All Quiet on the Northeastern Front

It's late.  I'm the only one awake in this tiny 500-square-foot apartment.  Soon, there will be a baby in this place, and prolonged silence will be part of a distant landscape.

For now, though, there is no crying, no cooing, no restless sleeping, and no sirens or honking horns outside in the streets of New York.  So I wanted to take a few minutes and write down some thoughts -- well, one main thought, anyway.

Sunday's Merriam-Webster Word of the Day happened to be "equivocal."  The term has a few meanings, but the one I'm most familiar with -- the one I think is most often employed in everyday speech -- is the first: "subject to two or more interpretations and usually used to mislead or confuse."  I hate equivocation.  I think it's the slyest and slimiest form of communication, and it belies immaturity and insecurity on the part of the speaker.  It's an evil I think the world could really do without.

Here's why I bring it up, though, besides the fact that it was the Word of the Day:  I am happy to report that the apostles and general authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints don't resort to equivocation.  They speak readily and roundly about gospel topics.  They are straightforward and unapologetic in their testimonies of the gospel, and they dare to be politically incorrect.  I love that about them.

In an effort to follow their examples, then, I want to say some of the things I believe:  I believe in God, the eternal Father, and in his son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.  I believe that I am a literal child of God -- as is everyone else who has ever lived, is yet living, and will ever live on this earth.  I believe that agency is the single most important gift God gave man, but in case we needed another gift to feel his love, he gave us the Atonement of Christ.  I believe that God's law is often different than -- and supersedes -- man's law, and the way we become familiar with God's law is through prophets.  In ancient times, these prophets were the prophets referred to in The Bible; in modern times, they are the ones who lead The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I believe that we can learn how to practically apply God's law in two ways: daily prayer and daily scripture study.  These two actions are crucial to our ability to receive personal revelation, which -- if we are living in obedience to God's law -- is the most important revelation we have access to.

Some may read this and not believe similarly, and that's okay.  But it's what I believe; it's what I want people to know I believe; and it's what I want my future children to know I believe.


Thing I'm thankful for: Sunday evenings