Midterms Election 2018

The only thing I will say about this election is that we Americans may need to remember the lesson taught to King Croesus as written by the ancient Greek author Herodotus:

“None may escape his destined lot, not even a god. Croesus hath paid for the sin of his ancestor of the fifth generation: who, being of the guard of the Heraclidae, was led by the guile of a woman to slay his master, and took to himself the royal state of that master, whereto he had no right. And it was the desire of Loxias that the evil hap of Sardis should fall in the lifetime of Croesus’ sons, not his own, but he could not turn the Fates from their purpose; yet did he accomplish his will and favour Croesus in so far as they would yield to him: for he delayed the taking of Sardis for three years, and this let Croesus know, that though he be now taken it is by so many years later than the destined hour. And further, Loxias saved Croesus from the burning. But as to the oracle that was given him, Croesus doth not right to complain concerning it. For Loxias declared to him that if he should lead an army against the Persians he would destroy a great empire. Therefore it behoved him, if he would take right counsel, to send and ask whether the god spoke of Croesus’ or of Cyrus’ empire. But he understood not that which was spoken, nor made further inquiry: wherefore now let him blame himself. Nay, when he asked that last question of the oracle and Loxias gave him that answer concerning the mule, even that Croesus understood not. For that mule was in truth Cyrus; who was the son of two persons not of the same nation, of whom the mother was the nobler and the father of lesser estate; for she was a Median, daughter of Astyages king of the Medians: but he was a Persian and under the rule of the Medians, and was wedded, albeit in all regards lower than she, to one that should be his sovereign lady.” Such was the answer of the priestess to the Lydians; they carried it to Sardis and told it to Croesus; and when he heard it, he confessed that the sin was not the god’s, but his own. And this is the story of Croesus’ rule, and of the first overthrow of Ionia.
The Persian Wars, Book 1 - Herodotus

The lesson? Looking past the obscure names and archaic language the point King Croesus learned was that the fate of his kingdom was decided long before he was born as punishment for the crimes of his ancestor. There was little to nothing that could have been done to change his fate, or the fate of his kingdom - the sins and crimes of his ancestors needed to be answered.

A similar lesson is taught in the Christian Bible through the fall of the Kingdom of Judah in punishment for the sins of King Manasseh, son of Hezekiah.

Framing The Transgender Reality For Mormons

The Mormon reaction to a person being Transgender has confused me for several years. The LDS Church repeatedly has insisted that gender identity (like sexual orientation) is a matter of Mental Health or Wretched Wickedness. These positions may fluctuate from time to time but generally speaking Mormons seem react with even more disdain towards a Transgender person than they do to a Homosexual or Bisexual person. This hostility is something I simply don't understand from a doctrinal standpoint, being Transgender is living proof for some of the most fundamental doctrines in the LDS cannon, so opposing a Transgender reality has the effect of shooting your own doctrines in the foot.

In Mormonism the belief in a Pre-Mortal Existence is paramount and is one of the most supreme tenants of a Mormon's faith. It is the Pre-Mortal Existence that solidifies the beliefs in Family, Gender, Satan, Creation, Divine Potential, Mortal Trials, Pro-Creation, Choice/Agency, Afterlife, etc.

What If Abinadi Lived Today

Perhaps the most repeated defense for the Prophets and leaders of the LDS Church, and why members or non-members (mostly ex-members) cannot or should not criticize the Prophet or other Church leaders, is that these men have the Authority to speak for God. To so many active and devoted members of the Church their authority seems like an impenetrable defense, unfortunately for them however, it is actually a very weak scriptural defense, one that is contradicted regularly in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. There are multiple accounts in both scriptural records proving that a Prophet's Authority is not enough to protect a Prophet from being rebuked over his own wrongdoing. Anyone who desires to protect the Prophets and Apostles will need to prove the defense of their leaders by other means after these examples are published and explained.

Abinadi's story is well known to Mormons, as is the painting of his trial before the Wicked King Noah, but perhaps the details of his situation are not so clearly understood.

The Tennessee Bible

The text of the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is probably the most frequently quoted and misused text in America.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;..."

That is all the 1st Amendment has to say about religion. Creating a law to place any one Holy Book of any religion as an official government record (of any kind) is a violation of the Amendment as stated. The Governments of the United States are not allowed to hinder the actual worship within any religion but they are also not allowed to formally endorse any specific religion. Having the Holy Bible as the OFFICIAL STATE BOOK of any U.S. government has the effect of an endorsement of that branch of Christianity which favors that particular translation. So not only would this law set Christians as superior above all other world religions but it would also set certain Christian sects above the others.

I pray that the Governor vetoes this bill and that God forgives the people for violating their principles and oaths.

It could become the first state to do so.

Posted by NBC News on Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Consensus vs Dissension

We regularly hear in the Church the idea that Consensus between the Brethren (Prophets and Apostles) is an indication of Truth. If they are united on a principle it is more likely to be appropriate and doctrinally true, or at least that we are told. We've also been told frequently (as was reiterated in Elder Rasband's talk this past General Conference) that it is acceptable to have questions but never to be "questioning" the Brethren. We are taught to sustain and unite with the Brethren in word and in deed. In essence we are told to be in Consensus with the Brethren of the Church at all times.

But is Consensus all that it is cracked up to be? Is Consensus always considered a good thing? President Monson openly acknowledges that it is not always for the best to be in Consensus and that sometimes Dissension is necessary and right.

So sometimes Consensus is right and sometimes Dissension is right.

Labeled by Sin or Name

I think a lot of people need to remember this when talking to others. Too often I hear members of the Church (and other churches) refer to people by whether or not they drink, smoke, are gay, looked at porn, had premarital sex etc. and continue to refer to that person by their sin for years. Just because we try to follow Christ does not mean that the Devil still can't use our mouths to do harm. 

Mormons for Trump?

Anyone who personally knows me will know that I have absolutely no respect for Donald Trump as a person or as a Presidential candidate, I've been quite clear on my views regarding his lack of qualifications and unsafe social/political positions. However, at this point I'm not going to go on a tirade about Trump himself or his views/policies. Instead I want to touch on a few basic realities about Mr. Trump and primarily focus on how terrified I am that Mormons, even "high ranking" leaders (including retired ones) are actually supporting him in his candidacy.

Donald Trump has proven himself to be racist, on multiple occasions and in multiple ways. Most recently he discussed torture tactics and promoted a (false) mass murder story of Americans butchering Muslims and claimed that that was the direction America needed to go in. Click HERE for CNN story. He's also promoted plans to forcibly identify Muslims in the U.S. (very similarly to how Jews etc. were treated in Nazi Germany) and bar immigration to an entire ethnic and religious group of people worldwide. All of this is in addition to other statements made against Blacks and Hispanics.

President Hinckley, one of the longest serving Presidents and Prophets of the LDS Church made his views on racism perfectly and crystal clear:

The Church and I

I've been thinking lately that I've never truly explained who I am and what my situation is with the LDS Church. Today I'll give a short (hopefully) overview of my story and why I am willing to risk so much to criticize the Church on the errors and injustices I see. Even though I'll be sharing my story honestly I do not intend to share all I've been through, I intend to be very candid and forthcoming about my experiences but there are definitely things that are better left unsaid or said in very limited detail.

Technically I was born a third generation Mormon since it was my grandparents who were baptized which incidentally led to both my mother and I to eventually be born into the Church. I say "technically" because for a long time my mother and I were the only ones in our family to actually be active members. I was baptized by my Bishop at 8 years old, received the Priesthood at 12 and served in virtually every Presidency available to young men my age. I graduated Seminary (Mormon youth scripture study program during the high school years) with all the extra awards for full attendance and scripture memorization etc. I served a Full Time 2 year Mission for the Church, Spanish speaking, received a 4 year Diploma in graduating Institute (the college version of Seminary), and served in various leadership and teaching positions. I studied the scriptures so much, and thankfully had a good memory, that whenever others had gospel related questions they usually came to me for the answers.

Mormonism 101

So I'm thinking that somebody, somewhere, somewhen (yes I know that isn't a word), might find my blog even though they aren't actually Mormon and I'm thinking that they might not know a lot about what the Church is and whatnot. I understand that there is a lot of mixed information out there from different sources and so I thought that this might be a good place to just go over a few basics; how the Church got started, what it claims to be, what certain terms mean, what the organizational structure looks like etc.

I know I've written a lot of really long posts lately so I'll do my best to keep this short and sweet!

Dear Sister Nelson

 Dear Sister Nelson,

I would kindly ask you to refrain from spreading false doctrines in your official speaking assignments. No one can completely condemn you just for your sincere (though incorrect and non-doctrinal) beliefs but you are not safe from scrutiny and condemnation when you teach those falsehoods publicly.

Now, you might very well become defensive and upset at hearing a statement like this and that is understandable. Nevertheless it is much more polite than what most members of the Church (and leaders) have said to members of the LGBT community and to persons who are friendly to our community, even recently. Still, it is true that you said things that are not doctrine and are in fact not accepted by the First Presidency. I am not simply stating my own opinion of your words but I intend to prove by the words of the First Presidency and various Apostles the truth of my own claims.

The Human Construct of Homosexual Sin

It's common knowledge in Christianity and various other religions that homosexuality, or in some cases homosexual behavior, is a sin against God. Normally I've heard people claim that the Bible says it is a sin or in my case as a Mormon I often hear that both the scriptures and the Prophets have said it is a sin. I want to examine those claims more closely in order to show that homosexuality is not a sin and that a legitimate homosexual relationship is also not sinful. Furthermore I intend to show that all claims to the contrary are human constructs or as we say in the Church: the wisdom of man. I do not believe that God is the author of the perceptions against LGBT persons world wide. The God I worship will not condemn a soul for being born gay, or transgender etc. because to do so would make God a "respecter of persons" which He is not.

Everything in this article comes from a Mormon perspective, so I can understand how people from other faiths may easily dismiss certain arguments that I will make here. There are certain teachings among Mormons in regards to homosexuality that are unique to our religion. To anyone else from any other faith who might read this I would ask that you look at the methods I use to break down the verses of the Bible that I quote and ask yourself if these same methods can be applied to better understand your own religious teachings, whatever they may be. If a Biblical verse appears to imply a condemnation against homosexuality but when dissected and examined in detail that verse no longer carries that meaning then we can assume that the verse had been misread or misinterpreted in the past. I tend to quantify the individual phrases, words and questions in all verses that I read, I take down definitions, wordings from alternative languages, and cross reference similar wordings between verses across the Bible or other scriptures. I invite anyone to do the same with their own religious records and quantify the particular and powerful meanings of what you believe. You might be surprised to find many things different than you were told or than you had previously assumed. God is just and righteous in all His forms.