Ordinarily when we think of courage we think of a soldier going into battle or a fireman daring to go into a burning house to save a life or a family pet. It takes courage to face danger head on and danger can have many faces. But we don’t usually think of courage when we…
Tag: Book of Mormon
On Truth
Truth, for most earth dwellers, is an elusive and controversial concept. We all believe we have a piece of it, but very few think they have the whole of it. Truth is described in one discourse as “what was, what is now, and what always will be.” As truth is eternal, anything less than truth…
On Being Free
It has always been amazing to me how we human beings are so much alike and at the same time so different. We all fall somewhere along a continuum in terms of intelligence, looks, weight, height, spirituality, etc. In regards to spirituality, we are so very different; there are young children that are spiritually mature…
On Church Membership
I have talked with people who said that they believed in God but did not believe that a person had to become a member of an organized religion to be a Christian and/or a good person. Many who have that attitude feel a structured program, such as a church, is rigid and inflexible and tends…
On People Watching
People are an interesting study. People watching, I think, has been a common pastime since Adam. And why not; we are all of various sizes, shapes, color and demeanor. We are as varied as our fingerprints and/or as snowflakes—no two exactly alike. Even though our mortal bodies were all created and patterned in Heavenly Father’s…
On Humor
I remember a few times in my life when things seemed so grim, so serious, that even a smile would have ruined that mood. Those were times, of course, when grim and serious were appropriate. Humor would not only seem out of place, but it would probably not be appreciated by anyone involved in the…
On The Vision
In the Ogden Regional Family History Center foyer we have a painting hanging that was donated to the center. It was painted by a local artist, now deceased, and it depicts the sacred grove with the young Joseph Smith kneeling and looking up at the vision of the Father and the Son. Interestingly, the Father…
On Cycles of Human Nature
The Book of Mormon is replete with cautions as to what happens to a people who, because of good fortune or their own diligence, become affluent. It seems to be human nature that once we become wealthy or suppose we have more than others, our nature begins to change. We tend to evolve from the humble, a…
On Genes
I recall as a young boy attending my Lutheran Sunday school class, learning Bible stories, such as: Noah’s Ark, Daniel in the Lion’s den, Jacob’s ladder and Abraham blessing Isaac. These stories were all in little bible story books with pictures that we could color. When my mother passed away twenty some years ago, one…
On Importance of Birthdays
December is the month that we celebrate two important births, one traditionally and one in fact. We celebrate the birth of the Savior on the 25th of December because that is when early church authorities assumed His birth took place without having an exact record of the event. Joseph Smith, the prophet, had the very…