MOREmon Program - Mormons Seeking More (LDS)

Jonathan Haidt claims that the New Atheists have solved a key problem humans face: how to establish cooperation without the kinship of organized groups. Such freethinking individuals have much to teach ideologues. Namely, that suspending belief in order to make full investigation of all options is the best method for learning anything of a secular or even a spiritual nature. The early LDS leaders were likewise reticent to teach truth dogmatically. Truths we “learn” by indoctrination can't compete with the sort of process Christ Himself prized: the gradual discovery that is lived and not “learned.”

Joseph Smith described perfection as a "fullness of light and knowledge," not a state of punctilious obedience, piety, or holiness. We would do well to decriminalize doubt in the church in order to make space for noble doubts that beget inquiry, rationality, and healthy skepticism. The right kind of doubting lends itself well to further acquisition of light and knowledge. We have no need to fear the sort of doubt that foments faith. As J. Reuben Clark once explained, "investigation can't harm truth. If we have the truth, comparisons will do no harm to us. Only those who do not have the truth can have their beliefs shaken by investigation.”

Commentary on Elder Gary Stevenson's talk "Love, Share, Invite."

LDS women are reconfiguring their relationship to priesthood authority. Whereas in the past women have taken doctrinal cues from male leaders, women are now moving ahead with their own theological investigations. They hope to work in concert with the men to bring out of obscurity doctrines surrounding women, priesthood, and Heavenly Mother. Dale G. Renlund's talk “Your Divine Nature and Eternal Destiny” from April 2022 has been a setback, but our faith tradition has a long history of Mormon feminists and we look forward to future developments.

B.H. Roberts encouraged us to “cooperate in the works of the Spirit” to find “truer expression” in the restored gospel. This episode explores how we can each do our part to “cooperate” and communicate in this increasingly transparent world where the common voice has more opportunity now than ever to be widely heard.

Part 2 of our primer to Buddhism covers the history of Siddhartha Gautama and the teachings of the Buddhist holy book, the Dhammapada.

We cover the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, samsara, moksha and dharma in this primer to entry-level Buddhism. Broken into two parts, Part 1 takes a stab at correcting the eastern principles that have been wrested from their original context, misinterpreted, and westernized.

C.S. Lewis compared Christianity to a hallway. He said it is "like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If I can bring anyone into that hall, I have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in. It is true that some people may find they have to wait in the hall for a considerable time, while others feel certain almost at once which door they must knock at. I do not know why there is this difference, but I am sure God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait. When you do get into the room you will find that the long wait has done some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not as camping. You must keep on praying for light. And, of course, even in the hall, you must begin trying to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and its paneling."

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.

“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."

The path of our discipleship takes us from selfish to selfless. As we progress, we count ourselves "worthy" to suffer for the sake of Christ and even for the sake of our fellow Christians (Acts 5:41​). As trials afflict, we can overcome by embracing the suffering.