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To Whom Will We Show Our Greatest Allegiance?
Almost 50 years ago, at the time of our nation’s bicentennial, President Spencer W. Kimball wrote a powerful sermon about idolatry and its pull on otherwise committed Christians. His concern was not unique to that period; our human tendency to put complete faith in material possessions and raw power has been ever with us and takes many forms. President Kimball described many idols but spoke most specifically about the militaristic tendencies of his flock, saying: “We are a warlike people… When enemies rise up, we commit vast resources to the fabrication of gods of stone and steel… and depend on them for protection and deliverance. When threatened, we become antienemy…
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Pray for Truth
It’s been a rough week for a lot of us in the U.S. Our rule of law seems under siege by leaders attempting to redraw lines between right and wrong, blurring once-common notions of truth. This reality played out this week in my home city of Boston, where a U.S. Customs official ignored an order from a federal court and deported an Iranian Northeastern University student who was here legally with a student visa. In the span of those same few days, the U.S. Senate, presiding over the impeachment trial of our sitting president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice, continued to attempt to conduct a…
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Sabbath Devotional :: ‘Ye May Know the Truth of All Things’
Like many of you, this year I will once again be taking a slow and deep dive into the Book of Mormon. Last week, I was lucky enough to start my study by preparing to teach the first early morning seminary lesson of the year, leading me to think long and hard about the role the book has played in my spiritual and emotional growth. My class last week was made up of a group of clever and thoughtful seniors. They have grown up in a place where their core beliefs are challenged, and none of them has ever really had the luxury of taking the truthfulness of the gospel…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Where Can I Turn for Peace?
The unrelenting turmoil I see and hear about day after day on the news takes a toll. Where is peace? Where is civility? What sources provide authentic — not “fake” — news and truth?
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Sabbath Devotional :: Pacifist Perspective on War in the Book of Mormon
I would not feel uncomfortable if someone accused me of being a pacifist. My brain tells me that there are times that war is justified, but my heart can hardly handle the thought of it. My distaste for violence grows out of an innate recoiling at the suffering of any living creature. I was just born this way. By way of example, earlier this year my son’s seven baby rabbits all became ill, one after another and on separate days. Each died quite terribly after an hour of seizures and suffering. I cried and held each one as they passed, reasoning that my presence and soothing touch could help ease…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Oh Say, What is Truth?
“Oh Say, What is Truth” is a buoyant and richly poetic LDS hymn*, but in my lifetime, it’s been sung only rarely in our meetings. I’m hoping that will change. Because that. hymn’s. time. has. come! In a post-truth, alternative-fact, fake news, free-press-as-enemy epoch, truth or objective reality is under siege, and with that, the bulwarks of democracy in our nation and across the world are eroding. As never before, we must search for and speak in truth. It was in recognition of this newly-sprung truth-crisis that Senator Jeff Flake** quoted some of this LDS hymn’s verses on the senate floor. And that was about the same time I noticed…
