A Mormon Sermon for Reformation Sunday

Delivered in church on October 31, 2010*

By 1528 at the latest Martin Luther had written the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”, number 68 in our hymn book, as a homily on Psalm 46. The words to this hymn always turn my thoughts to Luther’s experience in taking refuge in the mighty Wartburg fortress at Eisenach in the German principality of Thuringia in 1521. We can imagine Luther reflecting on his isolation while sequestered in that fortress, in disguise as a knight for his own protection, as he later penned the words.

An “Important Strengthening” of Religious Freedom: Temple Recommends in the European Court of Human Rights

Freedom of contract, religious autonomy and the Mormon temple recommend prevailed recently in The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)[1] as the Court rendered its judgment in the case of Obst v. Germany (application no. 425/03). More specifically, the ECHR found that Germany had not violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to respect for private and family life) when Germany’s highest court, the Federal Constitutional Court, had ultimately upheld Michael Obst’s 1993 dismissal without notice by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from his employment as Public Affairs Director for the Europe Area after he had confessed to committing adultery.

Houston, We Have a Problem

Yesterday, in fulfillment of an assignment to teach the younger Young Men (a combined class of deacons and teachers), I incorporated 4 minutes and 5 seconds of precious material from The Empire Strikes Back into my lesson on “Self-Discipline”. Drawing from my own childhood/adolescence, I figured that nothing could drive home a point about the importance of developing self-discipline better than watching Luke’s Jedi Training on Dagobah and his Failure at the Cave.

Overheard Sunday at Church

Context: Britain is in the middle of an election in which the Prime Minister position is up for grabs. It’s a big deal — heady times. I overheard the following conversation between two active, faithful Church members immediately after Elders Quorum last Sunday while visiting a friend’s ward.

The Paternity Leave Trend

Last year, I got to take two months off for paid “paternity leave,” per my previous firm’s policy. It was great!

Blind-Sided By The Blind Side

The grim reality of life portrayed in the movie The Blind Side caught me off guard when I recently watched it with my wife on our weekly date night. The movie is essentially a happy movie about one person who was saved from a life doomed to poverty (and perhaps premature death) by a family who cared. But underlying it is the harsh reality that in our own country, and all over the world to an even larger and more severe extent, there are people just like “Big Mike” who suffer in poverty, homelessness and the resulting drastic reduction in opportunities that those conditions bring with them. The movie, which was a tear-jerker for me personally, left me wondering what more I, personally, could do to help people.

A Note on Revelation

I have always loved the Doctrine & Covenants and am excited for this year’s focus on that book of scripture in Sunday School.