Boasting in Christ Alone

Tag: mormon

  • The Head Coach and the Unfaithful Offensive Lineman: Why an LDS Analogy for Flawed Prophets Breaks Down

    David Snell, a popular Latter-day Saint content creator, recently made a video analogizing God to a head coach and LDS prophets and apostles as his offensive linemen. His point was that prophets are faithfully but imperfectly doing their best to run the coach’s plays, and that we should excuse their imperfections. It’s a clever metaphor.…

  • Did Paul Predict a Great Apostasy?: Reading 2 Thessalonians 2 in Context

    1. A Misused Prooftext Latter-day Saints and other restorationist movements often quote 2 Thessalonians 2:3:“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” They see this as proof the true Church vanished…

  • The Covenant Path or the Covenant Promise? How the Abrahamic Covenant Points to the Cross

    One of the legacies of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President Russell M. Nelson was his strong emphasis on covenants and the covenant path. President Nelson spoke frequently about covenants—especially about the Abrahamic Covenant. When I was LDS, I was taught to see the Abrahamic Covenant as the equivalent of the “new and…

  • An Unbreakable Covenant: What’s Really at Stake When We Debate about Ongoing Revelation?

    The Heart of the Matter When Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals talk about ongoing revelation, we often spend a lot of energy debating peripheral issues — like whether Revelation 22:18–19 supports the closing of the biblical canon. But that misses the heart of the matter. Latter-day Saints do not simply believe in an open canon; they…

  • Can a Murderer Be Forgiven? A Tale of Two Gospels

    In light of the killing of Charlie Kirk, I asked a group of Latter-day Saints a straightforward question: “If Charlie Kirk’s murderer repents while in prison, can he achieve exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom?” The responses were telling: There were two additional write-in votes that equate to “yes” and two that equate to “no.” Ignoring…

  • Bound by the Scriptures: Why I Believe in Sola Scriptura

    “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to…

  • The True Ancient of Days: God’s Glory, Not Adam’s

    The prophet Daniel received a majestic heavenly vision: “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat… his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool.” (Daniel 7:9) Daniel then sees “one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.” He…

  • Hollywood Retcons and the LDS Restoration

    If you’ve ever watched the Star Wars sequels, you know the feeling of a frustrating retcon. You thought the story had a clear ending with Anakin redeemed, the Emperor defeated, balance restored. But then you discover in The Rise of Skywalker that Palpatine was somehow alive the whole time. Suddenly the heroic sacrifices of the…

  • The Great Apostasy that Wasn’t: Acts 20:28-31 and the Church in Ephesus

    One of the passages I frequently cited when teaching about the Great Apostasy as an LDS missionary was Acts 20:28–31: “Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after…

  • The God Who Cannot Lie—or the One Who Threatens with Coal?

    Coal in the Stocking: A Harmless Bluff? Every December, parents everywhere tell their kids that if they misbehave, Santa will leave coal in their stockings instead of presents. It’s an empty threat, of course. The coal never comes. Eventually, the kids realize it was just a bluff—a tool to encourage good behavior during the holidays.…