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...

In my profession as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) scientist, much of my time is spent in the observation of locations and events, and their spatial relationships, trends, and patterns. Understanding these conditions always paints a clearer picture and leads to truer understanding of the big picture. This 'nerdy' type of analysis has extended into my personal spiritual life. I have observed the inevitable trend of spiritual location and movement in my own life, and in the spiritual lives of others. Understanding these patterns, relationships, and more importantly, the causes of spiritual movement can aid in the goal of a spiritually constant life, and ultimate confident reunion with God. Position is an intrinsic component of movement. Two positions become manifest when movement occurs; the position before, and the position following the movement. The second position is always higher or lower, ahead or behind, or better or worse than the first position - never the...