Does God weep? Does God even care about us? Can He relate to and feel for our troubles and trials? Does God own us? Are we compelled to seek him and his will or are we truly free to choose? These are some of the questions addressed by Terryl and Fiona Givens in their book The God Who Weeps – How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life.
Continue reading “The God Who Weeps”Sufficiency
Are we missing one of the main points of Christ’s ministry?
There are a few subjects that one cannot write about, regardless of position, without appearing a fool. (So, of course, I will validate this statement with the following post.)
Continue reading “Sufficiency”
Random Seeds
A few days ago, while reading the Parable of the Sower, I saw something hidden in the weeds that intrigued me. Actually, it was hidden in the method. Continue reading “Random Seeds”
Covenant of Willingness
What do you misunderstand or just plain miss with respect to the sacrament (communion/Lord’s Supper)? Are there different perspectives that would inform your understanding and enrich your experience? Continue reading “Covenant of Willingness”
Adam: The Man, The Myth
I have occasionally paraphrased a quote that I have attributed (possibly erroneously) to LDS Apostle B. H. Roberts. It goes something like this:
God has give us two accounts of the creation of the earth. One is written on the pages of the Bible and the other is recorded in the layers of crust of the earth. It is only due to our misunderstanding of each that they disagree.
Job, My Hero
No, I do not mean Jobs as in Steve Jobs. I’m talking about J-oh-bah, or Jobe, as in book of Job. It is my new favorite book. Why? Because Job thinks like me and probably like you (since you are reading The Grumpy Mormon). Continue reading “Job, My Hero”
The Fish and the Forester
A close friend, Paul, and I have known each other since grade school. Even though we lived in separate communities, we managed to spend much of our summers together Continue reading “The Fish and the Forester”
Hi-ho, Home Teaching is Dead
To me home teaching has always been a classic example of tension between the ideal and practical. Continue reading “Hi-ho, Home Teaching is Dead”
Humanitarian Missions
Is There Better Missionary Service?
A week ago our family watched a movie called “The Letters.” It is a fascinating story of the work and life of Mother Teresa. It describes the challenges she faced in her desire to serve the poorest of the poor while simultaneously struggling with a personal spiritual insensitivity. Continue reading “Humanitarian Missions”
The Sacrament of the Blind Boy
In 1985, Krister Stendahl (1921-2008), a Swedish theologian and New Testament scholar, proposed what has become know as Stendahl’s three rules of religious understanding. These are:
- When you are trying to understand another religion, you should ask the adherents of that religion and not its enemies.
- Don’t compare your best to their worst.
- Leave room for “holy envy.”