With a 93 year old prophet, changes in the presidency make sense.

First, Elder Uchtdorf is younger and more capable of traveling. He especially can benefit the members in Europe and Russia with his experience.

Pres Oaks, as second most senior apostle, will benefit from the experience of being in the presidency. Being almost a decade younger than Pres Nelson, he likely could be our next prophet. His experience in law and education will be an asset over the next many years.

Of course, Pres Eyring will continue providing continuity. He is now 2nd counselor, probably for deference to seniority among the apostles.

These three have served together a long time. They know each other, respect one another and work well together. They will provide a unified direction for us. Elder Uchtdorf enhances this unity by humbly stepping back into the Quorum of 12, and sustaining the new presidency. That is the mark of a true disciple of Christ.

I look forward to the inspired direction they will lead us in?

Your thoughts?

Christmas traditions are a wonderful past time.

Being empty nesters, some of our traditions have changed, but we still enjoy many modified ones. We now go to our daughter’s home for Christmas dinner. But we still enjoy seeing Christmas lights, movies, and music.

What are some of your traditions?

I’m currently reading N.T. Wright’s book, “How God Became King”.

In the first few chapters, he discusses the problems he finds with various approaches to the four gospels.

First, he critiques the overuse of the creeds in reading the Gospels. He explains that the creeds (Nicene, Apostles, etc) invariably discuss Christ’s miraculous birth, then immediately go to the cross and resurrection. It’s as if Matthew went from chapter two to chapter 26, with nothing in between. The creeds were heavily influenced by Paul’s writings, who never spoke of Jesus’ ministry, but only his resurrection. In doing so, we totally emphasize Christ’s godhood, but not his other important roles.

On the other extreme, liberal readers tend to only read the middle, ignoring the miraculous birth and resurrection. They consider Jesus a wise teacher, but not the Messiah nor a miracle worker

For Tom Wright, former bishop of Durham in the Anglican Church, and NT scholar, many Christians do not see the whole Christ, but only a part of him. For example, they may see him as teacher or God, but not in his divine role as King of Israel and of earth.

As I thought about Wright’s concerns, I considered how the Book of Mormon handles such issues. Would the creeds or scientism in Joseph Smith’s day affect the text?

Does the Book of Mormon contain the beginning, middle and end things of the Gospels? Yes. In the Vision of the Tree of Life, Nephi sees the birth of Christ and his mother, Mary. We learn of Jesus healing the sick and afflicted. And we see Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Later, the risen Savior would heal the Nephites, bless their children, and teach the Sermon at the Temple (compare to Sermon on the Mount). Again and again the Book of Mormon gives us the “fullness of the four gospels.”

Perhaps this is a key reason we are encouraged to study the Book of Mormon. It keeps us centered on Christ, all of Christ, and not get lost on just a portion of who he really is.

Kindle version only $1.99  https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006QB98NC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511217397&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=wright+how+god+became+king

Here are a couple very good books on sale right now ($1.99 each).

Commentary on the Torah, by Richard Elliott Friedman

from Amazon description: In this groundbreaking and insightful new commentary, one of the world’s leading biblical scholars unveils the unity and continuity of the Torah for the modern reader. Richard Elliott Friedman, the bestselling author of Who Wrote the Bible?, integrates the most recent discoveries in biblical archaeology and research with the fruits of years of experience studying and teaching the Bible to illuminate the straightforward meaning of the text — “to shed new light on the Torah and, more important, to open windows through which it sheds its light on us.”

Friedman is a leading Jewish Scholar on the Torah. He wrote, “Who Wrote the Bible?”, one of the best works on the Documentary Hypothesis for laymen. He will help us reach back to the early Jewish understanding of scripture, allowing us to see it in a new light.

How God Became King, by N.T. Wright

From the Amazon description:

“Despite centuries of intense and heavy industry expended on the study of all sorts of features of the gospels,” Wright writes, “we have often managed to miss the main thing that they, all four of them, are most eager to tell us. What we need is not just a bitof fine-tuning, an adjustment here and there. We need a fundamental rethink about what the gospels are trying to tell us.”

What Wright offers is an opportunity to confront these powerful texts afresh, as if we are encountering them for the first time. How God Became King reveals the surprising, unexpected, and shocking news of the gospels: this is the story of a new king, a new kind of king, a king who has changed everything, and a king who invites us to be part of his new world.

N.T, Wright is one of the leading scholars today on the New Testament. He is the former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England. His writings are innovative, and do not toe the Anglican or standard Protestant line, but he discusses concepts as given by scripture and other evidence.

Recently, NBC news claimed that problems were occurring in the Trump White House. Trump responded by questioning whether NBC should continue being licensed.

This is not a new story,as threats have been made by Democrats and Republicans over the last 20 years, threatening the media (television, radio talk show hosts, etc), many times.

The problem is, both parties are putting the First Amendment at risk, threatening to delimit it.  The First Amendment guarantees Freedoms of Speech, Religion and the Press. We frequently hear politicians and so-called Americans complain about the First Amendment, wanting to curtail it. We’ve seen several examples in the last few years. Continue reading →