Boasting in Christ Alone

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  • Not I, But He: Where True Confidence Comes From

    One of the greatest truths we celebrate at Easter is that our confidence and assurance rest not in ourselves, but in the finished work of Christ on the cross. That’s why I loved how Pastor Scott Hollingshead put it in his Easter sermon:“You do not start looking to yourself for assurance. You look to Jesus…

  • More Than a Pardon: The Cross, the Empty Tomb, and the Confidence We Have before God

    Every Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with songs of joy and hopeful proclamation. “He is risen!” we declare. And rightly so. The empty tomb is our assurance that death has been defeated and that those who are in Christ will one day rise again to enjoy eternal life. But Easter offers even more…

  • I Can’t Look Away from the Cross

    Growing up, the cross was a symbol of antisemitism and hatred. For my Jewish parents, it evoked memories of pogroms and Naziism—of centuries of persecution committed in the name of Christ. I still remember when my mother spent a few days in a Catholic hospital. She was so uncomfortable with the crucifix on the wall…

  • The Cradle and the Cross: Why the Incarnation Matters for Easter (Responding to N.T. Wright and Elder Cook)

    This Holy Week, like many others, I’ve been reflecting on the mystery and weight of the death of Christ on the cross and His glorious resurrection. But as I scrolled through social media, I kept seeing one quote that left me unsettled—not because it denies the resurrection, but because of what it overlooks. “This is…

  • Jesus Is Enough: Reflections on Sister Runia’s Talk and the Grace Latter-day Saints Long For

    After every General Conference, I like to ask my Latter-day Saint friends which talks were most meaningful to them. This time, almost everyone I asked pointed to Sister Tamara Runia’s message. As I listened, I completely understood why it resonated. Her words were full of hope, grace, and trust in God’s goodness. (Image generated by…

  • “I Have Finished the Work”: Why Those Words Belong to Jesus Alone

    In his recent General Conference address, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told a moving story about a young boy named Easton who, despite the challenges of muscular dystrophy, managed to pass the sacrament at church. Holland describes the effort and perseverance it took, and the joy the…

  • Thirsting in the Desert or Flourishing by the Stream?

    Biblical prophets frequently draw on powerful metaphors to emphasize their points. As Jeremiah warned the people of Jerusalem about the coming captivity and destruction, he used a pair of powerful metaphors to illustrate the perils of following after our own desires and to urge his listeners to turn to and follow the will of God.…

  • Fixing What Wasn’t Broken: How the Book of Mormon Rewrites—and Distorts—Isaiah 13:3

    When I was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believed that the Book of Mormon helped to clarify the Bible. One of the ways that I thought it did this was by offering a more accurate, easy to understand, and inspired version of the text of the Isaiah chapters…

  • Do Mormons Know the Bible Better than Evangelicals? Refuting a False Claim

    One trope that I have heard Latter-day Saints make with surprising frequency on social media is that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints know the Bible better than their Evangelical interlocutors. Here is a recent example of this from LDS apologist Jacob Hansen. Apologists like Hansen make these sweeping claims based…

  • Hell, Jesus, and the Danger of Dismissing Eternal Judgment

    Hell is an uncomfortable topic. No one likes to consider that they or someone they love might spend eternity excluded from God’s presence. As a teenager I learned about Christianity for the first time, and God began to draw me to him. But I could not accept what the Bible taught about hell. I rejected…