Posted in Policies Standards Temple The Church

Great New Temple Recommend Questions

The Church has announced a revision in the temple recommend questions. These are the questions that priesthood leaders are instructed to be ask members seeking recommends to participate in Temple…

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Posted in LGBTQ Policies Prophets Social Issues Temple The Church

President Nelson Shares Some Background Information for Recent Policy Adjustments

While some within and without the Church will disagree with the Church’s position regarding same-sex marriage, President Nelson’s comments this week at BYU help give some insight into the motivations…

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Posted in Bible Book of Mormon Restoration Resurrection Scholarship

The Book of Mormon’s Interesting Uses of Isaiah 25:8, “Death Swallowed Up”

There’s no question that the Book of Mormon has great intertextuality with the Bible, frequently drawing upon its language to convey its stories and concepts in familiar sacred language. The…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Sacrifice Stories

John Hajicek on the Hidden Sacrifices Behind the Printing of the Book of Mormon

One of the really remarkable friends of the Church is John Hajicek (pronounced “high-check,” I believe). John is an expert in documents and LDS history with vast resources of knowledge…

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Posted in Antiquity Bible Christianity Doctrine Evidence Gospel of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ Repentance

John 8 and the Woman Taken in Adultery: A Faith Promoting Fabrication?

For years I’ve had a question mark in my mind over John 8:1-11 with its beautiful and inspiring story of Christ’s merciful treatment of the woman taken in adultery. The…

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Posted in China Industry Miracles Stories Surviving The Church

Tender Mercies: How the BYU Management Society and a China Moment Turned Gloom into Contentment

Monday morning was gloomy. Perhaps my most depressing day over my 8 wonderful years of ups and downs in China. This was a day of confronting some painful suspected realities….

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Posted in Africa Ancient Near East Book of Mormon Evidence Temple

The Elephantine in the Room

Location of Elephantine on the Upper Nile, courtesy of Wikipedia’s article, “Elephantine.” Over 2,400 years ago there was an active community of Jewish immigrants living on the island of Elephantine…

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Posted in Book of Abraham Evidence Miracles Scholarship

If It Sounds Like a Duck: A Possible Egyptian Linguistic Component in Book of Mormon Names

A 2018 BYU Studies article, “An Egyptian Linguistic Component in Book of Mormon Names,” represents another significant contribution regarding the apparent influence of the Egyptian language on Book of Mormon…

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Posted in Charity Grace Gratitude Miracles Sacrifice Stories

“Six Brown Eggs”: A Christmas Blessing from Leo Munson, a Shopkeeper in Southern Utah

Yesterday in Sacrament meeting in the Appleton Second Ward of Appleton, Wisconsin, the Stake President, Nathan Munson, shared a Christmas story involving Leo Munson, his ancestor from Escalante, a small…

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Posted in Doctrine Doctrine and Covenants Revelation Scholarship Scripture Translation

It Depends on What the Meaning of “It” Is: Reconsidering the “Burning in the Bosom” and “Studying It Out” in Doctrine & Covenants 9

For years many of us have read about the “burning in the bosom” in Doctrine and Covenants 9:7-9 and interpreted it to mean that Oliver Cowdery, in a failed attempt…

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