Uh oh.

They are getting a Baptist in there . . . Dr. Travis Kerns.

Do conservative Mormons and conservative Baptists dialogue?

Actually, I just found this out today.

I wonder what the topic will be.

We are two Baptist pastors.

But the Reverend Henry Lyons is not seeing what I am seeing in Scripture.

Someday I am going to die.  I don’t know when.  But when there is my funeral in Idaho Falls, sing “Amazing Grace”.  I will need the Henry’s Fork Pipes and Drums.

Tears are on my cheeks as I listen tonight to this song, performed by IL DIVO in this Roman Coliseum concert (Make sure you listen to the song, “Hallelujah (Alelujah)” as well, too). 

When my wife and I were standing within the pagan Coliseum years ago, I wish I could have taken in the power of this music.

Jacob J. is right.  This hymn needs to be sung.

Did you all see these quotes in Christianity Today (Sept. 2009)?

Pseudo-Dionysius on God –

Trinity!  Higher than any being . . . Where the mysteries of God’s Logos / Lie simple, absolute, and unchangeable / In the brilliant darkness of a hidden silence.

Gregory of Nyssa on God –

How can one arrive at the boundary sought for when there is no boundary?

True satisfaction of the soul’s desire consists in constantly going on with this quest and never ceasing in the ascent to God.

Which statements do you consider true?  Which statements do you consider false? 

1.  God as three is to be emphasized more than as one.

2.  God as one is to be emphasized more than as three.

3.  God is three in one.

4.  God is one in three.

5.  The Holy Spirit is Jehovah.

6.  The Son is Jehovah.

7.  The Father is Jehovah.

8.  The Son is the Father.

9.  The Son is not the Father.

10.  To see Jesus is to see the Father.

11.  Only the Father is the one true God.

12.  The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three separate Beings.

13.  The Father sends the Spirit.

14.  The Son sends the Spirit.

15.  The Spirit glorifies the Son.

16.  The Son glorifies the Spirit.

17.  The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are just one Person.

18.  The Son dwells in the Father.

19.  The Father dwells in the Son.

20.  The Father sent the Son.

21.  The Son is not Most High.

22.  God is just like a created egg:  yolk, white, and shell.

23.  God is just like the created H2O molecules:  water, ice, and steam

24.  God is just like you, the creature:  body, soul, and spirit

25.  The Spirit proceeds from the Father.

26.  The Spirit proceeds from Jesus.

27.  Jesus is glorified by the Father and the Spirit.

28.  The Son glorifies the Father.

29.  The Father glorifies the Spirit.

30.  The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not equal.

31.  God has three natures.

32.  God has three wills.

33.  God has three heads.

34.  God is three Persons.

35.  There is only one, true God.

John 17:3 is a very important verse for “restorationists”, like Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Debunking the Trinity is one of the key purposes of this blog, Jesus and His God.

How comfortable are LDS friends with the interpretation by Jehovah’s Witnesses on John 17:3?

It is the humorous new quote in a book review written by the king of evangelical, Calvinistic bloggers, Tim Challies.

American Evangelicals might not be listening to LDS General Conference, but they certainly are reading and listening to Beck.  And it is often with a smile.  A friendly smile.

Beck is #3 on the American radio airwaves.  Through his humor, determined will, and hard work, we shall see if he will make it to the top tier, the highest golden level of influence, in our capitalistic country.

It is time to read and meditate afresh on what our Lord was communicating in John 17. (more…)

Religious people sure do get excited over their holy books.  It is a fascinating experience to observe.

For LDS people, the Book of Mormon is the Most High among the “Modern” LDS scriptural trilogy.  Yet the trilogy has only been famous because of how it awkwardly yet tenaciously clings in an American piggyback, testimonial fashion on to the shoulders of the KJV Bible, especially this marvelous triune splendor:  Genesis, Isaiah, and John.

Friends, after three years in John’s Gospel (HI4LDS began soon after my initial forays into John 1), our church family has finally arrived for the meditation on John 17.

We begin this monumental chapter this Sunday morning.

Share with me some things.  What have been your favorites verses, sermons, and discussions, etc. on the Lord’s high priestly prayer.

I have read a few.

Paul E. Dahl:  The Godhead (Quoting Joseph Smith:  Many men say there is one God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are only one God. I say that is a strange God anyhow—three in one, and one in three! It is a curious organization anyhow. “Father, I pray not for the world, but I pray for those that thou hast given me…that they may be one as we are.”…I want to read the text to you myself—”I am agreed with the Father and the Father is agreed with me, and we are agreed as one.” The Greek shows that it should be agreed. “Father, I pray for them which thou hast given me out of the world,…that they all may be agreed,” and all come to dwell in unity[TPJS, p. 372; cf. John 17:9-11, 20-21; also cf. WJS, p. 380].

LDS Scripture John 17:  [Jesus Christ] is glorified by gaining eternal life  (emphasis mine)

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:  The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent

John 17:3:  The scripture of the week for LDS Today

FairMormon:  The Relationships Between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Wikipedia:  Exaltation (LDS Church)

Mormon Missionaries:  Do Mormons Worship a Different Jesus?

David Lifferth:  Top 20 Most Cited LDS Scriptures

Patheos:  What are the 5 most frequently quoted Scriptures from each of the books in the LDS Canon?

Mormon Beliefs:  Why Are Mormons Called “The Godmakers”?

Thomas Wheeler:  What Do Mormons Believe About the Trinity?

Clean Cut:  “That They May Be One As We Are One”

Greg West:  Do Mormons Believe They Can Become Gods?