I wonder how prophecy shapes our world and how believing in prophecy can contribute to its fulfillment. Is something more likely to happen because I believe it was foretold to? Does believing in something influence my choices in a way that consciously or subconsciously contributes to the actualization of that thing? How often do we […]
Read more "Interpreting Prophecy"I’ve been thinking about why I still go to church when many of my thoughts and hopes about and for Mormonism seem unlikely to materialize or at odds with aspects of the institution. I’ve especially wondered what that will mean for Cec and my kid(s). So, today, I thought I’d present those thoughts as a […]
Read more "Why I Stay: An Open Letter to My Unborn Child"A significant factor in Mormon theology and cosmology is the War in Heaven, which we only have a smattering of verses about. I selected the first three verses from the Fourth chapter of Moses because they seemed most useful for our purposes today in discussing Satan’s Proposal in this War that resulted in a third […]
Read more "Satan’s Plan: Two Interpretations"Enshrined in Mormon scripture is an idea that seems to not be fully believed in practice. In D&C 121:39 we read: “We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise […]
Read more "On Unrighteous Dominion"There’s recently been a conversation about excommunication in light of Sam Young being called to a disciplinary council. I’m not aware enough of the intricacies of the situation to really comment on it specifically, but I am interested in talking about excommunication more generally. A conversation about excommunication, I think, must be broken into at […]
Read more "Dilemma of Excommunication"I finally finished Greg Prince and Wm. Robert Wright’s biography David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism (I bought it over two years ago and it’s been sitting on my ‘to read’ shelf ever since constantly bumped back by newer releases). I would place the book in the essential reading category. It’s lengthy, […]
Read more "Lessons from Modern Mormonism"On Thursday, 23 August 2018, members of The Church in Utah received an email “urg[ing]” them to vote no on Proposition 2, a Medical Marijuana Initiative (you can read information about the proposition and the full text of it here). There has been an ensuing conversation on twitter and throughout the internet that has been…um…frustrating. […]
Read more "On Political Neutrality"Pres. Nelson recently called for a renewed focus on using the God-given name for the Church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This exhortation was coupled with an updated Style Guide for news outlets and the assertion that the Church’s own materials would be undergoing a process to be in line with […]
Read more "What’s in a Name?"NOTE: Ideas here spin off from some thoughts that Blaire Ostler shared at Sunstone this weekend and are similar to ideas and thoughts she’s shared here, here, and here. God is plural. Elohim in Hebrew is a plural noun. Joseph Smith taught that the council of Gods commenced the work of Creation. The Book […]
Read more "Plurality of God"One of the biggest struggles I faced in the depths of my faith remodel that still resurfaces, especially when I find myself in an unfamiliar or new congregation, is feeling like I belonged at Church. I have felt this in other settings as well, but Church was the predominant place that I felt like I […]
Read more "I Belong to the Church…"
Conor Hilton 