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As I pen these words, today is Oct. 31, snow is gently falling and Halloween preparations are in place. Today is also Reformation Day. The day when Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and professor at Wittenberg University posted his 95 theses on the Castle Church door. This posting of theses on the day before All Saint’s Day (Nov. 1) when all the university would be in the church for worship was typical of Medieval academics as an invitation for debate. It changed the world. In addition, as you read these words, the election is over. We m...
It is the week before election Tuesday. I am pretty sure we are all tired of election fliers. I know I have issues that I hold as values that I judge the candidates by, but I’ll try to keep that to myself. Thomas Jefferson said, “The government you elect is the government you deserve.” I’m not going to say who or what issues in this missive, but I have a few scriptural principles I can share and then leave it to you to make up your own mind. Our challenge is we say we want change and we need something different, yet it seems to me that all the...
Why do the people of the world stand in jeopardy? Because they cannot be saved without their families and their associates. They will continue to stand in jeopardy until the gospel is taken to them in such a way that they are willing either to receive it or reject it. These things of eternity pertaining to the spirit world and the hereafter were on the mind of the Savior when He was crucified. This is reflected in His statement to the repentant thief, which has puzzled many people: · And one of the malefactors, which were hanged, railed on him,...
So many topics, but my heart grieves for events locally. As happens in every community, we have had some sad events in our community. A couple of Saturdays ago, a guy was driving erratically, passing in no passing zones and shooting randomly. Leading to a police encounter and ending with him taking his own life. Then the next day, two gals and another couple were involved in a collision just south of our town. There were fatalities and others went to hospital. Of course, it is life in a small town, so the gossip is flying, the rumors are...
Allow me to share how the Rosary changed my life tremendously by helping me to understand the Faith more deeply, though it took many years after converting to start reciting and praying the Rosary daily. Why? Ignorance of the Rosary commanded by God through the Blessed Mother and also repetitious prayer seemed monotonous, but not as monotonous as my repetitive sins must be to God, I fear. What is the Rosary? The Rosary is a recitation and meditation on the life of Christ with prayers assembled from Holy Scripture: the Apostles’ Creed, Our F...
My first experience with Christian nationalism was around the conflicts over the Ten Commandments being displayed on courthouse lawns. On the one hand, people of faith I knew and loved were concerned about the removal of these displays, fearing it was a sign that our government systems were rejecting the good, divine principles by which they believed it necessary to promote in order to have and form a society that was pleasing to God. On the other hand, other people of faith I knew and loved agreed that these displays needed to be removed....
There is a confusion these days about a thing called truth. It is that cliché of, “How can you tell if a politician is lying? Their lips are moving.” But it shouldn’t be that way. Jesus said for us to let your yea be yea and your nay, nay. And anything more is what comes from evil. (Matthew 5:37) Truth has become a relative thing instead of the immutable thing it should be. The day of the scientific method is quickly falling behind us. I have been told many times that whilst I believe something, that it is just “my truth” and it is not for th...
Before we were born on earth, we all lived with the Heavenly Father as His spirit children. He presented a plan to help His children learn and grow. Through His plan, we can become more like Him and be worthy to enjoy eternal life. This plan is possible because God’s Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth to suffer for our sins, a sacrifice called the Atonement. God sent us to earth, where we could have a physical body (see Genesis 1:26–27). We needed bodies to help us experience life on earth. God...
“Throughout history, there have been supernatural apparitions and signs that go to the heart of human events and, to the surprise of believers and non-believers alike, play their part in the unfolding of history” (Vatican). If someone predicted future events and said, “I will perform miracles on a certain date to prove my words to be true,” and has 70,000 witnesses, would you believe it? That happened in Fatima, Portugal. The details began in the village of Fatima, Portugal on May 13, 1917. The Blessed Virgin Mary, holding a Rosary, appeare...
Well, we had an interesting few weeks in our politics. All the rules seem to be changing. Donald Trump didn’t really have much competition in his primary run, no doubt due to being a former president. As expected, former President Trump was acclaimed the Republican nominee at their recent convention. The Democrats had a proforma primary run with President Biden the presumptive nominee at their National Convention but then the debate happened. For the past two years, at least, we the people could not help notice that age was catching up with P...
There are days that depth of spirituality looms massively. There are other days that there is just a steady stream of awareness that God is good and present in day-to-day living. As the country song reminds us, “some days a diamond, some days a stone.” Diamonds and stones both have value, it just depends on where you find them and what you do with them. A Christian faith is like that as well. It is stony times that build foundations for us. Try building anything with a diamond but try carrying a foundation stone on your finger. Neither wor...
Looking back, I can recall and reveal glimpses of my journeys that ultimately connected me to the straight path leading to the narrow gate of life through the one, true Church. There are no coincidences; nothing happens without God within His Divine Providence in which He gives us free will while subtly guiding us to receive and embrace His numerous gifts such as faith and cooperation with His abundant, beneficial grace. Attending elementary Sunday school with the Methodists, I memorized numerous Psalms being especially thankful for Psalm 23...
Not everyone has to go through hard times in order to see the beauty of what they can be. Sometimes I imagine what life might have been like if certain events hadn’t occurred, certain abuses, pains, rejections. Would I still be the same person today? Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that the things that have happened, have happened. They simply are. How I choose to understand them, live into the complexities of meaning, that’s where life is interesting. In fact, that’s really where life is. S...
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25 As ancient Israel settled into the promised land their social and governmental organization was quite loose. The main feature at this time was the emergence of individuals who delivered their fellow countrymen from various oppressors, e.g. the Philistines. But it really didn’t work too well. The more serious problem was the independence of the tribes from each other, thus exposing the ancient Israelites to all sorts of social and polit...
I’m grateful for the spiritual places we can go to get away from the busyness of life, like the temple or even a quiet room in our homes. I have also found that being in nature and its peacefulness has helped me connect with Heavenly Father. Is it great to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, smelling the scent of fresh rainfall, or hearing the sound of a babbling creek. These things have allowed me to quiet my soul and prepare my heart to connect with heaven. Even the simplicity of c...
What thoughts come to mind when you see the word paradise? For some it is a lovely beach with sunshine and warm sand. Maybe paradise is the view from the top of a mountain. For me, it would be a big shop building with all sorts of tools and projects with time to work on them all. We all have our own ideas of what makes paradise in our lives. Spring comes in many forms. I just know that I now laugh at the idea of April showers bringing May flowers. Spring is that time of perfect temps, not too hot and not too cool, cool nights and warmish days....
Jesus ascended to Heaven to receive the glory due to Him because of His humility and obedience (Philippians 2:1-18); to be our Mediator and Advocate sitting at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 9:11-28); and to send the Holy Spirit. (John 16:1-33) Before ascending Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with y...
Thursday, May 9 at 7 p.m. the whole community is invited to gather for prayer at the Mountain Lakes Presbyterian Church at 3292 Highway 83. Together we will join hearts and minds in a spirit of prayer for our community, our churches, our nation and the world. Together we will pray for healing and wholeness in every facet of life. In biblical Greek, the word that is translated as “healing and wholeness” can also be translated as “salvation.” The noun is soteria, the verb is sozo. For me, studyin...
Today, April 25, the Church celebrates the Feast Day of St. Mark, Apostle, and Evangelist. He is the second of the four writers of the Gospels (Matthew, Luke and John) and associated with the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew and Luke). Most of what we know about St. Mark we learn from Scripture generally and his Gospel in particular. There is general agreement that the Mark of the second Gospel is the John Mark of Acts 12:12. He was part of the early missionary efforts of Apostles. He left his home in Jerusalem to accompany Barnabas and Paul as a...
Easter is the Christian holiday celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. After Christ died on the cross, His body was placed in a sepulcher, where it remained, separated from His spirit, until His Resurrection, when His spirit and His body were reunited. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirm and testify that Jesus Christ was resurrected and lives today with a glorified and perfected body of flesh and bone. Following His Resurrection, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene...
Having come from Scotland the Easter refrain was given by the minister as “He is Risen!” to which the reply was the obvious reply of “He is Risen Indeed!” I am blessed to have a church family that knows that here in Seeley Lake and replies in kind. After the cacophony of Palm Sunday and the celebration of Easter, I find church life is a bit slower paced in the church calendar. So much so that in Scotland the Sunday following Easter is called Low Sunday for a reason. The Sunday after Easter the attendance is LOW! I’m hoping it will not be so her...
Holy Thursday: At the Lord's Supper approximately 2,000 years ago, Jesus instituted His Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist for Holy Communion with Him: Jesus said the blessing, broke the bread saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me," giving His Apostles the power to offer His Sacrifice as validly ordained Priests. Jesus gave thanks, gave them the cup saying, "This is my blood...which will be shed for many for the forgiveness of sins." Approaching death, Jesus spoke literally with emphasis, clarity and repeti...
Church, Know Thyself Acts 17:27-28a (NLT) “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him — though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist.” If we want to know more fully who God is, we need to dig deeper into understanding ourselves. As the French Reformation-era theologian John Calvin put it: “Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God. Our wisdom, insofar as it ought to be deemed true and solid wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts:...
On Feb. 14, “ValentAsh Wednesday,” this year, we began the holy season of Lent, and many of us received blessed ashes as a symbolic gesture of our repentance and of our resolve to live the 40 days of Lent to grow in virtue. In this holy season, we accompany Jesus in His 40 days of temptation in the desert. It is a time of purification and growth. It is a springtime for the soul. And it is a journey to freedom. In our Lenten journey to Easter, we are encouraged to move from where we are to where the Lord wants us to be: to a greater obe...
Today, March 7, is the commemoration of two early Christian martyrs: Perpetua and Felicity. They were residents of Carthage in North Africa and died in 202 A.D. In that same year, the emperor Septimius Severus forbade conversions to Christianity. Perpetua, a noblewoman, Felicity an enslaved woman, and other companions were all catechumens (preparing for baptism in the Christian faith). They were imprisoned and sentenced to death. In prison they were baptized. Perpetua’s father, who was not a Christian, visited her in prison and begged her to l...
