It’s the most basic of questions, a question I suspect every person on the planet has asked at one time or another – is there a God? And the corollary question of course is this – if there is a God, what is he like? According to Gallup, over 90% of Americans believe in God. World religions are divided on the matter. Hinduism believes there are over 30 million gods; Buddhists tell us there is no god. Mormons believe in God, but what they mean by God is very different for what I mean by God. According to Mormon doctrine, the goal of mankind is to become a god. Mormonism teaches that the God of this world, Elohim, was once a man just like you and me, and that over time he became God. Mormonism also teaches that you and I can become gods ourselves, if we faithfully follow Mormon teachings. Here is Mormon theology in a nutshell on the doctrine of God, in the words of Mormon prophet Lorenzo Snow: “As man is, God once was; and as God is, man may become.”

One of the responsibilities of all parents is to help their kids build healthy daily habits. Certain habits kids are resistant to, which I can understand, but other habits, to my way of thinking, shouldn’t be all that tough. For example, many years ago when our kids were in the potty-training stage, we would often try to help them by reminding them when to go to the bathroom. The morning seemed a particularly good time to remind them of this event. But all three of my kids would on occasion make the following comment to me when I reminded them during breakfast time to go to the bathroom: “But I already went yesterday.” So even though I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why I had to teach my kids this lesson, I had to explain to each of my three children that going to the bathroom is something you do every day. “I know it’s inconvenient and a waste of precious time that could be spent in front of the television watching cartoons, guys, but that’s just how our bodies work.” And what’s even more embarrassing to admit is that my parents had to make that exact same speech to me once upon a time.

One of the responsibilities of all parents is to help their kids build healthy daily habits. Certain habits kids are resistant to, which I can understand, but other habits, to my way of thinking, shouldn’t be all that tough. For example, many years ago when our kids were in the potty-training stage, we would often try to help them by reminding them when to go to the bathroom. The morning seemed a particularly good time to remind them of this event. But all three of my kids would on occasion make the following comment to me when I reminded them during breakfast time to go to the bathroom: “But I already went yesterday.” So even though I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why I had to teach my kids this lesson, I had to explain to each of my three children that going to the bathroom is something you do every day. “I know it’s inconvenient and a waste of precious time that could be spent in front of the television watching cartoons, guys, but that’s just how our bodies work.” And what’s even more embarrassing to admit is that my parents had to make that exact same speech to me once upon a time.

One of the truths of the universe we learn from sports is that you only get so many chances. In basketball each player is given a certain number of fouls before they foul out of the game – five at most levels and six fouls in professional basketball. Sometimes basketball players will foul another player intentionally to keep that player from scoring an easy basket, and sometimes they will get a foul purely by accident. But in basketball, it doesn’t matter whether you fouled another intentionally or by accident. In pro basketball you get six fouls, and then you’re out of chances.

One of the truths of the universe we learn from sports is that you only get so many chances. In basketball each player is given a certain number of fouls before they foul out of the game – five at most levels and six fouls in professional basketball. Sometimes basketball players will foul another player intentionally to keep that player from scoring an easy basket, and sometimes they will get a foul purely by accident. But in basketball, it doesn’t matter whether you fouled another intentionally or by accident. In pro basketball you get six fouls, and then you’re out of chances.

One of the parts of life that makes life fun is mystery. Most of us love a good mystery. We love watching mystery shows on TV; there’s nothing quite so compelling as a good mystery novel. Like some of you, I read a number of John Grisham’s novels, many of which were turned into movies – novels like “The Pelican Brief,” “The Client,” “The Firm,” and “The Runaway Jury.” Those books, of course, all deal with one of the great mysteries of life: If God is good and God is all-powerful, then why are there lawyers? Grisham’s books never answer that mystery, but if you hang in there until the end, you eventually discover the solution to the mystery. But it’s not just the solution that makes reading a mystery fun; it’s the mystery itself. In fact, nothing ruins a good mystery like discovering the solution while you are still in the middle of the mystery.

That is part of the problem with the previews, both for TV shows and for movies – they tend to show us too much. By the time I see just about any film I already know almost everything about it from the previews. There’s no mystery left; we pretty much know what’s coming. One of my good friends refuses to watch previews when we go to a movie; he’ll close his eyes or walk out and not come back until the previews are over. Why? Because he wants to preserve the mystery.

One of the parts of life that makes life fun is mystery. Most of us love a good mystery. We love watching mystery shows on TV; there’s nothing quite so compelling as a good mystery novel. Like some of you, I read a number of John Grisham’s novels, many of which were turned into movies – novels like “The Pelican Brief,” “The Client,” “The Firm,” and “The Runaway Jury.” Those books, of course, all deal with one of the great mysteries of life: If God is good and God is all-powerful, then why are there lawyers? Grisham’s books never answer that mystery, but if you hang in there until the end, you eventually discover the solution to the mystery. But it’s not just the solution that makes reading a mystery fun; it’s the mystery itself. In fact, nothing ruins a good mystery like discovering the solution while you are still in the middle of the mystery.

That is part of the problem with the previews, both for TV shows and for movies – they tend to show us too much. By the time I see just about any film I already know almost everything about it from the previews. There’s no mystery left; we pretty much know what’s coming. One of my good friends refuses to watch previews when we go to a movie; he’ll close his eyes or walk out and not come back until the previews are over. Why? Because he wants to preserve the mystery.

Here’s something our family learned years ago from our family vacations – if Disneyland in California is the “happiest place on earth,” then Disney World in Florida is the “sweatiest place on earth.” We’ve only been to Disney World once, but our family will never forget the experience. Yes, we had fun, but the one memory that has lingered with us is how hot and muggy the place was. The heat index while we were in Disney World one June day was 118 … at 10:00 a.m! We would start to sweat just thinking about going outside. We would sweat while we were still in the pool. Along with the huge crowds, the heat made our trip one and only trip to Disney World something less than magical, at least for me and for Brenda.

But I had to hand it to our kids. Oh, they noticed the heat, and they didn’t like the long lines to get a two minute ride on Dumbo any better than we did. But for our kids, and especially for Kelsey, who was just short of four years old at the time, Disney World was a place of sheer wonder. There was the wonder of meeting Mickey and Minnie, the wonder of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, the wonder of the Lion King musical, and the wonder of all the sights and sounds and smells that make up the Magic Kingdom.

Here’s something our family learned years ago from our family vacations – if Disneyland in California is the “happiest place on earth,” then Disney World in Florida is the “sweatiest place on earth.” We’ve only been to Disney World once, but our family will never forget the experience. Yes, we had fun, but the one memory that has lingered with us is how hot and muggy the place was. The heat index while we were in Disney World one June day was 118 … at 10:00 a.m! We would start to sweat just thinking about going outside. We would sweat while we were still in the pool. Along with the huge crowds, the heat made our trip one and only trip to Disney World something less than magical, at least for me and for Brenda.

But I had to hand it to our kids. Oh, they noticed the heat, and they didn’t like the long lines to get a two minute ride on Dumbo any better than we did. But for our kids, and especially for Kelsey, who was just short of four years old at the time, Disney World was a place of sheer wonder. There was the wonder of meeting Mickey and Minnie, the wonder of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, the wonder of the Lion King musical, and the wonder of all the sights and sounds and smells that make up the Magic Kingdom.

About 15 years or so ago I had a most interesting encounter. I was reading when I heard the knock on the door. I don’t remember now what I was reading, but I think it was an article in Time. To be honest, I didn’t want to be bothered at the time. If it had been the phone, I would have let it ring and listened to the message later. But someone was at the door, and I was in the living room, only a few feet away, and the visitor could see me, so I felt obligated to at least go see who it was. So I put down my magazine, pulled myself out of the recliner, and walked over to our front door. And you’ll never guess who was knocking on my door – it was Jesus! I quickly opened the door and said, “Lord, what are you doing out here? I thought I let you in already?”