Stepping Stones
Imagine, if you will, that every moment of your life is comprised of stepping stones creating a path across a vast lake. The moment you are in right now is the stone you are standing on. From this stone (this moment), you can see that there are a number of other...
To Set At Liberty Them That Are Bruised (Part 3)
| Read Part 1 | | Read Part 2 | Imagine my surprise when Christ turned my thoughts and my heart back to the Twelve-Step principles that He had led me to use several years before to overcome my compulsive need to hurt myself with food. Under the tutelage of His...
To Set At Liberty Them That Are Bruised (Part 2)
| Read Part 1 | Somehow, as I have sat through all those church meetings, I became confused, thinking that spiritual self-reliance was as necessary and positive as temporal self-reliance. One of the most shameful situations I could be caught in, as a Latter-day...
To Set At Liberty Them That Are Bruised (Part 1)
A few days ago, during my early morning scripture study, I came across these words in Isaiah: “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness . . . (Isaiah...
The Lord Chooses Good Men
Lately it has become fashionable to expose the weaknesses of the founders of our country, claiming them to be adulterers, homosexual, power-hungry, and generally not worthy of our esteem. But the Book of Mormon silences those voices. I know this: The Lord chooses...
As The Whirlwind Cometh
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his...
A Portion of the Atonement Is For Here and Now
What does it mean when Christ says, “I am Alpha [the Beginning] and Omega [the End]; I am the Author and the Finisher of your faith.” (3 Nephi 9:18) I think it means that He is both the beginning—the guidance—as well as the end—the grace and ...
Mormons Are Mortals Too!
As card-carrying members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have a tendency to deny our mortality. But we can only live in denial for so long before the big fat truth of our understanding lands on us like the proverbial ton of bricks and we are...
Christ is the Only Answer for Us
We, as Latter-day Saints, will not find peace to our souls in the spiritual answers that others find adequate. Although many people find significant recovery in a twelve-step Higher Power, or an anonymous but loving Universe, or even an accepting and supportive group...
How Can Something Be New and Everlasting at the Same Time?
This is a new and an everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning. (D&C 22:1) How can something be “new” and “everlasting” at the same time? Isn’t that a paradoxical, even irrational combination of words? I mean, if something is...
Perfect Imperfection!
The only thing I can do perfectly is admit that I don’t do anything perfect. It has taken years for me to realize that the most recovered thing I can do in all the world is be imperfect “out loud,” in front of others. I have to look the lie of shame right...
Which 5 Minutes Can You Afford to Live Without the Spirit?
To those who would say that we are supposed to copy the example of Christ, but we are not to expect personal communication and communion with Him on a frequent or continuous basis, I would ask this question: Which five minutes of your life would you prefer to live...
Personal Revelation Never Stops
Who can say too much of the Lord? That was Ammon’s question in Alma 26. My question is, “Who can receive too much from the Lord?” His Spirit never sleeps and is pouring out wisdom and truth every second. How much or how little of it a person receives is 100% up to...