While reading the Millenial Star blog, I noticed an article on the side that caught my attention that was about Joseph and Hyrum Smith and John Taylor taking off their garments before going to Carthage, where Joseph and Hyrum were killed.  The reasoning behind them doing it varies, but it is either because they didn’t want to be revealed as “Mormons” to their enemies, or it was too hot in Illinois to wear them and Joseph Smith is quoted as saying he chose not to wear his garments when it was too hot.  (http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Martyrdom/Removed_garments)

This may be a big shock to some people of the LDS faith because when one goes through the temple they covenant to where the garments as a token of their faithfulness and devotion to the Savior.  Furthermore, LDS members are told that the way the garment is worn is an outward expression of an inner commitment to Jesus.

In the same article, there is an account written by B.H. Roberts, of an LDS Elder Robinson, who was actually saved because he removed his garments, which is quoted below:

But unfortunately if Elder Robinson should fall into the hands of enemies, it would be a betrayal of him as to his being a Mormon elder. He therefore retired to a densely wooded section of the country and, stripping off these garments, rolled them up and climbed a tree and tied them securely….But approaching the neighborhood of Kane Creek where the elders were reported to be killed, the railroad passes over a bit of trestle work over a very deep and quite large ravine, and near the middle of this trestle work he observed three men approaching from the other side, guns in hand. There was nothing left to do than to go right on. These men proved to be members of the mountain guard watching for me. On meeting Elder Robinson they questioned him as to where he came from and what his purpose was, and when he told them that he was looking for a job cotton picking they laughed saying, “A damn fine cotton picker you would be. Look at your hands.” And, of course, as Elder Robinson had not engaged in physical labor, his hands were white and soft, not at all characteristic of cotton pickers. He then told them of having been sick for sometime, and that accounted for his pallor in his face and hands and that he was just now beginning to get about and was now strong enough to begin cotton picking. Hence he was in search of that job. They invited him to sit down while they thought things over. No sooner did he do that when one of the three grabbed his shirt by the collar and tore it so as to expose his body, but they found no garments incriminating him as to his Mormonism and finally allowed him to pass.

These accounts raise some questions, which will be outlined below:

If the garments are to be a shield, protection and an outward expression of inner faith, why is it that Joseph Smith and the others removed their garments? 

Do you think their lives would have been saved had they worn them? 

In Elder Robinson’s case, did he show a lack of faith by removing his garments? 

For LDS members today, do you feel that you lack faith if you remove your garments?

Personally, it doesn’t matter to me if someone else chooses not to wear their garments.  For me, it is a personal thing between God and myself and no one elses matter.

Glenn Beck was poking at Al Gore the other day for being insincere because he eats meat.  When Al Gore was confronted about this, his response sounded very similar to the LDS’ “Word of Wisdom” revelation.  Along with not drinking alcoholic drinks, the revelation admonishes LDS memebers to eat meat sparingly and eat a lot of grains and vegetables.

Here is a link to a blog that contains a clip of what Al Gore said:

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/03/sawyer-beck-gore/

If Gore is being sincere and truly follows what he says he’ll do and eat meat sparingly, he’s on his way to becoming a Mormon!

I read an interesting post the other day called “Have you Ever Prayed for your Sports Team to Win?”.   The post and the comments caused me to reflect on how detailed God is in our lives and whether or not he wants us to prosper.

The Book of Mormon is full of stories of people obeying Gods commandments, becoming prosperous, turning away from God, and then losing their faith.  Also, I’ve heard many Christians say that proud people are rich and God wants a humble people.  Finally, scriptures such as 1 Timothy 6:10 are quoted often alluding to the fact that money is a sin. 

Personally I feel that those who think wealth is a sin are wrong.  I feel that God wants us to be successful and rich as long as it is done in the proper order.  That order is as follows:

1. Seek the Kingdom of God
2. Strengthen Yourself
3. Strengthen Others

Seek the Kingdom of God

Jacob 2:18-19 reads:

18 But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.

  19 And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.

Alma 34:24-25 discusses praying for prosperity over our livelihood.  For me, I compare this with the scripture in Luke 22 that discusses once you are converted, to strengthen your bretheren.  How are we to help other people if our own houses are not in order and if we don’t have means to take care of ourselves and our families?

Strengthen Others

I teach Elders Quorum (men’s group) once a month and this month we focused on the excellent talk given last April by Jeffery R Holland, one of the 12 apostles entitled “None Were With Him.”

The talk focuses on Jesus’ journey to the cross the week before his crucifixtion and all the hardships he faced so he could die for our sins. It’s a very moving talk that I wrote about last April.

We read about Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus. We discussed what led up to him betraying Jesus. All of us agreed that greed, selfishness, fear, jealousy, and other sins all left unchecked within Judas led up to his betrayal.

We then stopped and analyzed ourselves. We’re all human as well. How often are we tempted to be greedy, selfish, and to have fear instead of faith? Judas’ experience shows us what can happen if we leave things unchecked.

The question then for all of us is what can we do to “get the Judas” out of us and overcome feelings of sin that can ultimately lead us away from Jesus?

Please share what you do to “get the Judas” out of you.

My Grandfather recently passed down a lot of the books in his library and one of the books I picked up is entitled “LDS Adventure Stories” by Preston Nibley.

One of the stories I read tonight was one of the most amazing accounts of bravery and faith I’ve ever read.  It details a plane crash in Alaska in Joseph H. Tippetts’  own words and was published in the Improvement Era in October of 1943.  If you are a member of gospelink.com you can look up the account and read it online.

I was going to write a detailed article of the story, but upon reasearching the lds blogs I found details of this event are given nicely in a blog called “Alaskan Odyssey“ written about a year ago, which includes pictures from the crash. 

It is a miracle that 4 men survived the plane crash and lived for a month in the harsh Alaska winter.   They all had broken bones, yet had to struggle to survive the weather and when a search party gave up looking for them, all they could do was pray and work to find assistance.  The hardships that were endured and overcome are miraculous.  Brother Tippetts gives an amazing account of how faith, patience, prayer, and God’s providence kept he and his companions alive.  He also accredits the Bible and Book of Mormon and a book called Unto the Hills by Richard L Evans as books that kept his faith strong throughout the trial in the wilderness.

Joseph Tippett’s concluding words in his account show his humility and faith:

In looking back over our experience I can truthfully say that God was good to us.  we can give him credit for leading the boat to our rescue.  The captain of the boat had gone over thrity-five miles off his course to come into that little bay to rescue us.  He was influenced to come to that spot in answer to prayer.  We regard it as a modern miracle.  The influence of the faith and prayers of our good wives and friends did much to bring us safely home…we join in thanking God for performing a miracle in our behalf.  May we ever remain faithful to him.

Also just last week, Joseph Tippett’s son appeared as a guest blogger and wrote about more details of Joseph Tippett’s life and you can read this account here.

After reading this, I feel amazed at what God can help us accomplish when we put our trust and faith in Him.

I was browsing on LDS.org today and came across a great little YouTube message from President Uchtdorf. I thought this message was very good. Especially the quote from Romans 15. I went and read the whole chapter of Romans 15 and thought it was interesting how patience is a big factor involved with having hope.

Here is the message. Enjoy!

I came across some interesting Book of Mormon geography theories.  Some of which I was familiar with and a few that were new to me.  I found them interesting to read through.  I’m sure there are more theories out there, but here are a few for you to read through.  I’ve included links for more information on each theory on the titles of the theory. 

Mesoamerica Theory 1: Isthmus of Tehuantepec

As you can see in this map, this theory is the one in which people believe the main location for the Book of Mormon is in Central America and Mexico.  The theory is that the land and continent formation is the same as today for the most part and that the archeological findings in that area could be related to Book of Mormon people.  It is also a limited geography model in that the geography covers just parts of the Americas rather than all of North and South America.

Mesoamerica Theory 2: Part of the Caribean that sunk into the ocean

This theory is similar to the first theory, except the geography covers most of North and Central America and it also includes areas of the Carribean that have sunk into the ocean that appear to be cities and/or civilizations.

Baja Penninsula Theory 

This theory is a relatively new one that I found the other day which claims that Lehi and company landed on the Baja Penninsula in Mexico.  The theory is that this is one of the only locations in the world that supports a Meditteranean climate similar to the one Lehi and his family departed from.

Great Lakes Theory

This theory is that the whole Book of Mormon took place around the Great Lakes region. 

Malay Penninsula Theory

This one is another relatively new theory.  The theory is that the archeological findings in Mesoamerica do not support Book of Mormon civilizations and also that Lehi and company couldn’t feasibly make the journey 16,000 miles to the Americas.  Therefore, they landed on the Malay Penninsula , which is in the area of Singapore and Thailand.

So now it’s your turn to share your thoughts.  Which theory do you believe in or do you not believe in any of them?  Take time to vote on which theory you believe in and feel free to leave a comment as well.

I was reading an excerpt from the book “Will a Man Rob God?” in the chapter called “For where your Treasure is” by Milton R Hunter and came across an interesting quote.  He quoted President Anthon H Lund (a former LDS Apostle) who said in part:

…as a rule the Latter-day Saints who are the best tithepayers are the most prosperous men, financially…

Lund went on in his quote to say the following:

what I count as real prosperity, as the one thing of all others that is of great value to every man and woman living, is the growth in the knowledge of God, and in a testimony, and in the power to live the gospel and to inspire our families to do the same thing. This is prosperity of the truest kind.

From my personal experience as a Latter-day Saint I think many times people read the first quote and then stop there, thinking that if they pay tithing God will give them financial abundance.  People who think this, I feel are missing the boat when it comes to the law of tithing and the law of abundance.  Merely paying one’s tithing doesn’t necessarily result in financial gain.  There are many other factors involved for those who are prosperous in worldly terms.  This includes financial planning and managing our money, along with paying tithing.

I have three sources primarily that have helped our family with financial planning and managing our money. 

The first one is a talk given quite a few years ago by Marvin J Ashton, an Apostle for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It is called “One for the Money“.  I encourage all to read this talk.  In the talk, he outlines a debt-reduction plan.  As we’ve applied this to our lives we’ve seen our debt reduce drastically.

The second resource is by a Christian author named Howard Dayton.  The book is called “Your Money Map“.  I like this resource because it provides a visual resource on how to plan debt-reduction and gain financial freedom and apply Biblical principles while you’re doing it.

Finally, another Christian author, Mary Hunt, has an excellent book called “Debt-Proof your Marriage.”  She applies similar guidance as the other two resources on getting out of debt and planning.  However, in addition to this, she provides guidance on being prepared for unexpected expenses and also working together with your spouse on tracking and managing finances.  This book has been very helpful for us in our family.  She also has a book called “Debt Proof Your Kids” for parents trying to teach children how to manage money.  Very good book.

We’re (my wife and I) not experts by any means, but we’ve been able to see significant results by applying principles learned in these books and paying our tithing.  In the past two years that we’ve been applying these principles we’ve been able to pay off a car, pay off our credit cards, pay off most of my student loans, pay an extra $700/month on our mortgage, save for 6 months worth of income, save for and make a down payment on a new home, and my salary has increased significantly as well. 

Do I attribute this soley to me paying my tithing?  No.  I attribute it to a combination of learning how to manage money and keep a budget together with my wife along with paying tithing.  I feel that paying tithing is most critical to spiritual strength rather than monetary gain.  Paying tithes helps us detach ourselves from our money and realize that it isn’t our money, but God’s to give.  It also helps us bless the lives of others less fortunate.

I’m sure many of you out there have suggestions, advice and success stories to share as well.  Please share your comments to help others and add to anything I’ve said. 

What are your thoughts?

Recently Elder Nelson gave a talk at the World Congress of Families V entitled “The Family: The Hope for the Future of Nations“.

You can view his talk here, but I’d like to just highlight some quotes I found inspiring from the talk.  Feel free to share your thoughts on the talk as well.

Here are a few quotes from the talk I liked:

After 59 years of marriage, my dear wife, Dantzel, died of a sudden rhythm shift of the heart. Ironically, my professional life as a heart surgeon included intensive research in the very malady that claimed her life. Even so, I could not resuscitate her. I know about a widower’s silent loneliness

In General Conference we rarely see the human side of the Apostles unfortuneatly.  I found it refreshing that Elder Nelson got personal and shared some of his deepest heartaches.  My heart went out to him as he shared this story.

Throughout my life, I have answered to many titles, including doctor, captain, professor, and elder. But the titles I revere most are those of husband, father, and grandfather.

Having become a new father myself last year, and for all you mothers and fathers out there, I’m sure you totally understand and appreciate this quote.  It is important for us to always remember which roles are most important in our lives and that our children feel that we put them above our jobs and church callings.

Spiritually, we need children as much as they need us. They are our spiritual wealth.

Just think how beautiful and fun life is with children.  It’s no wonder Jesus told us to become as a child.

…future happiness and even the future of nations is linked to children. Families with children need to be re-enthroned as the fundamental unit of society. We simply must value children more than we do!

Any attempt to broaden the definition of marriage to encompass a contractual relationship between adults outside of the traditional family weakens the institution of marriage as God Himself defined it, and undermines the separate, divinely decreed responsibilities of man and woman for procreation, protection, and rearing of children.

These quotes drive home the importance of marriage as God defines it.  Not as we try to define it.  It also drives home implications and effects on children and how that will affect society in the long run.

Take some time to read the rest of his talk, along with the excerpt from The Family Proclamation.

What are your thoughts?

Periodically I read the blog Musings on Mormonism.  It is a blog from a former LDS member who is juggling family and spirituality and posts blogs that for the most part appear to be sincere.

The other day I read the post entitled “Can our Hearts be Trusted“.   She describes how praying and receiving an answer from God isn’t legitimate because our hearts can decieve us.  She then goes on to state the only thing we can trust is God’s word and nothing else.

This statement was very amazing to me for a number of reasons.  First, how are we to know God’s word if we can’t recognize and discern his voice?  Next, in my opinion it is borderline blasphemy to say that God can’t answer prayers and speak to our hearts through not only feelings, but in our minds and through scriptures as well.  Finally, I feel that it is a tool from Satan to deceive us into thinking that we do not need to pay attention to the feelings and promptings God gives us.  It states in scripture that God speaks to us in our minds and in our hearts through feelings, visions, scriptures, and other means such as prophecy.

The question then is how do we learn to discern between what our desires are and what God’s desires are?  Furthermore, if one claims to be a prophet and speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost as the prophets of the New Testament did, how are we to know if what they are saying is truth?  Many people may answer this by saying to look it up in the Bible and that will confirm the truth.  However, how is one to know what truth is when reading in the Bible or any other scripture for that matter?  Clearly the answer is through the Holy Ghost.  But once again, the question arises how do we know if what we are feeling is from God or just our own desires?  Worse yet, how do we know what we feel isn’t Satan trying to deceive us?

These thoughts caused me to reflect on a post I wrote about 2 years ago called “Receiving and Recognizing Answers to Prayers.”  In this post and especially in the comments by other readers, there are common threads on how we can live our lives in tune so we can receive and recognize answers to our prayers.

In one of the threads, it discusses how God will send us the Holy Ghost through feelings accompanied with a positive conviction.  Personally, I feel that all inspiration we receive should be backed up, as our “musings” friend alludes to with the scriptures.

From my own personal experience, I know this is a truth: God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit and we feel this many times as a burning in the bosom, or exceeding joy that is more than just our own made-up desires that confirms all truth.  We do need to learn and practice to discern from our own feelings and God speaking to us though. 

Personally, I feel that our friend over at Musings has it 1/2 right.  We do need to test our answers to the Word of God and not soley rely on a desire…especially if we’re not sure if it’s from God or not.  We shouldn’t rely soley on just our feelings and also it is important to have had a witness of what scripture is truth and this will come through an answer from the Holy Spirit as well.

I know we can learn to recognize and discern between Heavenly Father’s promptings and our own desires. 

What are your thoughts on this subject?