Sunday school lessons on the final chapters of Genesis typically discuss the story of Joseph and his brothers and then skip ahead to the blessings Jacob (Israel) gives to his sons before his death. Perhaps more pertinent to our time is the story that often gets passed over — the story of the increasingly severe … Read more
Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. Genesis 45:19-20 In the Book of Genesis, Joseph, who had … Read more
The other day I asked this question to my 89-year-old mother. Her answer was, “I don’t believe that for a minute. She knew exactly what she was doing.” It is impossible to know the precise degree to which Eve may have made her decision (about eating the fruit) by being swayed by Satan’s temptations or … Read more
A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again. Alexander Pope Both the diagram and the quotation above illustrate the human tendency to think we know more than we do. They do not discourage learning, but remind … Read more
The following story, recorded in the Book of Mormon, took place in America about 29 to 23 B.C. It’s events are amazingly similar to recent history. And it came to pass that the Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part … Read more
Republicans like to play a little game with the word “democracy.” Whenever someone refers to the United States as a “democracy” they pipe up in a self-righteous know-it-all voice and say, “The United States is not a democracy, it’s a republic.” This word game, while technically historically accurate, is essentially meaningless. While the founding fathers … Read more
Lord, who made the lion and the lamb,You decreed I should be what I am;Would it spoil some vast eternal plan,If I were a wealthy man? Tevye from “Fiddler on the Roof” In our daily trials and troubles, it is not uncommon for us to think, like Tevye, “Oh, if only I were rich! I … Read more
I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries … Read more