When in seminary, Mount Calvary Baptist Church, was the Christian family in Greenville, S.C. for my family.

And I am thankful for Jamie, writer for World Magazine, who spotlights in her latest article, “Catch & release” (Nov. 21), how my South Carolina church family is using released time education in the public school system.

In the years ahead, Berean Baptist Church in Idaho Falls, needs to be solidly in the trenches lovingly providing this very ministry to public school students.

Ban Beck from BYU Idaho?!

Now, that would be HUGE for Southeastern Idaho!

See here.

HT: SI

I am studying John 17, tonight.  So out of curiosity, I googled “sons of perdition”.

Amazing.  Five of the ten entries on my opening search page are LDS related.

http://www.mrm.org/sons-of-perdition

http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/basic/afterlife/perdition_eom.htm

http://ironrod.wordpress.com/2005/07/13/how-many-sons-of-perdition-are-there/

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/gs/s/82

http://www.mormonwiki.com/Sons_of_Perdition

1). Allie of OneNewsNow writes about the latest gay issues in Salt Lake City.

2). And John, an LDS gay man, writes of his longing for the coming day when the LDS Church accepts him back into the fold.

As the American homosexuality issues spill over from mainstream Protestant denominations into evangelical streams, I would assume that the LDS Church does not want to be caught as the last ones in America standing contra to civil liberties for the gay.

And as we consider the future, imagine the day in America when bishops are either female or gay.

From Tim’s latest book, Counterfeit Gods (2009) . . .

“The text says that when the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he loved her.  God was saying, “I am the real bridegroom.  I am the husband of the husbandless.  I am the father of the fatherless.”  This is the God who saves by grace.  The gods of moralistic religions favor the successful and the overachievers.  They are the ones who climb the moral ladder up to heaven.  But the God of the Bible is the one who comes down into this world to accomplish a salvation and give us a grace we could never attain ourselves.  He loves the unwanted, the weak and unloved.  He is not just a king and we are the subjects; he is not just a shepherd and we are the sheep.  He is a husband and we are his spouse.  He is ravished with us–even those of us whom no one else notices.

“And here is the power to overcome our idolatries.  There are many people in the world who have not found a romantic partner, and they need to hear the Lord say, “I am the true Bridegroom.  There is only one set of arms that will give you all your heart’s desire, and await you at the end of time, if only you turn to me.  And know that I love you now.”  However, it is not just those without spouses who need to see that God is our ultimate spouse, but those with spouses as well.  They need this in order to save their marriage from the crushing weight of their divine expectations.  If you marry someone expecting them to be like a god, it is only inevitable that they will disappoint you.  It’s not that you should try to love your spouse less, but rather that you should know and love God more.  How can we know God’s love so deeply that we release our lovers and spouses from your stifling expectations?  By looking at the one to whom Leah’s life points” (43-45).

See here.

HT: SI

I watched this movie late last night.

One of my favorite lines was when the young, beautiful non-Mormon (Linda Darnell) in anger tells her soon-to-be husband, Jonathan Kent (Tyrone Power): you want “twenty wives to comb your beard”.

Al Mohler questions John Franke.

Scroll down in the post.

It is amazing what people promote in the name of God.

But can one really think that Jesus Christ is calling for diversity and pluralism in John 17?

HT:  Dave Doran

I just started reading this book:  Why? Powerful Answers and Practical Reasons for Living LDS Standards (Deseret Book, 2009) by John Hilton III and Anthony Sweat.  You can find this book at the local Deserets, the Wal-Marts, and the library in town.

The two popular youth men, Hilton and Sweat, are trying to build up all of today’s LDS youth.

But I can’t even agree with the answers to the first two questions in the book.

Chapter 1 – Why Should I Keep the Commandments?

“Why are some commandments more important than others – or are they?

“The Savior said that the most important commandments were to love God and to love our neighbor (see Matthew 22:36-40).  There are obviously some commandments that hurt God or hurt our fellow man more than others.  According to Alma 39:5, the three worst sins that can be committed are denying the Holy Ghost, murder where innocent blood is shed, and sexual immorality” (p. 13).

Chapter 2 – Why Should I Listen to and Follow the Prophet?

1. Prophets can see coming events more clearly and direct us accordingly–they are see-ers!
2. Those who follow the prophet have been promised safety from and preparation for many of the calamities of the last days.
3. When we follow the prophet, we will never be led astray (p. 19)

And there are 27 more main questions along with the subpoint questions . . .