Link: Over-acceptance is NOT Christ-like

Couldn't have said it better myself...

From Greg Trumble's blog:

Too many people are neglecting what is in the scriptures and trying to “customize Christ”. You can’t do that…seriously.

Too often we read a few scriptures that make us feel good and then omit everything else that we know about Jesus that might make us feel bad. Some have bowed down to modern trends and allowed themselves to be manipulated by the media and false teachers. Too many people are looking for a religion that is easy. In the world, we are offered instant salvation and taught about a Christ that accepts everyone just the way they are. There is no difference between our day and Isaiah’s time when the people asked him to “Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things” (Isaiah 30:10) Instead of looking for a Church that teaches truth, many are on a quest to find a church that can satisfy their innate desire to worship God, and yet at the same time, live the lifestyle that they want to live regardless of how ungodly it really is. Some consider it a great feat to find a church that allows them to live how they want to live, and still feel like they are worshipping God.

Read the rest here...

Radical Feminism / Peter Pans / Sexism = Imbalance and Madness‏

(This was an e-mail I sent to the author of this post: "Mormonism, Feminism, and being snarky."  Thought it was long enough that I might as well throw it up here...)

Ginger -

I appreciated your bold words on your post of Feminism and Mormonism. I, too, have been thinking much on this topic, and thought I'd share some of the relevant thoughts on this topic from various (mainly Church centered) sources.

Fear is Selfish and Lazy

Fear is inherently selfish and lazy. There is no effort, work, or knowledge required – it simply takes giving into our default behavior. Faith in Christ, on the other hand, is a principle of action and power; it is the result of hard work and demands personal sacrifice. It takes a great deal of sustained effort and energy, giving up our "comfort zone", putting aside what we think we know, seeking out salvational truths, and applying them consistently in our lives no matter the immediate or apparent outcome. Faith and fear cannot co-exist because one cannot be both lazy and industrious or charitable and self-centered at the same time, just like something cannot be both wet/dry, high/low, or on/off at once.

The Mechanics (And Pitfalls) Of Learning "Line-Upon-Line"

I came across this talk from Elder Henry B. Eyring explaining a little about the mechanics of learning line-upon-line, precept upon precept that I had never heard before.  It helped me to understand a little better about how I can receive the next "line", and what to do if I get stuck.

"A Life Founded In Light And Truth", Elder Henry B. Eyring, BYU Devotional, 15 Aug 2000.

Obedience to commandments is the way we build a foundation of truth. Here is the way that works, in words so simple that a child could understand: The truth of most worth is to know God our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and Their plan for us to have eternal life with Them in families. When God communicates that priceless truth to us, He does it by the Spirit of Truth. We have to ask for it in prayer. Then He sends us a small part of that truth by the Spirit. It comes to our hearts and minds. It feels good, like the light from the sun shining through the clouds on a dark day. He sends truth line upon line, like the lines on the page of a book. Each time a line of truth comes to us, we get to choose what we will do about it. If we try hard to do what that truth requires of us, God will send more light and more truth. It will go on, line after line, as long as we choose to obey the truth. That is why the Savior said that the man who obeyed His commandments built on a rock so solid that no storm or flood could hurt his house.

Did you catch that part that not a lot of people seem to understand?

The "Four Quadrants of Obedience" (i.e. Spirit and/or Letter of Law)

I found this while looking for more understanding of the spirit vs. letter of the law. President of BYU Idaho, Kim B. Clark, gave a devotional in 2006 about obeying the BYU Idaho Honor Code which segwayed nicely into showing the relationship between the letter and the spirit of the law and the path of true discipleship.

He introduces what he calls an "Honor Code Map" that lays out four different classifications of obedience. He explains how we can fall into each of the four based on which combination of the spirit / letter of the law we follow.

Click below for the video and highlights of the criteria of each of the four quadrants and how we can get on the path of discipleship that the Lord Jesus Christ has set.