In September of 1830, about six months after the Church had been restored, Joseph Smith received the revelation which has become section 29 of the Doctrine and Covenants. In it the Lord declares:

Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created. (verse 34)

There have been various moments in my life when this truth has been made very clear. All things are spiritual. As we discuss ideas in the bloggernacle, it is easy to forget that that which is intellectual is also spiritual and therefore the ideas we are struggling with represent a spiritual struggle and not merely an intellectual one.

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This Friday night I will be performing as part of the Utah Puppetry Guild’s annual Puppet Variety Show: The Great Puppet Follies. The variety show features performances from some of the best puppeteers and troupes from all over the state of Utah. This year’s show features the fantastic ventriloquist and elvis impersonator: Kerry Summers.

Price: FREE
Date: Friday March 18th
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Orem Public Library, 58 North State Street, Orem, UT 84057
Click here to get driving directions

Any of you who live in or near the Utah Valley are invited to bring your families to the show. If you don’t live near Utah Valley, but have friends or family that do, let them know about it.

I am proud to admit right here on the bloggernacle that I own DVDs of almost all of the Mormon movies that have come out. From “Johnny Lingo” to “The Best Two Years,” if they have a Mormon theme, I shell out the bucks. I spoke recently with a husband-and-wife team that is trying to put together a unique Mormon film called “The Smith Interviews.” This is no fly-by-night operation: Mark Deakins is an experienced actor, and Steve Young (yes, THE Steve Young) is the executive producer.

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Mormons cherish excellence, or whatever.

We often hear sort-of-doctrinal talks about how the Lord expects us to be the very best we can, that the Lord wants us to excel even in our non-spiritual endeavors. We look to Dale Murphy and J. Reuben Clark and a hundred other ultra-successful Mormons as examples, and believe that we, too, are called to great heights of worldly, but pure, success. For myself, I’m easily swept away by notions of the nobility of hard work and tedious sacrifice. I can’t help but admit that these men, who’ve risen to the tops of their fields and remained devout, are the ideal for me, as well as for the church as a whole. It’s a commonplace to note the great success of so many of our leaders in their earlier secular pursuits, and it’s a common assumption that we are capable of similar achievements.

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by Braden Bell

Last night, I had a remarkably moving experience in a most unlikely place.

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