Posts

Waking Up Zion — The Book

Waking Up Zion --- The Book

-
INTRODUCTION Not a Faith Crisis — A Truth Awakening This isn’t a book about walking away. It’s a book about walking deeper. Deeper into Jesus. Deeper into His voice, His light, and His truth. For years, I loved my faith. I still do. The Church gave me structure. It gave me good people. It taught me to honor prophets and scriptures. To seek the Holy Ghost. To follow Christ. But somewhere along the way, I started asking quiet questions— Not to tear down, but to understand more. Where is the power of the Book of Mormon? Where is the fire of the early Saints? Where is the Jesus who speaks face to face? This book isn’t here to fight the Church. It’s here to reach the hearts of those in it — Especially those who feel something is missing, but don’t yet have words for it. I believe God is still working. But I also believe He is calling many of His children out of comfort and into courage. Out of tradition and into truth. Out of a system and into a personal walk with His Son. If you love the C...
2 comments
Read more

Video 49 🌿 The Way We’ve Been Walking

-
🌿 The Way We’ve Been Walking Eight Things That Finally Settled (A capstone reflection for the entire journey) There’s something I need to name now—after walking together for a while. Not because I suddenly figured everything out. Not because I reached some higher place. And definitely not because I have answers for anyone else. But because something   settled   in me. Not loudly. Not dramatically. With   sacred clarity . Looking back over this journey, I can now see what it’s really been about. Not as a list of videos. Not as teachings. But as preparation. Here are   eight things that finally became clear to me —and in many ways, explain everything we’ve been doing together. 🌿 1. God was never the problem For a long time, I wondered why answers didn’t come faster. Why prayer sometimes felt quiet. Why heaven seemed distant. What finally settled was this:   God was never distant . The delay wasn’t punishment. It wasn’t disinterest. It wasn’t failure. It was prep...
Post a Comment
Read more

🌾 HOW WAR CAN END A Lesson the World Once Learned — and Forgot

-
Image
  🌾 HOW WAR CAN END A Lesson the World Once Learned — and Forgot There is a moment in Japanese history that deserves more attention than it gets. Not because it failed. But because it worked. So well that it produced   over 265 years of peace . This idea did not come from a battlefield. It did not come from a general. It did not come from conquest. It came from a woman. 🌸 A VOICE NO ONE EXPECTED Her name was   Sena   — the wife of   Tokugawa Ieyasu , the man who would eventually unify Japan. At the time, Japan was trapped in endless war. The reasoning was familiar: People fight because they are poor Hunger leads to theft Theft leads to retaliation Retaliation leads to bloodshed And whenever someone questioned it, the answer was always the same: “It cannot be helped.” Sena did not accept that answer. ⚔️ THE QUESTION THAT STOPPED EVERYTHING She asked a question no one wanted to face: Why do we fight at all? The men around her answered honestly: “When the people ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Video 48 🌿 WAKING UP IS GOOD — BUT WALKING WITH JESUS IS BETTER

-
  🌿 WAKING UP IS GOOD — BUT WALKING WITH JESUS IS BETTER I’ve been watching more people wake up lately. They’re asking real questions. They’re noticing cracks. They’re realizing there’s more than what they were handed in Sunday School. That’s a good thing. But I want to say something gently, from someone who’s been awake for a while now: Waking up isn’t the destination. It’s just the moment you sit up in bed. What matters next… is whether you actually   get up and walk . 🔥 THE BOOK OF MORMON NEVER STOPPED AT “SEEING THE PROBLEM” One thing I love about the Book of Mormon is this: It doesn’t just expose corruption. It always points you somewhere   else . Moroni didn’t write so we could argue institutions. Mormon didn’t abridge records so we could win debates. Nephi didn’t warn us about false security so we could feel clever. They all point to   Christ Himself . “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” —   Moroni 10:32 Not   come unto systems . Not ...
Post a Comment
Read more

💎 Leaving the Cave Without Dragging Anyone Out Why Christ Never Forces Awakening

-
Image
  💎 Leaving the Cave Without Dragging Anyone Out Why Christ Never Forces Awakening There is a reason certain stories return again and again across history. Plato’s cave. C. S. Lewis’s   The Great Divorce . The hero who sees the light, returns, and is rejected. They resonate because they touch something deeply human: the tension between   truth and readiness . But there is something important we often miss. Christ does   not   follow the classic hero pattern. 🌑 The Cave: When Shadows Feel Like Reality Plato’s allegory of the cave describes people chained in darkness, facing a wall, watching shadows cast by a fire behind them. Those shadows become their world—their meaning, their truth. When one person is freed and brought into the light, it is painful. Disorienting. Even frightening. And when that person returns to the cave to explain what they’ve seen? They are rejected. Not because the others are stupid. Not because they are evil. But because   what they...
Post a Comment
Read more

🕊️ Are We Afraid of Honest Questions in Zion?

-
  When My Son Walked Away From the Church 🕊️ A Father’s Reflection on Faith, Questions, and Zion A few years ago something happened in my life that shook me. One of my sons walked away from the Church. Not because he hated God. Not because he wanted to rebel. He had questions. Real questions. Questions about church history. Questions about things he had read. Questions that didn’t seem to have clear answers. And somewhere along the way the answers he received sounded like this: “Just trust the leaders.” “Just read the talk.” “Don’t worry about it.” For a thoughtful young man… that wasn’t enough. So he stepped away. As a father, that hurts more than I can explain. I Still Love the Church ❤️ This Isn’t Bitterness Let me say something very clearly. I love the Church. I love the members. I love the missionaries. I love the leaders. President Oaks is a good man. Years ago I even played pickup basketball with him at BYU. My father used to walk to school with his sister. These are real p...
Post a Comment
Read more

💎 Seeing From Above — Why Truth Isn’t Found by Arguing in the Room

-
Image
  💎 Seeing From Above — Why Truth Isn’t Found by Arguing in the Room There is a pattern the Lord uses when He wants to teach something deep. He does not argue with us   inside   our certainty. He lifts us   above it . This pattern showed up in a vision my daughter once shared with me — and I’ve come to see that it is the   same pattern Christ used   after His resurrection . Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. 🌿 The Vision — A Room Full of Sincere People She saw a   large, white, circular room . All nations were present. All cultures. All religions. Everyone was sincere. Everyone was passionate. And everyone was arguing. Not because they were evil — but because they were   certain . Each person stood in a different place along the wall, looking toward the center, saying: “This is what I see.” And each was convinced they were right. 💎 The Diamond in the Center In the very center of the room was a   clear, brilliant diamond . But no one insi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Video 47 🕊️ THE QUESTIONS THAT OPEN THE WAY

-
  🕊️   THE QUESTIONS THAT OPEN THE WAY What the Scriptures Teach Us About Asking the Lord There’s something subtle I’ve learned over time — something the scriptures quietly teach, over and over again: The Lord does not respond to   every question the same way . Some questions bring silence. Some bring correction. Some bring miracles. And some — the right ones — open the way to walk with Him. 🌿   The Lord Has Always Taught Through Questions From the beginning, God has not just answered questions. He has   trained His people how to ask . Think about how often revelation in scripture begins   not   with a demand… but with humility. 🔥   “What Wilt Thou Have Me Do?” — The Turning Question When Saul is struck down on the road to Damascus, he doesn’t ask: Why did You do this? Am I right or wrong? What’s going to happen to me now? He asks a single, quiet question: “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” —   Bible , Acts 9:6 That question changed eve...
Post a Comment
Read more