I adapted my talk on worthiness from church a few weeks ago. As a personal expert in making myself feel guilt about anything and everything, this is a topic I have thought a lot about.
On personal worthiness
Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
I feel that too often we concern ourselves with if and when Christ forgave the woman in adultery. But if you drop your stone for a minute and put yourself in her shoes, you recognize the full import of Christ's message here.
Perfecting the saints without perfectionism
Last week, I wrote about the Sunday School lesson I taught to the youth on the importance of commandments. This week, my co-teacher continued the discussion. The lesson was technically titled "How can I help others understand my standards." I was thinking how I would teach such a lesson, and I would have centered it... 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 →
Spring has got me in the mood to repent!
Take cold showers in the morning. Don't do it all at once. Start with a warm shower, and then turn down the temperature for about 30 seconds before getting out. Thanks to Daily Stoic for this idea. Feeling the stoicism groove here! Help increase the meaning of my nightly prayer with my wife by discussing... Continue Reading →
A conversation/prayer during the sacrament hymn
With humble heart, I bow my head And think of thee, O Savior Lord. I take the water and the bread To show remembrance of thy word. Please help me to listen to the words of the hymn. I try and try, but for some reason, I never fully tune in to the words of... Continue Reading →
Lessons from 1 Samuel: A Man after My Own Heart
One thing I have learned recently that has helped me in my scripture study is the realization that the Bible (as well as the Book of Mormon) isn't a single book to be read from cover to cover, but rather a library of individual books. There are multiple genres of literature, and each book must... Continue Reading →
A new favorite author: Paul Tournier and “The Meaning of Persons”
I stumbled upon this book while scrolling through my WordPress reader. On a blog I am following called 'On Being', there was an article by Eugene Peterson titled "On Congruence: The Beauty of Uniting Who We are and How We Act." In it, the author recalled attending a lecture by the author, Paul Tournier. He... Continue Reading →
A might change of heart part V: The pride cycle
This week, I come to the Church in the days of Alma. Alma was a repentant sinner who changed his ways and came to serve as both chief judge and high priest among the Nephites in the Book of Mormon. During the time of his ministry, the Nephites were in a period of relative peace,... Continue Reading →
