How does a person know which church is true? More generally, how does one know whether anything is true? An investigation into this question helps reveal an answer to the abstract question, “What is truth?” Continue reading
Category Archives: Religion
What arguments could possibly have convinced a third part of the hosts of heaven to surrender to Lucifer?
Five people sat around a table in the center of a bare classroom. Nothing in the room marked the passage of minutes, because time itself had not been created yet. A gentleman with bushy white eyebrows and trembling jowls spoke first. “I’m Caleb. I’m presiding at this meeting in place of Samson. He’ll join us later.
“We have allowed Rezin here to be our guest. I bet he wants to give us a missionary lesson.”
Rezin’s wide smile projected a halo of confidence. His mane of hair was arranged in a perfect part. Nobody made eye contact with him yet. “Thank you, Caleb. I’m here to represent His Highness. You should know that we haven’t given up on any of you, even though you rejected the Angel’s Plan and followed after the Opposition Plan. We never give up on anybody, ever.
“You agree with me on most issues. We agree that an earth should be created. That’s been unanimous. We all want to get the most out of the once-ever probationary experience. I’m here because I know I can help you and I want to tell you how to make the earth the best place for you.” Continue reading
Lots more people have started reading the Book of Mormon than have finished it. I suspect that the first stories in the Book of Mormon were specially chosen because they would be read thousands of times more often than the final stories. And which stories were given prominence? In the 4th chapter, Nephi was asked to slay the unconscious Laban in the streets. It’s interesting that only a few pages into the book a man was commanded to break one of the Ten Commandments.
There’s a similar conflict in the story of Abraham’s sacrifice. Kierkegaard wrote about the angst he imagined for Abraham in Fear and Trembling. Abraham was willing to obey, even though he was potentially disqualifying himself from heaven. Kierkegaard asked how Abraham could know that he was interpreting God’s words correctly, especially with the stakes so high. He had to have enough faith in his new vision to disobey God’s laws that had been established by great prophets in other generations. Continue reading