Blog
Musings on (mostly) gospel and (some) non-gospel related topics.
The Book of Mormon without punctuation
Here is a Microsoft Word document I’ve created with the full text of the Book of Mormon with all the punctuation removed. I’ve done this because it more closely approximates what the original manuscript (and the printer’s manuscript) looked like as Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. While the translation was performed by a prophet based on inspiration, the paragraphing, sentence breaks, and punctuation were performed by a regular, non-LDS, educated man based on ordinary, mundane principles.
Structured Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, draft 2
A beautifully re-designed edition of the Doctrine and Covenants that looks more like a novel. Study aids such as headings and colored dialogue help anyone who wants to understand the storyline and events of the Doctrine and Covenants better.
How to organize a talk: Chart
This is a chart/outline you can use to organize a talk so that you’ll remember the content better, not get lost, and as a result, be more relaxed while giving it. I also explain how to quickly decrease the length of your talk if you suddenly need to trim your remarks to a few minutes.
Voting criteria for Latter-day Saints
Guest post by Jelaire Richardson. Have you ever had someone tell you, “You shouldn’t be using the words of Church leaders in determining how you feel about certain issues. That’s just plain inappropriate.” Is using the words of Church leaders to guide us in our political decisions even something we should try to do? And what exactly have they said? Use this chart to examine your reasons for voting, to see what Church leaders have said to look for when voting, and possibly help revise your reasons.
Spiritual death paper
If someone asked you, “Has a baby experienced spiritual death?” would you know the answer? The answer is: Yes and No. Why? Because there are two kinds of spiritual death. This article shows how widely this concept is misunderstood by many Latter-day Saints. Misunderstanding the six elements of the two types of spiritual death has in the past resulted in false doctrines such as original sin, infant baptism, universalism, theistic amorality, unjust God, and incomplete theodicy.
Abortion and anti-circumcision laws
I would love to ask proponents of outlawing circumcision this question: Would you have any objections to circumcising a fetus? If it were medically possible to circumcise an unborn human in-utero, and there was near zero chance of harm to the mother, would it be fine, in your view, to “mutilate” its genitals? If the answer is “No, it’s wrong to circumcise a fetus,” then I would ask how they can reconcile that with the idea that it’s OK to abort a fetus.
Structured Edition of the Pearl of Great Price, draft 1
A beautifully re-designed edition of thePearl of Great Price that looks more like a novel. Study aids such as headings and colored dialogue help anyone who wants to understand the storyline and events of the Doctrine and Covenants better. Free download and link to buy the physical copy.
Hoja de notas para la conferencia general
Esta hoja se usa para tomar notas durante la conferencia general. Combina cajas en que escribir, tal como casillas para rapidamente darse tareas a sí mismo para cumplir después de la conferencia (por ejemplo, para marcar cuáles discursos quieres leer de nuevo, o de cuáles quieres sacar citaciones). Es un buen recurso para adultos o jovenes.
Four corners of the earth and of the altar
I just noticed this morning that there seem to be two principle uses of the phrase “four corners” in the scriptures. First is the gathering of Israel. They’ll be scattered to and gathered from “the four corners of the earth.” Second is the altar of sacrifice in the tabernacle (and later the temple).
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