Free Republic

ON SATURDAY, I SPENT a couple of hours chatting with a friend who runs an evangelical bookstore. He set the shop up in the heart of Mormon country and has kept at it for 30 years. "I have to say, I admire your devotion," I tell him. "I never take credit for personal virtue," he says. "That's you guys." It's the way things are between us. We don't play a lot of slap and tickle. We know where we stand. Evangelical faith comes out as confidence and boldness, which Mormons often see as brazen. Mormon faith comes out as obedience,...

Homosexuals have claimed for a while now that they are "born that way", and that their innate desires are a part of "who they are". They try to use this supposed "fact" to convince people that Gay marriage should be legal. Even though it is absurd to base laws on "human desire", their tactic is often effective because many people are more willing to sympathize with them if they believe there is no choice involved with them being homosexual. The funniest part about the whole thing is, if we follow their own logic, polygamous marriage would have to be legal...

So many times prophets warn about the dangers of selfishness—the inordinate and excessive concern with self. The distance between constant self-pleasing and self-worship is shorter than we think. Stubborn selfishness is actually rebellion against God, because, warned Samuel, “stubbornness is as … idolatry.” (1 Sam. 15:23.)Selfishness is much more than an ordinary problem because it activates all the cardinal sins! It is the detonator in the breaking of the Ten Commandments.By focusing on oneself, it is naturally easier to bear false witness if it serves one’s purpose. It is easier to ignore one’s parents instead of honoring them. It is...