Lowell Bennion is my hero. "Nothing matters ultimately in any setting—in marriage, the family, school, the church, the community, the world—except what happens to persons."
Book review: “The Best of Lowell L. Bennion” edited by Eugene England
Book review: Paul Tournier’s “The Whole Person in a Broken World”
This is the next book by Paul Tournier that I was able to hunt down in the UW library system. It too is out of print and unavailable as an ebook, but thanks to the interlibrary loan system, I was able to get it shipped from the University of Oregon. Paul Tournier is a Swiss... Continue Reading →
Book review: Paul Tournier’s “Guilt and Grace”
These past few weeks, I was feeling very world weary from the constant back and forth of sharp criticisms, ad hominem attacks, and gross exaggerations that is Twitter. There is very little effort to provide any nuanced approach. Then I began to notice the few accounts that were made to provide daily quotes by various... Continue Reading →
Post-conference thoughts
It's been a few days since the end of conference, giving me enough time to piece together a few of my thoughts. I haven't had time to completely read through all the talks yet, so I may do a few follow-up posts with some more in-depth thoughts on specific talks or themes. But wow! What... Continue Reading →
A Prophet in the Outfield
The President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Russell M. Nelson visited church members in Seattle, Washington this past Saturday in the Mariners Safeco Field stadium. I was excited to attend with my in-laws, and felt a little bad I was going at the expense of my wife, who was staying at... Continue Reading →
The gospel according to a Jewish-Sikh Mormon: Review of “The Five Books of Jesus”
I recently moved back in with my in-laws to finish up the last year of my graduate degree, and a move typically also results in a new ward. After a few shared gospel doctrine classes and post-block discussions, I struck up a friendship with an insightful and well-read brother. We have many of the same... Continue Reading →
Weeding out guilt culture from Mormon culture
My mind has been turned recently due to a constellation of reading material and personal interactions to the topic of guilt. Guilt seems to have become a widespread phenomenon within the Church-- and particularly in the LDS LGBT community. It seems to be an ever-present burden, and the negative aspects of it have caused some... Continue Reading →
“The good will have to answer for having created hell”: Nikolai Berdyaev’s Destiny of Man
I discovered Nikolai Berdyaev as a regularly cited source in the works of Terryl Givens (others I have found include Elie Wiesel and Julian of Norwich. Givens has given me a whole bibliography of spiritual writers I have yet to get to!). Berdyaev was officially a Russian Orthodox Christian who wrote both before and after... Continue Reading →
You reap what you sow: Stephen Covey’s Spiritual Roots of Human Relations
I first heard of "The Spiritual Roots of Human Relations" by Stephen Covey from an Institute teacher at the University of Utah. The lesson itself has faded from my memory, but the title of the book stuck with me. When I later was inspired as a returned missionary after reading "The Seven Habits of Highly... Continue Reading →
