Mormon Musings

“Mormonism is truth, or in other words the doctrine of the Latter-Day Saints is truth…The first and fundamental principle of our holy religion is that we believe that we might have the right to embrace all, and every item of truth, without limitation or without being circumscribed or prohibited by the creeds or superstitious notions of men, or by the dominations of one another, when truth has been clearly demonstrated to our minds, and we have the highest degree of evidence of the same.” Josesph Smith, Letter from Joseph Smith to Isaac Gallad, March 22, 1839, Liberty Jail, Liberty Missouri, published in the Times and Seasons, February 1840, pp. 53-54 “‘Mormonism’...embraces every principle pertaining to life and salvation, for time and eternity. No matter who has it. If the infidel has got truth it belongs to ‘Mormonism.' The truth and sound doctrine possessed by the sectarian world, and they have a great deal, all belong to this Church… All that is good, lovely, and praiseworthy

"And now, my son, remember the words which I have spoken unto you; trust not those secret plans unto this people, but teach them an everlasting hatred against sin and iniquity.  Preach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be meek and lowly in heart; teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ. Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.    O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God. Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doing be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.  Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou lies

I would suggest just reading (or listening to) the entire talk by Hugh B. Brown. Text is pasted on a "page" of this blog and original transcript and audio is available at:  http://speeches.byu.edu/index.php?act=viewitem&id=114 .   "...Then we proceeded to prepare what I may call a 'profile of a prophet.'  Perhaps you students would like to amplify what I must condense today and draw your own standard or definition of a prophet and see whether Joseph Smith measures up. We agreed between us that the following characteristics should distinguish a man who claims to be a prophet: 1. He will boldly claim that God had spoken to him. 2. Any man so claiming would be a dignified man with a dignified message—no table jumping, no whisperings from the dead, no clairvoyance, but an intelligent statement of truth. 3. Any man claiming to be a prophet of God would declare his message without any fear and without making any weak concessions to public opinion. 4. If

"A story is told of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who served as both a judge and the mayor of Nauvoo. He was confronted with the case of Anthony, a man of African descent and a former slave. Anthony was accused of a rather serious violation of the law. When Joseph confronted Anthony, he pleaded for mercy, indicating that he needed the money from his illicit activities to purchase the freedom of his child, who was still living in slavery. Joseph expressed his sympathy for Anthony’s plight but insisted that the law must be observed and that a fine would have to be imposed.  The next day, in a sincere effort to do good to his fellowman, Joseph gave Anthony a fine horse that he could use to buy the child's freedom." Gordon B. Hinckely, " True to the Faith ", BYU Devotional, September 18, 2007   http://byub.org/talks/transcripts/devo/2007/9/devo2007918-102.pdf

I would suggest just reading (or listening to) the entire talk by Hugh B. Brown. Text is pasted on a "page" of this blog and original transcript and audio is available at:  http://speeches.byu.edu/index.php?act=viewitem&id=114 .  …Perhaps I can do this more quickly by referring to an interview I had in London, England, in 1939, just before the outbreak of the war. I had met a very prominent English gentleman, a member of the House of Commons, formerly one of the justices of the supreme court of England. In my conversations with this gentleman on various subjects—“vexations of the soul,” he called them—we talked about business, law, politics, international relations, and war, and we frequently discussed religion. He called me on the phone one day and asked if I would meet him at his office and explain some phases of the gospel. He said, “I think there is going to be a war. If there is, you will have to return to America and we may not meet again.” His statement regarding

My life is but a weaving                 between God and me. I let Him chose the colors,                He worketh steadily. Oftimes He worketh sorrow                and I within my heart Forget He sees the pattern,                while I only part. The dark threads are as needful                in the weaver’s skillful hand As the threads of gold and silver                in the patter He has planned. Not till the loom is silent                and the shuttles cease to fly, Shall God unroll the canvas                and explain the reasons why . “Now, as you and I look at our lives . . . , we sometimes do not understand that through which we are passing, but, being submissive, we can trust Him. “The day will come, brothers and sisters, when the tapestry of your life will be unfolded, and you will see divine design all through it , and praise God for the experience and the tutoring which, in His goodness, He has given you ” (“Willing to Submit” [add

“...the Savior cautions, ‘Remember Lot’s wife.’   Hmmm. What did He mean by such an enigmatic phrase?   To find out, I suppose we need to do as He suggested. Let’s recall who Lot’s wife was. The original story, of course, comes to us out of the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, when the Lord, having had as much as He could stand of the worst that men and women could do, told Lot and his family to flee because those cities were about to be destroyed.   ‘Escape for thy life,’ the Lord said, ‘ look not behind thee . . . ; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed’ (Genesis 19:17; emphasis added). With less than immediate obedience and more than a little negotiation, Lot and his family ultimately did leave town, but just in the nick of time.   The scriptures tell us what happened at daybreak the morning following their escape: The Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities. [Genesis 19:24–25] …Surely, surely, wit