MOREmon Program - Mormons Seeking More (LDS)

Gal 5:13 tells us we "have been called to freedom." But it is easy for us to misunderstand the liberty Paul commends to us. Does freedom from law mean freedom to sin? Paul warns us not to use our freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence (Gal 5:13). We were once slaves to sin (Rom 6:20) but now we have become slaves of righteousness (Rom 6:22).

No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness. It's undeniable that Joseph Smith was a creative genius, but do his idiosyncrasies challenge our notions of his noble prophethood? "The public is wonderfully tolerant," said Oscar Wilde. "It forgives everything but genius." Perhaps as Latter-day Saints we'd do well to forgive or even extol Joseph's genius. How preferable to a whitewashed history!

This is a talk I gave in my ward on Mother's Day. It explores the concepts of Heavenly Mother and the senior leaders' urgent injunctions for women to "step forward, take your rightful place in your homes, in your community, and in the kingdom of God  more than you ever have before."

We dismiss the Savior's teachings about turning the other cheek and going the extra mile by parrying that these hackneyed concepts are impractical. But did Matthew 5:39-42 have something else in mind when preaching nonviolence? Ralph Waldo Emerson said “peace cannot be achieved by violence, only by understanding.” In this episode, we explore the concept of a participatory propitiation, an opportunity extended to us during the Millennium to undergo the same experience through which our Savior passed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Such a shared experience could bring about a harmonizing of hearts and a Millennial peace.

Included in Bruce R. McConkie’s “Seven Deadly Heresies” list was the notion that there could be progression between kingdoms of glory. He said people “neither progress from one kingdom to another, nor does a lower kingdom ever get where a higher kingdom once was. Whatever eternal progression there is, it is within its sphere.” This supposition, however, comes in direct conflict with a host of other church leaders who have voiced support for the idea of progress from kingdom to kingdom. Joseph and Hyrum, James E. Talmage, B.H. Roberts, and J. Reuben Clark among others believed in eternal increase from one kingdom to the next.

According to Maimonides, “the risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.” The spirits of God’s children have been invited to take part in the ascent to mortality, beginning with our first parents Adam and Eve. Unlike most Christians, Latter-day Saints understand “the fall” to be developmental, a window of opportunity overlooking a dazzlingly bright future. BYU professor Brad Wilcox calls our mortal ascent a “forward fall.” Agency, however, isn’t as “free” as we’ve perhaps heard repeated. Agency is costly, and the consequences are real. The Atonement of Jesus Christ can alchemize tragedy and loss into wisdom, experience, and surpassing joy.

The poet Rudyard Kipling said that morality is something that has to be consistently reworked. He says when life breaks your old rules, you just stoop and build them back with worn-out tools. As Zion looms ever larger on the horizon, we’ll have to break down our current paradigm to allow for further light and knowledge. If the Lord’s ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8) and if we intend to become “a kingdom of priests as in Enoch’s day and Paul’s day” (Joseph Smith) then assuredly many changes will be coming to prepare us to “abide the day” (D&C 128:24).

“See the old gnarled olive trees and see our Savior on His knees,” says Russell M. Nelson.  Countless prophets have encouraged us to “walk in the footsteps of our Savior.” If we’re invited to partake in His glory by way of suffering with Him (Romans 8:17) is it robbery to think our own paths may someday pass through Gethsemane? Philippians 2:6 tells us to imagine ourselves equal with God. Can we forgive according to Matt 5:44? Is forgiving merely forgetting? Or does forgiveness mean we bless those who curse us and thank our antagonists for the lessons they alone can teach us?  They say there are no solitary saints. Perhaps heaven is a place where we love one another in full view of our imperfections.

Some people are privileged to experience personal encounters with the "other side" by passing beyond the veil and mortally reviving to tell the tale. Near-death experiences, or NDEs, reveal a great deal about the Spirit World. This episode explores reports from beyond the veil, including telepathic communication between spirits and the powerful influence angels and demons can have on the human family. Some near-death experiencers in this episode are LDS and others are Christian, but all report that the warmth of the other side transcends grudges, anger, and pain and "reconciles us to God."

In advance of end-times events connected to Revelation 16, Julie Rowe and Chad Daybell among other "visionaries" have promulgated theories of a gathering into "cities of light" or what scripture might call "places of refuge." Julie Rowe has called the now-discredited Daybell "deceived," and both have since been excommunicated from the LDS Church. Whether Rowe is a visionary "energy healer" or merely a con artist, she's done a great job of identifying the fears of a self-proclaimed "latter-day" people and selling those fears back to her client base.