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School of Life

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Yesterday afternoon, I asked a few questions of my Facebook friends: specifically: If you believe that we (i.e. humans) were created for a purpose, what is that purpose? If you do not believe that we were created for a purpose, do you believe in some form of extramortal existence, i.e. that we exist in some form before and/or after our lifetime here on Earth? If you do not believe that we exist extramortally, what do you believe constitutes a person’s existence? For example, is one’s existence predicated on being alive? If so, what criteria dictate that someone has begun or ceased to be alive? etc. My friend Liana posted an amazing summary of her beliefs, one that matches the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ almost exactly. The crux of her response is as follows: I do believe we are here for a purpose. Each of us come with different lessons that we are working on while we are here. These are decided before we incarnate. Over multiple lifetimes, we work towards lear...
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What Must Be Done

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I just awoke from a dream. I was driving in the car with my wife, Anna, in the town where my grandparents lived. We were just about to the highway that would take us back to my parents’ house when the Spirit told me that the Christ was about to be born. Now, obviously in reality, I know that the Christ has already been born and at this point He doesn’t need to be born again (ironic though that statement be). But in the dream, He was finally coming, and the still, small voice of the Spirit was letting me know. But even beyond that knowledge, there was more: I saw Him in vision. I saw Him in that very moment, about to leave home and begin His calling on Earth, and I could see how He was feeling. We often talk about the Savior subserving His will to Father’s. We recognize that His suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross was so severe, He begged for deliverance if it be possible. The pain and agony that He suffered are beyond human comprehension, but He knew it would be that wa...
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Location: Cincinnati, OH, USA
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It’s All About Perception

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A Facebook friend asked a question about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . She has a friend who has left the Church because he feels all it does is guilt people into not doing bad things. My friend, on the other hand, remains faithful because she doesn’t see any attempt at guilt, only loving encouragement to be the best person she can be. Ultimately, these alternate foci would have the same outward results, but inwardly, the directions are obviously worlds apart. Her question, therefore, is a request for others’ opinions on the subject. As my response is characteristically verbose, I figured I’d post it here. 😊 The way I see this is as a matter of perception. Allow me to share a story from my own personal history: I joined the Church of Jesus Christ when I was 16 years old, and given my age, was introduced into a quorum of priests . Our quorum advisor, Brother Hurst, frequently taught us that despite the great power in our Priesthood office, we of ourselves were nothi...
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Location: Cincinnati, OH 45244, USA
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The Prosperity Gospel

pros·per succeed in material terms; be financially successful: “his business prospered” flourish physically; grow strong and healthy: “areas where gray squirrels cannot prosper” ARCHAIC make successful: “God has wonderfully prospered this nation” Recently, Anna derisively mentioned the “ prosperity gospel .” As I understand it, this phrase means that following God inevitably results in financial wealth and physical wellbeing. Of course, Father has never promised that following Him will always result in anything besides spiritual strength, but I can see where some would interpret passages like Alma 36:1 to so indicate. That being said, I have noticed that when I begin my day with prayer and scripture study, the day just goes better; and I’m not sure I’ve ever once lost my job during a period when my prayers for help in my work ascended beyond the occasional, surface-level petition. Certainly when I lost my job with Beezwax (last week), any semblance of regular prayer or scripture...
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Doubting Your Doubts

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Many years ago, I was discussing doubt with a member of my stake . The member in question has a doctorate in Church history from Brigham Young University  (a university owned and operated by  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ) , and she told me a bit about her experience as a grad student in that area of study. As part of her studies, she read publications that were critical of the Savior’s Church. (I do not believe this was a requirement for her degree, but was relevant to her thesis.) At times, the things she read gave her pause and she took them to her doctoral advisor. These meetings always began and ended with a prayer, and they usually appeased her concerns. However, there was also one question that preceded every meeting: “Before you read anything else, do you study the scriptures of the Restoration for at least 30 minutes per day?” If that question were answered in the negative, the meeting never began. She was instructed to return home, study...
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The Word Is Powerful, and Sharper Than Any Twoedged Sword.

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Once upon a time, probably about 15 years ago, a woman in our ward in Lafayette, Indiana, was preparing for baptism. One Sunday, I was speaking with her in the foyer, after Church. She mentioned how much she loved the Church of Jesus Christ because of how wonderful all the people were. She was kind of taken back by my response, which went something like this: “I’ll certainly take that as a compliment, but at the same time, I’ve got to tell you: if you’re going to get baptized because you like the people here, please don’t. It will honestly be better if you don’t get baptized at all.” (At this point, her eyes grew a bit wider, but I continued.) “Most of the people in the Church are great, but I promise you that someday, somehow, someone at church is going to really piss… you… off .” (Her eyes grew even wider, at this point. Again, I continued.) “It might be me, it might be the bishop, it might be someone you don’t even know yet, but I’m telling you: it’s going to happen. And...
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Location: Lafayette, IN, USA
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30,000-Foot View

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I expect future readers will never have experienced this, because I don't think it will ever come back, at least not in the form in which I am about to explain, but… let me tell you a story. Once upon a time—probably for the first 22-23 years I was a member of the Church—whenever we sang hymns in General Conference, the lyrics would appear on the screen so everyone could sing along. Sometime in the last few years, this practice stopped. At first I thought it was a fluke, but it’s clear that this is now the new normal. So, I asked around online, wondering why. The answer I got was simple: in a worldwide church, it doesn't make sense to superimpose the English lyrics to a hymn that everyone is singing. (Of course, I seem to remember that when I was a full-time missionary in Spain, they superimposed Castilian subtitles over the English words, but that could just be a false memory.) Regardless, it makes sense: for people who are watching Conference in a meetinghouse, a hy...
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