Do We Ever Feel Like Elijah

1 Kings 19:10

10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

Elijah felt very alone.  Most people around him were behaving against the truth and telling him he was wrong to believe what he did.

We may not live in the extreme circumstances that Elijah did, but we can also have situations that make us feel alone.

When we are in populations where Church members are sparse we can feel that we constantly have to defend our faith or at the very least constantly explain it.  We may feel that no one really understands us.

When we are in area where Church members are more prevalent we can also feel alone.  We may have family far from us and they may have large families that live close by.  It can be hard to get close to other Church members as they already have close ties and don’t have the need to reach beyond their families.

In any of these situations we can get a glimpse of the despair Elijah might have felt.

Home Sick

My family and I recently went back to the Midwest, where we are from, to visit.  I was out there for a just over a couple of weeks and my family a bit longer.

I found myself recalling what it was like to be surrounded by people that are not LDS.  In many ways people there is not a common experience or a common understanding of things.  I remembered how much as a youth and young adult I had longed to have more members of the Church around me.

I would constantly have the same criticisms of the Church come up and got tired of constantly defend doctrines or try to get recognition that I did believe in Christ.  These were among friends, coworkers, and girls's I dated.  There was often a something they had been taught in their church or something they had read about the Church or my beliefs that we couldn't agree on.  One could say, just don't talk about that stuff together, but it is so much about who I am that it always there and in reality it always should be.

When I started high school I was the only LDS person in the school and all through high school generally the only LDS person in any of my classes.  As I got older and younger members of the Church entered high school we would often find each other at lunch.

When I entered the workforce I was generally always the only LDS person where I worked.  Once when I moved to a bigger city I worked with another LDS person.  There were certain things we understood about each other before even talking much.

When we moved to Utah it wasn't exactly how I thought it would be, since there were many more inactive members of the Church or people who we not members of the Church than I had imagined.  Even members of the Church had quirks I did not enjoy.

After going home I realized even though there are a lot of members who are not active or have left the Church and there are still some nonmembers, I didn't feel like I was the one on the outside.  There were enough members that when something needed to be explained there was generally someone else who understood to help me explain, even among members who were not attending church.  I didn't feel compelled to have to justify my beliefs.

Even though there are quirks among the members in Utah, we still had a common center.  Although I still wish members would be on time and finalize plans for activities more than one day or several hours before the activity is to start, so that my family can plan our days.

I have never been home sick for the Midwest since living in Utah, but after a few days in the Midwest I was home sick for Utah.  Even just driving to the Midwest, on the way when we would stop it was different.

People at church here in Utah talk about what it is like in "the mission field" as if there is no missionary work to do here and there is some distance down I-80 that you get and you enter "the mission field".  I think that is a shortsighted saying, since Utah is below fifty percent active member as compared to people who are not members and members who are not active in the Church.  Nonetheless, there is a different feel, perhaps even a loneliness out there as our numbers become thinner out away from Utah and other parts of the West.

It kind of got me thinking about times that I am homesick for the gospel even though it is all around me in Utah.  I spend a lot of time at work and engaged in things that are not part of the gospel.  This is not by choice, but a necessity of life.  But, how many things to do we surround ourselves with voluntarily that make us home sick for the gospel and are there ways at work we could make ourselves less home sick for the gospel?

As much as I felt drained being alone away from members of the Church, I spend a lot of time making myself alone when I fill my day with only small amounts of the gospel and replace it with other things.

Arguments Against Praying About the Book of Mormon

I read a post by Matt Slick on his website arguing against praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true.  I have heard this argument before.

It is mind-boggling to me to see how many of the critics of the Church preach that people should not pray about the Book of Mormon.  How do they come to this conclusion?  Where has the Bible ever told us to not pray?

I will detail Matt Slick's points from his web site on the subject here and give my thoughts on his assessment.

Ask If Is Not True?  Ha Ha Ha.

He first attacks and sneers at Moroni 10:4

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

He states,

"It is not asking to see if these things ARE true.  So, when a Mormon prays about the Book Mormon to see if it is 'not' true and he receives a confirmation, then has it not been established that the book Mormon is not true?"

Is God some magic genie who, if you do not word your question just right, will give you something you didn't want?

A person can pray and ask whatever question they want in whatever way they want.  Both they and God know what they are asking and what He is answering.

Matt Slick is just using word games to ridicule the idea of praying about the Book of Mormon by trying to make it seem like the Mormons are trying to ask you to do something silly or ignorant.  This part of his post is aimed to shame someone for even considering praying about The Book of Mormon, does not present anything of substance or any proof to support his mocking.

The Bible Never Tells Us to Pray About Spiritual Truth?

He next proposes that the Bible never tells to pray to know truth.  

The first example I will cite is the Bible to show this is not true is a verse that Slick goes on later to disregard, James 1:5

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

If you lack wisdom or do not know if something is true or false, then pray about it or in other words ask God.

Is it the word of God that teaches us to not pray?  What or who is it that teaches man to not pray?

Except Matthew 7:7-8 tells us to "Ask and it shall be given" and “For every one that asketh receiveth;”.

Why would one want to not go to God and instead go to a preacher or words on a page alone to tell them what is true?

Is It a Sin to Ask God When We Need to Know If Something Is True?

Matt Slick appears to be proposing that it is sin to do so and if you do ask God such a question the devil will answer you.

He says, “If God has told us to look at his word for truth (2 Tim. 3:16) and someone prays about the Book of Mormon in contradiction to that verse, then is he not violating the word of God?”

2 Timothy 3:16 says:

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

It does not say that you do not pray to understand scripture.  It also does not define what scripture is.  I am at a loss as to how one can conclude fromt hat verse that it is a violation of God’s commandments to pray to know if something is true.

Where does it say that God has included everything he said to man or everything he was ever going to say to man?  The Bible is a collection of books of God’s word to Israel and later just to Judah.  What about the other tribes of Israel?  They are the chosen people too.  Is it out of the realm of possibility that God spoke to them as well?  If he did would not that be scripture as well?

The Bible that we have now was whittled down from a much larger collection of potentially prophetic and apostolic writing.  Who authorized the whittling?  What gives man the right to tell God the boundaries of His word?

James tells us God gives us knowledge and does not scold us for asking.  Archaeology is finding many ancient writings.  Are we to count them out because they aren’t in the pages of our current canon of scripture?  One would hope that when the books of the Bible were being selected for inclusion in the canon that those making the call would’ve prayed and asked which books were true and should be included as scripture.

Men’s Own Agendas

While it is true that you can convince yourself you received any answer or even have your heart set on evil when you ask and get the wrong answer.  If you are just going through the motions of asking God when your mind and heart are already set, then you can be deceived.  Going through the motions is not really prayer though, is it?

James did say in James 4:3

3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

It appears that the people were praying for things with a lustful heart and to have things they shouldn’t have.

One who is sincerely wanting to know God’s will is trying to put God’s will before their own.  Wanting to know God’s will is not a sin.  Even if the thing you are asking about is not God’s will, He will tell you if you are sincere.

Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-7

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

In everything we are to prayer to God.  We thankfully and sincerely make our request and he keeps our hearts and minds with Him, thus he overcomes our deceitful hearts.

Matthew 21:22

22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

No matter what you ask if you sincerely believe God and sincerely want His will, you will receive it.  If you do not know if something is of God or not, no matter what it is, if you are sincerely wanting to know if it is of God, he will tell you.

Reading the Scriptures to Know Truth

The basic Sunday school answers that the Church teaches over and over is that the way one receives revelation or answers is to study the scriptures and pray.  Every day.

It is true that sometimes scripture study leads us to pray and sometimes prayer leads us back to the word of God.  Sometimes it leads us back when we haven’t picked up the scriptures in a while.  Nonetheless, the two of them together are how we receive revelation from God.

Abusing James 1:5

Matt Slick concludes with dissecting James 1:5 and scolds the idea of Joseph Smith being inspired by it to pray to God for an answer to a very confusing question and a question that many have asked which I paraphrase, "Since so many Churches teach so many different things and interpret the doctrines in the Bible so many different ways, which is God's Church and what is His true doctrine?'

He has another post where he mentions praying about The Book of Mormon and how James 1:5 does not apply.  I will pull ideas from that post as well.

He starts the conclusion describing how James 1 is written to early Jewish believers and not to us.  He states, "The context is about gaining wisdom through difficult trials and the testing of one's faith, not about praying to see if a book is true."

Is not being confused about which church to join a trial?  Is not being presented with a book that is not the Bible that they say is scripture a trial?  What if you had been taught that the Bible is all of God’s word and you started to wonder about the lost 10 tribes that were not at Jerusalem?  What if you began to wonder if the lost ten tribes had been given direction from God that he commanded them to write as scripture and if something someone had given you was some of that scripture?  Would that not be a trial of what you had been taught?  Should you not ask God what is true and what His will is?

None of the books of the Bible say that he had forgotten the lost tribes.  There are verses in Deuteronomy and Revelation that caution against man adding to the books.  Do we disregard everything written after Deuteronomy as not scripture?  What about Revelation?  The Bible was compiled well after The Revelation of John was written.  Additionally, books of the Bible were written after John finished writing Revelation.  Even John himself wrote books of the Bible after he closed Revelation.  Of course, at the time none of those books, Revelation, or anything else were in the Bible that was created centuries later.

I wonder how much of the Bible Matt Slick would see as needing to be discarded as he does with James 1, since they were initially written to someone else.

Would we throw out the Revelation of John since it was written to the seven churches?  Would we throw out the Old Testament, since it was written to the pre-Christian Jews?  All of the epistles because they were written to specific churches at specific times?

Matt Slick tries to dismiss James 1:5 for people in our day by stating that it was written to people in the past.  People who were already Christians.  Thus, he proposes, it should not be applied to people seeking to become Christians or understand what a Christian is or what church God would have them join.

The fact of the matter is, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God..." is good counsel.  It does not matter who you are or where you are from or when you lived.

Never Did Any Passage of Scripture

Mr. Slick then picks about Joseph Smith's words.  He accuses Joseph of boasting because he said, "Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine."  Clearly being in the 1800s Joseph did not have knowledge of everyone on the planet at all times and in all places.  Neither do we have that knowledge, but we do use hyperbole in our language today to express what an intense experience we had, even if our words are not literal.

Again, ridicule is being used to attempt to make Joseph Smith look like liar, when evidence is severely lacking.

A Feeling in His Heart

He then talks about Joseph Smith having a feeling in his heart as "not based on scripture".  Luke 24:32 describes the heart testifying of truth as the Lord walked and talked with them.

 32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

Matt Slick includes his testimony on his web site.  He talks about how he came to Christ, that he prayed to know truth.  He says, “So, I quickly addressed a prayer to God (not knowing if He was there) and said, ‘God, if you're there, then I'll try and be sincere and accept you. If you're not there, it won't cost me anything.’”

He did not say that he found all the answers he need to answer his question in the Bible.  He says he prayed.  If he read the Bible before hand, it did not answer his question as to if God was real.

He then talks in several places about his heart.  He says, “I tried to manifest a sincere and honest heart.”  Even though he says in his post about praying about the Book of Mormon that, “the Bible tells us that our hearts are desperately wicked and deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), and that we are to be very cautious about trusting it -- which is why praying about truth and getting a feeling is so dangerous.”

How could he have presented a sincere and honest heart, since it is desperately wicked and deceitful?  Yes, it says he only tried to present a sincere and honest heart, but based on Mr. Slick’s reasoning with regard to praying about The Book of Mormon, it was not possible for him to present a sincere and honest heart, so there was a good chance he was deceived.

He also states in his testimony, “This person was making Himself known to me in my heart.  I somehow knew it was God.  It was the Holy Spirit.”

How could he trust his “desperately wicked and deceitful” heart?  How was he able to trust his heart, but those looking into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint should not pray to know truth and should not trust their hearts?

He says more, “He permeated my heart, mind, and soul.”  “ It was wonderful and I felt my heart enveloped and lifted by Him.”  “Then, while I was kneeling there, utterly absorbed and drifting in the experience of His presence, He moved. He moved toward me and gently entered my heart.”  “My heart was overflowing with excitement, love, hope, intensity, and great joy.”

How does he know that it was God?  It could’ve been his “deceitful” heart.

He scoffs that anyone could or should have a similar experience with The Book of Mormon or other aspects of the church. Because he has judged it to not be of God, no one should attempt to find out for themselves.

As I stated, he talked of trying to have a sincere heart when talking to God.  That is exactly what the scripture in The Book of Mormon is telling people to do.  Be sincere and ask.  James then confirms that God will not scold you, if you are sincere.  He will not be mad at you for asking, but he will tell you the truth.

Not Being Able to Figure Out Which Church From the Bible

Matt Slick reads evil into Joseph Smith consulting the Bible for James 1:5 and then not feeling he had a good answer from the Bible about which church to join.  Joseph Smith was 14 years old.  He relied on religious leaders to guide him in what the Bible was saying.  Since many churches interpreted the Bible so differently and many preachers in his town were preaching that other preachers and churches in the town were not Christian churches, because of how they interpreted the Bible, he determined to ask God directly.

Joseph read the Bible a lot.  He did find the answer to his question in the Bible.  He found the answer on how to know which church was true in James 1:5.  Be sincere and ask God.

As Mr. Slick points out, much of the Bible was written at a different time to a different people.  Because of this, how could it answer such a question, as to what church to join for a boy in the 1800s or even people today, other than to tell us to ask God?

Additional Resources

Jeff Lindsay had some interesting things to say on the topic of critics teaching people to not pray about The Book of Mormon in the following posts:

http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/FQ_Facet.shtml#pray

http://www.jefflindsay.com/mormanity/mormanity-08-04.shtml

http://mormanity.blogspot.com/2004/08/anti-mormon-plea-please-dont-pray.html

Ye Are the Temple of God

I heard a guy on a Christian radio station talk about the scripture in first Corinthians stating "ye are the temple of God".

1 Corinthians 3:16-17
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

It sounded to me that he was using that as a reason that he thought temples were no longer necessary. It is similar to the thought some have that we no longer have prophets because the Lord gave the Holy Ghost.

If the temple building itself is not important then why was Christ so adamant about running the money changers out of it and calling it His Father's house?

John 2:13-16
13 ¶And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;
16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.

Many teachings in the scriptures are done through referring to things that the people already knew. It did not mean that the thing they were teaching about replaced the thing they used as a symbol.

Without understanding how important and sacred the temple is, one cannot grasp what it means to be the temple of God.

One would not decorate the temple of God in a flashy way or in an immodest way.  One does not speak coarsely in the temple.  One treats the temple with reverence and respect.  If we do not have temples in our lives how do we know what our standard is for the temple of God and how to be like it?

If we just relate it to the temples of the Old Testament, we cannot understand what the temple meant to those people.  Consequently, we will have no idea how to relate it to ourselves.

Why Would Anyone Join the Mormon Church? by Brad V Base

I recently finished the book "Why Would Anyone Join the Mormon Church?"

The book had very good information for those wanting to explain doctrines of the Church to those that are not members of the Church.  Some of the conclusions the author made were not explained well enough for me to recommend the book to directly those who are not members of the Church.  I think that this is a very good resource for Church members wanting to gain scriptural resources as they try to talk to others about our beliefs.

I have often found that in my life when I have been confronted with criticisms of Church doctrines I have often gotten defensive and not opened a good dialog.  I was not prepared with scripture references and other authoritative resources to use as a point of reverent discussion.

Over the years I have taken many notes from the scriptures and read many books like "Why Would Anyone Join the Mormon Church?" to better understand how to articulate our beliefs and also to better show where those beliefs were taught by the Savior, the ancient Apostles, and other ancient Christians.

Behaving Like We Think A Bishop Should

The prophet receives God's will for the Church in general.  A stake president receives God's will for the stake he presides over.  A bishop receives God's will for the ward he presides over.  A father receives God's will for the home he presides over.

In this example I am going to use a bishop, since they are the Church authority closest to us and we likely have the most contact with.

Often members of the Church see their bishop or a bishop with all of the faults of a man.  They expect a higher standard of him because he is a bishop and is to receive revelation from God on how to lead the ward.

We aren't doing ourselves any favors by dwelling on his flaws, but it could productive to place ourselves up against the standard we have set in our minds for bishops. We are to receive revelations for our lives, which means that if there is a requirement for receiving revelation for a ward, then those standards likely apply to being able to receive revelation in our personal lives.

I think if we try to live up to the standard we have set for our bishop, we will likely appreciate and understand him more and will likely find ways to make ourselves closer to God.

Baptism Unto Repentance

Baptism Unto Repentance

Mosiah 26:22

  22 For behold, this is my church; whosoever is baptized shall be baptized unto repentance. And whomsoever ye receive shall believe in my name; and him will I freely forgive.

Acts 19:1-6

 1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,

  2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

  3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.

  4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

  5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

  6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

Except in extreme circumstances we are only baptized once, nonetheless we need to repent every day.  We are told frequently in the scriptures to repent and be baptized. Why are we not told to repent and be baptized and repent, since we are to repent more than just when we are baptized by water. I believe this is because repentance and baptism are always together, even though we are only baptized by water once.

Some want that experience of being baptized again to wash away their sins.  When we are baptized we are baptized by water.  Then we have had hands laid upon our heads and are instructed to receive the Holy Ghost.  Receiving the Holy Ghost is often referred to as a baptism of fire.

While water baptism generally happens only once, the baptism of fire or of the Holy Ghost is to happen daily as a matter of our daily repentance.

The call to “repent and be baptized” is a daily event.  We repent and then are baptized again by the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost works within us to testify of our repentance.  This process is the cleansing us of our sins through repentance and baptism of the Holy Ghost, to give us access to the atonement of Jesus Christ.

It is true that when one wants to be baptized they repent before hand and then they punctuate that repentance with a covenant and the ordinance of baptism.  We will likely sin after our baptism, so we also should repent daily and be baptized by the Holy Ghost daily and make our covenant again when we take the sacrament, thus becoming clean again.

The Proper Name of the Church

I stumbled upon a book at Deseret Industries the other day called "Why Would Anyone Join the Mormon Church?"  It is written by Brad Brase, who converted to the Church.  It gives his conversion story and describes some of the opposition he got when he wanted to join the Church.  He also tells of many misconceptions that he was confronted with.  The book covers these misconceptions and gives some discussion of why they are misconceptions.

Early in the book he talks of the proper name of the church.  At one point he says, "The only true and correct name of the Church is 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.'  Since Latter-day Saints equally embrace the inspired writings of the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible, it wouldn't make any more sense to call them 'Mormons' than it would to called them 'Ezikiels,' 'Isaiahs,' Matthews,' 'Lukes,' or 'Peters'  And their doctrine is no more 'Mormonism" than it is 'Jeremiahism,' Danielism,' 'Johnism,' 'Jamesism,'or 'Paulism.'"

Mormon in America on Rock Center with Brian Williams

Someone announced in Church last week that there was a special on NBC this week about the Church.  It was on a show called Rock Center with Brian Williams and the special was titled Mormon in America.

The piece was created due to Mitt Romney running for president and some new curiosities people have about the Church because of that.

I don't think that this program gave very much information to help their audience understand The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I think that it created more misunderstandings and distrust.

The show opened with the statement, "Tonight on Rock Center:  What it means to be Mormon in America?" I hardly think that in 42 minutes someone can define that.  I also don't think that NBC is qualified to be able to put that story together accurately.  I think it takes more than a few weeks researching that definition to be able find it.

Also in the introduction, "and some of the lesser known aspects."  While reads this statement we are show an oddly lighted pictures of what appears to be a boy being given the priesthood.  Then they flash to someone saying "magic underwear".

I'm so sick of sensationalism to keep people tuned in.  How about just have solid content to keep people coming back to your show?  While it had some good information about the Church, most it was stuff to raise eyebrows and surprise people.

The section on the Church's welfare program was titled "How the church takes car of their own."  Ignoring that the Church takes care of millions who are not members of the Church.

The entire piece focused mostly on the fringe of the Church.  Things like Gay Mormons, Feminist Mormons, Mormons who have left the Church, and of course Polygamy.

The piece on Mormon's in business was ok, even though the title of Mormon Inc was inflammatory.  They focused on work ethic and the preparation for life that serving a mission gives.

Throughout the show they continually used the word Mormon.  While many know us that way, it felt like another way to sensationalize the story and use to historically emotionally charged word to that end.  They used the official name of the Church at the beginning of the piece, but I don't recall them referring the members as LDS or using the official name of the Church at any other time in the show.

I was interested to hear that the Marriott hotel chain started as a root beer stand.  I will have to look at that more, since it is interesting and since everything else in the show was just for the shock factor.  I will be interested to know the entire truth behind that statement.

The primary guy doing pieces on the Church made the statement "there is some sort of code there, to know that a fellow Mormon has served that mission" when asked about how being a member of the Church compares to other brotherhood bonds like firefighter and military.

One segment teaser stated, "...why some many Americans are still suspicious of the religion."  They then put up a clip of a woman who left the Church saying, "I don't think they have done a good enough job of opening up.  They have been very secretive."  While having balanced reporting is good, this was not it.  As I said before everything in the story was a tease or a flash in the pan to wow or incite people.

They sited the "polygamy based dramas" on TV, as if members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were the stars of those shows.

It was interesting that when related the story of how The Book of Mormon came to be, Brian Williams states that "...even though the Angel Moroni took the plates back..."  I would've expected the phraseology to be "the alleged angel" or "the angel allegedly", just because he is not a believer.  But I do appreciate him giving us the benefit of the doubt.

There was a statement by a scholar, not of the Church, that stated that some people have a hard time believe that angels came to the prophet Joseph Smith and yet they accept that Moses parted the Red Sea.and the Jesus walked on water.

Brian Williams said, "Mormons don't drink.  No Caffeine, cigarettes, or swearing either."  If we are talking about membership in the Church only, no one is excommunicated for swearing or drinking caffeine.  Although, I agree that one would be better off and probably be stronger in their faith if they did refrain from those things.I think it misrepresented the members of the Church and our beliefs.

They site a couple of different people as members of the Church, who are members only in that they have not removed their names from the records of the Church.  These are people that do not go to the LDS Church on Sundays and mostly don't live the things they defined as what it means to be a member of the Church.

They paraded out Abbey Huntsman, who is not active in the Church.  They referred to her as Mormon royalty, which showing video of her with her father, the former governor and candidate for president.  They then talked of her being descended from an early apostle.  Neither her father being in politics nor her ancestry make her Mormon royalty, especially since there is no such thing.

She talked of the Church being black and white.  She stated, "You are either in or you are out.  You either live by the Mormon doctrine or you do not."  How this a statement worth even airing?  Obviously you live by a set of doctrines or you do not.  Is she proposing that people that want to be things that Latter-day Saints are not and should still be considered Latter-day Saints.  This is just more things to make drama for TV, which having worked in TV and in PR Abbey would know plenty about.

The story moved to comparing a Catholic cathedral to a LDS temple.  They stated that people can freely enter a Cathedral.  Comparing a cathedral to a temple is not an equal comparison.  It would be more accurate to compare a cathedral to one of our chapels.  Making the comparison base solely on the fact that they are both extraordinary and large religious buildings.  The equivalent of mass would be our sacrament services, which are held in local meeting houses or chapels, not temples.  Those chapels are freely open to the public.

I'm sure they are thinking that marriages are performed in both places, so they are equivalent.  The marriages that are equivalent to cathedral marriages are performed in meeting houses.  The marriages performed in temples are more sacred and not open to just anyone.  There are standards to be married in the temple and there are standards to attend a wedding of two people that have chosen to live those standards.  We honor the the standards the couple has set for themselves by abiding by those same standards to be at their wedding.

After the wedding there is a reception.  Some even choose to have a more traditional ceremony after the temple ceremony, so that more people can attend.

They brought up the topic of temple garments.  I realize that people are curious about this, but is there nothing that can be respected.  This is likely one of the reasons the temples are closed off to the public.  Those who haven't made the covenants and those that don't understand the covenants talk about them frivolously.  It this case they are showing pictures of what are supposed to be temple garments and talking about them.  Not only are these people's underwear, but they are something that is sacred to those people and here is a television program putting them up there for the whole world.

Brian Williams said in the program, "But when it was found that they were baptizing even Holocaust victims who died because they were Jews.  The Church admitted the mistake and acted to stop it."  I don't recall anything where the Church stated this was a mistake.  They agreed to stop because the Jews asked them to. The only mistakes I have heard that the Church has spoken of on the subject of work for the dead for the Jews was when members have done work for Holocaust victims without the Church's knowledge that that is who the deceased people were.  Then the Church apologized and put more checks in to prevent it and spent time training members that this was not to be done.

It almost appears to me that the actions of the Jewish nation is fulfilling the prophesy that the last shall be first and the first shall be last.  The Jewish nation is demanding that the Jews not receive the blessings God has for them and thus other peoples are getting those blessings before them.

Brian Williams gave us more polarizing words, "There is another part of Mormonism in the recent past that has been late to change and that's racism.  African Americans were not allowed to become full members until 1978."  To label the policy of denying blacks the priesthood for a time as racism belittles what blacks have gone through.  It also minimizes the efforts the Church has taken to eliminate hate against blacks and all people in our nation.

He continued gave this image of the Church of fear and unpreparedness and as if they are hiding something with, "The Mormon Church is under pressure to move fast.  Faster than they'd like to open up, because they're being pushed by questions and public fascination with their religion, in no small part because a Mormon could be the next president of the United States."  Is this supposed to reflect on Mitt Romney, like he is hiding something from the American people and this should implant doubts in their minds about him?

As Brian continued to bring in clips of Abbey Huntsman he referred to her as being from a prominent Mormon family.  I looked up the definition of prominent.  It said something about standing out.  If the word is being used to say that they are famous and Mormon, then I suppose that works.  But if someone takes it to say that they standout as what Mormons are, then I would say that would be the wrong perception.

Abbey made the statement that Mormons believe this is their day with Mitt Romney and the prospect that he will be president.  I wish that were true for me.  Unfortunately there is a large percent in the Church that are all in on Mr. Romney and I think just because her is a member of the Church.  Just as many vote for the Republican candidate just because he is a Republican.

I distrust Mitt Romney for many reasons.  It would be great to have a strong member of the Church that sticks up for what he believes in become President, but the things that I hear about his voting record don't convince me that is who he is.

Nonetheless, I will likely be voting for him in November for the same reason I voted for McCain last time and others I have voted for in the past.  I will vote for him because he is the lesser of two bad choices.  I don't think I have felt strongly that who I was voting for was a solid candidate since Ross Perot.

Here Mr. Williams tries to turn the female vote against Mitt Romney "...and those kids grow up in a Church where the two genders, male and female, are not equal."  Why can't people understand that equal does not mean the same?  From my understanding the President's cabinet members equal.  They have an equal vote in counseling him, but they all have separate and distinct responsibilities and authority that the others do not.

Additionally, two dimes and a nickel are equal to a quarter, but you can't get gum out of a gumball machine with two dimes and a nickle.

Men and women are equal, but not the same.  Their responsibilities, abilities, and authority are different.

One women interviewed an interracial couple and she asks the wife if she worries about the conforming to the uniformity in the Church.  The wife kind of looked at her like she was nuts at first, since she is married to a black man.  She started to respond that clearly everything is not totally uniform and then interviewer blew her off and continued with her agenda.

They interviewed a "Mormon feminist".  The feminist talked of her daughter asking her why only boys pass the sacrament.  The only answer she could come up with was, "This is the way things are."  It is not just the way things are.  God is  a god of order and does things for a reason.  If you step outside yourself and your agenda for a little bit and focus on what God wants you can see why it is.

The story said that the "Mormon Feminist" wondered if there could be equality in the Church if women could hold leadership positions.  Has she never attended a Relief Society meeting or General Conference.  Had the reporter dug deeper to get the real story instead of just trying get a shock reaction to push ratings, maybe she would've interviewed the women that do hold leadership positions in the Church.  Maybe a relief society president or a primary president or a young women president.  Maybe one of the teen aged girls that are presidents of their young women classes.

There are tons of women in leadership positions in the Church.  They are different positions than men, but again, equal does not mean the same.  The problem with the feminist movement is that they eye what they perceive to be the top of the food chain and if there is not a woman in it then they are being treated unfairly.

Women can't be fathers.  Shocking, clearly they are oppressed because of that and they aren't being treated equally.

People get caught up in looking around them at other people and want to be what they are not and make themselves miserable being depressed or angry about it.

The program next brought a "Gay Mormon".  The reporter used phases like "shunned by his church".  They cited no examples of how the church didn't fellowship him or asked him to not come to church.  I grew up in the Amish community and I saw actual shunning by a church.  It is irresponsible for the spin master running this story to use a word like shun in this context.

I was impressed that they covered the struggle that we have with an increasingly sexualized world and that they talked about the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet as a guide for youth and families on setting standards for themselves.  She even talked about not breaking a promise when a 17 year old girl she interviewed talked of a boyfriend wanting to get physical.  They also talked about being forgiven if you do make mistakes.

I say that was positive and then they yanked the positive out of it by switching back to Abbey Huntsman and talking of how she doesn't feel forgiven.  She continues to live another life, of course she doesn't feel forgiven.  Brian Williams used the phrase "hauled in front of her bishop" as if someone physically dragged her kicking and screaming to the bishop.

They moved to a section of the program where they looked at the Church's welfare program.  Much of it was positive.  Although it was awkward that he talked about Mormon bread and Mormon honey.

It was also nice that they pointed out that one of the bishop's had his own business and did not get paid for his efforts as a bishop, even though the responsibility of a bishop is heavy.  It was also nice that they mentioned that Mitt Romney was a bishop and got the experience of leadership and service through it.

The guy, Harry Smith, who did the segment on the welfare program comment about members of the Church he met, "You would not be able to distinguish these people from any other walk of life except for their total commitment to their faith."

They did a segment on the Book of Mormon musical, which I think many confuse as being something put out by members of the Church.

It was nice that the gay guy int he musical talked about the positive experience his mission was.  Then he made the comment that he didn't feel that he could reach his full potential as a person as a gay guy in the Church.  He removed the Church from his life, concluding that it was what was keeping him from reaching his full potential.  People need to set aside their own wants and focus on their needs.  The thing that was getting in the way of his full potential as a gay member of the Church was not the Church, but that he chose to pursue being gay.

He commented that when he was in the musical he felt like he was still sharing a message in the world.  He said that right after he stated that the musical would probably have an R rating if it was a movie.  My question is, what sort of message is he sharing with the world now.

Theater Shooting in Aurora, Colorado

Some thoughts from a friend on Facebook.

"After becoming more socially withdrawn and 'obsessed' with virtual online games, the Colorado shooter committed a great tragedy. Among other things, if only he had understood this prophetic warning three years ago about how seemingly innocent entertainment can eventually trap the mind and destroy the soul by blurring reality."

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2010/06/things-as-they-really-are?lang=eng


" I was fascinated when two young men that had been in the theater and had escaped the shooting were telling the reporters how 'It was so real... It wasn't like a video game. It was REAL!' They were amazed at the reality of it all. It is so easy now to become desensitized. And while we all need to be vigilant, it is interesting that Elder Bednar specifically addressed this particular age group...college students."


"They reported yesterday that those who knew him started noticing him withdraw some time ago and become more isolated and obsessed with the games. Although I think there were other factors as well."


Another thought I saw from someone else was that the other 65 million legal gun owners didn't kill anyone today.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell - Twelve Guidelines For a Christlike Life

My dad died last year and my son has his scriptures. My son found a book mark in them and it had these twelve guidelines from Elder Neal A. Maxwell.


Elder Neal A. Maxwell has given twelve guidelines than will tell us how well we are progressing toward a more Christlike life. They are-
1.Achieving the right balance between self-contentment and ambition.

2. Following counsel as Moses followed Jethro's counsel (Exodus 18:17-24).

3. Not being too absorbed in one aspect of life, like Martha (Luke 1 0:41 -42).
4. Praying for right things.
5. Having right reasons for our good behavior.
6. Taking gratefully what life brings.
7. Loving our enemies.
8. Being free from envy of those who do better than we.
9. Forgiving and forgetting
10. Using our adversities as tools to grow.
11 . Becoming more patient.
12. Becoming more willing to follow the Lord wherever he may lead us.

Review of Black Mormons & the priesthood ban by Darrick T Evenson

Although this book had a substantial amount of typos and grammatical errors it contained many good points about racism and discrimination and how people judge the church without knowing anything about it except something they have heard from someone.

It also was good food for thought about how we often focus on our trials instead of the blessings that are being presented because of them. We often focus on revenge or "Whoa is me" rather than in doing what is necessary to partake of the blessings the Lord has for us through our trial.

Most of the content of the book can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/mo2/blackmormon/homepage.html

The Church in Turkey

It should be noted that much of what I am about to report is second hand hearsay and I have no official documents to back up the current happening with the Church in Turkey.


I saw earlier this evening @emiliescribbles reporting on Twitter, "Found out today the LDS Church is opening its first-ever mission in Turkey. Eight missionaries will be there in two weeks."


I checked the Church's website about the Church in Turkey and found this: "In 1884, the Church established the Turkish Mission and sent Jacob Spori, born in the Swiss Alps, to preach in Turkey." http://newsroom.lds.org/country/turkey


"The Book of Mormon was translated into Turkish in 1906 and shipped to Constantinople, but it was delayed by customs and did not reach the missionaries serving in Turkey until late 1908. On 28 July 1909, Wilford Booth, president of the Turkish Mission, received word that due to increasing violence in the region, the mission should be closed. Booth and the missionaries left shortly thereafter." http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/58669/Country-information-Turkey.html


I contacted a friend I work with, whose dad was, up until recently, the presiding authority in Turkey.  As I understand it, the Church has been unable, until now, to get recognition from the government, which would allow the work to move forward more efficiently.


My friend told me that his father told him that he heard they are expanding a mission in Bulgaria to include Turkey and that they are sending the first four missionaries on February 14, 2012.

The Church in Turkey

It should be noted that much of what I am about to report is second hand hearsay and I have no official documents to back up the current happening with the Church in Turkey.


I saw earlier this evening @emiliescribbles reporting on Twitter, "Found out today the LDS Church is opening its first-ever mission in Turkey. Eight missionaries will be there in two weeks."


I checked the Church's website about the Church in Turkey and found this: "In 1884, the Church established the Turkish Mission and sent Jacob Spori, born in the Swiss Alps, to preach in Turkey." http://newsroom.lds.org/country/turkey


"The Book of Mormon was translated into Turkish in 1906 and shipped to Constantinople, but it was delayed by customs and did not reach the missionaries serving in Turkey until late 1908. On 28 July 1909, Wilford Booth, president of the Turkish Mission, received word that due to increasing violence in the region, the mission should be closed. Booth and the missionaries left shortly thereafter." http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/58669/Country-information-Turkey.html


I contacted a friend I work with, whose dad was, up until recently, the presiding authority in Turkey.  As I understand it, the Church has been unable, until now, to get recognition from the government, which would allow the work to move forward more efficiently.


My friend told me that his father told him that he heard they are expanding a mission in Bulgaria to include Turkey and that they are sending the first four missionaries on February 14, 2012.

Bored Without Being Employed

I am often stunned when I hear some people who are retired or are getting ready to retire speak of not knowing what they are going to do when they retire. I have heard some trying and trying to find a hobby to occupy them.

I have heard similar things from married women without children. I have heard them talk about how they had to go find a job, so they didn't sit around and watch TV all day. I admit I watch too much TV, but if I am bored with TV and have extra time, there is no shortage of things to be engaged in, especially as a member of the Church.

I recommend that when you retire or if you are a wife become self employed in doing good. Don't feel slighted or lost without corporations or career telling you where and who you need to be.

There is tons of service that needs done in this world.

People complain about the public schools. Go volunteer to help out. Yes, they will still be a bureaucratic mess and a tax dollar sink hole, but you will likely have helped several children before you are done.

There are people who want to learn whatever the predominant language is in the area in order to better themselves. You could volunteer to help them learn it.

There are often multiple languages spoken in areas and being bilingual could help you be of more service to those around you and create understanding goodwill. You could take that time to learn a second language.

There are still too many people that are illiterate. Help teach someone to read.

Babysit for a young mother that is overwhelmed or go over and assist her in some way.

Help a young couple with fix-er-upper work they don't know how to do and can't afford to hire out.

Help someone learn a trade. If you know something about nursing or computers or auto mechanics or plumbing or whatever, then guide someone else getting started in that area on how to get started, where to find resources to help them, or who they can get in contact with.

Volunteer at the temple. Step one, take your own family names or do temple names. Step two, ask about being a temple worker. Whenever I go they appear to usually be shorthanded in certain parts of the temple.

Work to perfect your home and visiting teaching. We all could do better and with extra time you could do much better.

Do missionaries work. Full time missionaries get a ton of work done. Do some of the things missionaries do during your day and bring others to Christ.

Volunteer at a family history center. You can use the resources there for your family history work and you can help others with theirs. You can also fellowship and uplift both members of the church and those who are not.

Create a blog. Share your life experience with others. Try not to "over share", as that can make people flee from you, but be a resource for people to use in their lives. Share scriptures and quotes you have found.

There is plenty to do without relying on the tv or an employer.

Randall Bennett

I just found out that Randall Bennett is in my ward.  Ok, I didn't just find out, since we have been in the same congregation for a long time and we frequently have ward council, elders quorum, and stewardship meetings together and talk in the hall.  But he told me today that he is on the TWiT network every so often.  He mentioned Tech News Today, which is not one of the TWiT shows I generally watch, but I looked it up and sure enough, he is semi almost famous.

Since I am a geek, this is almost more cool than when I was in a ward with Rob Morris, defensive lineman for the Indianapolis Colts, and my wife use to go visit teach his wife each month.

The Mission Field

I heard this term "The Mission Field" used a lot by people that would come to the mid west from Utah.  When I first joined the Church I suppose it didn't bother me much, but it irritates a bit more as the years go on and as I hear it frequently here in Utah.

I was pondering today as someone said it.  Where is the line where the mission field begins?  Is it the Utah boarder.  Is there some distance I can drive down I-80 and all of a sudden I find myself in the mission field?  Is Oregon in the mission field.

What is the opposite of the mission field?  I am assuming that the opposite that people have in their mind is Zion. As I understand it, every stake is a stake of Zion, which means Zion is everywhere that a stake is organized.

If one is envisioning Zion being established in the tops of the mountains, then I supposed the mission field would be anything outside the Rockies.

If one is envisioning Zion as "This is the place.", then clearly Ogden is the mission field.  So is Provo and Orem and Logan and Brigham City and all the rest of Utah outside of Salt Lake City.

When I served my mission the impression I got was that once I left the Missionary Training Center property I was in the mission field.  When we took a trip into Provo to get some clothing we were in the mission field.  When we returned to the MTC we were not.  When they took us to the airport to depart to our various assignments we were in the mission field.  When we were on the planes or vans or buses, we were in the mission field.  When we arrived at our assigned area, we were in the mission field.  Some of those I was in the MTC with went to Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  Was that not the mission field?  If not, why would missionaries be sent there?

The only reason I didn't consider the MTC the mission field was because it was a controlled environment where the only people we had to teach was other missionaries.

It is probably ridiculous for this to irritate me.  I realize it is just an easy way to refer to places where the Church is less established than in Utah, but let's keep in mind that the mission field is white and it is everywhere, all around us, no matter where we live.