Prolific Blog

Charity is Not Easily Provoked

There are many aspects of Christlike love and kindness, something I wrote about last week, but this week I want to focus briefly on a specific one, one that I feel is greatly lacking in today’s fast-paced world. As both Paul and Moroni write, charity, the pure love of Christ, “is not easily provoked” (1 Corinthians 13:5; Moroni 7:45). To provoke someone is to “stimulate or give rise to (a reaction or emotion, typically a strong or unwelcome one) in [them]” (Oxford Dictionarie

Why the War of Race Persists in America

The tragic shooting that took place in Charleston, South Carolina last week was not some anomalous event, neither the rare appearance of a bigoted devil in the midst of angel-pure America. It was the latest occurrence in a cultural war of race that has been alive in this country since well before the Confederates started bombing Fort Sumter to begin the Civil War. And as John Stewart put it on the Daily Show, “We still won’t won’t do jack s*** . . . yeah, that’s us.” Current

On Kindness

I wrote last week about understanding the pain of others in order to treat them with absolute kindness. I’m going to continue on a similar note today, specifically as kindness relates to being a true disciple of Christ. The great commandment that the Savior had for his disciples was love, both for God and our brothers and sisters on earth, which he reiterated the eve of his crucifixion: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye

Kindness and the Wounded Animal Theory

Pretend that you are hiking in the woods. To your shock you come across a badly injured wolf. It is howling and whining in pain, pinned in place by an animal trap of some sort. You have immediate compassion on the creature, carefully stepping in to free it from its torturous prison. It quiets as you approach, staring at you with what seem to be grateful eyes while you pry its snare open. But at the instant of salvation, those eyes turn aggressive, angry, and the beast lashes

Dealing with Insecurity on the Path of Discipleship

Before I begin, I’d like you to visualize something for me, a scene from your prayers as though it were a dream. You are no longer on your knees, but are walking into a great hall, pillars of stone and glass and gold shooting up into the skies above you. A concourse of angelic white beings line the path before you, which is covered intermittently by steps that lift you closer to a throne. On that throne sits God the Father in all his radiant warmth. His eyes are on you, just

Facebook Birthday Notifications Matter Because People Matter

Facebook Birthday Notifications Matter Because People Matter

It’s not official until Facebook I’ve heard this cliche expression dozens of times, yet it’s not completely false. You can, of course, have a friendship, relationship, etc., etc. without publishing it to the world. A lot of people thus scoff at the expression, but the fact is that social media matters. “Why,” you ask? Well, let me explain by talking about birthdays. First, birthdays are important. Yes, they can seem kind of arbitrary, since the major accomplishment they celeb

The Prodigal Son: We Are the Lord’s Children

The Prodigal Son: We Are the Lord’s Children

The parallels between the prodigal’s father and the Savior are obvious in this stirring tale of a wayward son come home at last. From this, we are supposed to remember that no matter how far we have fallen, what foolish things we’ve done, there is a return journey we can all make if we humble ourselves. That is where I want to focus my comments, on the naive humility demonstrated by the son when he decided to go back to his father. In the parable (Luke 15), the son has abando

Why It Matters What We Do On the Internet

Why It Matters What We Do On the Internet

What You and I Probably Don’t Care Much About This little quip summarizes my feelings on how we tend to use the internet. In days of yore when knights made war when salt of sweat gave bread its savour men’s hearts were set on something more than Instagram posts made by their neighbour Now I’ll admit it’s somewhat unfair to compare ourselves with our industrious ancestors. If they’d had the luxuries of our day, I imagine they’d have spent some of their time seeing what thei

Two Guiding Stars

Two Guiding Stars A sailor once traveled among troubled seas, his boat nearly flooded, water up to his knees when the clouds split above him, shining light far ahead toward an isle in the distance as he’d thought himself dead He abandoned his vessel, swimming strong as he could against a tide pulling seaward, the omens not good; yet lit still above him, two stars remained true encouraging him forward toward salvation in view As the island drew closer he looked up at his

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