Blog

• Divine Paradigms
  “For the Lord seeth not as man seeth…” (1 Sam. 16:7) – Why This Blog – See that?  Don’t miss it…look up again. THAT is why I am writing this blog. It is for them. (Mosiah 4:14-15; D&C 68:25-28; Moses 6:57-58; Ps. 78:4-8; 2 Ne. 25:26; see TG Family, Children, Responsibilities toward) I have very little literary gift, much less time, and even… Read more: Divine Paradigms
• Racked & Distracted – Intro
  This post is in three parts. I feared that because of length, few would venture to read. In truth, the entire post could be read in 15-20 minutes, but can we concentrate that long these days ;)? In any event, for those who would like to spread it out, you may consume it in parts: Part… Read more: Racked & Distracted – Intro
• Racked & Distracted 1
  “Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold!” (Isaiah 49:18) In a striking visual critique, Norman Rockwell’s Lift Up Thine Eyes depicts New York City’s majestic St. Thomas Cathedral towering above the city sidewalk, impossible to miss; but those passing by, virtually on its doorstep, missing it entirely. Shoulders hunched, heads bowed, and gazes cast groundward, pedestrians shuffle by looking woeful… Read more: Racked & Distracted 1
• Racked & Distracted 2 – Diversion
  “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” -Jiddu Krishnamurti In a way, we have become like the children of Helm in the story of the Pied Piper, drawn not by profundities but by curiosities, and there are so many of them! Today’s diversions are particularly insidious because they are… Read more: Racked & Distracted 2 – Diversion
• Racked & Distracted 3 – Brain Mush
  “Helter skelter, hang sorrow, care’ll kill a Cat, uptails all, and a Louse for the Hangman” – Cob, a character in playwright Ben Johnson’s 1598, Every Man in His Humour   (Later, “Curiosity killed the cat.”) Brain researchers have determined that the fall-out from distracted minds is worse than we might think, involving more than just missing out on… Read more: Racked & Distracted 3 – Brain Mush
• Distraction’s Foil
  Part 1 of 4 – Scripture, Prayer, Sacrament/Sabbath, & Temple “For the Spirit…gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”  (2 Tim 1:7 NIV) Truly, no work of art has impacted me more than Albrecht Dürer’s Knight, Death, & The Devil. I still own the humanities textbook in which I first saw the magnificent engraving. Take a… Read more: Distraction’s Foil
• Of Primary, Poetry, & The Praise of Nothing
  Ellie and the other members of our primary presidency put on our ward’s primary presentation last Sunday. Rather than giving the children their lines, each child chose her own NT parable or miracle and wrote his own talk. It felt much more genuine. Ellie also disbursed 3×5 cards to the congregation with questions like, “What… Read more: Of Primary, Poetry, & The Praise of Nothing
• Genesis, Rebekah, and Lively Stones
  Our missionary daughter, Genesis, told us about a remarkable service project her Chicago stake held last month. The stake president requested several thousand pounds of clothes from Deseret Industries which were delivered via semi-truck, unpacked, then spread out throughout the stake center for a one-day mass-community event to get access to much-needed clothing. A similar… Read more: Genesis, Rebekah, and Lively Stones
• 1 Nephi 1
  1:1 and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days It is Nephi’s ability to see God’s love and tender mercies in the midst of his afflictions that distinguishes him from his brothers, and from most of us. Too often we see these two… Read more: 1 Nephi 1
• 1 Nephi 5
  1-8 Sariah…complained… did mourn… was comforted… was exceedingly glad… was filled with joy… knew of a surety, The specificity of the account suggests that Nephi and Sariah were close and that she herself must have related the story to Nephi. But notably, women are rarely a part of the complaining in Nephi’s account (1 Ne 7:19; 1 Ne 17:2;… Read more: 1 Nephi 5
• 1 Nephi 6
  2 For it sufficeth me to say that we are descendants of Joseph, and with that Nephi summarizes the entirety of Lehi’s record. In the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, this chapter begins chapter two (1830 1 Ne 2). The theme of chapter one (1 Ne 1-5), which was likely the theme of Lehi’s… Read more: 1 Nephi 6
• 1 Nephi 7
  2-6 bring down Ishmael and his family, Why Ishmael? (1) his ancestry – While Lehi was of Joseph through Mannasseh (Alma 10:3), Ishmael was of the lineage of Ephraim (according to Joseph Smith, JD 23:184-85). Uniting the families thus fulfilled Jacob/Israel’s promise to Joseph and his twin grandsons that their seed would be “great…a multitude of… Read more: 1 Nephi 7
• 1 Nephi 8 – Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life
  Intro, Latter-day saints are familiar with the vision, but how well do we really know it? How close have we actually read? Try my 10-question quiz. I’ll help with some references. Oh, and my quizzes are not just about getting the right answers, they’re about getting us to read more carefully and think more deeply.… Read more: 1 Nephi 8 – Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life
• 1 Nephi 9 – For A Wise Purpose
  Intro, This is the second of Nephi’s three interludes (see ch 6 & ch 19).  It also ends his summary of his father’s record (see 1:17 & 10:1), though he continues to quote his father in the next chapter. Each of Nephi’s interludes reminds the reader that Nephi is not messing around with these small… Read more: 1 Nephi 9 – For A Wise Purpose
• 1 Nephi 10 – The Scattering & Gathering Of Israel
  Intro, I could not overemphasize how important this chapter is. It summarizes and applies all of Lehi’s visions and teachings, introduces Nephi’s own upcoming visions and prophecies, sums up the central message Mormon and Moroni seek to convey in the Book of Mormon, and contains the first outline of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And… Read more: 1 Nephi 10 – The Scattering & Gathering Of Israel
• Technical Debt & Temple Cruise-Ships
  I’ve finally resumed my blog (a NY’s resolution…again :|). It will have three categories: (1) a daily entry for some notes on our Come Follow Me readings, (2) a weekly entry of these observations, and (3) a monthly entry of my actual blog, at least how I originally envisioned it, which will be brief essays… Read more: Technical Debt & Temple Cruise-Ships
• 1 Nephi 11 – The Condescension of God
  1-2, I had desired to know…Spirit said unto me, compare the personage who responds to Nephi’s desire with the one who responded to Lehi (1 Nephi 1:5–6). Are they the same being? How does Nephi’s desire to know what his father had seen (see 1 Nephi 10:17), presumably a desire expressed in prayer, differ from his… Read more: 1 Nephi 11 – The Condescension of God
• 1 Nephi 12 – War
  1 multitudes of people, so the vision now becomes the basis for making sense of Nephite future history. As in the vision where the multitudes pressed forward toward the tree, so the multitudes of Nephites pressed forward through time toward the coming of the resurrected Christ to America, as prophesied by their prophets (just as Lehi… Read more: 1 Nephi 12 – War
• 1 Nephi 13 – Plain & Precious Truths
  1 I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms, It stands to reason that Nephi would see a vision of the Savior and his ministry (ch 11). But why the rest of the vision (ch 12-14)? Because Nephi needed to know why he had to keep a record. The central idea of the vision is that… Read more: 1 Nephi 13 – Plain & Precious Truths
• 1 Nephi 14 – A Marvelous Work & A Wonder
  [Note: The notes I’m including in these daily entries are skeletal. I have a personal, verse-by-verse commentary I’ve put together over the years as I sought to read everything I could from those who wrote about the Book of Mormon—prophets and scholars who know more than I do; but, I’m saving those for another day… Read more: 1 Nephi 14 – A Marvelous Work & A Wonder
• 1 Nephi 15 – Have Ye Inquired of the Lord?
  4-6 I considered that mine afflictions were great above all…for I had beheld their fall, all previous dispensations, while yet having the gospel and trying to spread it, ended in apostasy (see Moro 9:6). We take for granted that we are the only dispensation that will not dwindle in unbelief, but continue to grow as the… Read more: 1 Nephi 15 – Have Ye Inquired of the Lord?
• 1 Nephi 16 – Liahona
  Chapters 16 through 18 of 1 Nephi contain some of the best-known stories in the Book of Mormon, and rightly so. The historical narrative recounts the arduous journey of Lehi and his family from the Valley of Lemuel to the New World, and it compares with the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and the… Read more: 1 Nephi 16 – Liahona
• 1 Nephi 17 – If I Should Say It, It Would Be Done
  “I knew I could do it because, well, I already did.” -Harry Potter, on conjuring his patronus. So it is with Nephi and his ship. He knew he could do it, because the same type of miracle had already been done by Moses in leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea… Read more: 1 Nephi 17 – If I Should Say It, It Would Be Done
• 1 Nephi 18 – I Did Not Murmur
  “Ancient Seafaring Technology: A question naturally arises as to whether vessels and nautical skills were available to account for the early voyages. Contrary to the picture we were once taught about ‘primitive’ sailors timidly avoiding the open sea until an intrepid Columbus made a breakthrough, evidence now clearly establishes that sailors long ago ventured widely. As… Read more: 1 Nephi 18 – I Did Not Murmur
• 1 Nephi 19 – He Suffereth It, Because of His Loving Kindness
  1-2, I did make plates of ore, there is no chapter break in the 1830 edition, so this immediately follows Nephi’s comment about finding gold, silver, and copper ore (18:25). Some scholars have suggested that the plates were likely made from an alloy called tumbaga, which was commonly used in South and Central America and consists… Read more: 1 Nephi 19 – He Suffereth It, Because of His Loving Kindness
• 1 Nephi 20 (Isaiah 48)- Go Ye Forth Out of Babylon
  Two notes about Isaiah. First, he speaks “messianically,” meaning from first person as if he were Jehovah/Messiah speaking. Second, some of the Book of Mormon quotations of Isaiah differ slightly from their corresponding King James passages.  There are at least two explanations for this. First, the brass plates contained a variant text—authentic though different. Second, the… Read more: 1 Nephi 20 (Isaiah 48)- Go Ye Forth Out of Babylon
• 1 Nephi 21 (Isaiah 49) – I Will Lift Up Mine Hand to the Gentiles
  1 Nephi 21 (along with Nephi’s subsequent explanation in ch 22) is one of the most important chapters in the Book of Mormon because it foretells the mission of Latter-day Saints and their destiny in connection with the house of Israel, or in President Russell M. Nelson’s words, their role in the gathering. 1 Listen, o… Read more: 1 Nephi 21 (Isaiah 49) – I Will Lift Up Mine Hand to the Gentiles
• 1 Nephi 22 – In Him They Shall Find Pasture
  1 What meaneth these things which ye have read, so we are not alone in finding Isaiah difficult to understand. And once again, we are Laman & Lemuel, not Nephi. The question is the same one they ask in 15:31, and it’s one of the most fundamental to scripture interpretation—is this literal (according to the flesh)… Read more: 1 Nephi 22 – In Him They Shall Find Pasture
• Loss & Spiritual Development
  Stephen Schwartz’s musical Children of Eden debuted on London’s West End on January 8, 1991. However, because of the negative effects the Persian Gulf War had on tourism, the show closed only three months later. Fortunately, the musical became popular in community and regional theatres worldwide due to its ability to accommodate a large or small cast,… Read more: Loss & Spiritual Development
• 2 Nephi 1 – Arise From the Dust, My Sons, And Be Men
  This is the only place in the Book of Mormon where we have two books named after one person. Why did Nephi divide his writings into two books? Likely because each had a different purpose and was poetically crafted as a distinct unit. 1 Nephi is the founding family story based in the Old World… Read more: 2 Nephi 1 – Arise From the Dust, My Sons, And Be Men
• 2 Nephi 2 – Agency & Atonement
  “Doubtless a spectator walking into the second act of Hamlet thinking it was the first would make very different sense of the action unfolding than the person who watched Act I, which set the stage for all that was to follow. As it stands, the Creation narrative of Genesis is a baffling story. The provocation… Read more: 2 Nephi 2 – Agency & Atonement
• 2 Nephi 3 – Four Josephs
  One way to read this chapter is as a model patriarchal blessing. How would knowing his lineage back to Joseph of Egypt affect young Joseph? There are “exceedingly great and precious promises” that can come from our heritage (1 Pet 1:2, 4). What does it mean to you to know, from your patriarchal blessing, that… Read more: 2 Nephi 3 – Four Josephs
• 2 Nephi 4 – Nephi’s Psalm
  Lehi follows the example of his forefather Jacob in blessing his children before his death (Genesis 49); but he also follows Moses’ lead. Several years before Lehi left Jerusalem, the book of Deuteronomy (Moses’ farewell address), long lost to the Israelites, was discovered in the temple and later read to the people (2 Kings 22-23;… Read more: 2 Nephi 4 – Nephi’s Psalm
• Jacob 1 – Faith & Anxiety
  Jacob The Man Jacob has a unique voice in the Book of Mormon. Born in tribulation (2 Ne 2:1), and a witness as well as a possible victim of physical abuse by his brothers, Jacob is attuned to the marginalized—women, children, the poor, those of lesser status, those who have no power in society, etc.… Read more: Jacob 1 – Faith & Anxiety
• Jacob 2 – Temple Sermon: Wounds, Wealth, & Sexual Agency
  Jacob had the small plates for over 30 years, yet this is the only sermon he records. Why this one? Note what he addresses: pride, greed, social hierarchies, marriage inequality, and the sexual objectification and commodification of women. These are the issues Jacob believes will lead to the downfall of Nephite society and any society… Read more: Jacob 2 – Temple Sermon: Wounds, Wealth, & Sexual Agency
• Jacob 3 – Racism & Generational Legacy
  Earlier Jacob had said he was going to record on the small plates “revelation which was great” (Jac 1:4). The revelation Jacob considered to be great may have been the Lamanites’ sexual fidelity, and that the Nephites must look to the Lamanites, whom they despised and considered inferior, to teach them how to keep their… Read more: Jacob 3 – Racism & Generational Legacy
• Jacob 4 – Why Not Speak of the Atonement?
  1 because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates, and not just because there were few plates. Regarding inscriptions on the famous Copper Scroll found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, Hugh Nibley writes: The business of writing on such plates was hard and distasteful work. The scribe, not without reason, appears to have tired… Read more: Jacob 4 – Why Not Speak of the Atonement?
• Jacob 5 – Allegory & Atonement
  TAKE HOME – Those who interpret Zenos’ Allegory typically focus on how the scattering of the branches of the mother tree (the scattering of Israel, or the sprinkling of the nations, Is 52:15) blesses the Gentile world with “believing blood,” leavening the earth with righteousness. They argue that the allegory shows graphically how the covenant of Abraham is… Read more: Jacob 5 – Allegory & Atonement
• Jacob 5 – A Commentary
  7 Key Takeways 1. Even God may work hard and have things not turn out the right way. 2. God never gives up, to the very end. There is no place in his divine love that he is not willing to go to reclaim us. He is neither aloof nor an absentee Master. He comes… Read more: Jacob 5 – A Commentary
• Jacob 6 – His Arm of Mercy is Extended Toward You
  This chapter is in part a coda of Zenos’ allegory; but it is also a continuation of Jacob’s message to the Nephite men in chapters 2-4, and a call for them to repent. 1 I said unto you that I would prophecy, in Jacob 4:15. this is my prophecy—that the things which Zenos spake…must surely come to… Read more: Jacob 6 – His Arm of Mercy is Extended Toward You
• Jacob 7 – Sherem & Jacob: Dual Witnesses of Christ
  Jacob’s treatment of Sherem is unique in the Book of Mormon because, rather than silencing him, Jacob gives Sherem the opportunity to repent and to influence the Nephites for good by testifying of Christ and the atonement. Rather than proving his spiritual authority by discounting Sherem, Jacob helps Sherem to recollect and reaffirm the truth… Read more: Jacob 7 – Sherem & Jacob: Dual Witnesses of Christ
• Enos – The Covenant of The Book of Mormon
  Who was Enos? Importantly, Mormon intended to end his record with the small plates (WofM 1:5). He tacked them on at the end of his book, organizing his record so that these constituted his final message. [Joseph Smith actually translated them last—when the 116 pages were lost, he resumed translation with the Book of Mosiah,… Read more: Enos – The Covenant of The Book of Mormon
• Jarom – Living in the Middle of a Dispensation
  Jacob and his people find themselves squarely in the middle of a dispensation, not during any particularly exciting time, at least from a religious-history perspective. What does it look like to live and keep faith in the middle of a dispensation? The book of Jarom offers some insight. To introduce this idea, I’ll quote Sharon Harris in… Read more: Jarom – Living in the Middle of a Dispensation
• Omni – Where Scripture, Jesus, & Family Meet
  A lot happens in the short book of Omni, which spans 230 years of Nephite history. At the same time, much of it seems pretty cotidian. Is there some theme, some direction we are headed when we launch into the book? I think so. Something happens in a more intense way than anywhere else in… Read more: Omni – Where Scripture, Jesus, & Family Meet
• Words of Mormon – The Precious Plates
  WoM is not a named book in Mormon’s work. It appears to be both an introduction to the small plates (1-11) as well as a transition between the small plates and king Benjamin’s reign (12-18). Curiously, Oliver Cowdery originally had this ‘book’ as Omni II and our first book of Mosiah as Mosiah 3. It’s… Read more: Words of Mormon – The Precious Plates
• Mosiah 1 – Division & Unity
  Notes on Mormon’s Record We jump into Mormon’s abridgement finally, in medias res (in the middle of things). We don’t have the introduction he would have given at the beginning of his record, now lost with the 116 pages (we do have a Title Page, but he likely only wrote a portion of that). Likely he began… Read more: Mosiah 1 – Division & Unity
• Distraction’s Foil
  Part 2 of 4 – Practicing Meditation & Living Mission-Driven 5. Meditation Taking your seat and coming into being, rather than doing, is a radical act of sanity and a radical act of love. -Jon Kabat Zenn The truth is that distraction is an internal reality, not an outward event. Both Jesus and Peter stood… Read more: Distraction’s Foil
• Distraction’s Foil
  Part 3 of 4 – Educating Our Desires 7. Educating Our Desires “We will have to account to God for all the good things our eyes beheld but which we refused to enjoy.” -Rabbi Arikka (quoted by David Schnarch in Passionate Marriage) Nothing moves us like desire. Wanting, craving, needing, and deep longing take us… Read more: Distraction’s Foil