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…
Author: Emil Hanson
On Attitude
For thirty years I was an administrator at a university and it was always interesting to me to see how attitude affected members of my staff. Changes would come often because of: new technology, re-evaluating how we did things or new assignmentsfrom higher up. Staff reaction to these changes were both interesting and sometimes surprising….
On the Spirit World
All who have lived on earth and had not accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ nor completed the required ordinances, reside in a place the scriptures refer to as Spirit Prison. All those who have passed from this life, having accepted the Gospel and completed all of the essential ordinances, reside in a place referred…
On Heroes
I have always marveled at the concept of heroism and those, who by design or by accident become real heroes. There are many examples of those who give their all. I remember years ago reading a Readers Digest article about a young man walking along the Potomac River in Washington DC, in the evening, in…
On Temples
Shortly after the Lord led the children of Israel out of Egypt, He instructed His people to build a place where He would meet with them and instruct them. This first structure was called a tabernacle, and it was a mobile unit that could, in a sense, be folded up and carried from place to…
On Human Value
Have you ever thought about the value of a human being – probably not, because in a civil society you can’t buy one or trade one, legally, anyway. Scientists have examined the chemical worth of a human being and as I recall, the sum value of our mineral makeup turned out to be only a…
On Mother’s Day
We celebrate Mother’s Day every year, and in thinking about mothers, it came to my mind that they should be honored universally and eternally. In Genesis 3:20 “Adam called his wife’s name Eve: because she was the mother of all living.” After Eve transgressed, it was the beginning of life in the cold and dreary…
On Infant Baptism
Years ago I read a brief newspaper article written by a reporter interviewing a distraught mother. She had been told by a clergy from a prominent church, that her little baby, who had died, could not be buried in the church’s cemetery because the child had not been baptized. She was also told that…
On Saints
In the book “Verse by Verse. Acts Through Revelations”, written by BYU Faculty members, Kelly Ogden and Andrew Skinner, there are explanations of how words were translated from the Hebrew. The Hebrew word Kedoshim, for example, means ‘holy ones’ which in the Greek translation is Sanctus or saints. It is interesting to see how the…
On The Resurrection
The mission of the church, pertaining to the redemption of the dead, will only be a viable mission for those members who believe the doctrines of the resurrection and life after death. Only those of us, who truly believe that our ancestors continue to exist as spirits, awaiting the day of the resurrection, will have…