Ever wonder if we interpret that scripture backwards? We usually hear it in the sense of, “If you’re wicked, you won’t be happy, so don’t be wicked!” But it could just as easily mean, “If you’re happy, then that’s a sign that you’re not wicked.” I think that, most of the time, that’s the more [...]
Archive for the ‘Church’ Category
“Wickedness Never Was Happiness”
Posted in Church, tagged alma 41:10, contrapositive, propositional logic on September 11, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Three Acts
Posted in Church, Green Hill, tagged city, garden, wilderness on September 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The traditional three-act epic (think Star Wars or Lord of the Rings) starts with the good guys receiving a quest (act 1). Then the bad guys almost stop the good guys from completing their quest (act 2), and finally the good guys triumph over the bad guys (act 3).
In church we get the three-act epic [...]
Reverence
Posted in Church, Musings, tagged beauty, cultural relativism, ethnocentrism, reverence, truth on August 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I received an email today, entitled “Reverence is more than just quietly sitting…”, that included the following quote on reverence:
Reverence has more to do with politics than with religion. We can easily imagine religion without reverence; we see it, for example, wherever religion leads people into aggressive war or violence. But power without reverence — [...]
Sunday Afternoon
Posted in Church, tagged justification, many salvations, sanctification, temple on April 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Last Sunday I got to listen to the afternoon session of General Conference. My recent post about different kinds of salvation caused me to especially notice Elder Bednar’s talk. He said,
[t]he process of taking upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ that is commenced in the waters of baptism is continued and enlarged in the [...]
Many Salvations
Posted in Church, Musings, tagged bulletproof monk, salvation on April 5, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Last night Heather and I watched the movie Bulletproof Monk. I enjoyed it as a fun action flick, but it had a sub-theme of enlightenment that stuck out to me. Just before the movie, I had been reading 3 Nephi 14, wherein Jesus says,
strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto [...]
The Pre-Meeting Video
Posted in Church, School, Work, tagged context, effective meetings on February 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »
At church, work, and school, I’ve had the opportunity to [be compelled to] attend training meetings. Thursday last week, I got a call from our high council representative that the stake wanted all priesthood leadership to attend a training meeting after church on Sunday. Since the meeting was organized on short notice, I figured that [...]
Offended
Posted in Church, Family, Friends, Musings, tagged offended, offense, pop psychology, relationships on November 23, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I’ve got a new theory on being offended. Maybe it’s really not so much about being upset as it is about finding an excuse to not have to put effort into a relationship.
Being a friend, or even a church acquaintance, takes a certain amount of time commitment to maintain the relationship. Sometimes we find that [...]
Holy Technology, Sacred Innovation
Posted in Church, Musings, tagged religion, shinto, shrine, technology, temple, zion on November 12, 2008 | 1 Comment »
As missionaries in Japan, we would visit a local Shinto shrine for the New Year’s celebration. One year, while enjoying the traditional beauty of the sacred site, my companion and I got to contrasting the atmosphere of the shrines with that of our own temples.
Both are pleasant to the eye and to the heart. (I’ve [...]
