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The Mother of All Living

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"Eve, first woman of earthly creation, companion of Adam and mother and matriarch of the human race, is honored by Latter-day Saints as one of the most important, righteous, and heroic of all the human family."   Beverly Campbell Artwork: Mother Eve by Brooklyn Swenson President Nelson has put a great deal of focus the last few years on encouraging members of the Church to attend the temple regularly, worship more fully while there, and gain a more complete understanding about the covenants we make within temple walls. I love this instruction because I’ve long felt that we can’t keep our covenants well if we don’t know what they are. And if we are to be representatives of Jesus Christ, having taken His name upon us, we ought to know exactly what we promised Him we’ll do so we can ensure we’re living up to those promises. One thing that has always distracted me from spiritual temple worship, however, is the circumstance surrounding the forbidden fruit. I’ve always struggled
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I attended the temple every week for ten years. Here’s what I learned.

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“If you don’t yet love the temple, go more often—not less. Let the Lord, through His Spirit, teach and inspire you there. I promise you that over time, the temple will become a place of safety, solace, and revelation." President Russell M. Nelson …Actually, of the 520 weeks in those ten years, I missed five of them. But 515 of 520 is still something to write home about. Over the last decade, I’ve probably spent close to 1,000 hours as a patron in the temple and done proxy work for more than 2,300 people. It’s been a hefty investment. Closing a chapter always feels one of two ways to me. Either exhausted bliss, usually accompanied by a great sense of achievement – like at my academic graduation ceremonies – or longing with a twinge of grief that my life will never be the same – like when I retired my little rescue horse from competition. Today, I feel both.  When I began this journey in January of 2013, I didn’t intend to keep it up this long. It started as a New Year’s Resolut
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“And When Thou Art Converted, Strengthen Thy Brethren.”

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  “And When Thou Art Converted, Strengthen Thy Brethren.” - Jesus Christ (Luke 22:32) This talk was given on October 23, 2022 in the Highland Glen YSA ward of the Alpine, Utah YSA stake. Stake President Brandon Doman attended, and area seventy Elder Richard N. Holzapfel presided. Introduction In 2014, as an undergraduate student at BYU, I sat in the JKB as Dr. Anthony Sweat taught a religion class about the Doctrine and Covenants. But I wasn’t really listening. I was entirely consumed in my own thoughts about truth . I wasn’t sure how we could possibly know that any of this was true. I’m analytical by nature, and it’s in my personality to question everything. I don’t allow myself to be attached so firmly to any ideology that I’m unwilling to update my beliefs if new evidence enlightens new understanding. But at this point in my faith journey, that was a new experience for me. I had always been confident in my testimony and in my understanding of gospel truths, and I was frigh
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Rethinking Religion: If the church is true, why are we so afraid to rethink our beliefs?

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  “And when thou art converted, strengthen thy bretheren.”   Jesus Christ (Luke 22:32) I’ve been thinking a lot lately about religious conversion and retention, particularly among our young members. I think it started conference weekend when President Nelson admonished, “Stop increasing your doubts by rehearsing them with other doubters” ( Christ is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains , 4 April 2021). Immediately following this statement, the progressive church community decried it as ridiculous while the orthodox community lauded the instruction inspired. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this type of partisan rhetoric about doubt at General Conference. In October 2013, Elder Uchtdorf famously coined the phrase, “Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith,” which garnered similar backlash from self-proclaimed doubters ( Come, Join with Us , 5 October 2013). While I understand the sentiment, my feelings about it are complicated. Essentially, I fear that members o
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