Blessed Are The Peacemakers

  Justified or Sanctified? Question About Violence, Faith and Zion The other day, my daughter was reading the Covenant of Christ and came to the account of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies burying their weapons of war. She asked me a question about it that really got me thinking. “Is that what we’re supposed to do? Or is it okay to be like the Nephites who protected them?” I didn’t have a quick answer for her, and I don’t think that was a bad thing. Some questions are meant to slow us down. Some questions expose a real tension in scripture that we would rather flatten into a simple rule. This felt like one of those. Because this isn't just a question about one story. It's a question about violence, self-defense, holiness, faith and what kind of people Zion requires us to become. Her question also stirred an old memory. Years ago, I remember reading a comment on Denver’s blog from someone who was very much a Captain Moroni, Title of Liberty, Second Amendment kind of person...

  How Scripture Describes the Path to Restoration Some of the most helpful insights in this post have come from conversations with friends who are thinking deeply about these same questions. In one of those discussions, the idea came up that reality and truth might essentially be the same thing. At first glance that makes a lot of sense. If something is true, it must correspond to what is real. Scripture affirms that close connection. But as I've dug deeper  I've noticed something interesting. The scriptures unfold a richer pattern. They describe reality as the foundation, truth as our growing understanding of that reality, justice as the rightful response to it and grace as the divine strength that sustains the whole process. This isn't meant to correct anyone. It's an attempt to let the scriptures expand the picture. Truth and Reality Let's begin where there's clear agreement. Truth is deeply connected to reality. One of the clearest definitions ...

Where Healing Begins In a world that often rewards appearances, many of us learn how to project strength long before we learn how to be whole. We build facades that feel protective, carefully arranged versions of ourselves that can function in public while keeping the more fragile parts hidden. These walls may help us survive, but they can't heal us. And yet, beneath all that performance, most of us long for something more honest. We long for a place where we can be fully seen without needing to pretend, where truth doesn't destroy us but becomes the very place where God begins to restore us. That's why transparency before God matters so deeply. It isn't a decorative spiritual ideal. Its often the place where healing actually begins. When we stop managing our image before Him and allow His light to illuminate what's really there, something shifts. Growth begins. Restoration begins. Reality begins to replace illusion. There's a strange paradox in the gosp...

  As this sacred window opens tonight and into the early morning hours.... The Blood Moon of Purim: A Call to Fast  In the early morning  of Tuesday, March 3, 2026, between 4:04 and 5:02 a.m. MST, the full Worm Moon will enter total eclipse. It will reach its deepest red in the pre-dawn stillness at approximately 4:33 a.m., just before morning. Here in Utah, the blood moon will stand over us during Purim itself, the feast remembering Esther’s courage in ancient Persia. Scripture teaches that the lights in the heavens are given for signs and seasons. Not for panic. Not for spectacle. For attention . While I believe this moment is rich with symbolism, I'm not claiming to see it perfectly. These things invite seeking, not speculation. Understanding is uncovered through humility, prayer and personal revelation. What this eclipse ultimately signifies for us must be discerned individually before God. I offer these reflections as meditation, not declaration. This blood m...

  A Song to Set the Heart Right Before the story, I want to share a song that captures the spirit behind it. One of my favorite music groups (Selah) performs a beautiful mash-up   "Part the Waters / I Need Thee Every Hour" This has become my favorite version of the hymn and it expresses the simple truth that before we can follow any direction, we must first learn to depend on the Lord.... trusting His presence and guidance every hour The Compass and the Travelers A group of travelers crossed a wide desert together. Long ago, the King had given their ancestors a compass and a map, promising that anyone who followed them carefully would reach a fertile valley. The King had declared: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from My mouth.” For generations, the travelers carried these treasures with them. Sometimes a guide would arise among them, someone entrusted to read the map clearly ...

  The Moral Nutrition Beneath the Law Intro: A Skirt Challenge at the Rock When our family lived at Rockland Ranch, a remote community carved into the cliffs of southern Utah, one of the women challenged the young girls to wear dresses or skirts for a set period. If they succeeded, they would earn a special dinner date with their dads. As their mother, I didn’t see inherent virtue in skirts over pants. I believed modesty, femininity and obedience come from the heart, not the hemline. But I also felt that familiar tension, the slight unease that shows up whenever “goodness” starts getting measured by fabric instead of character. So I left it entirely up to my girls. If they felt drawn to the challenge, they could take it on, no pressure, no guilt. They chose to participate. They wore skirts whenever they stepped outside our home, but always with shorts or jeans underneath for hiking, climbing, and the rough-and-tumble play that filled their days in that wil...