Clearly, it is not the LDS Prophet, Priest, and Seer Thomas Monson (nonofficial website).

Nor is he one of the Counselors in the LDS First Presidency.

You will not find him among the LDS Twelve Apostles.

This man is making waves in America.  This man is the #1 LDS voice influencing conservative, dispensational evangelicals. 

Are you ready? (more…)

Well, perhaps in America it is the gods of commercialism and big religious business.

Just because you put a Holy Book in people’s hands (or on their iPods), it does not mean they will understand it.  For instance, the United States, as the world’s most religious rich country, is saturated with Bibles—Americans buy more than twenty million new ones every year to add to the four that sit in the average American house.  Yet the state of American biblical knowledge is abysmal.  One Gallup survey found that fewer than half of Americans can name the first book of the Bible (Genesis), only a third know who delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Billy Graham is a popular answer), and a quarter do not know what is celebrated at Easter (the Resurrection, the foundational event of Christianity).  Sixty percent cannot name half the Ten Commandments; 12 percent think Noah was married to Joan of Arc.  George Gallup, a leading Evangelical as well as premier pollster, describes America as “a nation of biblical illiterates.” (268, emphasis is mine)

 – taken from God is Back (2009) by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge

(Sidenote – you might be interested in the half dozen references to Mormonism scattered through the book.)

At B.B.C. in Ammon, Idaho this weekend, we were packed.

The living God is doing some neat things in this LDS community.  Public fervor and worship of the living Christ is contagious.  Next Sunday morning, we will be focusing again on our fundamental belief in the living, triumphant Christ.

We pick up in John’s Gospel at verse 18 in chapter 14. 

Did you know that in believing and seeing the resurrected Christ, two truths become a bedrock certainty in your heart?

1.  The mutual indwelling oneness of Father and Son.  The unbelieving, religious Jews didn’t get it, back in John 10 starting with verse 30.  Neither did the Lord’s own disciples understand (see Philip’s question in John 14:8).  But “at that day”, everything became clear.  Hallelujah!

2.  The mutual indwelling oneness of Christ with his church.  The oneness is now for those who have the eyes of faith to see the resurrected Lord of all. 

But how does one illustrate this oneness with the King of glory?  Well, look at John 15.

In this new week of resurrection glory aftermath, I am overwhelmed by the Christ.

I will follow you, Lord.

I was flipping through Smithsonian (April 2009) this morning.

Anthony captures Boise very nicely, “Staying Power“.

I spent my first year of marital bliss (1992-1993) in this city.  My wife graduated a top ten scholar of Boise State University in the spring of 1993.   During that school year, I taught in the college and career class at Broadway Avenue Baptist Church  (Bridgepoint is the name, today).

Good memories.