Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for April, 2015

Aaron Johnson 

June 22, 1806 – May 10, 1877

“A person who is fundamentally honest doesn’t need a code of ethics. The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount are all the ethical code anybody needs.” — Harry S. Truman

Early Mormon PolygamistsSometimes truth is a hard commodity to come by. For Aaron Johnson’s clan it was always in short demand as they plowed through life rationalizing their shoddy behavior. While we aren’t privy to their personal conversations, evidence remains showing a Mack truck could be driven through their trough of manipulating lies.

As stated later in this report, our look at Aaron Johnson’s life marks the thirty-third family we’ve researched in our series, Polygamy & Mormon Church Leaders. To date, if this isn’t the worst case of pedophile behavior and incest I’ve seen thus far, it’s right near the top. His predatory behavior rivaled even that of his beloved prophet, Joseph Smith.

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Mormon Decisions 10General Conference, April 2015, “Yes, We Can and Will Win!”; “We cannot allow ourselves to be confused by popular messages that are easily accepted by the world and that contradictulisses-soares the doctrine and true principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many of these worldly messages represent nothing more than an attempt of our society to justify sin. …All of us can receive the strength to choose the right if we seek the Lord and place all our trust and faith in Him. …

… Because of the wave of confusion and doubts spreading throughout the world today, we must hold ever more tightly to our testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then will our ability to defend truth and justice greatly increase. We will win the daily battles against evil, and, rather than fall on the battlefields of life, we will rally others to the Master’s standards.

(more…)

Read Full Post »

GeneraMormon Decisions 10l Conference, April 2015, “The Lord Is My Light”; “If the grim realities you are facing at this time seem dark and heavy and almost unbearable, remember that in the soul-wrenching darkness of Gethsemane and the incomprehensible torture and pain of Calvary, the SaviorQLCook accomplished the Atonement, which resolves the most terrible burdens that can occur in this life. He did it for you, and He did it for me. He did it because He loves us and because He obeys and loves His Father. We will be rescued from death…

Our protections in this life and for eternity will be in individual and family righteousness, Church ordinances, and following the Savior. This is our refuge from the storm. For those who feel they are alone, you can stand resolutely in righteousness knowing that the Atonement will protect and bless you beyond your ability to fully understand.

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Discovering Grace

Hello everyone, soon we’ll be adding a few new segments to the blog and site. One of them will be titled Discovering Grace. In this segment each month we’ll feature different articles discussing salvation, and what the different parts to salvation mean to the believer.

We’ll be looking at topics such as:

What is grace?

What is atonement?

What is justification?

What is sanctification?

Are works required for salvation?

Where does faith fit into the believer’s new life as a follower of Jesus Christ?

We hope that you’ll enjoy these new articles, and share it with the Mormon in your life!

In Christ,

Melissa Grimes

Read Full Post »

Mormon Decisions 10General Conference, April 2015, “Choose to Believe”; “The decision to believe is the most important choice we ever make. It shapes all of our other decisions. …Belief and testimonyl-whitney-clayton and faith are not passive principles. They do not just happen to us. Belief is something we choose—we hope for it, we work for it, and we sacrifice for it. We will not accidentally come to believe in the Savior and His gospel any more than we will accidentally pray or pay tithing. We actively choose to believe, just like we choose to keep other commandments. …” – Elder L. Whitney Clayton, Presidency of the Seventy

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Mormon Decisions 10General Conference, April 2015, “The Parable of the Sower”; “The parable of the sower warns us of circumstances and attitudes that can keep anyone who has received the seed of the gospel message from bringing forth a goodly harvest…We have the seed of the gospeldallin-h-oaks word. It is up to each of us to set the priorities and to do the things that make our soil good and our harvest plentiful. We must seek to be firmly rooted and converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ (see Colossians 2:6–7). We ensure this conversion by prayer, by scripture reading, by serving, and by regularly partaking of the sacrament to always have His Spirit to be with us. We must also seek that mighty change of heart (see Alma 5:12–14) that replaces evil desires and selfish concerns with the love of God and the desire to serve Him and His children.” – Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Mormon Decisions 10General Conference, April 2015, “The Eternal Perspective of the Gospel”; “The Father’s desire is to give everyone the opportunity to receive a fulness of joy. Latter-day revelations rafael-e-pinoshow that our Heavenly Father created a great plan of happiness for all His children, a very special plan so that we can return to live with Him. …

… Understanding the plan will help people keep the commandments, make better decisions, and have the right motivation…The eternal perspective of the gospel leads us to understand the place that we occupy in God’s plan, to accept difficulties and progress through them, to make decisions, and to center our lives on our divine potential…” – Elder Rafael E. Pino of the Seventy

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Mormon Decisions 10General Conference, April 2015, “Preserving Agency, Protecting Religious Freedom”; “As we walk the path of spiritual liberty in these last days, we must understand that the faithful use of our agency depends upon our having religious freedom. …Brothers and sisters, we are responsible to safeguard these sacred freedoms and rights for ourselves and our posterity. What can you and I do?

First, we can become informed. Be aware of the issues in your community that could have an impact onrobert hales religious liberty.

Second, in your individual capacity, join with others who share our commitment to religious freedom. Work side by side to protect religious freedom.

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Mormon Decisions 10General Conference, April 2015, “The Gift of Grace”; “A powerful expression of [Christ’s] love is what the scriptures often call the grace of God…We cannot earn our way into heaven; the demands of justice stand as a barrier, which we are powerless to overcome on our own.

But all is not lost.dieter uchtdorf

The grace of God is our great and everlasting hope. …

But the grace of God does not merely restore us to our previous innocent state. If salvation means only erasing our mistakes and sins, then salvation—as wonderful as it is—does not fulfill the Father’s aspirations for us. His aim is much higher: He wants His sons and daughters to become like Him…It is by God’s amazing grace that His children can overcome the undercurrents and quicksands of the deceiver, rise above sin, and “are perfect[ed] in Christ” (Moroni 10:32).” – President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Mormon Decisions 10General Conference, April 2015, “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet”; “I express my gratitude for the Atonement and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and acknowledge events in the divine plan of God that led up to and give meaning to the “love Jesus offers [us]”…Jeffrey Holland

We cannot fully comprehend the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ and we will not adequately appreciate the unique purpose of His birth or His death—in other words there is no way to truly celebrate Christmas or Easter—without understanding that there was an actual Adam and Eve who fell from Eden, with all the consequences that fall carried with it. …

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Mormon Decisions 10General Conference, April 2015, “Seeking the Lord”; “The more we understand the extraordinary role of Christ in our lives, the more conscious we become of our purpose here inJose A. Teixiera mortality, which is to have joy…I believe that as we deepen our understanding of the Savior, we will have an increased desire to live joyfully and a conviction that joy is possible…Every day, we should consider including frequent interactions with the teachings of Christ. …

(more…)

Read Full Post »

mormon_missionariesLast month we posted an article we saw in the Salt Lake Tribune announcing the Church’s goal of having 100,000 Mormon missionaries out in the field by 2019. We posted it for two specific reasons.

1. Provide a heads up to watch out for more missionaries in your neighborhood.

2. To ask Christians to pray the young men and women would come into contact with a true believer and hear the truth while out on the road.

It looks like the prayers of faithful Christians are being answered! I came across a notice in my Google Alerts highlighting an article from ABC News with the latest stat reports from the Church. They reported while the LDS missionary force has grown exponentially, their conversion rates aren’t keeping the same pace. PTL!

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Alpheus Cutler Intro

February 29, 1784 – June 10, 1864

Early Mormon Polygamists“It is no exaggeration to say that Cutler, next to the apostles, was one of Mormonism’s most important leaders during this period.” – Journal of Mormon History, “Conflict in the Camps of Israel,” DANNY L. JORGENSEN, p. 31

Lies, pseudonyms, excuses, and denials. All these things comprise the M.O. of Alpheus Cutler and those he surrounded himself with in life. It seems no one had a working conscience available and the longer they lived, the worse things became.

We’re highlighting Alpheus Cutler because of the role he played in early Mormonism. As you’ll see in our short bio, the quote above is a fit description of this man. While his name isn’t in the headlines of Mormon folklore today it can be safely said that without his participation in early Mormonism, they wouldn’t be where they are today.

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Mormon Decisions 10General Conference, April 2015, “Priesthood and Personal Prayer”; “With your acceptance of the priesthood, you received the right to speak and to act in the name of God.

That right will only become a reality as you receive inspiration from God. Only then will you behenry eyring able to speak in His name. And only then can you act in His name…All of us must speak and act in the name of God in moments where our unaided judgment will not be enough without inspiration. Those moments can come upon us where there is not time to make preparation. …

(more…)

Read Full Post »

flowers-cartoon-8After taking a well deserved break from all things Mormon, Melissa’s back! Yay! One of the first things she did was send me a link for a video and when I mentioned that I’d like to use it straightaway she suggested it’d be a great segue for her article on the Visiting Teaching Message for April.

So here’s the link – it takes all of 3.5 minutes and it’s a cartoon on missionaries showing up at your door. Let us know what you think!

What the Missionaries Don’t Tell You – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VKT4hrBTuk

(more…)

Read Full Post »

GenerMormon Decisions 10al Conference, April 2015, “Why Marriage and Family Matters—Everywhere in the World”; “We … believe that strong traditional families are not only the basic units of a stable society, a stable economy, and a stable culture of values—but that they are also the basicL Tom Perry units of eternity and of the kingdom and government of God. . . .

It is because of our belief that marriages and families are eternal that we, as a church, want to be a leader and a participant in worldwide movements to strengthen them. …

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Mormon Decisions 10General Conference, April 2015, “Fatherhood—Our Eternal Destiny”; “Should we not … develop a clear vision of our eternal destiny, particularly the one Heavenly Father wants us to achieve—eternal fatherhood? Let our eternal destiny drive all of our decisions. Regardless of how difficult those decisions may be, Father will sustain us. …

Fathers, … every day you are teaching your children what it means to be a father. You are laying a foundation for the next generation. Your sons will learn how to be husbands and fathers by observing the way you fulfill these roles. …

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Mormon Decisions 10General Conference, April 2015, “The Plan of Happiness”; “…The commandment to multiply and replenish the earth has never been rescinded. It is essential to the plan ofboyd-k-packer redemption and is the source of human happiness. Through the righteous exercise of this power, we may come close to our Father in Heaven and experience a fulness of joy, even godhood. The power of procreation is not an incidental part of the plan of happiness; it is the key to happiness…” – Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Mormon Decisions 10General Conference, “The Family Is of God,” April 2015; “We each belong to and are needed in the family of God. Earthly families all look different…membership in the family of carole-m-stephensGod is not contingent upon any kind of status— … Our opportunity as covenant-keeping daughters of God is not just to learn from our own challenges; it is to unite in empathy and compassion as we support other members of the family of God in their struggles, as we have covenanted to do. …God wants us to be one. God needs us to be one—covenant-keeping daughters united in the diversities of our individual lives who desire to learn all that is needed to be back in His presence, sealed to Him as part of His eternal family.

(more…)

Read Full Post »

EnsiMormon Decisions 10gn, “The Atonement,” November 1996

Today we’re finishing up our look at Mr. Nelson’s talk on the Mormon definition of atonement which also led to the definitions for immortality and eternal life. To read his speech in full simply click on the link above. Let’s get started!

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »