Is it possible that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will happen within the next decade? For those who have followed the advice given by Jesus Christ in the New Testament to watch for the signs of his coming in the last days of the earth’s mortal existence, the answer to that question is likely yes. There is actually a relatively obscure prophecy that has to do with the Atlanta, Georgia Temple dedication in 1983 that may be of interest... Read more
This world is in desperate need of good male leaders, righteous men who demonstrate what it means to have integrity, to be masculine, to have intense faith and spirituality, to be protectors of family and freedom, and to be committed to fulfilling the specific roles given to us when our male spirits were created previous to being born into this life. The gospel of Jesus Christ requires us to become his disciples, which means that we pattern our lives after... Read more
A couple weeks ago, my wife received a group text message from someone in our ward inviting several couples to go together to watch the movie “The Oath”, which was self-labeled “the first Ancient American epic set in the pre-Columbian New World”. I had casually followed the movie’s developments for more than eight years, after learning from Darin Southam (the movie’s producer, who for some reason is now calling himself Darin Scott) about his desire to finally tell the story... Read more
I am one of seven children. I married a girl who has seven siblings. We both enjoyed and benefited immensely by growing up in large families, despite the many challenges and difficulties that come with having to share almost everything (including one-on-one time with parents), limited financial resources, and other aspects of growing up in a large household. Now, after 20 years of marriage, my wife and I have eight children of our own. On nearly a daily basis we... Read more
The essence of Christianity is the notion that Jesus Christ has made it possible for mankind, a collection of imperfect sinners who are incapable of achieving perfection on their own, to receive salvation. Salvation, often referred to in the scriptures as redemption, provides to the recipient the ability to be retrieved from being useless and disregarded and turned into something infinitely valuable. But what is salvation? What does it mean to be saved? What must a person do to qualify... Read more
In the Christian world, requirements to get to heaven tend to vary depending upon whose interpretation of the scriptures (mixed with some tradition and other inputs) you’re using. I’m going to discuss the topic of whether you have to be baptized to get to heaven, and I’ll use several scriptures from the New Testament to explain why baptism is such a critical aspect of receiving salvation The short answer to the question about whether a person needs to be baptized... Read more
The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 My daughter has been attending a Christian music camp over the past several weeks. As soon as others in her group at the camp found out that she is a... Read more
You may have heard of a little critter called a Mormon Cricket. While LDS Church president Russell M Nelson has asked that members of the church stop referring to themselves as Mormons (instead opting for the much more wordy “member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”), insects don’t seem to pay much attention to what people tell them to do, regardless of their position. So, “Mormon Cricket” it remains. I’m going to tell you the story of... Read more
Last week my wife, Lisa, and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. It just so happened that our anniversary fell, as it almost always does, on a day when we had an event scheduled for our family. My wife’s parents and siblings planned a weeklong reunion (that included our June 13 anniversary date) in Boerne, Texas, where my wife grew up and where her parents and many of our extended relatives live. Instead of being put out by having a... Read more
Likely the most convincing signs of the role and divinity of Jesus Christ was his ability to perform miracles. The New Testament describes more than 30 different occasions in which the Savior performed an act that was considered unexplainable through earthly means during his lifetime, but that also cannot be replicated by modern technology and science. I have summarized the miracles of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament below, including listing a commonly understood designation of what the miracle... Read more
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