Eric Nielson
All posts written by Eric Nielson
By: Eric Nielson
A frequent tactic used by critics of the church is to attempt to expose some sinful behavior by Joseph Smith. The strategy seems to be that if you convince people that Joseph Smith committed sins during his life, that you can dismiss his prophetic claims, and with them the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This might be an effective approach for some people, but that is unfortunate, because prophets are not infallible, and the righteousness of Joseph Smith is impossible to accurately asses, completely irrelevant, and misses the entire point of the restoration.
By: Eric Nielson
Before I get into this, I want to make it clear that I believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth, and declaring this is among the most important things we can do. I gladly served a mission for the church in Georgia, and enjoyed it very much. I have been directly involved with getting one individual and one family to join the church since my mission.
Now after having said all that, it seems evident to me that I feel less urgency regarding missionary work than some people seem to feel. Particularly the inviting part. I suspect that my level of urgency in inviting is lower than it should be. I would like to review some of the reasons why this might be, and I welcome your corrective advice.
By: Eric Nielson
I received a copy of an email from one of our High Council members that informed us that ward mission leaders were supposed to report baptism numbers and goals every month to the stake. The reason for this was reported to be that baptism numbers in North America were down 80% this year. This is a huge drop in baptisms over a significant amount of time in a large area. From the email, it appears these numbers are coming from an Elder Pitts who is our Area Authority Seventy.
By: Eric Nielson
THE priesthood, in general, holds great blessings and privileges to all who desire to have them. Through the priesthood we are able to receive the necessary saving ordinances, receive various types of blessings, and participate in an orderly, organized church with a worldwide leadership structure. These great blessings and privileges are available to all - whether they are men, women, or children.
By: Eric Nielson
The First Presidency recently sent a letter to Bishops and Brach Presidents warning them about a false doctrine that has been circulating through the church.
By: Eric Nielson
A unique doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is that of a pre mortal existence. We believe that we exited as spirits prior to our mortal life on earth. The church teaches that God is our Heavenly Father, and that He is the father of our spirits. We believe that Christ is the first born of all the spirit children of Heavenly Father.
By: Eric Nielson
Over my years as a member of the church, I have occasionally heard someone say something like this:
“If the church were a business, it would go bankrupt.” Or “If the church were a company it would go out of business”.
What they have meant by this is that there are a lot of members or ‘employees’ who do not bother to show up. And if they do show up, they do not do very much. Thus, they feel that the church is full of slackers who do not pull their own weight. And a company or business could not be successful under such circumstances.
In a way these folks have a point. We could all do better or more than we do. But I also feel that we can often beat up ourselves, and others, unnecessarily. So I would like to refute this idea.
By: Eric Nielson
Over the last several weeks, the television show 'House' has had a survivor-type elimination competition to select the new staff for Dr. House. One of the prominent doctors is an African-American member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Or as House would say - a black Mormon.
By: Eric Nielson
The doctrine of mankind being children of God is a topic that has become quite important to me. And I have become a believer in a literal spirit birth to Heavenly Parents. I have posted on this topic from various angles in the past.
By: Eric Nielson
There was an interesting artlcle listed at lds.org written by Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp who teaches religious history at the University of North Carolina. Her article is titled 'A Mormon President?' and was published in The Christian Centure Magazine. It is a good article and I recommend it.
By: Eric Nielson
Asking 'Why?' can be a good way to learn. When you ask why, you get more than just the bare facts, you get the reasons behind the facts. The inquisitive truth seeker will frequently ask why about many things.
Asking why can have other motives as well. A parent may ask a child to clean their room. This child might ask why. When the parent gives a reasonable answer, the child immediately asks why again. A patient parent may give another reasonable answer, to which another why comes from the child. At this point many parents might say 'Just do it', or 'because I said so'. The child in this example is not looking for deep and meaningful insights, they are trying to get out of doing something they do not want to do. So they ask why as a distraction or a delay tactic. It can be an annoying form of rebellion.
The company I work for is trying to implement lean manufacturing methods similar to Toyota Motor Company. One of the Toyota methods of problem solving is to ask why five times. An example is given in a book I am reading that goes something like this: