Feb
26
Elder Dallin H. Oaks tells Harvard students higher education marginalizing religious beliefs
February 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment
According to Elder Dallin H. Oaks, colleges and universities have largely abandoned teaching religion and are actively pushing religious belief to the margins of society.
During his speech at Harvard Law School Elder Oaks remembered that most colleges’ and universities’ founding purpose was that of producing clergymen and to educate in the truths taught in their chapels. However, currently
“With but few exceptions, colleges and universities have become value-free places where attitudes toward religion are neutral at best. Some faculty and administrators are powerful contributors to the forces that are driving religion to the margins of American society. Students and other religious people who believe in the living reality of God and moral absolutes are being marginalized.”
In his talk, Elder Oaks also addressed basic Mormon beliefs such as the purpose of life and personal revelation.
See the full article at Deseret News.
Feb
21
Torah Bright Wins Gold Medal
February 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment
After Torah Bright won the Gold medal in Vancouver The Australian titled its article
Clean-living Mormon star Torah Bright is a sponsor’s dream.
But Why? According to the article,
As well as her good looks and obvious talent, Bright’s Mormon upbringing and clean-living ways — she does not drink alcohol and has no drug, tobacco or even caffeine habit — will make her highly sought-after, particularly in the wake of the scandal over Tiger Woods’s secret infidelities. Now more than ever, advertisers are looking for sponsorship cleanskins following the biggest sponsorship fall from grace in recent memory.
In speaking about the influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) on her personal life, Bright has said, “I have strong beliefs and they never waver. (The gospel) keeps me grounded and gives me purpose to what I am doing. I think the way we believe as Latter-day Saints is amazing, especially in the world today.”
Bright is one of several Latter-day Saint athletes competing in the Olympic Games in Vancouver.
Follow a couple of videos of Torah Bright.
Torah Bright on nbcolympics.com
Jan
26
Payson Utah Temple
January 26, 2010 | 1 Comment
A few days ago a friend from Italy sent a message to another one where she was saying that her religion was simple, no need of temples or other complications.
I believe that many people feel that way, because they do not understand the purpose of temples, and they think they are just places of rituals without substance. But the truth is that temples are necessary. The ordinances we perform in the temples are essentials for our salvation, and the peace and feelings we have when we are inside those temples make a great difference in our daily lives.
Oct
15
Elder Oaks, Prop 8, Bruce McConkie, and persecution
October 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment
My last blog was about the great talk by Elder Oaks. As suspected, I received right away a comment that was a simple insult directed to me and Elder Oaks. Obviously this guy missed completely the point of Elder Oaks’ talk. But if people do not want to see, they will never see, if they do not want to hear, they will not.
Thinking of the situation created by this debate about same-sex marriage and the non democratic actions of many, I could not avoid thinking about a few comment made by Elder Bruce McConkie:
Persecution is an essential part of the creeds of all false religions. There is an eternal law…. that truth will prevail. Left to itself true religion – though it may be delayed or hindered in its progress – must and will prevail. The only effective weapon of false religions – and it yields only momentary success – is to persecute true believers (The Mortal Messiah, 2:317).
Now, a religion does not necessarily needs to include the worship of a God. Many dictatorial political systems are very similar to false religions. But not only that, any group of beliefs organized can become a religion, even atheism is a religion, since it implies a strong belief that there is no God.
Therefore, it is unfortunate, but I am not surprised that some (or many people) are attacking the Mormons and other good people because they try to stand for what is right. Over time, if those who attack what is right and sacred prevail, we will probably see the calamities predicted by the scriptures to come on this country and many others.
Oct
13
Elder Dallin H. Oaks and religious freedom (Prop 8)
October 13, 2009 | 4 Comments
The talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks about religious freedom and its challenges in the US (and in the entire world) is a masterpiece and needs to be read in its entirety, but I want to stress a few points here.
First, the story of the 42-year-old married woman, Oyun Altangerel, who fought for religious freedom in Mongolia and then became one of the first members of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints in his country is an example for all of us that we should be anxiously engaged in making this world a better place for everybody, and that we need to be brave and defend what is right.
Second, I particularly like and agree when Elder Oaks explains the deceit that is pervasive among many who would like to silence those who oppose same-sex marriage. Elder Oaks says,
Along with many others, we were disappointed with what we experienced in the aftermath of California’s adoption of Proposition 8, including vandalism of church facilities and harassment of church members by firings and boycotts of member businesses and by retaliation against donors. Mormons were the targets of most of this, but it also hit other churches in the pro-8 coalition and other persons who could be identified as supporters.
He continues
As such, these incidents of “violence and intimidation” are not so much anti-religious as anti-democratic. In their effect they are like the well-known and widely condemned voter-intimidation of blacks in the South that produced corrective federal civil-rights legislation.
Contrary to what many proponents of same-sex marriage suggested, are not the Mormons, and others who defended Prop 8, who are trying to deny the importance of civil rights: they are only trying to speak up for what they believe to be right. The real problem are the intimidations and violences of many of those who were against Prop 8. Their course of action is the real threat to the civil rights.
Finally, it is important to remember the history of the United States of America, that were founded by people who were anxious to defend religious freedom
Religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the influence of Christianity in the public square without seriously jeopardizing our freedoms. I maintain that this is a political fact, well qualified for argument in the public square by religious people whose freedom to believe and act must always be protected by what is properly called our “First Freedom,” the free exercise of religion.
Jul
23
This is really a funny story but it is reason for concern for many. According to the Salt Lake Tribune
Mormons have not only posthumously baptized President Barack Obama’s mother into their faith, but they may have performed the ritual for the president’s ancestors as well, including his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, according to researcher Helen Radkey.
I understand that it may seem something a little strange to perform baptisms for people who are deceased, unless someone does understand a little bit the doctrine and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church), and especially the spirit that permeates this work.
In the Mormonwiki we read that,
Because all on the earth do not have the opportunity to accept the gospel during mortality, the Lord has authorized baptisms performed by proxy for the dead. Therefore, those who accept the gospel in the spirit world may qualify for entrance into God’s kingdom” (See Guide to the Scriptures). One thing that should be made perfectly clear about baptisms for the dead is that when a baptism is performed for a person, he has the option to accept or reject it. There is nothing in Mormon doctrine that says that the person who is being baptized by proxy must accept this ordinance. However, doing baptisms for the dead does at least give the person the ability to make a choice.
LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter had previously said that it rans counter to the faith’s policies for a member fo the church to submit names for baptism for people they are not related to. In short, we are supposed to submit only names of our ancestrals.
However, Scott Trotter reportedly said that
While the vast majority of names submitted by church members fall within applicable guidelines, it is virtually impossible to ensure that no improper submissions will be made
Mormons believe these proxy baptisms give people in the spirit world a chance to reject or accept the gospel. But the practice has created controversy in the past, particularly with Jewish organizations that have objected to the baptisms of Holocaust victims.
I know that I am a Mormon, and therefore I may be suspicious, but I have a hard time to understand why people get so upset for these proxy baptisms. I mean, when I will be dead, if some of my descendants ask a priest to perform a special mass for me, I will probably appreciate their good intentions. Since I do not believe that their ceremony has any real effect, why should I be so concerned? Similarly, if these people think that Mormons are misguided, they should simply ignore what they do, as a complete waste of time, but perhaps appreciate their good feelings of helping others. What is more important than offer salvation to people? According to Mormon doctrine, by doing a proxy baptism for a dead person (who is actually spiritually alive, and it does not look like the Pirates of the Caribbean), this person is given a chance, but not the obligation, to accept the truth. So, where is the problem? Just in case, a reasonable person would accept to have an extra chance, where nothing can be lost.
I can only understand that there is a problem if people are supersticious or if they believe in a really weird God who would allow people to “steal souls”. In fact, I was reading in a blog where the author says,
The president (Barack Obama) finds out a few months ago that the Mormons tried to steal his dead mother’s soul, and no one mentioned it?
Truly nobody can still souls, especially in the after-life. I think these guys should have a little more faith in the power of God! What would be the purpose of believing in a God who can be fouled so easily?
I am glad that President Obama is smarter than that, and accordingly there were no comments from the White House. He has more serious and real issues to worry about.
Follow a good video about what the practice of the baptism for the dead really is…so if you are curious just watch the video and you will see that there is nothing to be worried about!
May
18
My son Luca is a Mormon missionary in the area (Cambridge) where a Mormon Church was burned down yesterday. In his weekly email to us, this morning, he wrote, among other things:
we had an investigator at the stake conference where we had a church building burn down, it was really sad, probably people will start saying that God burned it because it was not the true church…..
Luca is right. In fact, I was reading some of the comments to an article reporting what happened in Cambridge, and I found this comment:
God hath casted his awful verdict upon the heads of heretic! Repent or be astonished by his terrible anger, o you heathen!
And another:
How many signs do those people need?
I do not think they know yet the cause of the fire, but some people attribute to many things to God. The most probable reason was an accident, the second most probable reason was that someone -not God- did it on purpose.
To explain this kind of facts by saying that the wrath of God is on the Mormons, is the same like saying that God is responsible for killing thousands of innocent children every year around the world because of natural disasters or wars.
Probably there is another and more natural explanation.
Apr
30
Swine Flu – made simple
April 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment
It seems like everybody is scared by this new swine flu. I suspect that in the days ahead there will be a lot more than swine flu to cause concerns. However, it is a good idea to take precautions. I have received an email that contained a link to this great video about swine flu. It is produced by stuffmadesimple.com. I think it is worthwhile to watch it.
Apr
22
President Obama and Fidel Castro
April 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment
I try to avoid commenting politics in this blog, but what I read on CNN.com today made me laugh.
President Obama misinterpreted Cuban President Raúl Castro’s offer to start talks with the United States, Castro’s brother Fidel said Wednesday, appearing to dismiss the U.S. leader’s call for Cuba to release political prisoners…When the president of Cuba said he was ready to discuss any topic with the U.S. president, he meant he was not afraid of addressing any issue,” Castro wrote. “That shows his courage and confidence on the principles of the revolution.” (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/22/castro.cuba.obama/index.html).
What a different interpretation! “To be ready to discuss any topic” did not mean they were willing to make concessions or changes, but simply that they were ready to defend what they believe!
Foxnews.com on the same topics reported that,
The ex-president (Fidel Castro) had previously expressed his admiration for Obama, but this time Castro blasted the new U.S. president for showing signs of “superficiality.” (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/04/22/fidel-castro-obama-got-overture-wrong
Probably Obama thought it would be easier, or perhaps Obama, as many other leaders in all kind of organizations, thought that his predecessors were not smart enough, or were not following the proper principles in solving a problem. I do not have enough knowledge to suggest policies, but I was not surprised by this turn of events.
I am sure that Obama will change many of his campaign promises when faced with reality, as all leaders need to do. But some do it better than others. We will all see what Obama will do in this and other situations. I wish him well, for the good of the US and the world.
Mar
25
Mormon Prophets warns us of the dangers facing America
March 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment
This is another great video from David on youtube. I was baptized in the LDS (Mormon) Church in 1985 and a few months after my baptism President Spencer W. Kimball passed away and Ezra Taft Benson became the new president. So, he was the prophet of my first years in the Church and I some of his talks had a great influence in my life, such as Flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon and Beware of Pride.
I had never heard the talk contained in this video, but it is worthwhile to listen to this prophet warning us of the dangers facing America (and many other nations).
This videos was inspired to help wake up members of the LDS Church to the dangers they face in America, as seen over 40 years ago by President Ezra Taft Benson. i have the impression that now things are lot worse and we should all get our homes in order in preparation of the approaching PORTENT storm that Pres.Hinckley warned us about in 1998.