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Showing posts from March, 2018

Sad Saturday

Note: This is the Holy Saturday (I think of it as Sad Saturday) post for my Holy Week series. 6. Jesus wept. - John 11:35 Sometimes I've wondered why Jesus waited three days to become resurrected. Why not come back from the dead the next morning? Why makes his friends wait in confusion and sadness for so long? Maybe He was teaching them that sometimes, it is good to sit with sadness. Sometimes, it is good to be sad. .

Opposite Day

This is my Good Friday post as part of my #Because of Him Series. 4. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." -- John 15:13 Because of Him, we can hope for things we cannot see. "But why is it called Good Friday if something bad happened?" my son asked me today. It's the same question we've probably all had. It's a day of paradox, a day of contradiction. Jesus died, which was bad. But He needed to die, so it was good. Bad men crucified Him, so they were following Satan. And yet God used the actions of the bad men to bring about the Atonement and Resurrection. It's all confusing. And then there's this matter of resurrection. If you grow up believing it, it's no problem at all to accept that after we die, we can be resurrected. But imagine trying to convince a scientist of it. "But," they might say, "how can a body become immortal? How can you overcome the second law of thermodynamics? W

Birth

Note: This is my Maundy Thursday #BecauseOfHim post. 4.  Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. -- John 3:5 Because of Him, everyone has the opportunity to come closer to God. In John 3, we read: 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. Well, I confess that I have marveled at this concept day after day. I have wondered the same question as Nicodemus -- can a person enter the second time into his or her mother's womb and get a f

Law

Note: This is my third Holy Week post.  3. Cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. -- Matthew 18:26 Because of Him, we know the law. Chemotherapy. Dialysis. Debriding. These are all terms that I've used to describe the Me Too movement. We have seen that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men as soon as they get authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. (D&C 121:39.) And we've seen that all the attempts to cover sins, gratify pride or ambition, and exercise control and compulsion are starting to finally fail, and fail spectacularly. It is painful, it is tragic, and it is important. I've had to ask myself why I've felt grim satisfaction in seeing people like Harvey Weinstein lose everything they had. Is it that I want to see people suffer when they've caused other people to suffer? No. I can't truly be happy about anyone else's pain, even

Good

Note: This is my second #BecauseOfHim post during Holy Week on teachings from Jesus Christ that can apply to us right now. 2.  "There is none good but one, that is, God." -Matthew 19:17 Because of Him, we don't have to be perfect. And our friends don't have to be perfect. I think we all know we're not perfect. But if pressed, we'd rather say we have imperfections like "I leave cupboard doors open," or "I like to eat lots of Oreos in one sitting." But really, sometimes we're talking about real things. Sometimes our imperfections really hurt other people. Sometimes our imperfections make it hard for an organization to run smoothly.  Let me give an example of one of my own imperfections. I've learned that, especially around women, I try to agree. After all, as I said yesterday, everyone has little bits of truth. But then later I realize that I don't fully agree with someone, and they probably were entitled to hearing a different pe

Truth

During the past few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about Easter. I've been thinking about how Christ's ministry and message can affect us right here, right now. President Russell M. Nelson taught in April 2017, "There is no amorphous entity called 'the Atonement' upon which we may call for succor, healing, forgiveness, or power. Jesus Christ is the source." What that means to me is that to understand the Atonement, to understand Who and What we are to become "at one" with, we need to pay attention to Christ's life and ministry. As I have sat and thought on several topics, various scriptures have come to mind. Over this Holy Week, I will share some of these thoughts. 1.  "I am the Way, the Truth, the Life." -- John 14:6  Because of Him, we do not need any false idols. Truth is enough. In so many political debates these days, I feel like everyone is so attached to their little corner of facts that it's hard to reconcile all the i

Forbidden Fruit

Today I was thinking about bananas. Like, why are they the way they are? So great and so . . . not great. I think maybe there was a scene in the premortal existence like this: Angel 1: *in test kitchen* Okay, we've almost got all the toddler-friendly snacks designed. I think we need just one more healthy snack that's not pretend healthy like veggie straws. Any ideas? Angel 2: I've invented bananas. Angel 1: Sounds intriguing. Tell me more. Angel 2: So they're a fruit -- Angel 1: Excellent. Angel 2: They're very sweet, and very nutritious. Angel 1: Great! Angel 2: You can buy them before they're ready, and then they will ripen. If you ripen them too much, you can just freeze them and use them in quick breads or smoothies. They are easy to transport -- you don't have to refrigerate them, and the fruit is protected by a skin that's very easy to peel. And there are no seeds to spit out. Angel 1: You've improved a lot since you invented periods . What cou