99 thoughts

1. One has not committed adultery by experiencing attraction to others. It is when one’s life is consumed by lust that one has fallen into a form of adultery that, given time, will invariably lead to the physical act of supreme marital betrayal.

2. To be angry in a moment of frustration will not condemn a person to hell. To have a life inspired by and subsisting off of the power of anger will merit that punishment.

3. Some members of the church have become so lost in a focus on outward ordinances and appearances that they increasingly forget the true nature of these words- love those who hate you. Do good to them who despitefully use you and persecute you. Pray for those who curse you. We, as individuals if not as a group, have long turned aside from this doctrine in favor of retribution and making God’s vengeance our own responsibility in the name of ‘being responsible and assertive’.

4. Marriage is not more important than righteousness. And the act of marriage itself is not a righteous act unless the two who marry are not only law-abiding, but enjoy the true love and mutually held felicity of saints whose lives are guided by virtue and decency; moreover, to marry before one has learned to be truly happy on their own is a most unwise choice.

5. To find oneself unmarried by the age of thirty, forty, fifty, or when one passes is not a failing. To marry young often is. This life is not the only space in which we may meet and fall in love. The life following this one is an opportunity to learn the ways of exaltation as well as to form relationships with those who came before.

6. The idea that marriage is the most important decision we will ever make and the notion that ‘any two good people can make marriage work’ has conflicting undertones that lead to confusion, poor choices and ultimately misery. Marriage is the most important choice, and it is important to be choosey about it. To settle will destroy the self-esteem of your partner. And that failing will in part for a time- destroy you.

7. It is not a man’s sole responsibility to initiate dating. It is the responsibility of those who fall in love to nurture a good thing in ways well suited and adapted to their situation.

8. The only unforgivable sin is failure to forgive oneself.

9. Every soul has value and is a unique tapestry without equal: a set of intangibles whose combination of countless variables is seen once in each individual and then never again. We ought to treat people this way, since not only does their inherent value demand it despite their choices and circumstances, but they are all God’s heirs regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender or status.

10. Mormons are increasingly at risk of placing undue value on beauty and charisma. There is a place for these things, but they are no more or less important than any other thing of virtue and goodly report.

11. Beauty and charisma are not synonymous with the presence of the Holy Ghost. ‘There was no beauty that we should love him.’ The Holy Ghost requires no beauty or special ability and does not make a person more physically attractive when it is a constant part of their life. This is Star Wars philosophy. The beauty of a soul has nothing to do with the beauty of a body, but the beauty of a soul may make the ugliest being radiate goodness within- not a manifestation of bodily characteristics, but rather an aura that resonates in others through the good deeds of good people.

12. Beautiful and charismatic people tend to abuse their gifts, using them to elevate themselves instead of the poor.

13. The youth are far more capable, far more intelligent and far wiser than we give them credit for. The leaders of the church recognize this. The parents often do not. The failings of the youth of any culture and religion consist of parents failing to recognize and unleash this potential in their offspring.

14. Parents who bring children into the world without the resources to raise them well commit an act of terrible selfishness that ought to be punishable by law. They not only stagnate their own progress being unprepared to help another, but they damn the life of an innocent before it begins to breathe.

15. Degrees do not ensure success, happiness or stability. Even the Lord does not always promise these things to the righteous. Degrees do tend to lull people into a false sense of security and deep-seated arrogance. A sound education may be acquired any number of ways, and a degree is only one of them, being a pathway suited to the particulars of a few, and no more or less ennobling than any other path.

16. Wealth is not a blessing from God, but a test to see who will worship their riches and who will worship Him by lowering themselves and raising up the poor.

17. It is the responsibility of the rich to stop being rich. It is the responsibility of the poor to stop envying the rich.

18. Zion is not a hierarchy of wealth and fame. It is the pure in heart, and there were no poor among them.

19. An evil person may effectively disguise their nature in good deeds. A good person’s deeds are effectively disguised by humility.

20. Jesus Christ should be our idol, not a human being. Whether they’re a prophet, an apostle, an athlete or a star, or a spouse. These people may offer wisdom through their lives, but their lives cannot become objects of worshipfulness.

21. Women are not holier than men. Men are not holier than women. Those whose actions are holy sanctify themselves, and those whose actions are unholy sanctify themselves for their only real enemy.

22. Value in this life is determined by beauty, charisma, wealth, status, talent, circumstances, ‘usefulness’, false perfections, broken social constructs and fallacious philosophy. Value in the next life is determined by how wholly we have aligned our choices with Christ’s.

23. A church should be a welcome

haven to all cultures and comers. Some members of the church instead use it to bully the less fortunate into becoming ten times the children of hell that they are, spreading their condemnation through arrogance and pride of the highest order. Insisting that their culture is above all others. There is one culture above all, and it is Christ’s. It doesn’t exist on the earth except in a tiny number of private lives across vast numbers of cultures and countries, therefore no culture has a divine right of superiority over any other.

24. President Wilford Woodruff was mistaken. The president of the church is a man fully capable of folly and may lead the church astray.

25. Leaders of the church have the right of revelation for their designated group. The right of revelation does not guarantee perfection in receiving divine guidance. Therefore, it behooves all members of the church to know the will of Heavenly Father for themselves and to ask Him for confirmation of all revelations given to them by church leaders, regardless of their rank and perceived trustworthiness.

26. It is the responsibility of prophets and apostles and all leaders in the church to earn the trust of their people. A title does not give you a right to their trust, but rather it gives an imperative to prove to them that you are what God says you are.

27. It is unwise for a church to hoard vast sums of wealth and award generous stipends to its leading members while great swaths of impoverished and needy remain among their ranks.

28. A businessman is not qualified to lead a church, but a business. An orator is not qualified to address a church, but militaries, philosophical forums and political gatherings. Those called to lead a church are made equal to the task by an all-powerful God. Not a degree, and not wealth. These things often become a hindrance to faith in Christ. A man or woman with no education, no wealth, no talent, no beauty and no power is more qualified to lead than anyone else on earth if God has made them so. Like a certain, underestimated young boy of fourteen who no one thought anything of except his family until God made him the great power on the earth through grace.

29. Prayer and scripture study are

important. Caring for the poor, the fatherless, the widows, the broken hearted, the victims of reckless cruelty and wanton selfishness, these things are imperative.

30. It’s good to avoid polluting your body with substance abuse, as it allows more freely expressed and received communion with deity. It’s evil to pronounce judgment on and choose to neglect those who have failed in this respect.

31. The word of wisdom is far less important than the law of chastity.

32. Prophets and apostles are human servants replete with human frailties. They are not spiritual super stars. There is no such thing, except in Christ. They are weak men made equal to their task through the blood of Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice. You would find these men and women quite ordinary and approachable if you never knew them in their present sphere.

33. Virginity is a worldly value whose overglorification is a symptom of thousands of years of female enslavement and objectification. It is not a spiritual value considered in Christ’s view. The value of women is inherent and unique, and has nothing to do with their sexual history. The same is true of men and all others.

34. Rape is an act of pure evil. It can be committed against men and women. It should not be tolerated under any circumstances.

35. During times when popular opinion finds the excommunicable crimes of members extremely reprehensible, the authority of the stake president and his councilors to exert ecclesiastical discipline should be suspended and a higher court convened. This principle is already largely in effect, but has been neglected in cases regarding homosexuality.

36. Members of the LDS faith do not hold a monopoly on truth.

37. There is no commandment governing rated R movies. Just as there is no governing power in the MPAA over the Lord of the universe.

38. Saints ought to use judgment, skill and self-determination in their choices rather than drawing up hedges around the laws in order to ‘remain safe’. A sect of loyal worshippers did a similar thing thousands of years ago, contributing directly to the betrayal of their own God.

39. The American Dream, once a noble idea, has in practice become completely at odds with the kingdom of God.

40. Capitalism is not an end, but a means to a greater end. Our descendants will look back in horror at our age just as we look back in horror at the industrial revolution’s atrocities.

41. War isn’t exciting. It isn’t fun. It isn’t heroic though many forced into it are obligated to become heroes. It’s destructive, evil, chaotic, and leaves nothing in its wake but an endless stream of blood-drenched, lifeless husks who were once the fathers, mothers, sons and daughters of beautiful families. War should never under any circumstances, no matter how seemingly justified, be waged, except in defense after an enemy force has committed an act of violent aggression, not before.

42. Women hold the priesthood in temples and use it independent of men. It is their right to ask the question as to whether or not they may have access to it outside these holy edifices. It is not their right to command God to do what they want, but they are free to ask Him to do what they want. Blacks who hold the priesthood now asked and begged the Lord for the priesthood and He heard them. He will hear the righteous prayers of women who know they are capable of serving others more.

43. Women should under no circumstances be treated like their sole purpose on this planet is to procreate. You cannot tell all women their divinity is uniquely special and in the same speech tell them their primary purpose is to have children. A woman’s primary purpose is to pursue her own destiny and hopefully align it with God’s will as best she can. If Heavenly Father expresses in His wisdom that one should procreate and make that their focus, then they would be wise to follow Him. If He expresses to another woman that she ought to invest more of her life in a career and leadership, she would be wise to listen to Him. It’s true that the spirits of the great heretofore arrive on earth to be tested through childbirth. Given the huge responsibility implied then by their deliverance here, the arrival of children should be carefully planned and considered rather than casually committed to as though they were part of an assembly line operation.

44. The size and beauty of one’s family is not an indicator of righteousness, but fertility.

45. Eugenics is not only evil because of its disdain for what it erroneously perceives as weakness, but its end goal is to do away with the atonement of Jesus Christ through the elimination of all ‘imperfections’ that force human beings to rely on one another and God in ways that increase compassion, patience and mercy. Mentally delayed and otherwise handicapped individuals are an essential part of the plan of happiness, softening societies and highlighting the extreme good and evil in individuals by forcing us to face the most authentic version of ourselves. Without them and people like them, mankind would not have a chance of sustaining any kind of spiritual development. They were named kings and queens in the Celestial Kingdom for their valiance in the life we left behind. The glow of their divinity shines as brightly in this life as it did in the life before, and we would be wise to consider their ways more closely.

46. Being old doesn’t make you wise, and being young doesn’t make you uniquely qualified to do anything (except leech). Unique qualifications and wisdom are gifts from God, not a side-effect of the passage of time.

47. No one on earth has a right to judge a person who commits suicide.

48. Almost no one on earth has a right to condemn a person to hell or seal them up to heaven. You are not God. You do not get to make those calls or in your arrogance pretend you know what call God would make for an individual.

49. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. So is the Bible. To neglect a careful examination of either is extremely unwise.

50. Sometimes the words of apostles and prophets contradict one another. This does not matter. What matters is doing what is right for you in the moment under all circumstances. As that increasingly becomes your focus, God will show you what you need to do and you will realize how

petty these grievances of yours are.

51. Joseph Smith wasn’t a god. He hasn’t done more for mankind than anyone else except Jesus. He made a lot of embarrassing mistakes. He was very charismatic, tall for the times, and started a movement that fell into a static state in the decades following his death. While his contributions are significant and his role in the restoration pivotal, he is just a man at the end of the day. A man who, like all other ‘great’ men, became what they were by God’s grace. Not because of some inherent quality only the non-existent super righteous possess. Joseph’s most important contribution to society was to prove that the weakest of us could be made strong in the blood of the Savior.

52. BYU Utah has consistently suppressed and ignored the problems of its rampant sexual underground, especially among the men. It is not a safe place or a spiritual cloister. And to pretend it is puts the safety of the students’ lives both spiritually and physically at risk.

53. BYU is a good example of what to do with considerable resources at one’s disposal. It’s unfortunate that we’ve chosen to be less prolific with our educational, health, and other humanitarian services such as adoption.

54. The fact that ‘everyone likes it’ or believes it would does not make something good or right. Argumentum ad populum has always been a worthless philosophy.

55. Having an independent audit of church finances is wise. To keep financial holdings and distribution a secret breeds mistrust in those who learn about the value of observable church assets and the nature of church business; moreover, this secrecy renders the public announcement of the audit completely irrelevant.

56. This life matters, but only insofar as its consequences affect our place in the hereafter.

57. The redemption of the dead is a powerful act of atonement. But caring for the needy who are alive is better.

58. It’s important to be independent. It’s also important to accept charity when it comes your way and accept that your problems are not your own, and the human family has a responsibility to help you as you help yourself.

59. Any saying or statement in the scriptures is not true simply because it is in a book of scripture. It’s true if the men and women who wrote the word of God did not err in writing the truth. Many of them did because they are all human beings capable of misunderstanding while possessing the best of intentions. We are therefore left as individuals with the responsibility to study carefully all the scriptures with wisdom and discernment only God can give to those who read and write. The principle in the Doctrine and Covenants that applies to the Apocrypha applies broadly to all scriptures more or less depending on the accuracy of their translations and the competency of their writers.

60. God the Father does lead the church. Seldom in direct appearances, mostly by whispering the truth in the hearts and minds of our leaders no differently than he whispers the truth to all who diligently seek him out. A special witness does not mean one has seen Christ, but that one has been called by Christ to serve principally as a witness of His resurrection, a responsibility for which a physical manifestation is not necessary. Anyone cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ is an adequate witness to His resurrection.

61. Jesus Christ may appear to anyone regardless of their station, and has to individuals in this generation who will never hold callings of ‘high rank’.

62. The greatest threats to the church are not feminism, the gay movement, or online information sharing. Rather they are wealth, pride, and an unwillingness to yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit.

63. It is unfortunate when our fellows place themselves in debt so great it becomes unmanageable. It is even more unfortunate when we choose to believe those fellows deserve their fate.

64. The business end of the church is running the risk of becoming a greater public relations nightmare than all our excommunicated members combined.

65. The hierarchy of callings as presently constituted suggests that high leadership is a desirable position acquired through merit and business-like ascension as opposed to being a call to serve from God. While this is of course not true, the appearance is understandably unsettling, and even alarming to some.

66. The priesthood ban may have prevented the church from being destroyed in its infancy. Its later continuation was an unfortunate choice maintained by a severely misguided few whose views on race are not a part of mainstream LDS thought.

67. Not all acts of God can or should be rationally understood.

68. The mapping of the human mind must not lead to a rebirth in eugenics.

69. Human augmentation will further divide mankind into classes and deepen the enmity that has already begun to spark the flames of bloody, senseless revolution.

70. War and desolation is inevitable for all countries, societies and religions unless they repent and choose to be as Christ is.

71. The fact that the church will not be taken from the earth again should not be seen as a promise to prevent mass destruction typical of all who came before us. That we are somehow safe because we are ‘better’ than our predecessors is untrue. The church’s perpetuation does not require any of its present body to remain alive, since God can, according to John the Baptist, raise stones up to be His flock should the need arise. We would

do well to remember what President Uchtdorf prophesied: The Lord will have a humble people. Blessed are those who are not compelled to be humble.

72. Every calling is critically important. The leaders who call you may not think so. Your peers may hardly give you consideration because of the status of your calling. But it is imperative that the general membership not buy into this cultural lie of the spectrum of spiritual value. No part of the body of Christ is unimportant, or more important than another, and failure to magnify one’s role makes the whole body sick, whether you can see it or not.

73. Failings of leadership do not give you the right to let your faith flail in the wind.

74. Following Christ is a painfully lonely proposition, a test that has been a hallmark of every righteous saint.

75. No number of sins and mistakes can keep you from God.

76. A person who completely repents is better than they were before the need to repent arose.

77. No person exists for whom daily repentance is not necessary except Jesus Christ. It is a way of life, not a one-time exercise.

78. Miracles are not necessarily signs from God. Clothing the naked, liberating the captive, visiting the sick in their affliction and loneliness, elevating the poor, tending to the widows, the fatherless, the orphans, the helpless, the crippled, and quietly doing good for all those who are incapable of adequately returning favors- these are signs from God. They are the surest evidence that He walks among us.

79. A person who sexually abuses a child is worthy of death.

80. A temple recommend is a poor metric to determine the character of another.

81. The Ten Commandments are still relevant, and still largely ignored.

82. Violence in any form is completely unacceptable. We tolerate it at times when there is no other choice. There is almost always another choice.

83. Sports are a boon to society except insofar as they detract from the worship of Jesus Christ.

84. We should stop placing athletes on impossible pedestals and envying after them. Athletes must learn how to control not only their motor functions, but the enhanced emotions that inevitably come with stronger bodies.

85. Debates between inaccurately labeled groups are a petty waste of time.

86. The news, regardless of who or what it happens to be favoring in the moment, is with some exceptions generally a waste of time.

87. All citizens who wish to participate in the political process should be given an equal chance and voice in elections regardless of the election. The rich and secretive are not better qualified to lead nations than the poor and undereducated- a fact heavily underscored by today’s abysmal circumstances.

88. Writing history with an angle is impossible to avoid at present. It is possible and should be required of historians to avoid writing history replete with deceitful revisions and omissions.

89. Technological development does not ‘naturally’ do anything for anyone. The process should continue with the poor in mind as opposed to how much wealth can be amassed the most quickly.

90. The pursuit of wealth is good if its pursuance 1. Does not lead to one finding themselves in a frame of mind where no amount of wealth is enough. 2. That wealth is sought for purely for the purpose of aiding others and making them as wealthy as you. 3. Only occurs after one has secured the kingdom of God for themselves.

91. Love and truth are not forces of inevitability. They are both prizes won after long, bitter, vigorous battle, and are only maintained by the most constant vigilance.

92. Care for oneself is necessary but must not come in a way that compromises the self care of another.

93. The ends cannot ever justify the means. This is a road to inevitable lack of faith.

94. Sickness, brutalization, poverty and broken dreams are not a punishment from God, but symptoms of a diseased world.

95. Punishment from God for sin and rewards for righteousness are reserved for the hereafter. One thing on earth is given to the faithful: the gift(s) of the Holy Ghost and its accompanying peace of conscience. One thing on earth is held from the faithless not by God but their choices: The Holy Ghost and its peace of conscience.

96. Men indeed are that they might have joy. Many righteous individuals will never know that joy until this life comes to a conclusion.

97. Dishonesty in any degree is unbecoming of the saints.

98. The Law of Consecration is not in effect.

99. A person should be free to pursue their own happiness except insofar as their pursuits encroach upon the well-being of others.