Mormon Musings

  "God gave to mankind through a young man, Joseph Smith, the ultimate and immense truths of the gospel in this, the last dispensation. This young man who had no social status to protect, no private theology already worked out for God to endorse, and who had loving and listening parents, could report that theophany honestly and cling tenaciously to the truth of that first vision in the midst of great persecution. A sophisticated man who had community status to protect and his own ideas about what kind of religion the world needed—even though a good man—would have been sorely tempted to have traded off truth for the praise of the world. Paul reminded us that "the friendship of the world is enmity with God. . . ." (James 4:4.) Could any but a humble non-linguist have gone to the Hill Cumorah and, under the direction of an angel, be shown ancient records and be told, so boldly, that he, personally, would be the unlettered instrument in translating these for the benefit of a...

“I believe that the busy person on the farm, in the shop, in the office, or in the household, who has his worries and troubles, can solve his problems better and more quickly in the house of the Lord than anywhere else. If he will … [do] the temple work for himself and for his dead, he will confer a mighty blessing upon those who have gone before, and … a blessing will come to him, for at the most unexpected moments, in or out of the temple will come to him, as a revelation, the solution of the problems that vex his life. That is the gift that comes to those who enter the temple properly.” (“Temple Worship,”  The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine,  Apr. 1921, pp. 63–64.)  Elder  John A. Widtsoe

  God has no distracting hobbies off somewhere in the universe. We are at the very center of His concerns and purposes. What a sharp contrast to those who believe that man lives in an “unconscious universe” (Bertrand Russell, “A Free Man’s Worship,” in  Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays  [1917], 50), a “universe … without a master” (Albert Camus,  The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays,  trans. Justin O’Brien [1955], 123)... Notably, at the last day the adversary “will not support” those who followed him anyway (see  Alma 30:60 ). He cannot. Jesus will triumph majestically, and the adversary’s clever constructs, “pleasing to the carnal mind,” will also collapse, and “the fall thereof will be exceedingly great” (see  Alma 30:53 ;  1 Ne. 11:36 ). Even now, one can see in the lives of those prodigals who come to themselves the devil’s doctrines dripping in early meltdown (see  Luke 15:17 ). Many, having experienced the utter emptiness of the l...

Materialism, which gives priority to material needs and objects, is obviously the opposite of spirituality. The Savior taught that we should not lay up 'treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal' (Matthew 6:19). We should lay up treasures in heaven: 'For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also' (Matthew 6:21). ... There is nothing inherently evil about money. The Good Samaritan used the same coinage to serve his fellowman that Judas used to betray the Master. It is 'the love of money [which] is the route of all evil' (1 Timothy 6:10). The critical difference is the degree of spirituality we exercise in viewing, evaluating, and managing the things of this world and our experiences in it. If allowed to become an object of worship or priority, money can make us selfish and prideful, 'puffed up in the vain things of the world' (Alma 5:37). In contrast, if used for fulfilling our l...

Repentance means more than simply a reformation of behavior. Many men and women in the world demonstrate great will-power and self-discipline in overcoming bad habits and the weaknesses of the flesh. Yet at the same time they give no thought to the Master, sometimes even openly rejecting Him. Such changes of behavior, even if in a positive direction, do not constitute true repentance. ...True repentance is based on and flows from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other way. True repentance involves a change of heart and not just a change of behavior (see Alma 5:13). Ezra Taft Benson, Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [1988], 71.

By Elder Neal A. Maxwell Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Elder Neal A. Maxwell passed away on 21 July 2004 as this issue of the  Ensign  was being prepared for publication. After reciting a litany of social ills during his time, Mormon consoled his son, Moroni, suggesting that somber world conditions could unnecessarily “weigh thee down” ( Moro. 9:25 ). 1   Today, I write lest you be unnecessarily “weighed down.” What follows will include several stern but needed prophecies, yet my comments will mostly be about some very reassuring and positive things. Though I write primarily to the youth of the Church, these assurances have ready application to all gospel teachers who have been entrusted with nurturing this royal generation. My text is a later Nephi’s phrase about his own time and season on earth. As he became less nostalgic for an earlier time and more submissive as to doing his duty in his particular season, he said, “I am consigned that these are my days.” I inv...

“This is the time for our best effort, not our worst. This is a time for our greatest hope, not a retreat into calamity. We're going to be okay. Everything's going to be alright. This will pass.” “Everybody has troubles,” he said. “Everybody feels a little broken in life. . . Broken things are made whole. That's the story of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It takes broken clouds to nourish the earth. It takes broken earth to nourish grain. It takes broken grain to make bread, broken bread to nourish us . . . Things are broken in order to be whole, in order to give life. And the most precious broken thing of all was the broken heart of the Son of God.” “The Saviour asks us for a broken heart and contrite spirit. That’s what we need to be prepared to give. That’s what our sacrificial gift is supposed to be,” said Elder Holland. https://news-uk.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-jeffrey-r-holland-honours-and-strengthens-british-latter-day-saints-at-online-devotional-invites-al...