Sunday Sermon Restoring Eve to her rightful place Latter-day Saints can’t wait to give Mother Eve a big hug, and thank her for her courage and her vital role in the plan of happiness. She selflessly chose death, pain, suffering, and the struggles of mortality, over the never-ending peace and beauty of Eden. Thus, Eve … Continue reading “Eve and the Choice Made in Eden”
Symbolic and Figurative Use of Numbers One of the challenges of understanding the Bible is knowing which words and verses were meant to be interpreted literally and which verses were to be interpreted figuratively. When I studied ancient literature (Greek, Roman, Medieval English, Old Norse) I learned that certain colors, body parts, and numbers were … Continue reading Symbolic Numbers in the Bible: 7, 8, 40, 3 1/2?
"Sunday Sermon" “The scriptures do not say how old the earth is, and the Church has taken no official stand on this question. Nor does the Church consider it to be an issue for salvation.” (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, “Age of Earth,”) The belief that the earth is only 6,000 or 13,000 years old In 1650, … Continue reading The Age of the Earth – “Science vs Religion”
Genesis Account: "Where art Thou?" In the Genesis account, after Adam and Eve transgressed by partaking of the forbidden fruit, God asked them the all-important question. “Where art thou?” (Gen. 3:9) In other words, “Where are you?” God was not asking Adam and Eve where they were located physically. He already knew that. They were hiding … Continue reading God’s First, and Most Important Questions, to Mankind
"Sunday Sermon" There are two falls from grace. The first is the fall of Adam and Eve. The second is our own personal fall. The Fall Brought Physical and Spiritual Death The fall of Adam and Eve brought two kinds of death into the world: physical death and spiritual death. Death is a separation. Physical … Continue reading The Fall of Adam and Eve and ME
Universal Pattern: 3 C's: Commandments, Choice, Consequences (3 C’s) “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it: [nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given … Continue reading 7 Short Lessons from the Garden of Eden (Pt. 1)
"Sunday Sermon" "Where Art Thou?" After Adam and Eve “got caught,” God asked, “Where art thou?” (Gen. 3:9) God was not asking Adam and Eve where they were located physically. He knew that. They were hiding “amongst the trees of the garden.” (Gen. 3:8) What God was asking was where they were spiritually. Where were they in relationship to God? … Continue reading 6 Short Lessons from the Garden of Eden (Pt. 2)
We are surrounded by the wondrous miracles of creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1). Prophet Alma Versus Atheist Korihor There is a story in the Book of Mormon wherein Korihor, the atheist, tried to destroy the church and the faith of the … Continue reading Miracles of the Creation of the Earth and Cosmos
"The Other Wise Man" The best fictional Christmas tale ever written is: “The Other Wise Man,” by Henry Van Dyke. Van Dyke (1852-1933) was a preacher, writer, and professor of literature at Princeton University. The idea for this moving story came to Van Dyke one night “as a gift out of the air,” after a … Continue reading The Best Christmas Tale Ever Written
"Sunday Sermon" Birth: Born June 1, 1801 in Whitingham, Vermont, the ninth of eleven children. Marriage: He married Miriam Works in 1824. She died in 1832. He then married Mary Ann Angell in 1834. He later entered into polygamy and had dozens of wives and children. Occupation: He had only 11 days of schooling. He … Continue reading Brigham Young: Life and Legacy
The London Edition 