When asked why life is hard, the Sunday school teachers of my youth replied, “Life is a test. It’s supposed to be hard.” The scriptures support the life-as-test perspective — a “probationary state” where we “prove” ourselves. Of course, if life is a test, then that means it’s designed to prepare us for what comes... Read More »
I’m sitting in my organizational management class right now. That (combined with having just finally finished Lengthen Your Stride, which opened my eyes to the challenge of managing a... Read More »
Well known LDS political pundit Glenn Beck recently told his radio listeners that they should leave churches with the words “social justice” or “economic justice” on their websites: I... Read More »
I love General Conference. And not just because I get to have Couch Church. I love everything about it.... Read More »
Genesis 34 What was the sin of Dinah’s brothers? Was it that they took vengeance? Reread the Abrahamic covenant to... Read More »
Chapter Five: The Creation Read More »
I will concentrate my questions on Genesis 25:19-34 and 27:1-45, and I will add Genesis 33:1-20 to the reading... Read More »
Sleep: it’s more important than you think, especially for teenagers. Here’s from George Will’s latest column, “How to ruin... Read More »
I fell in love almost simultaneously, as a junior in high school, with historical linguistics and Hugh Nibley. Read More »
I have been researching Reynolds v. United States (1879), the Supreme Court’s first polygamy case, on and off for... Read More »
On the sweetness of Mormon life. Read More »
"Once upon a time, numberless spirits inhabited the vast chaos of space and unorganized matter. They exercised their minuscule... Read More »
A new issue of The Mormon Review is available, with David K. Jones’s review of You’ll Never Walk Alone... Read More »
When we read Genesis, what exactly are we reading? The distinctions and categories we modern readers bring to books... Read More »
I repeat the reminder: these are notes for study rather than notes for a lesson. Of course study notes... Read More »
I love my God. He loves me. Sometimes I suffer, and sometimes there is nothing He can do about... Read More »
We human beings don’t handle technological progress very gracefully. Those of us who have spent years doing things “the... Read More »
Many Mormons find that many Christian discussions are compatible with Mormon belief. We cheerfully borrow from C.S. Lewis,... Read More »
The sweaters that these penguins are wearing are designed to save their lives after oil spills off of the... Read More »
Here’s a quote from Lesson 7, “The Abrahamic Covenant,” that caught my attention in Sunday School: The great majority of... Read More »
An oft-quoted passage from our Bible Dictionary states that “only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness.”... Read More »
While discussing the development of Mormon culture at the recent Brazilian Mormon Studies Conference in São Paulo, Brazil, one... Read More »
I love the interactive nature of blogging. I had planned to close this series with a post neatly tying... Read More »
Chapter 13 Verses 1-2: Are there elements in Abram’s journey to Canaan that typify Israel’s later exodus from Egypt? If... Read More »
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