Commandments
Safety in Following the Rules
In my family history researches I have come across several tragedies. There was a young man who drowned while canoeing on a lake in Washington. There was a young woman and her 7-year-old niece who died from being burned in an explosion in the home. I theorize that the explosion was caused by refilling kerosene lamps after dark (when the flames were lighted), something my mother said was never, ever to be done. There was a young man killed by his shotgun while crossing a fence. My hunter’s safety course instructed us to always lay our guns on the ground before crossing a fence, something that young man apparently failed to do.
Read MoreBearers of Light
I had a wonderful visit recently with a former atheist. She is the soon-to-be-80 friend of Danny and Sarah. I asked if she had always been a member of the Church, or if she was a convert. Here is Jadine’s story:
Read MoreGroping in the Dark
Our former stake patriarch, Elmer Perry, once told of a terrifying experience he had while driving on a dark night on a highway with no center line or shoulder lines during a heavy rain storm. With limited vision, and no lines to guide him, he couldn’t tell whether he was on the road or not.
Read MoreThat Which Has Been
It is said, “That which has been is that which shall be,” or that “history repeats itself.”
It occurs to me that two of the world’s most momentous and significant events are going to be repeated, and we’d better be ready for them.
Hidden Treasures of Knowledge
How would you like to go on a treasure hunt?
Yes? Well, then here’s your own personal treasure map. (Handed all three children a set of scriptures open to D&C 89:18-19). Now you follow the underlined verses while I quote them.
What Good Would That Do?
Ralph Swenson was once filling potholes with asphalt when a voice asked him, “Do you have your year’s supply?”
Read MoreWhat Must I Jettison?
I should think it a very valuable exercise if, like our pioneer ancestors, we had to choose from among our many possessions those things that we most treasure, load those few items into a 4-foot by 8-foot wagon box, and leave the rest behind.
Read MoreBlackbirds
A few years ago as Margie and I were on our way to the Boise Temple we witnessed a beautiful phenomenon just west of Ontario. I had seen it before, but not on that scale. Ahead of us, over the freeway, was a giant cloud of blackbirds flying in perfect unison. The cloud was made up of thousands of individual birds all flying, twisting and turning at precisely the same instant. There was no ripple effect as first one bird and then its neighbor would decide to turn. Instead, every bird from front to back, though perhaps separated by a quarter of a mile, would turn at the exact, same instant.
Read MoreRestrictive Commandments
I heard today that religion is restrictive, and that religion takes away freedoms.
I got up this morning at 4:00. I went out into the living room with my Book of Mormon, sat down on the couch, covered myself with my blanket, and had a prayer before I began reading. I prayed for the Holy Ghost to attend my studying and thoughts; and to give me a subject to think about and to write about, and possibly to teach about in priesthood meeting next week. That setting, that prayer, and that exercise never fail to bring revelation.
My Own, Personal, 10 Commandments
Love and serve the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.…
Read MoreFormulas For Life
“Repentance needs to be done one step at a time. Humble prayer will facilitate each essential step.
Read MoreSlipped Moorings
President Thomas S. Monson made the observation that “the world has slipped from its moorings.”
Read MoreThe Yoke of Christ
My piano-playing wife has a new, favorite composer. Through all of our married life she has daily been at the piano playing Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Scott Joplin, and the like.
Read MoreThe Need for The Commandments
We need to be grateful for commandments. Commandments are put into place to protect us. A person without commandments is a person without boundaries.
Read MoreJohn Baba
As late as the 1990’s it was the custom on the island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu to bury newborn babies with their mothers if the mothers passed away as the result of childbirth.
Read MoreCome Join the Ranks
Major parts of both the Bible and the Book of Mormon deal with armies and war. One is led to ask why these books of peace are so interlaced with violence. The simple answer is that we are, in fact, in the midst of an ongoing battle that began before the world was created.
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