Category: Uncategorized
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Maybe Believers Are Not Anti-logic
The stereotype about believers is that they are anti-reason. But this isn’t exactly accurate. When I was a believer, I loved logic and reason. I loved making connections. I loved the logic of the scriptures and the way this verse connected to that one. I could see connections everywhere. I loved the way gospel ideas…
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The Red Pill and the Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost is supposed to confirm the answers, but how do we confirm the method of the Holy Ghost? I was raised believing that the Church doesn’t mind being questioned. It’s okay to question; it’s even good to question—it’s encouraged. As long as you don’t question the framework of how you get the answers.…
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Doubts Are Sacred
If you want to follow the truth no matter where it leads, it cannot be done without doubts. Even if what you believe is true, you cannot know it until you doubt. Why? Because you have to know it for yourself. And in order to know it, you have to question it. We can all…
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Darth Vader could be your Bishop
In a recent video, Elder Corbridge said that if you are really converted, “Darth Vader could be your Bishop, the culture could be like Alcatraz, and it will not drive you away.” He said “belief trumps discomfort.” But there is something besides belief implied in his statement. Obedience and Sacrifice After all, why can’t you…
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“Maybe you were never really converted.”
This is the reason Elder Corbridge gives for so many leaving the church. If you have left the LDS church, you have heard this idea expressed many times. This dismissal can be bewildering. I have been on both sides. When, as a believer I watched people leave, I thought they couldn’t possibly have had the…
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The trouble with prophets is we don’t know when they are speaking as prophets
The Holy Ghost is supposed to confirm when the prophet’s words are true. So then why have we gotten so many things so wrong? Have you ever had the experience of looking at old doctrines of the church and saying to yourself, “Man, I’m glad we don’t believe that anymore”? I had this experience several…
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Which prophet was right about prophets?
Bruce R. McConkie said, “Sometimes they [the prophets] err in doctrine.” His solution to these errors was that “The Lord has given us the Standard Works.” The standard works are vital to helping us avoid any errors the prophet may make in doctrine.”They become the standards and rules that govern where doctrine and philosophy are…
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Mormonism has a prophet problem
The problem is not that prophets are fallible, but that prophets can teach false doctrine—just as Bruce R. McConkie accused Brigham Young of doing. If prophets can teach false doctrine, then how do we know when they are teaching correct doctrine? LDS apologist Jacob Hansen believes he has the answer in a recent video he…
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Latter-day Saints and Critical Thinking
Maybe more than any other religion, Latter-day Saints give lip service to the virtue of critical thinking. We are supposed to study it out in our minds and then ask God if it is right. I loved this. It taught me that it was okay to value thinking and reason. But it can also create…
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The Book of Mormon contains a formula for discernment
The Book of Mormon contains a formula for discernment: ”Wherefore, everything which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.” (Moroni 7:13) In a recent video, President Christofferson advocated for this method as a key for avoiding deception in our modern world of AI. How…