{"id":65487,"date":"2018-09-22T15:40:09","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T21:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=65487"},"modified":"2018-09-23T18:53:59","modified_gmt":"2018-09-24T00:53:59","slug":"the-benefits-of-belief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/09\/the-benefits-of-belief.html","title":{"rendered":"“The Benefits of Belief”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"UVU<\/a>
A view on the campus of Utah Valley University, which is very near my home.
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last night, my wife and I enjoyed an elders quorum dinner, with a sizeable percentage of the quorum, at the home of the quorum president. \u00a0(One of his counselors hosted another simultaneous dinner at his place.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve said many times here before, one of the things that I most appreciate about membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> is the genuine community that it provides. \u00a0Our neighborhood is far more caring and cohesive than it would otherwise be, in my judgment, because of widely shared membership in the Church.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tonight, though, we have the Saturday session of our stake conference, and we know that unit boundary changes are coming. \u00a0There\u2019ve been plenty of rumors \u2014 I\u2019ve tried to stoke the flames a bit by offering my own, to the effect that every other house on the north side of our street is going to be assigned to the Springville 18th Ward, while the alternate homes will be apportioned to the American Fork 7th Ward \u2014 but, from what I\u2019ve been able to deduce, our own congregation will be relatively unaffected. \u00a0We may lose some members to other units, and we may gain a few, but we\u2019ll be otherwise substantially untouched.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s good. \u00a0Because it always hurts a bit to lose people from your community. \u00a0For a number of years, there was a ward division right down the middle of our small little street. \u00a0We were assured, when it came, that it wouldn\u2019t make much of a difference, but it did. \u00a0We largely lost touch with the daily lives of those who lived right across from us. In other words, we relapsed into pretty much the same position, with regard to our neighbors, that\u2019s true of many non-LDS neighborhoods elsewhere. \u00a0I didn\u2019t like it, and we were overjoyed when our street was put back together again.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is an updated video, less than 4.5 minutes long, about the recent visit of President Russell M. Nelson and President Henry B. Eyring to the Pacific Northwest; it now includes their event in Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as the one that took place the previous evening in Seattle, Washington:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Nelson Shares Life Lessons in Pacific Northwest:\u00a0President Eyring joins prophet on visit to Seattle and Vancouver, BC\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The apostles are almost always out and about. \u00a0It\u2019s not a particularly relaxing way to spend one\u2019s last years or decades.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cElder Bednar speaks in Mexico about the importance of applying the teachings of the Savior\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Including both members of the Church and others:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c4,000 Typhoon Mangkhut evacuees find refuge at Latter-day Saint meetinghouses\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a five-minute video from a Catholic philosopher, Peter Kreeft, whom I very much admire:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Benefits of Belief\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I recommend it very strongly. \u00a0I wish that we Latter-day Saints produced more such videos. \u00a0In fact, it\u2019s a goal of mine to someday produce some materials along these lines.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I like this idea:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGospel Haiku\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why don\u2019t you<\/em> give it a try?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In other Church-related news:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMormon church takes another step in its anti-Prop 2 push, invites female bloggers to meeting about medical marijuana\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From four days ago:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNorth Carolina Relief Society ministers to flood victims \u2018on a whole new level\u2019 following Hurricane Florence\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget the Interpreter Radio Show<\/a> on Sunday night, 7-9 PM Utah time. \u00a0It\u2019s accessible both via broadcast radio and via the Internet:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/the-interpreter-radio-show\/<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Last night, my wife and I enjoyed an elders quorum dinner, with a sizeable percentage of the quorum, at the home of the quorum president. \u00a0(One of his counselors hosted another simultaneous dinner at his place.) \u00a0 As I\u2019ve said many times here before, one of the things that I most appreciate about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1014,2427,55,1510,401],"class_list":["post-65487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-atheism","tag-community","tag-mormonism","tag-religion-and-health","tag-theism"],"yoast_head":"\n"The Benefits of Belief"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Last night, my wife and I enjoyed an elders quorum dinner, with a sizeable percentage of the quorum, at the home of the quorum president.\" 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