Doctrinal Essays

Have you ever heard something, like a phrase, quote, scripture, song, or poem, and instantly knew it was absolutely and unquestionably true? It is more than just a thought, its a thought with a thousand pounds of gentle force, assurance, and confirmation. It is a feeling that always accompanies true doctrine to the earnest seeker of truth, but usually only comes when the ears it falls upon are ready and sincere. It is a feeling I have had throughout my life without realizing it, and then a few years ago I looked back and realized how many times that feeling had assisted my life, but I was often insensitive to it. In the summer of 2013, I was lead to a book by James Allen called "As a Man Thinketh". As I listened to the book in my car, I recall often having moments when my jaw literally dropped and that solid feeling of undeniable and eternally true feeling came. Part of my awe was from the facts that Jam es Allen lived in the early part of the 19th century, on another con...

Doctrine. It's not exactly a word that catches most people's attention. Its probably never been a viral topic on YouTube, Facebook, or any other social media outlet - it's not likely ever to be so. That's okay with me, most things that catch most people's attention don't appeal to me anyway. But it's an important subject. It's one thing that has true potential for bringing about real and lasting change in our lives. I can't think of anything more deserving of the attention of all of God's children, regardless of race or religion. When I think of true doctrine, I can't help but think of food analogies for its importance. There are all kinds of food, but only one kind of nutrition. We can eat garbage and call it food - and truthfully, garbage in the form of most of the things people eat can keep us alive, but that doesn't mean it's nutritious. When nutritionists get right down to the heart of nutrition they are talking about vita...