Wicked King Noah: A story for our day

The Sunday School lesson I taught on the third Sunday of May was on Mosiah chapters 11 through 17. These chapters tell of a wicked king (Noah) and a prophet (Abinadi) who was sent to call the king and his people to repentance. This story is alarmingly relevant to our lives today. (As you will … Read more

The war against Israel is a war against western democracy

I must admit that the Hamas/Hezbollah/Houthi/Syria/Iraq/Iran axis is very good at propaganda. They seem to have fooled a large number of, otherwise progressive, college students and Democrats that the state of Israel is the bad guy and Hamas is the good guy in the current war in Gaza. Oh, they will say that they are … Read more

The vanity of populism

An essential component of populist rhetoric is telling the people what they want to hear. Many politicians throughout history have attracted mass followings by simply reinforcing people’s selfish beliefs and prejudices – including their misconceptions. Donald J. Trump, along with his supportive right-wing media, is a master at this type of manipulation. Creating an enemy … Read more

A short history of Palestine

The area now called Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, and Jordan has a long history of being ruled by many different kingdoms – including ancient Israel and Judah. The area was ruled by the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire from 1516 until the end of World War 1. (The Turks had sided with the Germans). The entire … Read more

They that wait

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter-days have both a special relationship to, and a special responsibility toward, the Jewish people. I have always had a warm place in my heart for them, but since the horrific terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 I have been particularly concerned for their … Read more

A stiff-necked people

And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, … Read more

Permission to be a Bully

Thirty percent of American adults suffer abusive conduct at work. This affects 76.3 million workers. According to ongoing surveys taken by the Workplace Bullying Institute, bullying in the American workplace is up 11% since 2017. The 2017 survey was taken during Donald Trump’s first year in the presidency. At that time leadership experts coined the … Read more