How can we embrace all truth?
Faith Matters resources to accompany your Come Follow Me study: May 19-25
Jesus Christ wants me to embrace the truths of His gospel.
A navigator's compass has two feet. And one of those feet I call the fixed foot. And one of them I call the searching foot.
…When I was a little boy I couldn't draw a circle to save my soul, and a teacher gave me a compass. And she said, if you'll just fix the foot, if you'll just plant the one foot, and there's a little lead in the other one, you'll be able to draw a perfect circle. …
As we're looking at other religions, other cultures, other people, the question has never been, let's find the one true faith, the one true religion, the best culture, whatever, among all the false ones. That's not the question.
The question is, where will I find truth and goodness and beauty in its most mature form? And that is where I want to plant my fixed foot. …
Now I have this other foot that I call the searching foot, that wants, that yearns, that reaches for all truth, all goodness, all beauty, wherever it can find it. So many people, unfortunately, of all religions and cultures, they take the searching foot and they put it right up close next to the fixed foot and they draw this little tiny circle around it. For a number of reasons. Maybe they don't think there's anything out there. We have it all. Maybe they're afraid of what's out there. Maybe they're too lazy to look for what's out there. Maybe a lot of reasons why people don't.
But what we want to do as Latter-day Saints, as Christians, is to reach out. I just want to stretch that searching foot as far as I can and draw the biggest circle.
Now, I haven't moved my fixed foot. … I can stay planted. But I want to reach out and see. And I will find that as I reach out, I have found in life that there will be some things other faiths, other cultures, other approaches to life may do better than I do. … And it will enhance and enrich all that I have. So I've tried to do that in my life.
—S. Michael Wilcox, “God’s Many Voices”
God's Many Voices — A Conversation with S. Michael Wilcox
"God has been speaking to his children all the time. Every way he can, everywhere…I can hear (his voice in) the voice of a sage, or a philosopher or a poet or playwright. God's voice is like an orchestra. We believe in a God that is speaking all the time, everywhere, every way he can.”
Keep exploring with The Big Questions Project:
In what way is our Church "the true Church"?
The assertion made in D&C 1:30 that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “the only true and living church on the face of the whole earth with which I, the Lord, am well pleased” is a classic two-edge sword.
Marriage between man and woman is essential to God’s plan.
McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding: Equal Partnership in Marriage
This week, we’re bringing back a couple of our favorite guests and close friends, McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding. McArthur and Bethany have just released a new book titled: In the Image of Our Heavenly Parents: A Couples’ Guide to Creating a More Divine Marriage.
What about single members?
Over half of adult members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are single, despite the Church’s strong emphasis on family. What will the future look like, given these trends? How will this shape our relationships and opportunities throughout the life course? Who will benefit, and who will be be made vulnerable? Join The Soloists for nourishing conversations that address the rise of singleness. We hope to imagine and create a community of care that can account for seismic shifts in family formation and how we relate to each other. On this podcast, hosted by Mallory Everton and Diana Brown, we bring on a broad range of guests to describe what it’s like dating, forming friendships, and finding community today and dig into our theological and philosophical wells for guidance through the trouble spots.
What about our LGBT brothers and sisters?
This is one of the most painful and controversial issues facing the Church of Jesus Christ.
A Gay Mormon's Approach To Faith, Family, and Discipleship - An Interview With Tom Christofferson
Tom Christofferson’s journey through life has been anything but ordinary. On the surface, it began as a typical Latter-day Saint story. He grew up in a close gospel-centered LDS family and went on to serve a faithful mission. But during these years, he was also trying to deal with an inconvenient truth: He was gay. Although his life and family had been firmly rooted in the church (his older brother Todd was eventually called as an LDS apostle), Tom came to a point at which he could no longer envision a place for himself in the church, and he left. He went on to become an accomplished businessman on the east coast and created a good life with his partner of nearly twenty years. Later in life, however, Tom felt strongly called to return to his LDS faith and community.
The Lord’s teachings can protect me from Satan’s deceptions.
Teachers and learners are edified together by the Spirit.
“That which is of God is light.”
I can follow Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is my Good Shepherd.
