Monday, November 3, 2008
Yes on 8
I couldn't get this to work on my blog, but here is the link for you to watch it directly on youtube.
I heard an AMAZING talk by Robert George called, "On the Moral Purposes of Law and Government". It was a BYU forum address, and was aired on BYU tv. I hope this link works, click here to listen.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
A Sincere Heart and Real Intent
Ever since I made my last post this morning, this scripture from the Book of Mormon has been going through my head:
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
Moroni 10:3-5
In particular, the phrase, "if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent,.." has been going through my mind. I have known those who have read the Book of Mormon without real intent. Their reason for reading it was to prove it wrong. If a person reads with the intent to prove it wrong, they have already made up their mind about its truthfulness. A person with pure motives will read to see if it is of God or not.
The next part of that scripture also stands out to me, "...having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." Some people might fear to read the Book of Mormon. But if they rely on their faith in Christ, and use the feelings they get from the Holy Spirit to guide them, they need not fear. The Holy Ghost cannot lie. When a person receives a witness of the spirit, that is a sure witness. It extends beyond a person's intellectual knowledge. When a person knows something by the spirit, they not only are sure in their mind, but they are sure in their heart.
I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. How do I know this? I have read the Book of Mormon numerous times. I have pondered its message. I have prayed to ask God if it is true. As I have read the Book of Mormon, I have felt the Spirit's confirmation to my soul that it is true. I invite each of you to read the Book of Mormon, with a pure heart and real intent. If the Book of Mormon is true, then you need to know it. I know that as you read, you will feel the spirit enter your heart, and you will know that it is the word of God.
You can read the Book of Mormon online by clicking this link. The chapters are listed in order; the first book being First Nephi. As you read, you can click the forward arrow at the bottom of the page to turn to the next chapter.
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
Moroni 10:3-5
In particular, the phrase, "if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent,.." has been going through my mind. I have known those who have read the Book of Mormon without real intent. Their reason for reading it was to prove it wrong. If a person reads with the intent to prove it wrong, they have already made up their mind about its truthfulness. A person with pure motives will read to see if it is of God or not.
The next part of that scripture also stands out to me, "...having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." Some people might fear to read the Book of Mormon. But if they rely on their faith in Christ, and use the feelings they get from the Holy Spirit to guide them, they need not fear. The Holy Ghost cannot lie. When a person receives a witness of the spirit, that is a sure witness. It extends beyond a person's intellectual knowledge. When a person knows something by the spirit, they not only are sure in their mind, but they are sure in their heart.
I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. How do I know this? I have read the Book of Mormon numerous times. I have pondered its message. I have prayed to ask God if it is true. As I have read the Book of Mormon, I have felt the Spirit's confirmation to my soul that it is true. I invite each of you to read the Book of Mormon, with a pure heart and real intent. If the Book of Mormon is true, then you need to know it. I know that as you read, you will feel the spirit enter your heart, and you will know that it is the word of God.
You can read the Book of Mormon online by clicking this link. The chapters are listed in order; the first book being First Nephi. As you read, you can click the forward arrow at the bottom of the page to turn to the next chapter.
Latter Day Saint Voices Nov. 2, 2008
Did Jesus Really Visit the Americas?
By Carlos René Romero
Ensign, July 2008, 73
In 1960 I met a young man at a party who told me that Jesus Christ had visited the Americas after His Resurrection. I found the idea incredible and wanted to know more, so I began searching in libraries and inquiring of the various religious denominations in my hometown of San Miguel, El Salvador.
I searched for almost three years but found nothing. When I mentioned to various religious leaders that I had heard of Christ’s coming to the Americas, they told me I had been deceived. Because my search turned up no information, I eventually came to believe they were right.
One day two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came to my home and said they had an important message for my family. I immediately remembered my previous inquiries and asked them, “Do you know if Jesus Christ came to the Americas?”
One of the young men said, “We bear witness of that.”
At that moment I felt a great excitement in my mind and heart, and I asked, “How do you know that?”
He took a book out of his bag and said, “We know Christ came here because of this book, the Book of Mormon.”
What the missionaries taught me during that first discussion troubled me, and I doubted the account of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s vision of the Father and the Son. However, the Book of Mormon intrigued me, and the missionaries kept teaching me the lessons.
One afternoon, the elders asked me, “Have you prayed to find out if what we are teaching you is true?”
I told them I had done so but had not obtained an answer.
“You must pray with real intent,” they said.
I had been reading the Book of Mormon for several nights and had read about and believed in Jesus Christ’s appearance to the Nephites, but I still could not accept Joseph Smith’s vision. My internal struggle was terrible.
One night I knelt alone and opened my heart to God. I told Him that I needed to know if He had really manifested Himself to Joseph Smith. If He had, I promised Him I would be baptized into the Church and serve Him all my life.
When I arose early the next morning, the answer came to me through the Holy Ghost. My mind cleared, and my heart filled with peace. From that moment on, I have had no doubts whatsoever that Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God, that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer.
I know that Christ came to the Americas after His Resurrection. My soul delights in this marvelous knowledge, taught to me with certainty by the power of the Holy Ghost.
By Carlos René Romero
Ensign, July 2008, 73
In 1960 I met a young man at a party who told me that Jesus Christ had visited the Americas after His Resurrection. I found the idea incredible and wanted to know more, so I began searching in libraries and inquiring of the various religious denominations in my hometown of San Miguel, El Salvador.
I searched for almost three years but found nothing. When I mentioned to various religious leaders that I had heard of Christ’s coming to the Americas, they told me I had been deceived. Because my search turned up no information, I eventually came to believe they were right.
One day two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came to my home and said they had an important message for my family. I immediately remembered my previous inquiries and asked them, “Do you know if Jesus Christ came to the Americas?”
One of the young men said, “We bear witness of that.”
At that moment I felt a great excitement in my mind and heart, and I asked, “How do you know that?”
He took a book out of his bag and said, “We know Christ came here because of this book, the Book of Mormon.”
What the missionaries taught me during that first discussion troubled me, and I doubted the account of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s vision of the Father and the Son. However, the Book of Mormon intrigued me, and the missionaries kept teaching me the lessons.
One afternoon, the elders asked me, “Have you prayed to find out if what we are teaching you is true?”
I told them I had done so but had not obtained an answer.
“You must pray with real intent,” they said.
I had been reading the Book of Mormon for several nights and had read about and believed in Jesus Christ’s appearance to the Nephites, but I still could not accept Joseph Smith’s vision. My internal struggle was terrible.
One night I knelt alone and opened my heart to God. I told Him that I needed to know if He had really manifested Himself to Joseph Smith. If He had, I promised Him I would be baptized into the Church and serve Him all my life.
When I arose early the next morning, the answer came to me through the Holy Ghost. My mind cleared, and my heart filled with peace. From that moment on, I have had no doubts whatsoever that Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God, that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer.
I know that Christ came to the Americas after His Resurrection. My soul delights in this marvelous knowledge, taught to me with certainty by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Words of Modern Day Apostles and Prophets November 1, 2008
President Gordon B. Hinckley taught:
"I plead with our people everywhere to live with respect and appreciation for those not of our faith. There is so great a need for civility and mutual respect among those of differing beliefs and philosophies. We must not be partisans of any doctrine of ethnic superiority. We live in a world of diversity. We can and must be respectful toward those with whose teachings we may not agree. We must be willing to defend the rights of others who may become the victims of bigotry.
"I call attention to these striking words of Joseph Smith spoken in 1843:
"'If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a "Mormon," I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination' (History of the Church, 5:498)" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 94–95; or Ensign, May 1995, 71).
"I plead with our people everywhere to live with respect and appreciation for those not of our faith. There is so great a need for civility and mutual respect among those of differing beliefs and philosophies. We must not be partisans of any doctrine of ethnic superiority. We live in a world of diversity. We can and must be respectful toward those with whose teachings we may not agree. We must be willing to defend the rights of others who may become the victims of bigotry.
"I call attention to these striking words of Joseph Smith spoken in 1843:
"'If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a "Mormon," I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination' (History of the Church, 5:498)" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 94–95; or Ensign, May 1995, 71).
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Intelligence Quotient
I was thinking today about the I.Q. test. I've never formally taken the test, although I have taken several online versions that all came up with roughly the same results. My husband took the test as a child, and then again as an adult. His intelligence quotient is much higher than mine. I can attest to his intellectual superiority because as I have lived with him over the past 21+ years, I have seen that his capacity to learn is definitely greater than mine. He has the ability to remember details, and put them all together in a way that I haven't yet mastered. He has a greater capacity for thinking deeply about things, and a greater capacity for understanding what he has learned.
In past years, I learned that scientists have begun to consider a new type of intelligence. They have forumlated the idea of and emotional intelligence. This type of intelligence rings true in my brain, and I feel that my emotional I.Q. is much higher than my husband's. He is a kind and patient person, but he has a lower capacity for understanding relationships or emotions. What may be judged as insensitivity by others, is just a lack of E.Q. on his part.
I do believe that both I.Q. and E.Q. can be strengthened. I have seen that as I have taken classes, my ability to learn has improved, and my capacity for thinking has improved. I don't know that I could increase it by leaps and bounds, but I do think my intelligence has been heightened through learning.
Today I was thinking about how science views religion. It is becoming increasingly unpolitically correct to be religious. Science looks at the hard facts. Science wants proof. Science only can accept what can be reasonably proven. In addition, it is becoming more and more difficult for religious people to keep their faith under the scrutiny of their college professors. The Bible isn't hard core proof of God's existence, or even of the creation of the world. There are some other records that substantiate that a person named Jesus existed, but there is no scientific proof that He was the son of God.
As I thought about these issues, it occurred to me that there could be what is considered a third kind of intelligence. I propose that there is such a thing as Spiritual Intelligence. For those who have had spiritual experiences, there is no doubt that there is a God, or that the Bible is true. In the same way that Emotional intelligence can't quite be quantified by science, Spiritual intelligence can't either. But for those who have had specific answers to prayers, and unmistakable spiritual experiences, Spiritual intelligence is a very real occurrence. Just because science hasn't been able to prove the existence of a God, or of spiritual experiences, doesn't mean they don't exist. It only means that science is limited in it's ability. Even scientists will admit that some things can't be absolutely proven, so we move forward according to hypotheses.
The problem with increasing spiritual intelligence is that it requires faith. Those who "slack off" in their pursuit of spirituality, will lose the ground they have gained in the same way that someone who stops working out loses muscle tone. Those who are spiritually weak find it hard to even begin a spiritual journey. Many can't adjust their mind to accept that some things can be true, even if they can't be proven by science.
The problem with relying solely upon science to believe in a thing is that science is limited. As God has said, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9 How does an omnipotent, omniscient being explain to lowly mortals how the world was created? He explains it in simple terms, and waits for the day when the mortals are in a position in the hereafters to give the specifics in a way they can understand. In addition, all of us "Star Trek" fans understand the meaning of the "prime directive". God can't give us too many details about some things, or it would cheat us of the opportunity to develop and learn them for ourselves.
While science has it's place, and should be studied by us all to help us to understand this world of ours, we cannot discount things that can't as yet be proven. We also can't assume that science has all of the answers. Science cannot be our religion, for spirituality and science are different kinds of intelligence. Those who can be spiritual in their pursuit of knowledge allow God the opportunity to inspire and direct them in to all truth.
In past years, I learned that scientists have begun to consider a new type of intelligence. They have forumlated the idea of and emotional intelligence. This type of intelligence rings true in my brain, and I feel that my emotional I.Q. is much higher than my husband's. He is a kind and patient person, but he has a lower capacity for understanding relationships or emotions. What may be judged as insensitivity by others, is just a lack of E.Q. on his part.
I do believe that both I.Q. and E.Q. can be strengthened. I have seen that as I have taken classes, my ability to learn has improved, and my capacity for thinking has improved. I don't know that I could increase it by leaps and bounds, but I do think my intelligence has been heightened through learning.
Today I was thinking about how science views religion. It is becoming increasingly unpolitically correct to be religious. Science looks at the hard facts. Science wants proof. Science only can accept what can be reasonably proven. In addition, it is becoming more and more difficult for religious people to keep their faith under the scrutiny of their college professors. The Bible isn't hard core proof of God's existence, or even of the creation of the world. There are some other records that substantiate that a person named Jesus existed, but there is no scientific proof that He was the son of God.
As I thought about these issues, it occurred to me that there could be what is considered a third kind of intelligence. I propose that there is such a thing as Spiritual Intelligence. For those who have had spiritual experiences, there is no doubt that there is a God, or that the Bible is true. In the same way that Emotional intelligence can't quite be quantified by science, Spiritual intelligence can't either. But for those who have had specific answers to prayers, and unmistakable spiritual experiences, Spiritual intelligence is a very real occurrence. Just because science hasn't been able to prove the existence of a God, or of spiritual experiences, doesn't mean they don't exist. It only means that science is limited in it's ability. Even scientists will admit that some things can't be absolutely proven, so we move forward according to hypotheses.
The problem with increasing spiritual intelligence is that it requires faith. Those who "slack off" in their pursuit of spirituality, will lose the ground they have gained in the same way that someone who stops working out loses muscle tone. Those who are spiritually weak find it hard to even begin a spiritual journey. Many can't adjust their mind to accept that some things can be true, even if they can't be proven by science.
The problem with relying solely upon science to believe in a thing is that science is limited. As God has said, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9 How does an omnipotent, omniscient being explain to lowly mortals how the world was created? He explains it in simple terms, and waits for the day when the mortals are in a position in the hereafters to give the specifics in a way they can understand. In addition, all of us "Star Trek" fans understand the meaning of the "prime directive". God can't give us too many details about some things, or it would cheat us of the opportunity to develop and learn them for ourselves.
While science has it's place, and should be studied by us all to help us to understand this world of ours, we cannot discount things that can't as yet be proven. We also can't assume that science has all of the answers. Science cannot be our religion, for spirituality and science are different kinds of intelligence. Those who can be spiritual in their pursuit of knowledge allow God the opportunity to inspire and direct them in to all truth.
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