by brady | Jan 13, 2012 | About Mormons, Mormons in the News
SMITHFIELD — After dinner, three baths, four bedtime stories and a half-a-dozen goodnight kisses for 2-year-old twins Brock and Isaac and 6-year-old Ellie, Erin and Brian Thompson finally sink into the couch with weary smiles.
Being parents is just what they always wanted. And they love it.
“Of course we have our crazy moments,” Thompson says, “but for the most part we just try to find the good things in the day and remember that they’re only going to be little for so long.”
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Thompsons believe that maintaining a strong marriage and raising and teaching children are essential keys to happiness and their most important responsibilities on earth. (more…)
by brady | Jan 10, 2012 | About Mormons
Who doesn’t love a good laugh?! But these days, where can you find good, clean, family-friendly humor without all the potty-mouth comments?
Brigham Young University (BYU) students (Mormons) began a student club, called Divine Comedy, back in 1994. It instantly became a hit, and their shows provided clean and hilarious entertainment–perfect for family night or date night. (more…)
by brady | Jan 6, 2012 | About Mormons
Deseret News has named its best ten articles of 2011 in the category of Excellence in Education. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes nicknamed the Mormon Church by friends of other faiths and the press) place a high value on education for both men and women. Here are summaries of the Ten Best of 2011 from Deseret News…
#10 — Pulling the Plug
A perfect storm is brewing that could change higher education in America. (more…)
by brady | Dec 19, 2011 | Mormon Beliefs: Christian Values
Encyclopedia of Mormonism summarizes Eve’s role in the Fall as follows:
Satan was present to tempt Adam and Eve, much as he would try to thwart others in their divine missions: “and he sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of god, wherefore he sought to destroy the world” (Moses 4:6). Eve faced the choice between
selfish ease and unselfishly facing tribulation and death (Evidences and Reconciliations, by John A. Widtsoe, page 193). As befit her calling, she realized that there was no other way and deliberately chose mortal life so as to further the purpose of god and bring children into the world. (s.v. “Eve”)
Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught about the vital contribution of Eve in partaking of the fruit and of the difference between transgression and sin.
It was Eve who first transgressed the limits of Eden in order to initiate the conditions of mortality. Her act, whatever its nature, was formally a transgression but eternally a glorious necessity to open the doorway toward eternal life. Adam showed his wisdom by doing the same. And thus Eve and “Adam fell that men might be” (2 Ne. 22:25). (more…)
by brady | Dec 19, 2011 | Mormon Beliefs: Christian Values
Were Adam and Eve Cursed?
The answer to this question is no. Unfortunately, many view the Fall as having brought a curse upon both Adam and Eve. Such a view casts a false negative light on the fairness of the work of god. Such people mistakenly tend to use the scriptures that describe the scene right after the partaking of the forbidden fruit to teach that the Fall was a very negative thing, with resulting curses on Eve and also on Adam. They even engage in debates as to who got the worst curse, Adam or Eve. In so doing, they sadly and badly misinterpret the scriptures. The fact is that neither Adam nor Eve was cursed. The Fall was good for them and good for us. It worked in harmony with the Atonement. Satan was cursed and the earth was cursed “for their sake.” We will read the relevant verses and add some commentary as we go. First, we see that Satan was cursed.
14 And the Lord god [the Father] said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above [limited more than] all cattle, and above every beast of the field [one aspect of this curse is that even “cattle” and “every beast of the field” get a physical body to go with their spirit; Satan will never get a physical body]; upon thy belly shalt thou go [Satan will be looked upon as the lowest of the low], and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life [perhaps meaning that he will always be behind the Savior, in effect, “eating the Savior’s dust”; this could also be a play on words, saying, in effect, that Satan will be “eating dust,” in other words, associating with mortals, trying to swallow them up in spiritual destruction, but never receive a mortal body himself, one made of the “dust of the ground”—see Moses 3:7]: (more…)
