jchandle writes

  Today marks the 200th anniversary of the first visit of the angel Moroni to the prophet Joseph Smith, during which he directed Joseph to the location of gold plates which would be used as a medium through which to reveal the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  When 2024 starts in a few months, I’ll start a year long study of the Book of Mormon with my church following 2 years of study through the Holy Bible. I see 2024’s planned study as the next phase in a long path through seeing the scriptures and religion and faith and spirituality and history through new eyes. To mark this anniversary, and in preparation for next year’s Book of Mormon study, I thought I’d try to write through my history with the Book of Mormon and my current thoughts. Kind of the point of my whole plan to study the book next year is to do so for new understanding, so I’m not married to any of my thoughts past, present, or future, so don’t try to argue with me about any of this. I’ll like...

Sunday services of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are divided into two parts. The first hour of church is called Sacrament Meeting, where members of all ages meet in a room to partake of “the sacrament”--communion–sing and pray, and hear sermons given by members of the congregation. The second hour is divided by age (and twice a week by sex) with adults going to classes for adults and children going to a children’s church program called “primary.” I don’t know why I explained all that in a blog post for whom my exclusive audience is probably members of my church. But it’s the context within which to say this: Hour one is hard for me. All the things I mentioned do happen during the first hour of church, but for me, the first hour is mostly a wrestling match with my two kids. I used to love pondering the sacrifice of Jesus during the sacrament. Now my thoughts are mostly on how to get my kids to sit still so as to not disturb other members from their holy thoughts and h...

I’ve kept quiet about this long enough.    A little while ago, I visited historic Nauvoo Illinois with my family. We enjoyed touring the homes of early Latter-day Saint apostles, trying our hands at temple stone carving, watching young, talented missionaries dance, spin, holler, and sing in a grand celebration of Mormon heritage. My son even accidentally stole a few typesetting letters from the reconstructed printing press.   As a part of the experience, I paid $10 to go on a guided tour of the sites owned and operated by the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) while the rest of my family played pioneer games down the road with representatives from my own Utah-based faith. The historical sites intern who guided my tour wore a  uniform that was in noticeable contrast to the 19th century outfits of the missionaries staffed by my church. A cleanly pressed polo was tucked tightly into a slightly above knee-le...

  I finished studying the book of Mark a couple months ago, but I still processing it–and probably will be while I make my way through the other gospels and the rest of the New Testament. There’s a lot to think about related to the Gospel of Mark, and I’m in a weird spot where I’m not super stable on much of what I’m thinking about. But writing this has helped me get more stable. If you read this, and have any thoughts of your own, please feel free to let me know! Writing is really impactful on my thinking, and interacting with others forces me to think even more differently, and that’s all good.  The First Synoptic Gospel Scholars are mostly in agreement that the gospel attributed to Mark is the first written of the four canonical gospels. To illustrate, imagine this:  Three friends witness a car accident. A police officer asks them each to write a report of what happened. If all three do so without looking at each other’s papers, then they would likely tell many if not ...

  Me: I’m not sure I actually believe in God anymore.  Also Me: let’s stay up late and read the Bible! Faith journeys are wild. Mine is progressing slower than I’d like. But if you’re curious for an update, this post might help you there. I also think some of my thoughts might be helpful to others. If you find that to be the case, please let me know, because I’m lonely a lot in my particular path and so I’m desperate to hear from people who relate even a little.  I do also recognize that some people who relate to me in some ways with what's below, might have VERY different reactions to some of what I am finding sustaining or challenging. That's okay, and I think your reactions to these are valid--even if they are the opposite of mine. Quotes sustaining my faith lately Real faith “Real faith, life-changing faith, Abrahamic faith is always in crisis. That’s how you find out if it’s faith at all. I promise you that more faith will mean less crisis until finally God says ‘wel...