I have a message for a lot of you “active” members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints out there. It’s going to shock you. It’s going to disturb you. You’ll most likely reject it. But you need to hear it. Regretfully, before I proceed, I need to give you a disclaimer and proclaim my “orthodoxy” (because I know orthodoxy is important to you and that you’ll definitely want to question it later). I go to Church. I…
Empathy is the ability to see, understand and love from deep within another’s soul. In its highest forms, it does more than respond to the needs of another. It anticipates them. It does not ask, “What can I do for you?” Rather, it knows what to do and acts without asking. And when it acts, it exposes the hand of God because it delivers ill-equipped humans to the threshold of omniscience. It transforms what would otherwise be well-intended but misguided…
Perfection is not the attainment of some static ideal. It is the ability to behold and belove the beauty of the imperfect. We don’t behold the Corona Arch and think, “If only I could shave off a few tons over here and put it over there …. then it would be perfect.” Likewise, we shouldn’t do that to ourselves. We shouldn’t do that to each other. Instead, we must learn how to stand with awe and wonder at all of…
As I thought I was approaching death, I realized with stunning clarity that there are two things that will give you confidence to meet God and two things only: (1) charity for all and (2) virtue. “Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men … and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; THEN shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.” (D&C 121:45.) This comes from a text recorded in 1839. There are two things…
