Category: Jesus Christ

An Adulterous Woman and Her Men

John 8 recounts a most interesting story. Jesus is on the Mt. of Olives, perhaps in or near the Garden of Gethsemane. Early in the morning He went unto the temple and scribes and Pharisees brought a woman before him taken in adultery.

They set her in the midst and claimed to have taken the woman in the very act. Now what does that mean? Where is the man? They quote Moses as to her penalty. She is to be stoned, and in a pitiful attempt, the wisdom of the natural man tempts God,

“What sayest thou?” they ask of the Savior.

A Christmas Gift Your Family Will Never Forget

It was Christmas Eve as Mark emerged from the office. Walking up to his new car, he noticed a street urchin circling with admiration.

“Is this your car Mister?” he asked.

Mark nodded, “My brother gave it to me as an early Christmas present.”

The boy look astounded. “You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you anything? Gosh I wish…”

He hesitated and Mark knew what he was going to wish. He was going to wish that he had a brother like that. But the lad’s actual wish jarred Mark to his inner core.

Missionary Blind Spots

I’m fascinated by the quick learning abilities of children when they play video games. Most recently my children received a Wii unit for Christmas. Before the day had expired Samuel, my 8-year-old son challenged me to a boxing match.

Finally, I thought, something electronic at which I can beat my children. I have formal training in the martial arts and can certainly move my hands quicker than my 8-year-old boy. The results? I didn’t make it past the first round. Sam KO’d me.

A Favor, A Present, A Gift

What is a favor? A favor is…

  • Something you do for someone expecting a return of equal or greater value
    • Hence the saying: return the favor.
  • A favorable word in behalf of someone else.
  • A letter of recommendation you write for someone
  • A kind deed that helps someone else get something or avoid something

What is a present? A present is…

  • A wrapped surprise given under obligation or in expectation
    • Birthday present
    • Easter present
    • Valentine’s present
    • Mother’s Day and Father’s Day present
    • Christmas present
  • Something that usually costs money

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

While in the pre-mortal life, our Father in Heaven informed us that we had to conduct 5 saving ordinances during our mortal probation.

  1. Baptism
  2. Gift of the Holy Ghost
  3. Priesthood
  4. Endowment
  5. Sealing

In chiasmatic fashion, the priesthood is the catalyst to all of them. Baptism is symbolic of the Savior’s death and resurrection and in modern-day parlance, it is a signed contract of agency to the Savior. We agree to the terms of membership.

A Type of Christ

Jesus Is The Christ

Have you ever wondered how you’d respond had you lived during the days of the restoration? If a Mormon missionary bearing the news that the heavens were no longer sealed were to offer you a new bible bearing the unfamiliar name of Mormon, would you have listened?

I testify that the Book of Mormon was true before it was ever translated. The Lord teaches His children through many different methods, one of which is through symbolism called types. A type is a person or thing that exemplifies something or somebody else.

The Abrahamic Test

God’s happiness is not associated with His children’s behavior. His happiness is that He provides all of his children with the ability to come back into His presence.

Each of us are tried for our own good that we may know our own selves. By knowing who we are, God may provide us with exaltation.

So why do bad things happen to good people? Research has shown that there are 13 reasons in scripture: only 1 of the reasons is because good people behave badly.

2 Nephi 9:48

The Second Coming: Who Knows?

Question:  Who knows the exact time and date of the Lord’s Second Coming?

In the book Jesus The Christ, by James Talmage, pg. 575, we read:

All speculation concerning the time of the Lord’s appearing, whether based on assumption, deduction, or calculation of dates, was forestalled by Christ’s averment: “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”  (Mark 13:32)

This is Mark’s version of the passage.  Matthew omits the phrase, neither the Son.  The JST leaves the phrase in according to Br. Talmage.
On page 589, the appendix to the chapter, Br. Talmage adds the following explanation:

Jesus Christ: The Cornerstone of America

Jesus Christ: The Cornerstone of America
October 24, 1999


Thomas Jefferson said: “Those who expect to be ignorant and to be free, expect something that never was and never will be.”

Everyone within this room has an innate desire to be free. But free from what? Free from pain, free from hunger, free from fatigue, free from fat, free from pimples, free from finding a date every weekend, free from homework, free from finding a job when school is finished. Free from political correctness, (the anti-thesis of the 1st amendment), free from government, free from sin, free from crime, free from a menacing lack of self-esteem. Free from big thighs, skinny legs, that guy in your math class who won’t leave you alone. Free from the past! Free from the present and even free from the future.