Recently, the ABA announced that it was reviewing a formal complaint against BYU Law School from the FreeBYU group. The group is highly critical of BYU’s policies regarding LGBTQ individuals, and also BYU’s policy of excluding students who have been excommunicated and stopped participating in the Church.

There are two arguments in particular that I have heard made recently that I wish to respond to and refute.

The first is the notion that it is BYU’s policy that results in religious discrimination because it forbids students from freely exercising their faith. The second is the notion that since accreditation (as well as Federal student aid which I have heard some invoke as well) is not a right, punishing BYU for its policies does not violate religious freedom. Continue reading →

I love Lehi’s dream. It is one of my favorite portions of scripture, because of how the themes and images in the dream are applicable in so many different circumstances. Lehi interprets the vision in a wholly familial way, while focusing on his own children and their needs. Nephi receives an interpretation of the dream that instead places against the vast backdrop of human history. This is a rich and multifaceted account that deserves serious study.

One of my favorite observations about Lehi’s dream is how well it parallels or syncs up with the Savior’s parable of the sower. Just as there were four types of soil in the parable, there are likewise four groups and they are closely parallel. This is a chart I made for my Sunday School class in order to illustrate the comparison. I’ve seen different pairings between the groups in other sources, but this is the pairing that I believe is best.  (Reversing the thorns and stony places would also make sense but I prefer this arrangement for reasons that I describe below). Continue reading →

I am currently in Israel visiting family, and decided this morning to go on a walking tour of Jaffa. On the tour, the tour guide spoke of the events that led Cornelius the centurion to Peter and culminated in the opening of the Gospel to the gentiles.

In light of the debate over whether current policy changes are inspired and truly the will of the Lord, I reflected on this most monumental shift in policy ever occurred in the history of the Church. Before Peter’s vision, only those who were Jewish by descent or laborious conversion could be baptized into the nascent Christian Church. After his vision, the scope and power of the Church of Christ dramatically changed as the message spread to all mankind.

There were two key revelations regarding the Church’s policy towards the gentiles, and I believed that looking at these two different policies helps to reveal how God guides his Church today.

The First revelation came to Peter in the vision regarding eating unclean animals. After this vision, Peter knew God’s will decisively and he knew that the Gospel could go to the gentiles. This was a direct revelation of a very specific nature , and Peter immediately shared this vision with the whole Church so that it would know that the instruction came from God.

But after this vision, there still remained the difficult work of figuring out how to implement the newly revealed policy of preaching to the gentiles. In Act 15, we read about the great counsel where the Apostles and Elders came together under the direction of the First Presidency to consider what limitations should be placed on newly converted Gentiles. Peter and James lead this meeting and seek the guidance of the Lord. And from this meeting comes a divinely inspired policy that “seemed good to the Holy Ghost.” This policy revelation involved no clear “thus saith the Lord” moment. Peter didn’t receive a vision, James didn’t speak in the name of the Lord. Yet, there is no question that Peter and James received binding revelation which was accepted by the whole Church as inspired policy.

These  two models of revelation still exist in the present Church. Sometimes, policy is revealed through a dramatic vision or through “thus saith the lord” revelation. Other times, it is instead revealed through inspired and prayerful contemplation and under the guidance of the First Presidency. Both are inspired and both are revelatory. If we demand the former type and reject anything revealed through the latter model as uninspired, we will be doing a grave disservice and sowing the seeds of doubt and dissension.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson posted a highly revealing and fascinating status update on his Facebook page today:

Someone recently asked me why the Brethren are focused on teaching about Sabbath day observance throughout the world. The answer is very simple. It came as a direct revelation to the First Presidency and the Twelve from the Lord.

If we keep the Sabbath day holy, individuals will be stronger and will experience a transforming depth of spiritual maturity. The Lord has taught for centuries to let the Sabbath be a delight for all. We are all learning and teaching this law anew worldwide. We know it will bless all.

This status should quell any doubts that people have as to whether the Lord actively leads his Church.

With most impressions and promptings that we feel, the line between the Holy Ghost and our own efforts is blurred. It is hard to tell whether something comes directly from God, or whether comes from our own desire to be righteous and do good. And indeed, we have been counseled to not worry ourselves too deeply about the difference between the two. But there are times when revelation comes through in a fashion where its divine origin is unmistakable. And in those moments, words and thoughts from heaven flow through us. Those are the moments that we might describe “as a direct revelation . . . from the Lord.”

What Elder Christofferson is suggesting is not merely that the First Presidency and Twelve are trying to do their best and acting upon their good desires. Instead, the instruction to focus on Sabbath day worship was “direct revelation . . . from the Lord.”

This language is unequivocal and profound. God is leading his Church. He cares about what the Brethren teach. He cares about our spiritual state. And he has made it clear that improving Sabbath worship is one of the greatest priorities for our day.

Recently, I read The Emmaus Code, a book written by a Protestant Christian author about types and symbols of Christ in the Old Testament. The author did an admirable job of rounding up a variety of things which point to the coming of Christ. Yet, what surprised me most was the author’s suggestion that these images and metaphors were not understood fully by the Prophets of old and that it wasn’t until the coming of Christ that their meaning was revealed. Even though he rightfully pointed to the fact that Christ infuses the whole of the Old Testament, he did not believe that those who came before truly knew Christ.

As Mormons, it is easy to forgot how shocking and revolutionary some of the claims in the Book of Mormon are. It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing the Book as merely a collection of powerful but utterly conventional stories and sermons on Christ. But the scandalous insight at the core of the Book of Mormon is precisely what it reveals about Jesus Christ and knowledge of him long before his coming. Continue reading →