Response to Militant Atheism

Militant atheists like to use evolution as an argument against religion. It only works as an argument against religions that reject evolution. The faiths that have the most problem with evolution also seem to have the most problem with Latter-day Saint claims of modern revelation.

I have no problem with the idea that the Bible is not the only source of truth about where the world came from. In fact, to me the scriptures address the why, and science addresses the how. I expect science to have new things to say about the origins of life and I expect prophets to have new things to say about how to make it better.

Evolution and revelation both fit the reality of an ever-changing and always progressing world.

Faith to Stand Fast

I had the chance to speak at Church today. Here is the text:

Brothers and sisters, I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But I have no idea why some of the things I pray for most earnestly are not granted. On some things it seems like Heaven is silent. It could be that I ask the wrong questions. There is a story from the Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. Parley was one of the early missionaries in the Church and faced severe persecution in some areas where he labored. In one location, he was unjustly imprisoned. He prayed and prayed to know when he would get out of prison. Eventually, Parley reduced his prayer to: “Will I get out of prison?” That night an angel visited Parley and said, “Yes, you will be freed.” Parley responded: “When?”

Faith in God also includes faith in His timing. That is why it requires faith to stand fast. Faith is trust that God will keep his promises. In Alma’s classic definition, faith is “hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:17).

The Father of the Faithful
Abraham is such an example of faith in God’s ability to fulfill His promises that he is known as the father of the faithful. God had promised Abraham something impossible. At 100 years old, Abraham was as good as dead. His wife, Sara, was only 10 years younger. For them to have a son was impossible. Abraham essentially said, ‘so what?’ The scriptural phrase is, “he staggered not… through unbelief.” God promises impossible things and delivers. In Abraham’s mind, having the promise of God was as good as the promise already being fulfilled. Abraham was “fully persuaded that, what [God] had promised, he was able also to perform” (Romans 4:18-21).

Joseph Smith had the kind of faith we are talking about from his earliest days. When he found James 1:5 – which reads: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” – he had no doubt that God would answer his prayer.

Developing Faith
Faith like Abraham or Joseph Smith does not come by accident. There are some specific things we can do to help nurture our own faith. In the Book of Mormon, Alma compares the word of God to a seed and shows that if faith is nourished, it can grow until it brings forth fruit.

One of the first requirements Alma cites for the nourishment of faith is humility. Anyone who is not teachable will not develop faith. Next, Alma instructs us to “give place” in our hearts for the seed to be planted (Alma 32:28). There are several things we can do to give place for the word of God: read the scriptures, attend church and participate in the class discussions, and attend Institute. I am amazed at how the lessons at Institute are so often exactly what I have needed to hear to strengthen my faith. By placing myself in settings where the Spirit can speak to me, I have been reminded that God knows me and loves me.

When nourished, the fruit from the seed of the word of God will begin to “enlarge my soul” and “enlighten my understanding” (Alma 32:28). The fruit is the gifts of the Spirit: charity, testimony, miracles, prophecy, revelation, visions, and healing. These gifts teach us that God loves us and how we can show our love for Him – by serving others. Eventually, Alma describes the fruit as “the fruit of the tree of life” (Alma 32:40). So the ultimate fruit is to live again with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Remember the Covenants: Past, Present, and Future
We often sing of the Lord: “We’ve proved Him in days that are past” (Hymns 19). God’s kept promises give us reason for hope. Our individual and collective experiences give us ample reason to trust in the Lord.

One of THE purposes of the Book of Mormon is to show all Israel “the covenants (or promises) of the Lord” (Title Page). Alma taught: “For he will fulfil all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers” (Alma 37:17, emphasis added). Alma helps us have faith in God’s promises to us by reminding us of the promises already fulfilled to ancient Israel.

Nephi had to constantly remind his wayward brothers of the great things the Lord had done for their fathers in delivering them from Egypt. He says: “And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?” (1 Nephi 17:51). We need to constantly ask that same question: ‘how is it that the Lord cannot instruct me?’

Faith in the Promises
The problem that led Joseph Smith to pray in 1820 was “they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.” (JS-H 1:19). They didn’t believe the promises. If we don’t believe the promises, we are no different. The Lord has made tremendous promises to us – in the scriptures, through modern prophets, but also in our patriarchal blessings. Do we believe what the Lord has promised us there? Of all people, we should have faith in God’s promises.

Luke asked, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). In the Lord’s preface to the Doctrine and Covenants, he said one purpose of the Restoration was “that faith may increase in the earth” (D&C 1:21). Without the gospel context of promises and covenants, there would be no faith - or at least not much faith – on the earth.

I served my mission in Philadelphia. One of the most heartrending things I saw was the lack of intact families. It seemed that very few had fathers in the whole city. The missing fathers imply broken promises, or at least promises that should have been made but never were. The phrase from the parable of the sheep and goats: “As ye have done it unto one of the least of these… ye have done it unto me” certainly applies to breaking or keeping promises to our families (Matthew 25:40).

Broken promises are like wrecking balls leaving individuals, families, communities, and nations in shambles. Rightly did modern prophets warn that the disintegration of the family would bring destruction (see The Family: A Proclamation to the World).

Mortal life is specifically structured so that we may learn to be like our Heavenly Father. We learn firsthand the disastrous consequences of un-kept promises, infidelity, and the lack of faith. We also have the opportunity to make the most important kinds of promises: sacred covenants, the keeping of which will activate the power of the atonement in our lives.

Joseph Smith taught that “Being born again comes by the spirit of God through ordinances” (TPJS 162). Or, in other words, being born again comes by the Spirit through making and keeping promises.

Faith to Anchor the Souls of Men
Our faith in Jesus Christ allows the possibility of hope strong enough to anchor the souls of men (see Ether 12:4). When God makes a promise, He delivers. Ultimate hope, hope in the resurrection through Jesus Christ, is what Moroni calls “a more excellent hope” (Ether 12:32). Proximate, short-term hopes – like getting to date a particular girl or getting a particular job offer – are often disappointed. But these need not diminish our faithfulness to eternal promises. Neal A. Maxwell reminds us not to mistake local cloud cover for general darkness (see Lord, Increase Our Faith, 43-44).

In a masterpiece of a talk, Elder Holland points out just one more promise we have: “Mine angels shall go before you, and also my presence, and in time ye shall possess the goodly land” (D&C 103:20). Elder Holland continues, “What goodly land? Your goodly land. Your promised land. Your New Jerusalem. Your own little acre flowing with milk and honey. Your future. Your dreams. Your destiny” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence” BYU Speeches 98-99).

Faith and hope centered in Jesus Christ allow us to be “steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works” (Mosiah 5:15). We can see the promise of the resurrection, when we will be united forever with our families. We can see past difficulty and disappointment, and hold on to our faith. We can know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ covers not just our sins, but our sicknesses, our sorrows, our heartaches, and our trials (see Alma 7:11-13).

In evaluating your own faith, the best questions would be: Do you keep your baptismal covenants? Do you keep your temple covenants? Do you renew all your covenants regularly? Or, to borrow some grammar from the 19th century: Does you, or does you not keep your promise?

I <3 EFY

I have been away for most of July doing something great. I took two weeks to be a counselor at Especially For Youth in San Antonio. Each week at EFY, I was responsible for 12 boys, ages 16 - 18. I have never had an experience like that in my life. EFY is incredibly fun, but also intensely spiritual.

My goal each week was to get my boys excited to serve a mission. I had several boys who were already excited, and a few who became excited by the end of their week at EFY. A couple of stories:

They ask new EFY counselors to show up for training the weekend before the kids arrive. On Sunday night, we had a fireside with the session director - the main teacher and instructor of the week. For the opening hymn before the first session, we sang I am a Child of God. I have never been struck by that simple song in that way. The Spirit was powerful as it washed over me and really taught me that I am a Child of God.

I have been taught the Gospel my whole life, but lately I have noticed my most powerful spiritual experiences are tied to the most simple and basic principles of the Gospel - things I have been taught since Primary. I attribute the special power of the Spirit at that Sunday night fireside to two things: the quality of the people I was working with - the group who takes time out of their lives to work with those kids are consecrating their time to the work of the Lord, and that the work of that next week would have a transforming power for some of those kids we served.

The next story also involves that same song. For the second San Antonio session, they brought a couple of hundred of Hispanic kids from Houston. EFY had not previously been heavily promoted to the two Spanish stakes, so most of these kids had never been to EFY before. There was a special Spirit the whole week and on Thursday, they have a musical program in preparation for the testimony meetings later that night.

One of the young sisters from those Spanish stakes sang a verse of I am a Child of God as a solo in Spanish. When the week started, the white kids and the Hispanic kids didn't really know how to interact. Their taste in music at the dances was different. The Spanish kids were all bilingual, and there were barriers between the groups of kids.

That familiar song, sung in Spanish, combined with other things that week to unify the groups despite different cultural backgrounds. It taught us all in a special way that we are all children of God.

Teaching Things I Did Not Previously Know

One of the great benefits of teaching in the Church is that when you have prepared diligently and under the influence of the Spirit, the lesson will improve in the delivery. I was teaching from this talk on service last Sunday in Elders Quorum. The sermon of Brigham Young where the handcart companies were out on the plains was brought up. Brigham's message was to bring those Saints in or your faith is vain.

As we discussed that I made a connection I hadn't thought of before. In the Old Testament, Naaman was told to wash in the River Jordan seven times to be cleansed from leprosy. He walked away angry. Naaman's wise servant asked, "My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?" (2 Kings 5:13). I think it is easier to do some of the big stuff, like saving the Saints on the plains, than to wash in the Jordan seven times.

Serving a mission is a big deal. It is one of the big sacrifices the Church asks us to do. But, how often after a mission do we get lazy and fat, spiritually speaking? I think it is much easier to go on a mission than to do home teaching every month. I do terrible at home teaching. I do other things better, but that one area of my ministry is weak. It is the modern equivalent of washing seven times in the Jordan.

A Little Perspective

Every once in a while, I find something that reminds me how sweet life is and can be. This talk, given at BYU-Idaho, was very touching to me. The speaker, Ann M. Dibb, is a daughter of President Monson. Several stories she shares brought tears to my eyes. Some remind me of my grandpa, who has always been one of my best friends.

How grateful I am to have a prophet named Thomas S. Monson! Few men have been able to live with such love and faith in all their actions. The example he sets is worthy of emulation, and if I can do a better job, it will bring me closer to Christ.

Religion vs. Athiesm

Every once in a while, the argument comes up about how religious people believe in God and that makes them better. The irreligious retorts, 'but do you think I am a bad person because I do not believe in God?' Often the irreligious will provide many examples of evil things done in the name of religion, but there are also many examples of evil done against religion.

After Mitt Romney gave his "Faith in America" speech, there were complaints that he essentially gave the shaft to atheists in the United States. I have thought since his withdrawal from the presidential race about his speech at CPAC. He very subtly addressed the accusations against his Faith speech. He said, "Americans love God, and those who don't have faith, typically believe in something greater than themselves."

That is the key to everyone. If the religionist or atheist is a good person, it is because they believe in something. Many who claim to be religious really believe in satisfying themselves (or as we sometimes say - pride), and many who are atheist have a strong sense of right and wrong which leads them to live exemplary lives. So really, everyone has guiding principles no matter the belief system.

But then that gets back to faith. What is it good for? Why bother with all these rules, the guilt of sin, and the impossibility of a God who is the Father of all nations hearing and answering each prayer?

Well, we have already seen that everyone believes in something. For some it is no deeper than themselves. For others it expands to their families, communities, or nations. For others still, they believe in God.

Truth matters. Each person has a responsibility to find and accept and live by as much truth as possible. The danger lies in feeling you have all the truth. The faithful and faithless who have nothing to learn are the most intolerant people on the planet. Joseph Smith asked, "Why be so certain that you comprehend the things of God, when all things with you are so uncertain?" (TPJS 320).

It is easy to turn religion into a club. Someone could quote John 3:16 and say, God loves the world... therefore you should do such and such. In the Book of Mormon, Nephi warns that "many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible" (2 Nephi 29:3). (I was a little too fond of that verse as a missionary. I don't know that I read it to anyone, but when I read it to myself, I only saw others not accepting more scripture.)

If God were really concerned with the Gentiles hearing this warning, the Book of Mormon was a terrible place to hide it! I think we in the Church sometimes forget that whatever Israelite blood we have from the lost tribes, we are still Gentiles from Nephi's perspective. His warning was directed more towards the Latter-day Saints. We can feel we have the Book of Mormon and don't need any more, or that the Doctrine and Covenants has all we need.

The Restoration came to give us continuous revelation. Joseph Smith lamented, "there has been a great difficulty in getting anything in the heads of this generation. It has been like splitting hemlock knots with a corn-dodger for a wedge, and a pumpkin for a beetle. Even the Saints are slow to understand" (TPJS 331). How much more could we have revealed to us if we were ready to recieve it?

The whole point of Nephi's warning is that we can never become complacent about our knowledge of the truth. If we are satisfied that we have all the truth, we will begin to use it as a weapon to beat others into the image we think they should conform to. The truth gives us no right to treat others with anything other than love and respect. Instead, we "are without affection, and [we] hate [our] own blood" (Moses 7:33).

To address some of my questions from earlier: the rules of the Gospel are revealed from heaven and are given to provide us with safety. Guilt serves a purpose: "when conscience calls to us from the next ridge, it is not solely to scold but also to beckon" (Neal A. Maxwell, October 1976 Conference). Perhaps I will take up faith and prayers some other day.

Saints Indeed

I heard a terrific story tonight at institute. There is a little ward in our stake (I don't think I should share the exact location). At the local university, a Christian fraternity decided they needed to call those crazy Mormons to repentance. A group of them decided to attend the sacrament meeting.

Halfway through the meeting, they stood up and started making a scene while trying to save the Mormons. These good Saints responded in an inspired way. They began singing "Come, Come Ye Saints." What a good example of Christlike response to what could have been an ugly situation!

(This has always been one of my favorite Hymns, so here is MoTab singing it. Enjoy:)


Admittedly, the sequel is pretty satisfying as well. The provost of the unmentioned university was a member of the bishopric and had the fraternity disbanded and removed from the campus.

Debt, Consecration, and Freedom

I try to find connections between different parts of the Gospel. One that I have noticed is that personal debt is related to consecration. The scriptures tell us to sacrifice all we have for the Kingdom of God. Modern Chruch leaders constantly tell us to avoid debt for everything except a house and an education.

It is self evident that personal debt, especially consumer debt, places us in a kind of bondage. We become slaves to our creditors. Because we are not free, we are unable to consecrate all things to the Lord. There may come a time when more couples will be called to serve as missionaries and their personal finances will prevent them from serving, despite a high income or nice lifestyle.

Being a slave steals our agency. When we don't choose our life's path, we will never become the son or daughter of God that we should. It is the same with the Word of Wisdom; addictions steal our agency. God wants us to be free, even at the cost of bumping our heads - severely sometimes. That explains His commandments. They really offer protection.

What is Deep Religion?

This is a great article from Orson Scott Card. It addresses how deep our belief systems really run. He starts with:

I'VE LONG BEEN amused and perplexed by parents who proudly announce that they are not going to "force" their religion on their children. "We'll let them decide for themselves when they grow up," they say.

and continues later with:

And if you somehow manage to separate your children's upbringing from your deep religion, all that will mean is you have raised your children at such distance from yourself that they do not know you. What have you accomplished then, except to make your children spiritual orphans from the start?

Part of what he says is that those who really know what they believe deep down are able to live transformed lives.

No wonder conversion is so difficult, both within yourself and as a missionary trying to share the gospel with everyone else. Each of us must find out what lies at our very core. That is why personal conversion is so vital (especially for missionaries). How can we influence other people without knowing for ourselves?

Joseph Smith said in a letter from Liberty Jail:

The things of God are of deep import. And time, and experience and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O man, if thou wilt lead a soul to salvation must stretch as high as the utmost heaven and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss and the broad expanse of eternities. Thou must commune with God. (TPJS 137)

Only when we have experienced communion with God will we have any ability to share that with someone else.

Happy Easter

I thought I would pass on this terrific new video from the Church. I don't know how to embed it, so here is the link:

http://www.jesuschrist.lds.org/SonOfGod/eng/the-bread-of-life/video/the-bread-of-life.

As interesting as writing about the political landscape can be, it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. The Gospel of Jesus Christ trumps all else. One day, all that we see around us will decay. The one bright hope we have is Jesus Christ.

Joseph Smith described salvation as "nothing more nor less than to triumph over all our enemies and put them under our feet" (TPJS 297). Today, we celebrate the day the the last enemy was conquered. To live after we have died is impossible. But that is the point. Jesus Christ has guaranteed that each of us will live after we have died.

Just as the garden tomb is now empty, every grave will empty.

The Only Way To Get It Is To Give It Away

What do any of us want out of life?

Economics is the study of scarcity. To get things you have to be frugal, make choices between competing ideas, and live without certain things.

Looking at corporate America, it is very much a fixed pie scenario. There is only so much pie, and to "maximize your utility," as they say, you have to take it from someone else. This is not all cold and hard business, of course; different people want different things. There are opportunities to expand the pie in some cases.

The classic example from the negotiations class is two people who want a lemon. If they cut the lemon down the middle, each should be happy, right? Not if they want the lemon for different reasons. One person may want the juice for lemonade, and the other may want the skin for baking. Dividing the lemon according to pulp and skin is an example of trying to expand the pie.

Business easily misses ideal solutions because they are so intent on protecting their piece of pie. I think small business gets these things better, because it runs on a more personal basis, but business myopia is still hard to combat.

When most people discuss what really matters in life, it is not merely money and power. Some may not act like money and power are unimportant, but few people actually say the purpose of life is money and power. The problem with business becoming the purpose of life for so many people is that they think business principles apply to everything.

So, back to my original question: What do any of us want out of life? Almost everyone will list things like family, friendship, happiness, faith, hope, love, and the list could go on. The only way to get these things is to give them away freely.

In a terrific book called Six Events, Steven R. Covey describes the difference between a scarcity mentality and an abundance mentality. "People with a scarcity mentality," he says, "have a difficult time being genuinely happy for the success of others, even family members or close friends" (p. 53). What a sad state, yet it is so easy to feel that way.

On the other hand (now I sound like an economist), "Charity, or the pure love of Christ, produces an abundance mentality so that we're never threatened by the success of other people" (p. 54).

I am convinced that no matter what we really want in life, the only way to get it is to give it away and help as many other people find it as possible.

My Life in the Chruch

In response to Elder Ballard's challenge, I will tell a little about my experience as a member of the Church. I attended a religious seminary class every morning before school all four years of high school. Since then, I have read the scriptures essentially every day. Daily scripture reading changed my life. Before I started reading, I was a terrible high school student. The spiritual nourishment of seminary and scripture reading gave me purpose. I became a stellar student and that all combined to prepare me to serve a mission for two years preaching the Gospel in Philadelphia. I was never happier.

On my mission I learned to express myself to others. I learned the Gospel by giving all I had to the work. There is no other opportunity to offer all my money, time, and energy to the Lord. That sacrifice has set the path of my life. I then attended BYU, where I took religion classes from the best teachers in all the Church. I took classes on Isaiah, the New Testament, The Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and anything else I could fit in my schedule. I was never happier.

A little over a year ago, President Hinckley, the prophet of the Lord, issued a challenge to the men of the Church. He said to obtain all the education we could. I took that challenge seriously. After that challenge, I prepared for and took the GMAT. I have started the MBA program at Texas A&M University. And I have never been happier.

I have learned from all these experiences that the happiest times in life come when I follow the prophet. Nothing has been easy, but it isn't supposed to be. I believe more and more that the greater the challenges, the greater the joy. Jesus certainly experienced that. He endured the cross for the joy that was set before him. In life, we all have our own crosses to carry. The cross I have had to figuratively carry has taught me that God lives and knows me. Not only that, but He is interested in the affairs of my life. I could never have planned the course my life has taken, but I can plainly see that God's hand has directed my path. Whatever price I must pay to become acquainted with God is worth the price. Nephi was highly favored in his afflictions. Really, it is only through affliction that anyone realizes how highly favored they are.

I Thought This Was A Masterpiece

I know this is long, but it would be a shame to paraphrase.

You already know basic LDS doctrine—the idea of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. And that PBS special gave you glimpses into our homes and our peculiarities, and introduced you to some of the controversies and oxymorons we live with. But I still want to answer your question, What does it mean to be LDS.?

My instant answer is that the core of the LDS religion is an eternal view of everything—from before birth to long after death. It is a series of enlarging circles.

I write this from my woman’s perspective, and in 2007. Some things may change over the next fifty years, but this is what I have seen and been in my nearly 52 years of life as a Mormon.

As an infant, my parents’ firstborn, I was taken in my father’s arms and given a name and a blessing. There, I was at the center of a priesthood circle. Other men (probably my uncles, though of course I don’t remember), joined Dad as he blessed me. They each put one hand under my little body and one hand on the shoulder of the person standing next to them. They literally and symbolically supported me, and joined their faith with my dad’s. This circle—a prayer circle, if you will—is a common one in our community.

Though Dad was in his early twenties when he gave me that first blessing, he had already served a three-year mission for the Church in Finland, during which he anointed the sick and gave other blessings by the laying on of hands and by virtue of the priesthood (usually referred to as the Melchizedek Priesthood, but actually called the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God). Dad was never formally trained in this priesthood, but was ordained to various offices in it from the time he was twelve, learning “line upon line, precept upon precept.”

I suspect my father was tearful at the miracle of my tiny body, and at the responsibility I introduced. He was a student, pursuing an advanced degree, and Mom was a recent college graduate. Though poor and struggling under the rigors of academia, it was nothing new for Dad to claim priesthood authority as he blessed me, and, knowing Dad, he did this with great faith. I’m sure he blessed Mom before her hard labor began (I have watched him bless her several times before childbirth), and he would continue giving priesthood blessings to me and to my siblings throughout our lives—the most difficult one being at my brother’s hospital bedside after we were told he would not survive the injuries he had sustained in an accident. That brother, Dad’s namesake (Bobby), lifted his arms as high as he could when Dad walked into the ER room. Bobby was threaded and tubed to monitors and IVs, and being transfused. He said one word: “Hug.” And that’s it—that’s the picture. Dad is maneuvering around the ganglia of wires and tubes to embrace his son, and then to bless him. It’s a godly scene. It expresses the image I have of God—a corporeal being who can reach around our mortal mischief and earthbound wiring to embrace us in the fullness of His glory, no matter how damaged we are.

Later, when Dad’s pancreas failed, it was Bobby who blessed him. That’s the Mormon circle.

Often, at the beginning of a school year or at moments of crisis, a Mormon father will place his hands on the head of his child or of his wife and say the words, “In the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, I bless you.” He will try to open his soul to whatever words God would have him say. His faith that God can reveal things to him magnifies his sense of a divine and loving Father in Heaven, and also magnifies his love for the one he is blessing. That principle—that everyone can receive revelation, and that everyone can be a priest (and yes, a priestess)—is core to Mormonism.

By the time I was five, I learned the words to the most frequently sung Primary song: “I am a Child of God/ And He has sent me here/ Has given me an earthly home/with parents kind and dear.” I grew up understanding before I understood anything else that God was the father of my spirit, and knew who I was, that he knew me by name.

At age eight, I was baptized, and again surrounded by a circle of men and blessed by my father. This time, I was confirmed a member of the Church and instructed to “receive the Holy Ghost.”

At age twelve, I began what we now call Young Women’s. It has changed somewhat since I entered the program, and I like the changes. Each YW class starts this way: One of the girls stands and asks, “Who will stand for truth and righteousness?” The others then rise and answer, “I will stand for truth and righteousness.” Together, they recite, “We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places…”

Again, that communal circle of commitment, and the individual reiteration of a real and loving God embrace a Mormon’s world.

I was still twelve when I got my Patriarchal Blessing, given (as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob blessed their sons) in the spirit of revelation. My grandfather was an ordained Patriarch, so my blessing begins, “Dear grand-daughter, Margaret Jean Blair.” Almost all Patriarchal blessings contain yet another message of God’s love. Among many other things, my blessing says that because I am the firstborn in my family, I am to “be a guide and to set an example for [my] younger brothers and sisters, even as a star sets the course for the mariner.” It also says something which became deeply important during my teenage years: “Know that your parents love you.”

When I went to the temple at age twenty-four, I was introduced to other circles and embraces. I began wearing “garments,”–underclothes which remind me daily of the promises I have made to God. I live in a world of symbols and metaphors. I wear them, and I love them. If I could, I would dance the temple rituals with uplifted arms and jubilant music. I would bless and receive blessings; I would praise and thank God with every part of my body.

I became a writer, a historian, a sometimes scholar, and a teacher. But I always understood that my most important roles would be as my husband’s wife and my children’s mother—just as Bruce’s most important roles would be as my husband and as their father.

One of the most beautiful days of my life was when Bruce and I went to the temple with our oldest daughter and watched her marry a good man. Mormon weddings don’t have long aisles and cathedral-filling organ chords. In fact, there’s no music at all, and we can’t see much of the bridal gown, because it is covered by temple robes. In a small room, furnished with a cloth-covered altar and fifty chairs or so, the temple sealer (in this case, my uncle—though it’s not usually a family member) gives counsel to the couple, and then instructs the groom to lead his bride to the altar. There, they kneel facing each other, and a sealer binds them together for “time and eternity.” It is a holy and quiet ceremony. The coordinated bridesmaid dresses and perfect cake wait until the reception.

After I die, I will be dressed in my temple robes for burial. My daughters will cover my face with my temple veil before the casket is closed. One of my sons will likely dedicate my grave—again in the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood. This time, my body will be supported by pall bearers, probably my sons and grandsons. I hope many of my posterity will have served missions by then, and that my sons will have blessed their own babies. I hope I will see it all. I hope I will enjoy one living circle before I am enclosed in the earth: the circle where my husband and I hold a great-grandbaby right before she is given a name and a blessing.

So the core of my Mormon life, Pastor, is Jesus Christ. My life began by being consecrated to Him in the center of that priesthood circle, and it will end with someone dedicating my grave in His name. I hope that His name will also be engraved in the marrow of my bones and in the eternal cells of my immortal soul. I fully believe that He knows me by name, and that my name—with yours and everyone else’s—is already engraved in his hands and in his heart.

My Email to The Corner at NRO

I sent this in response to this article at National Review Online. I doubt they will publish it so I will here.

Philosophers have argued about evil since time immemorial. If God is good, and God is all powerful, how can He allow evil to happen? Also, from the Judeo-Christian perspective, God created all things. Therefore, some conclude, God created evil. Some deny the existence of evil. Others question the existence of God. Others still, wonder if God could really be all powerful.

The Mormon perspective is that creation was not ex nihilo. Things you see were made of something. Even all of humanity existed as spirit children of God before birth on this planet. Good parents sometimes raise bad children. Children bring something with them from their previous life. This is not some funky version of reincarnation. Actually it is a belief that birth on earth is a step forward in eternal progression.

Mormon theology teaches that one thing we had before birth and we bring with us is our moral agency. There was a war in heaven where one third of His children chose not to follow God and thus were denied the opportunity for mortal birth. They remain disembodied spirits for eternity because of their choices. This moral agency is something so precious to God that he will not interfere with it, even if it means suffering in this life. Without our agency and choice, we would be automatons to be acted upon, not Children who knowingly choose to become more like God by choosing good.

The Mormon question is not 'Why evil?', but 'Why agency?' Clearly there is some purpose which is higher for God than preventing suffering. The Mormon answer is found in God's statement in Moses 1:39: "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Something about this mortal experience prepares us to become more like God and to return - not for the first time - to His presence.

France and Europe are messed up.

Last week sometime, French students were rioting by the millions over freedom given in a new law to employers. The students were bent out of shape because this new law made it easier to fire younger workers. Unemployment among young workers in France is supposed to be 25% to 50% in some areas. The business owners won't hire them because it is too hard to fire them. The youth complain that having to compete for their jobs is too much like evil American Capitalism. Sheesh. And I thought our welfare nanny state-ism was out of hands.

About a month ago Muslim youth were rioting in the streets of France for some of the same reasons.

Elder L. Tom Perry recently delivered a devotional at BYU-I and said of he and his wife's trip to Europe:

We witnessed the de-Christianization of Europe. Europe is beginning the 21st century in a new and uncharted phase of history. People of these great nations are embracing secularization. Most secularized value systems reason that the human being has total autonomy. An individual does not have to give an accounting to anything or anyone except himself and, to a certain extent, to the society in which he lives. Secularization becomes a force for bringing about false ideas and the breaking down of old traditions that have held civilizations together.

This secular lifestyle has a spiritual and moral price. It has brought with it a curse of extreme worldliness and selfishness, the decline of public and private morality, and the defiance of authority, favoring individual freedom over responsibility to society, community and the world. Another result is a declining birthrate to below replacement levels. Filling the gap of these reduced numbers will be those of strong non-Christian faiths. It is forecast that the native German population will drop from 85 million to 25 million by the turn of the next century.

My concern is that we are following the same pattern towards secularization. We have embraced and committed ourselves to the gospel of Jesus Christ which is completely contrary to Satan’s plan. He is doing all he can to destroy families. Throughout your life, you must set an example to safeguard the principles and doctrines which will bring the blessings of the Lord.

People don't understand the consequences of their actions. People cut ties to families (or never even make those ties in the first place), turn to government for help, and then they wonder why society and civility fall apart.