In my previous post evaluating the Book of Mormon’s account of the fall of man, I revealed how 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon subtly alters the account of The Fall. It does so by teaching that Eve eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil was ultimately good for the human…
Rethinking Ephesians 1 | Shifting the focus to Christ
When the topic of predestination comes up in conversation, our minds tend to jump to a couple passages of scripture. Ephesians 1 is most likely one of them. Often there is a two-sided debate that goes on when we take a look at this chapter. We immediately focus on the word “predestine” and begin discussing…
Commitment | A Self-imposed Boundary
Being newly married, dating my now husband forced me to face my fear of commitment. I knew that commitment to marriage was good, because I knew that God created marriage. But, deep down, I feared that commitment was a form of oppression and believed that choosing marriage would be an act of courage. However, as…
Evaluating Mormonism
Recently, I found out some friends of mine were visited by Mormon (LDS) missionaries and had begun attending their church. I was aware of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (I will refer to this church as LDS for the sake of brevity in this post), but didn’t know specifics and definitely…
Examining The Book of Mormon | The Fall of Man
I believe a foundational error of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is found in its alteration of the account of the Fall of Man. According to Gilbert Scharffs, an instructor at the LDS Institute for religion, in his article, Unique Insights on Christ from the Book of Mormon, published on the…
Can the Bible and the Book of Mormon both be true?
I was asked recently to read the Book of Mormon and ask God if it was true. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ( Mormons or LDS members) all have a testimony of when they felt God confirm in their hearts through the Holy Spirit that the Book of Mormon…
Romans 9 | Part 3
If you have not watched Romans 9 | Part 1 or Romans 9 | Part 2, please do so first! This section covers Romans 9:19 – 33. Paul begins verse 19 with another objection that he perceives his audience may have to what he has just said. Here are some additional thoughts on things we…
Romans 9 | Part 2
If you have not watched Romans 9 | Part 1, do so first! This section covers Romans 9:13-18. In this section, Paul begins to respond to an objection which questions God’s justice with regards to how he has dealt with the nation of Israel. Although I addressed all of the questions below in some degree…
Romans 9 | Part 1
This section covers Romans 9:1-13. First, watch the video below! Here are some additional thoughts that may help answer some questions that you may have after watching the video. In verses 6 – 13, we talked about how Paul is using an allegory. He is using the story of how the nation of Israel was…
Romans 9 | Intro
Romans 9 is chapter that often brings up confusion and debate. Phrases such as “God has mercy on whom he desires, and hardens whom he desires” leaves many uncomfortable and torn between believing what those verses seem to say about God and how they thought God to be. I was there. This lead to hours…