-07:00

It is my intent to keep this blog uncontentious and apolitical (which is quite a challenge for someone as political as me). However, the events of the past week are relevant enough to the purpose of this blog that I choose to comment nonetheless.One silver lining that came out of election day was the passage of California's Proposition 8, which added the following 14 words to the California

General Conference: guidance for the next six months

2008-11-02T09:16:00.009-07:00

It's been a long time since I posted. I had a very busy October - half of which was spent on the Oregon coast at a professional fiction writers' workshop called the "Master Class" - 15 straight days of intense learning about the publishing business and the craft of being a commercial fiction writer, with a set of teachers who are well-published and experienced writers themselves who are "paying

How Do You Know That You Know?

2008-09-28T17:15:00.005-06:00

Today in church I told the congregation that I know the Gospel is true. That I know Heavenly Father loves me and cares about me. That I know Jesus Christ atoned for my sins. That I know the Church is led by a real prophet. That the Book of Mormon is a true record. In short, I bore my testimony.This blog is a sort of a journal of my testimony. That is, it is a recitation and explanation of

The Priesthood of God

2008-09-07T21:00:00.014-06:00

Like any child growing up, I wanted to be a variety of things when I got older - an architect, a designer of fine sports cars, a teacher - maybe I even thought about being a writer of some sort.But one thing I never thought about was being a priesthood holder.All worthy males over the age of 12 in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have the opportunity to be ordained to the

Why Am I Doing This?

2008-08-31T23:02:00.005-06:00

I know, I know - I already posted about why I started this blog, and how important it is to share the "good news" of the Gospel.But on a personal note, there are other reasons that I am doing this.1) I do love to write. I feel my greatest expression comes through my written words - I am far better at communicating via writing than through speaking. Indeed, it is one of my few gifts.2) The topic

Death and the Eternal Perspective

2008-08-16T23:30:00.008-06:00

Our family has suffered a tragedy: Jean's youngest brother, James, was killed two days ago in an accident. He was 28.Times like this cause us to reflect on mortality and the existence that transcends this life.Two excellent perspectives are found here and here.Knowing that our loved ones continue to live, beyond this life, can bring comfort, even though we know it will be a long time before we

What's This All About, Anyway?

2008-08-10T22:57:00.008-06:00

It occurs to me that I jumped into this whole blogging thing without taking the time to set the context for this blog. I know I explained what inspired me to start the blog, but I never really explained, in basic terms, what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is (other than the church to which I belong).I want to step back for a moment and just give a basic overview - a kind of "

Sending our sons

2008-07-27T23:10:00.007-06:00

This is a digression from the series of posts I had planned to make, inspired by a discussion I was having with my Dad last night. He was having difficulty understanding why we LDS people send our sons on missions for the Church, rather than, say, having them skip a mission and continue their education without interruption. Dad said, "What if this kid could become a doctor and start saving

The Temple and Eternal Families

2008-07-13T19:07:00.009-06:00

This is such a huge subject – I’ll only be able to give a few thoughts here. It seems to be a virtually universal human desire that family relationships continue beyond this mortal life. It also seems that for most people who do believe in an “afterlife” it is taken for granted that they will see their loved ones again on the “other side.” What most people don’t realize is that this great

My Testimony: How It All Started

2008-07-10T12:44:00.020-06:00

First, a little background.I have always known - always had a testimony - of the divinity of Jesus Christ. It seems that I've always known he is the Savior and Redeemer of the World. I thank my parents for helping me to know that from early on. My mom is Russian Orthodox, and my Dad was raised Church of England. Growing up, we attended a few different churches, focusing mostly on the

And thus it begins . . .

2008-07-07T21:22:00.005-06:00

On Sunday I read an article in the Ensign magazine by Elder M. Russell Ballard in which he encourages members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to use the "new media" (e.g., blogs) to share the Gospel.The article really impressed me to do this: start a blog of my own.A few things in particular struck me about Elder Ballard's article. First, he said, "There is truth in the old