This past week, I attended an inter-faith devotional for the first time. From my personal experience as a Latter-Day Saint, such ecumenical efforts have seen minimal, and I am so proud of my stake for making an effort at participating in the broader faith community. I also don't know how such efforts have faired in... Continue Reading →
Anything essential is invisible to the eyes: My review of “Saint Exupery” by Stacy Schiff
When I told my wife I was reading the biography of Antione de Saint-Exupery, she really couldn't fathom why I pick the books I read. But really, there is rhyme and reason to them. I bought a copy of "The Little Prince" waaaaay back in the day when I worked at Barnes and Noble. It... Continue Reading →
A Mighty Change of Heart Part III: Righteous Indignation and the Moroni-Pahoran Letters
This will be the third post in the Mighty Change of Heart series. Last week I examined how we Mormons can suffer from many of the weaknesses of the Zoramites without even knowing it. This week, I will examine Captain Moroni as a role model in Mormonism, for good or for bad. The Book... Continue Reading →
Our interview at LDS Voices of Hope
This past year, my wife and I got to participate in a beautiful project entitled Voices of Hope. As expressed in the title, its purpose is to give a voice to those in the LGBT community who have found hope and strength through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. The project is a part of... Continue Reading →
A Mighty Change of Heart Part II: Getting Rid of Our Rameumptoms
Last week, I examined how we don't always need to dichotomize our world into who is right and who is wrong, as exemplified by the stark differences in approaches to war between the Nephites and the Anti-Nephi-Lehis. This week, I want to use another example from the Book of Mormon, the Zoramites. First, let me... Continue Reading →
Book review of Thaler’s “Nudge”: How libertarian paternalism avoids the polarization of the right and left
I added this book to my list after I read an article about the 2017 Nobel Prize winner in economics, Richard Thaler, and his concept of libertarian paternalism. Our lab reading club ended up voting to read it this month for our book of the month! The book itself is based on two premises: (1)... Continue Reading →
Book review: Chesterton’s St. Thomas Aquinas, the Saint of the Scientific Method
Chesterton has done it again. I find so much here that is an antidote for our own day. Here is one I found summarizing well the current level of our political discussion: "As a matter of fact, it is generally the man who is not ready to argue, who is ready to sneer. That is... Continue Reading →
Why Twilight is so bad, but I like it anyways
It was about time I wrote this blog post. It needs to be done. I recently began re-reading Stephanie Meyers' Twilight series documenting teenage Bella's obsession with her sparkly stalker vampire boyfriend Edward. Oooh, it sounds harsh when you put it that way, doesn't it? I just finished the second book, New Moon, today, and... Continue Reading →
A Mighty Change of Heart Part I: Unity of Thought versus Unity in Faith
Hey all! I'm going to be writing a seven-part series this week. Each post will examine a scripture in the Book of Mormon the meaning of which has changed for me or become more apparent to me over time. I want to try to capture how my faith and understanding of the gospel has changed... Continue Reading →
I was going through some of my old notebooks from my two-year mission several years ago. As members of our Church, we have a responsibility to set aside two years to preach the gospel. I was called to serve in Hamburg, Germany back in 2010 to 2012. The first city I served in was the... Continue Reading →