I recently had lunch with a good friend. For context this friend is not Mormon, but grew up in Utah. We spoke of the idea that atheism is not a kind of declaration of knowing there is not a god, but a lack of belief in a god or gods because of insufficient evidence. We … Continue reading I am Korihor
Break the Poverty Cycle
During a recent world tour the prophet of the Mormon church Russell M Nelson spoke to a group of African members in Kenya. Among many teachings, he told those gathered the following: "We preach tithing to the poor people of the world because the poor people of the world have had cycles of poverty, generation … Continue reading Break the Poverty Cycle
Vilify the Truth Seeker
I thought I knew the reasons why people left the church. I had been taught from early childhood the ideas of why someone would abandon the glorious message that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. There was little mystery to this. My indoctrinated self could not conceive of a world in which the church was … Continue reading Vilify the Truth Seeker
Key Performance Indicators
CLICK ON IMAGE TO OPEN INTERACTIVE VERSION Since I was a child I was amazed at the remarkable growth of the Mormon church. It was a testimony builder to see the more and more people joining the church in the 90s and early 2000s. Emphasizing these facts and backing it up with prophesy from past … Continue reading Key Performance Indicators
How do you know?
How do you know the beliefs you hold are true? What are the methods that are utilized to come to the conclusion that a belief is true? Epistemology comes from the Greek words epistasthai - know, know how to - and episteme - knowledge. It is defined as the theory of knowledge, especially with regard … Continue reading How do you know?
Picking up the Pieces After a Crises of Faith
This is the final piece for my faith crises series. Part one, two and three are here for greater context. On May 25, 2012 I received the phone call that my mom had suddenly died while I was at lunch 1,500 miles away. I remember saying, “oh wow.” I remember looking around the cafeteria and seeing … Continue reading Picking up the Pieces After a Crises of Faith
Does Truth Matter?
Read part one and part two of my spiritual journey for better context if you have not already. Part three of my spiritual journey moves into the end of July 2017. I was working through my church assignment working with the youth (Young Men’s president). I was charged with the spiritual teaching of 12-18 year old … Continue reading Does Truth Matter?
The Trenches
Read part one of my spiritual journey for better context first if you have not already. The month of May 2017 had passed and June came with the enlightened podcast Mormon Stories. While talking to Kirk about some of the things in the book I was reading (Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind ) and how … Continue reading The Trenches
Faith, Reason and Peugeot
It was April 12, 2017. My friend Kirk shared with me a book he has been reading titled ‘Sapiens, a Brief History of Humankind' on Audible by Yuval Harari. Kirk had mentioned interesting statistics on mortality rates of children/infants in the royal bloodlines in the 15th and 16th centuries. I thought it sounded interesting. My … Continue reading Faith, Reason and Peugeot