The Inquisitive Christian

Questioning everything since 1984

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I’m a 41-year-old nurse and firefighter/EMT who loves theology and exploring religion.

Category: The Book of Mormon

  • Another Story about Another Big Boat

    When my older brother was trying to learn multiplication, my mother would dutifully hold up flash cards at the kitchen table, expecting him to answer as quickly as possible. Only he wouldn’t. In fact, he made sure to pour himself a big glass of milk beforehand so he could conveniently “take a drink of milk”…

  • The Magic 8-Ball of Brass and Other Tales

    I procrastinated today. I promised myself I’d get this post done earlier this afternoon. I swore I would manage my time wisely today so I could relax and either do some reading or get cozy on the couch and watch some Mr. Ballen on YouTube. But life happened differently today. I went to church, wandered…

  • Satan Isn’t in Charge of Hell. Obvously.

    I had every intention of being productive today. I had lofty goals. I was going to cook up a storm in my kitchen for my monthly meal prep. But a different storm (a geomagnetic one, to be exact) disrupted the one I was planning and the power was in and out during the afternoon. With…

  • Everyone Else Goes to Satan’s Church. Not Us, Though

    I just returned from a medical missions trip to a communist third world country. I gave wound care, medical supplies, and all the energy I could muster within my exhausted frame for one main purpose: to fulfill the Great Commission, which is found in Matthew 28:18-20. It reads, “Then Jesus came to them and said,…

  • What Have You Got Against Catholics?

    You should all be grateful that the wind where I live is out of control today, because if it wasn’t, I’d be at the gun range gleefully destroying targets and not trudging through the Book of Mormon, so you all don’t have to. So here I am instead, taking a different kind of aim at…

  • The Curse of Being… Native American?

    The charge of racism in LDS theology and history has long been a topic of discussion. Based upon my previous post on 1 Nephi chapter 11 and now chapter 12, I think it’s fair to say the Book of Mormon reflects the racism of Joseph Smith’s time by associating whiteness with virtue and darkness with…

  • Look!

    Do I have to? No. But am I going to so I can compare and contrast this with the Bible, so you all don’t have to do it yourselves? Absolutely. If you haven’t done so, I would encourage you to read my previous post, “New Testament Language in an Old Testament Era” because this one…

  • New Testament Language in an Old Testament Era

    Various insights come to me at the most random times. This evening, I was relishing the aroma of the apple pie syrup I was making while the rain fell softly on my kitchen windowpanes. Between the occasional stirs of the simmering amber concoction, I perused chapter 10 of 1 Nephi. Besides the seeming plagiarism of…

  • No. You’re Not a Levite.

    I remember a night in youth group at the tender age of 16 as we discussed the Bible and false teachings. Our youth pastor discussed how the U.S. Mint trained people to detect counterfeit bills: they studied legitimate ones so closely that they could spot a fake one immediately. That, he said, is what we…

  • This Vision Seems Awfully Familiar…

    I’ve been looking forward to this particular dissection ever since I read chapter 4 in Fawn M. Brodie’s “No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith.” In it, she points out the uncanny resemblance between Lehi’s vision in 1 Nephi 8 and a dream Joseph Smith Sr. had earlier in life. As you…