The Gospel According to Jeffrey

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...

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...

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...

The following is adapted from a talk I gave in the Gardendale Ward (Birmingham, Alabama Stake) on 10 May 2015. Enjoy! Brothers and Sisters, aloha and happy Mother’s Day! When I was first asked to speak today, I was told I could pick any topic I wanted. But of course, since it’s Mother’s Day, I’d certainly be remiss if I didn’t choose something to do with moms. And you know what? That’s actually pretty cool, because even though there are a lot of people here that have a lot more experience than I do, being a mom, I do know a few things about moms because I’ve spent most of my life living with one. And one thing I’ve learned is moms are like the greatest thing ever, and you frankly don’t get half the recognition you deserve. As a dad, I’d love to think I’m just as good as a mom, but let’s face it: there’s really no comparison. Yes, dads are important, and the world would be a really sad place if all the dads disappeared. But when you come right down to it, a mom is so much more ...

A few years ago, I was talking with a new friend who was investigating the Church. Her backstory was long and complicated, but it was obvious that she and her husband were faithful and progressing toward joining the Church. In the course of conversation, this friend told me how wonderful the Church was. She said that over the years, she’d been to many different churches, but that nowhere were the people as good and loving and friendly as in ours. I responded that I was flattered, that I was glad she felt that way; but I cautioned her that if she were planning to join the Church because of the people, she’d be better off not getting baptized at all. She seemed a bit shocked, but I continued: if and when she joined the Church, she’d better do it because she loved her Savior and wanted to follow Him. I promised her that someday—maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday—one of those great people was going to really piss her off. It might be a bishop, it might the woman sitting n...