What’s the right way to act when you disagree with the Church?

I’m not asking this question because it’s some sort of novel situation I find myself in. Far from it. Who doesn’t have disagreements with the Church? Even with the prophets, dead or living? Even with (*installs lightning rod*) the Word of God itself as recorded in the scriptures? There are thousands of pages of scriptures, conference talks, Church policies, Sunday School lessons, half-remembered anecdotes from your batty old aunt about how they used to run things in the pre-war M.I.A., etc. The odds that you could thoughtfully ponder all that and not find some points of honest disagreement are astronomical. (more…)

A certain man fell among thieves, and was robbed and beaten and left for dead.

A Levite walking by took a selfie pic with a concerned face, and posted it to Facebook, with the comment that somebody should do something and it was time to stop the hate. It got lots of likes and re-shares.

And a priest walking by also saw the man, and a took a photo, and tweeted it, #NoMoreRepublicanSpendingCuts. And lo, the hashtag trended, and a celebrity did retweet it. And verily the counter hashtag, #VictimLivesMatter, which shared a clip of a Democratic congressman calling for an end to oppressive policing in the Jerusalem area, also trended.

And a Samaritan passed by, who possessed not even a smart phone, neither did he watch the news. And he had compassion on the man, and bound his wounds, and took care of him.

Who then was this man’s neighbor?

Every year there is an end to Christmas day and an end to the Christmas season.  It is always a bit melancholy.  Each of us will have a last Christmas of our life.  That will be a bit melancholy too.

Our kind of Christmas will end someday too.  Someday there will be a Last Christmas within the circle of the world.

But this year I have had an intimation that at the true last Christmas, Christ will be there.  It will not be sad at all. (more…)

Helpless as a Baby and Helpless as a Child–what we learn from Christ taking on the feeble helplessness of an infant.

How we are Mary and Overlooked Christmas Scriptures and We are Joseph and Mary and Holding the Messiah–four essays on being a father or a mother or a recipient of revelation. See also this brief meditation on the comparison between Mary and the tree of life.