About J. Max Wilson

J. Max Wilson is one of the founders of the Millennial Star. You read more of his thoughts about Mormonism and other topics on his personal blog: http://www.sixteensmallstones.org.

Heroes of the Fallen Kindle Edition – FREE for a limited time

For the next couple of days, the Kindle Edition eBook of “Heroes of the Fallen” is available for FREE at Amazon.com: http://goo.gl/7gX7V

Back in 2010 I reviewed and recommended “Heroes of the Fallen” by David J. West. The book is a story of ancient warfare, political and religious intrigue, and courageous but often flawed heroes set in the ancient America of the Book of Mormon, around 320 or so years A.D. A few parts are quite gory and it is the first of an intended trilogy, so the book leaves you hanging at the end, but I enjoyed it immensely.

Don’t have a Kindle? That’s okay. You can get the book for free from Amazon and then read it on your iPhone, iPad, or PC Computer using Amazon’s free book reader applications.

Go get it! Get it NOW!

Timeline of Book of Mormon and Old Testament Prophets 800 BC – 400 BC

[Cross Posted from Sixteen Small Stones]

I’ve been getting ready to study the Book of Mormon for Sunday school in 2012. I wanted to create a way to more easily place the first three prophets of the Book of Mormon (Lehi, Nephi, and Jacob) into context related to the prophetic books, and some historical writings like Ezra, of the Old Testament. After some research and experimentation with layout, I put together this timeline of Old Testament and Book of Mormon prophets between 800 B.C. and 400 B.C.

For the best view, and especially for printing, I recommend Continue reading

Strengthening the Family Symposium October 28-29 2011

This Friday and Saturday, October 28-29, please consider attending the Strengthening the Family Symposium at the Marriott Hotel in Provo, UT. Pre-Registration ends today, October 26th.

The Keynote Speaker will be Lloyd D. Newell, Ph.D, Voice of the oldest continuous nationwide network radio broadcast in America, Music and the Spoken Word.

Featured speakers include:

  • Donald L. Hilton, Jr., M.D., Clinical Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Texas; Pornography and Sexual Addiction: A Disease of the Motivation and Reward Pathways of the Brain
  • Richard & Linda Eyre, Authors of New York Times #1 Bestseller, Teaching Your Children Values, and over 20 other titles; Parenting, the Ultimate Career

Visit studentsforthefamily.org to register and for more information.

I Was Constrained By The Spirit That I Should Vote For…

[Cross Posted from Sixteen Small Stones]

One of the important aspects of the LDS doctrine of personal revelation is that the Holy Spirit can and does sometimes instruct individuals to act contrary to our own reason and understanding.

So here is a little supposal:

Think of a presidential candidate that you do not support.  Now put the candidate’s name into the appropriate places in the following passage:

And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should support [a specific candidate] for President; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I supported a [candidate of that ideology/party/record]. And I shrunk and would that I might not support [her/him].

And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold it is the Lord’s desire that [that candidate] be President of the United States…

We spend a lot of time debating and defending our political beliefs, and comparing political candidates to our ideals. But what if, regardless of political party, or ideology, or record, or aptitude, or personality, or anything else we might use to judge our candidates, the Lord for His own reasons wants you to support a candidate different than the one you would choose?

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Original Poetry: By the Hand of Uriah

In the months I was preparing to visit Israel last year, I listened to a great deal of the Old Testament while riding my bicycle to and from work. Listening instead of reading helped me approach the scriptures in a way that prompted new insights and ideas, and I unexpectedly found that listening inspired me with some ideas for poetry to write.

Though I am not a prolific poet, the poetry I write is usually infused with gospel concepts and imagery. But I had never thought of poetry so directly inspired by scriptural narratives before.

As is usual for me, the time between when the idea for a poem occurs to me and when I actually write it is substantial. It has been well over a year, and I am now approaching the one year anniversary of my trip to Israel for Sukkot, the Feast of the Tabernacles.

This last Sunday, I sat down and wrote a draft of the first poem, and then honed it during the next day and a half. Hope you enjoy it.

Continue reading