Tag: faith
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Mysterious Visions and Glorious Purpose A few Biblical figures received powerful and life changing glimpses of the glory of heaven.This imagery is not meant to be a literal picture of heaven. Instead, this is apocalyptic imagery meant to stretch our imaginations and and reveal transcendent truths that ordinary language cannot capture. One of the most…
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One additional scriptural metaphor that reflects and echoes the trinity is that of the Church as the Body of Christ. This metaphor not only teaches us about Christian community, but it also quietly echoes the eternal relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit—three persons united in perfect love and purpose. Paul expands on this metaphor in…
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In a recent post, I pleaded with my Latter-day Saint friends to defend the Bible—not just parts of it, but the whole of it as God’s Word. Sadly, some current trends in LDS scholarship threaten to do the opposite. Recently I have seen an explosion of popularity among Latter-day Saint apologists of the theory that…
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Grace is one of the most difficult topics for Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals to talk about. Even though Evangelicals Latter-day Saints use the same terminology, there are some pretty significant differences that are difficult to fully unpack. But often, it’s not our definitions that say the most—it’s our metaphors. Metaphors paint with vivid colors. They…
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I used to love how well the Book of Mormon seemed to fit into the Biblical narrative. For instance, I delighted in imagining Lehi preaching alongside Jeremiah and warning against the Babylonian captivity. But shortly after I left the Church, I came across an argument that showed how the Book of Mormon actually distorted the…
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One of the most compelling reasons I rejected the LDS idea of a Great Apostasy boils down to a simple question: If the apostles died without successors and priesthood authority was lost, why don’t early Christians express alarm or lament? It very much strikes me as a dog that didn’t bark. The phrase “the dog…
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“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”(Ecclesiastes 3:1) This weekend I’ve been reflecting on what it means to be grateful to God for the seasons in life, while also embracing the changes and new opportunities he brings. We’re preparing to move away from our home of the…
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I’ve noticed a curious pattern in the way some Latter-day Saint apologists engage with the Bible. When it comes to the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Bible—many are quick to embrace the conclusions of the documentary hypothesis or historical-critical methods. They seem more than comfortable suggesting that Moses didn’t write the Torah, that Deuteronomy…
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One of the most distinctive teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the belief that we lived with God before being born on earth. But does this teaching actually appear in the Church’s foundational scripture, the Book of Mormon? While there are a few passages that Latter-day Saints cite in support…
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What About the Person Who Never Hears About Jesus? One of the most common and heartfelt questions people ask about Christianity is this: What about the person who has never heard of Jesus? What happens to a 12-year-old child in a remote village in Africa who dies without ever hearing the gospel? It’s a powerful…