The Goldfish Lie: Discovering What’s Inside

Jul 28th, 2017 Church, Kid Stuff

Sundays can be rough. Waking up at 7 am to sit in church for hours is going to be tough on anyone, but it hits young kids the hardest. We manage to get Kella through the first hour–full congregation, no breakout for kids–only with a constant stream of snacks and quiet activities to draw her attention away from the person at the lectern drawling on…

This One Weird Trick To Keep My Son Quiet At Church

Apr 13th, 2016 Church, Kid Stuff

I had to use the clickbait title. The post was begging for it. Anyway, I’ve been pretty open about the difficulties we’ve been having with Finley over the past month or so, which haven’t so much subsided as become an expected part of life. While at times I’m on the verge of jumping off the Serenity Now ledge into the pit of insanity, especially considering…

The Folly of LDS Church Financial Transparency

Feb 25th, 2015 Church

The first person that I baptized on my mission was one of the coolest people I’ve ever met, who we’ll call Tomas here so I don’t have to use his real name or keep on calling him “that one guy.” Tomas told me stories of his youth spent in the White City of Mexico (Puerta Vallarta), dancing on the beach and listening to the up-and-coming…

Authenticity of the Bible

Jan 11th, 2015 Church

We’re moving onto the New Testament for this year’s Sunday School class. One of last year’s themes was that the Old Testament has many great lessons, histories, and stories, but clearly there are parts that haven’t been transmitted correctly. It doesn’t mean we should throw it all out, it just means we should be caution in our approach. The New Testament is a different story….

Focusing on the Wrong Birth – Thoughts on Yet Another Christmas

Dec 22nd, 2014 Church, Memoir

Today is December 22, only three days away from Christmas. I’m looking forward to seeing my kids’ faces light up on Christmas Day (for perhaps the first time). Yet the rest of the emotions swirling through me would cast me as the grumpy dad in a Saturday Morning Christmas Special who just can’t get into the spirit of Christmas (sponsored by Dodge Ram).