Historical Background to Section 111 After the great spirit that was felt at the dedication of the Kirtland temple in the spring of 1836, missionaries for the church left in every direction to go and preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Bishop Edward Partridge, who had come north toContinue Reading

Gandalf stood before the door of Orthanc and beat on it with his staff. It rang with a hollow sound. ‘Saruman, Saruman!’ he cried in a loud commanding voice. ‘Saruman come forth!’… The window closed. They waited. Suddenly another voice spoke, low and melodious, its very sound an enchantment. ThoseContinue Reading

All of the anti-Christs in the Book of Mormon have essentially the same goal: to get their listeners to not believe in Jesus Christ and get them off the path that leads back to God. Despite this, they certainly would not get along with each other if gathered in theContinue Reading

1 Nephi 8-11 Coming into the presence of God in his temple There are multiple ways to read the story of the Tree of Life. Certainly this story is first and foremost about God’s love and invitation for all men to come into his presence through the Atonement of hisContinue Reading

The Land and the Sea Beast Revelation 13 depict two mighty beasts coming to the fore, both representing different aspects of the Kingdom of Satan in his time as well as ours. One beast arises out of the sea, hence we will call it “The Sea Beast.” This creature hasContinue Reading

Occasionally I find myself in a conversation with those that ask the question, “Is Satan essential for the Plan of Salvation to work?” While I do not think this question is one of the more vital gospel questions we may ask, it certainly is interesting! The answer may help usContinue Reading

1 Timothy Authorship In the modern era of biblical scholarship, those that study these texts have questioned whether 1 Timothy (and for that matter all 3 pastoral epistles) was written by Paul. One reason for this is that this text uses a significant number of words not found in Paul’sContinue Reading

The Unpardonable Sin – Joseph Smith I have a declaration to make in relation to the provisions which God made for every creature from before the foundation of the world to suit the conditions of man. What has Jesus said? All sins and all blasphemies—every transgression that man may beContinue Reading

Jesus Had to Overcome the Veil When Jesus was born, “the veil of forgetfulness common to all who are born to earth, by which the remembrance of primeval existence is shut off” was cast over him. (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 111.) In the premortal world, Jesus had stood as “one like untoContinue Reading