Blogging Through the Book of Mormon

Back when I first started going back to church in 2005 I was assigned a companion and given a visiting teaching list. We only went out together once, but I remember talking in my living room when we got back and she said something that I never heard before and never heard since. She said that even though it is taught as doctrine that Jesus was without sin that was wrong. She said that Jesus had in fact sinned, when he was on the cross and asked “oh God, why hast thou forsaken me?” She said that he doubted and that doubt was his sin, so he was in fact not a perfect man. Now don’t get me wrong, she was active in church and I had just gone back but I still wasn’t buying it. If it is preached from the pulpit that Jesus lived a perfect life, then that is the doctrine that I cling to, but I had no rebuttal other than “that’s not what the prophet says.” I’ve often thought about that and while I didn’t believe her view on the subject, I did wonder about it, what it meant, but have never had an...

I spent a lot of the day thinking about what “baptism by fire” meant. It’s really something new and different for me, but truly it answers so many questions. I couldn’t help but find the metaphor of our hearts being bags of broken glass and the Holy Ghost burning within us to cleanse us of impurities and also to melt us back together to be healed. So I thought “what does it mean to have the Holy Ghost burn within us?” Well, remember when I talked about the Lord wanting to teach us through many different means, well driving to work today I was listening to the Ensign, and I haven’t listened to it for a couple of weeks because the data on my phone was hanging on for dear life, but today it reset and I could listen again. Well I started at my last bookmark, even though I had heard all the articles before twice, I listened to them again, and sure enough, here the Lord was trying to expand my understanding. Last night I talked about keeping the commandments as a part of the “cleansing” proc...

I have talked before about the “love of God” as a new and sometimes abstract idea for me. I have really struggled with self-worth and self-acceptance in my life, it’s honestly been a defining issue up until now. I’ve spent the vast majority of my life feeling good for nothing, unimportant, physically flawed to the point of worthlessness, very unwanted and unloved, and that has been for many reasons, and those reasons don’t really matter now. But ever since I had that “ Lost ” experience I have had a sense of peace and worth and genuine love from and towards God, it’s honestly been an absolute miracle, a beautiful, amazing miracle, and I think that making the extra effort of studying and writing this blog has been the game changer for me. I’ve learned so much, become so much more centered, and I’m so grateful. But then yesterday while driving to work I heard the “ Questions & Answers ” section of the Feb 2012 Ensign and I heard something that I was not expecting at all. The question...

I had always heard of the "rest of the Lord" and imagined it to be some far off, abstract day when all of our troubles would magically disappear and I could lay on the couch all day and sleep. This of course had to be in the next life, probably after the judgement, so it was going to be a while. But the other day I heard an Ensign article called " Enter into the Rest of the Lord " by Elder W. Craig Zwick and it took on a new meaning for me. I, of course, and totally overwhelmed with my amazing life and am so very tired, physically, emotionally, etc. so the idea of rest at all is just fantastic for me. There are several quotes from past prophets, and then he says that from this "we understand that in this life 'the rest of the Lord' comes as we increase our knowledge or, and faith in, the reality of Jesus Christ, even to the assurance that He lives and loves us. 'The rest of the Lord' in eternity is entering into the presence of the Lord." S...