Last Sunday in Gospel Doctrine, we discussed Jacob chapters 1-3 in the Book of Mormon. I noticed that Jacob says that his sermon in chapters 2-3 was given “in the temple” (1:17). I looked through the sermon to see if perhaps that setting influenced the content of his message. Jackpot. Consider just the broadest outline [...]
Posts Tagged ‘discipleship’
Jacob’s Temple Sermon
Posted in Religion, tagged Atonement, Book of Mormon, chastity, consecration, discipleship, endowment, Jacob, pride, sacrifice, temple on April 1, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Spiritual Lessons From Difficult People
Posted in Religion, tagged Book of Mormon, discipleship, Jesus Christ, ministering on January 1, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Like most people in my church, I have opportunities that help me get involved in the lives of others, as I try to assist, guide, and comfort them, just as others have opportunities to do the same for me and my family. In this reciprocal series of ministrations, much of the work is pleasant socializing, [...]
2011: My Year In Self-Improvement
Posted in Living well, tagged discipleship, family, goals, home teaching, marriage, ministering, relationships, resolutions, romance, self improvement on December 30, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I set out to check four things off of my bucket list this year. One proved too arduous for now, and petered out in March. I finished the other three. One was seeing every film on AFI’s “100 Years, 100 Movies” list, except the R-rated ones. Finally finished in July. More on this next week. Another [...]
Bless This Day
Posted in Religion, tagged blessings, discipleship, prayer on December 11, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Specific prayers bring specific blessings, I’ve heard, and this seems to be most especially true of asking for small spiritual blessings today. Many of us probably pray for peace and insight, patience and charity, but I’ve been astounded by the power of pleading with God to favor me with a noticeable measure of these things [...]
A Homily on Helaman: Choosing Faithfulness in a Changing Church Culture
Posted in Religion, tagged Book of Mormon, Boyd K. Packer, demography, discipleship, follow the prophet, Helaman, illegal immigration, immigration, LDS Church on August 14, 2011 | 6 Comments »
In a 1990 address to Regional Representatives, Elder Boyd K. Packer said: In recent years I have felt, and I think I am not alone, that we were losing the ability to correct the course of the Church. You cannot appreciate how deeply I feel about the importance of this present opportunity unless you know [...]
Getting and Staying on the Church Train
Posted in Religion, tagged discipleship, faithfulness, General Conference, Glenn L. Pace, loyalty, Spiritual Revival on August 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
From a wonderful October 1992 General Conference talk by Elder Glenn L. Pace, an illustration of the point I’m trying to make in today’s posts above: It is as if we are passengers on the train of the Church, which has been moving forward gradually and methodically. Sometimes we have looked out the window and [...]
Live and Die To Make Men Free
Posted in Politics and Society, Religion, tagged Battle Hymn of the Republic, citizenship, discipleship, hymns, LDS Church, patriotism, service on July 4, 2011 | 1 Comment »
There are multiple versions of the Civil War marching song, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The original words to the song include this line: As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free. It’s easy to see why this would be inspiring to the Union soldiers singing it to build morale. [...]
Fewer Green Lights, More Yield Signs
Posted in Religion, tagged Bible, Book of Mormon, discipleship on July 3, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Should we move? Which spouse should work? How many children should we have? Can I miss church this Sunday? How can I help my kids without pushing them? How can I break this bad habit? How can I deal with everything? And how do we answer these questions? The Lord rarely lays down black and white [...]
Two Poor Wayfaring Men of Grief
Posted in Religion, tagged A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief, adversity, discipleship, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, sacrifice on June 27, 2011 | 7 Comments »
167 years ago today, Joseph Smith, first prophet of the LDS Church, was murdered by a mob in a jail in Carthage, Illinois. As he and a few friends sat in a room in the jail, awaiting what they knew to be an imminent ambush, Joseph asked John Taylor, who would later become the church’s [...]
A Passion For Prayer
Posted in Religion, tagged Bible, Book of Mormon, discipleship, hymns, Jesus Christ, peace, prayer on June 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I was assigned to speak to another ward today on behalf of our stake Sunday School presidency. The topic was “the power of prayer.” I think it went well, but this was actually the first time I’ve addressed another ward’s sacrament meeting, and I think I may have gone a little too quickly–my talk only [...]
“Gay” Has Got To Go
Posted in Politics and Society, tagged cultural criticism, discipleship, gay marriage, homosexuality on May 3, 2011 | 7 Comments »
The insulting slang term, that is, not the people. I’m talking about when someone says, “That’s so gay!” meaning that something is bad. I knew that would get you hooked, though! Seriously, is there anything in our society now that’s really uglier towards gay people than this? To make their identity synonymous with “bad?” The closest [...]
President Monson’s Marching Orders
Posted in Religion, tagged discipleship, follow the prophet, LDS Church, Thomas S. Monson on April 13, 2011 | 22 Comments »
After every General Conference, my family tries to study the prophet’s talks to see what he wants us to work on, and we make a list of those priorities. We usually summarize them in our own words, but this list is mostly copied and pasted directly from his text. You might find more or less than [...]
It’s Time For Politically Conservative Mormons To Follow Their Church On Illegal Immigration
Posted in Politics and Society, Religion, tagged conservatives, discipleship, illegal immigration, LDS Church, obedience, pride, sacrifice on March 24, 2011 | 10 Comments »
I’ve written about this once in each of the last three years (here, here, and here), and as the Church’s position keeps getting clearer, the reactions of many of my fellow political conservatives keeps getting more hostile. A posting on the Church’s official web site last week makes it clear: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints favors [...]
The Sermon on the Mount and the Temple Endowment
Posted in Religion, tagged Bible, Book of Mormon, discipleship, FARMS, John W. Welch, Sermon on the Mount, temple on February 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This week’s gospel doctrine lesson for Sunday School is about the Sermon on the Mount. Discussing this magnificent discourse always reminds me of one of the most powerful experiences I’ve ever had in studying the scriptures. I once came across a video on the FARMS web site where John W. Welch discussed his research into [...]
Evil in the Temple
Posted in Religion, tagged discipleship, Doctrine and Covenants, endowment, evil, Jesus Christ, temple on February 4, 2011 | 1 Comment »
The last few times I’ve been to the temple, I’ve noticed how the endowment addresses the nature of evil: frankly, honestly, directly, in an unflinchingly sober manner that leaves no doubt that we must face this enemy head on. I remember seeing something anti-Mormon once that criticized the temple endowment for its references to evil, [...]
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