This week’s lesson might sound like a repeat from the previous lesson on Plan of Salvation, but it is much more specifically focused on one of my favorite aspects of our theology: the 3 degrees of glory. Continue reading…
Archive for the 'salvation' Category
I read an interesting blog site that posed this very question from a Hindu perspective. It was thoughtfully worded, so I thought I would include some key excerpts. Continue reading…
Here is an idea that has been kicking around in my head for many years. I thought I would 
see if I could really articulate it and get some feedback.
Premise: Feeling guilt is an excuse for not repenting. Continue reading…
Can all sins be reduced to just one sin: pride? Is pride essentially the root cause of all sins?
A unique facet of Mormonism is our view of God’s plan for his children, or our purpose in life. Today’s lesson focuses on what JS restored regarding this plan. Continue reading…
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God[...] and another book was opened, which is the book of life[...] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
-Revelation Ch. 20 (vs. 12-15)
Love is a burning thing and it makes a fiery ring. Bound by wild desire, I fell into a ring of fire.
-Johnny Cash
In the LDS church, members are written into the book of life with their baptism and confirmation. For some, the love affair with the gospel can truly become a fiery passion. That passion produces its greatest defenders, but sometimes the fire consumes its lover. So the stage is set for the most intense crime of passion, the greatest act of violence… the blotting out of a name from the book of life. Continue reading…
Take this assessment and find out:
(Taken from D. Jeff Burton’s For Those Who Wonder : forthosewhowonder.com. Similar to a Correlation Department survey on Religion and Life conducted among LDS Church members in the mid-1980s)
Section I: Measures of Participation and Activity in Standard Church Programs
1. How often do you attend the temple? Continue reading…
We pray. We read scriptures. We go to Church. We fulfill our callings. We obey our Church leaders. As much as we’d like to think that what we do is based on selfless, altruistic motives, I think an honest self-examination will reveal that many of our choices are motivated by our desire for an eternal reward in the hereafter, or to avoid an eternal punishment. But what exactly is the eternal reward we are seeking, and what is the eternal punishment we are trying to avoid? Continue reading…
We talk all the time in our Church about returning to God some day. Everything we do in life is to gain experiences, and then to return. If we are pure and righteous, we can live with Him once more. What does this mean though? I think a lot of people picture us going from where we are to some distant place, like it is a separation by location, a journey from here to there. We go to the heaven. That is up in the sky somewhere right? Continue reading…
Finally, a lesson that really makes you think! This is probably my favorite JS lesson this year (no one dies or has to move to Missouri). For those who are teaching, you may also enjoy the excellent essay at Feast on the Word blog by joespencer.
There is a lot of information given in the scriptures and the revelations concerning our next life and how the final judgment will take place. But is there really enough information present to draw ourselves a good picture of what will really happen? I don’t think so. So, as a consequence, much speculation has occurred over the years about what happens to us when we die. I am not intending to present any of that information here.
I want to cover one aspect of our judgment that I believe will happen to us when we are at the Judgment Bar with Heavenly Father and the Savior.
President Hinckley has reminded that we all need at least three things to remain firmly in the faith—a friend, a responsibility, and “[nourishing] by the good word of God.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “Converts and Young Men,” Ensign, May 1997, 47) Church leaders have recognized that these things are helpful in holding members to the Church, especially the new convert. Continue reading…
A word to the teachers out there. I know what you are thinking. Something like, “Ugh. I got the death lesson?!” So, if you have a family event in another ward that might precipitate trading this week, always a good plan. But for you unlucky suckers who drew the short straw, here goes! Continue reading…
I have one component to my life that prompts little discussions from the lowliest church member to most recently the temple president and I really wish everyone would drop it. You see, I did the unthinkable five years ago, I married someone that is not LDS.
There is a lot being done in the medical field to help patients understand their genetic predisposition toward certain ailments. Isn’t the same true for spiritual ailments? Don’t we inherit some of these same tendencies from our parents and their parents and so on? Continue reading…
Welcome to the second virtual co-ed 3rd hour. This week’s lesson is a topic that is often a seething hotbed of Mormon Matters controversy: “Obedience: When the Lord Commands, Do It.” Continue reading…
Welcome to the first ever Virtual Co-ed Relief Society/Priesthood Lesson (at MM anyway)! Here’s why you should join the discussion:
- Virtual - you can participate whether or not you actually attended church
- Co-Ed - you can hear perspectives from both men & women
- Spiritual + Intellectual - some would like more intellectual content at church; others would like more spiritual content at MM. It’s like chocolate & peanut butter.
- Non-LDS Perspective - we may hear non-LDS commenter viewpoints (welcome to all!)
- Advance Lesson Prep - those who are teaching RS/PH may find some insights for their lessons.
