Doctrinal Essays

When a government building or edifice is so important that it requires military protection, there is often a ceremonious changing of the guard that takes place. This procedure, like the one at Arlington National Cemetery, or Buckingham Palace, provides relief to the first crew as the next crew comes on duty.  The scriptures tell a story of a similar changing of the guard [i] . The full story is best realized by studying at least three books of scripture, which include Nephi's vision, the Savior's ministry among the Ancient Americans, and a sermon Joseph Smith gave to the early saints, now known as Section 45 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Applying the metaphor of the military guard to the scriptural example, the special edifice that requires protection is the gospel, or God's kingdom on the earth. The most ceremonious and formal guard to care for her was called to duty about the time of Moses. The manner of guardianship in the kingdom was given by him and others of...

I love being a teacher at BYU Idaho. One of my favorite parts of teaching, is when my students teach me. There is one particular assignment where I tell my students to take whatever interests you and tell the class how GIS relates to it . It's a broad directive, but I'm always impressed at how well they respond, and the kinds of subjects they come up with. Yesterday, one student gave a presentation on the amazing migration of fish from the time they hatch in mountainous streams, who then migrate to the ocean, and eventually swim back again to the precise location of their hatching. Along the journey, some fish have been recorded to jump 12 feet in the air over small obstacles. But some of the larger dams we build create an impossible barrier to their hopeful migration back to their spawning ground. For this reason,  fish elevators have been constructed . These systems provide pools where fish can jump from one to the next, and gradually increase in elevation, and continue t...