Thoughtful Faith Mission
To strengthen faithful Latter-Day Saints feeling the pressures of the world by instilling courage and confidence in the reality of God, Jesus Christ and the restoration of His Church by contrasting truth and falsehood.
"By Proving Contraries, Truth is Made Manifest" - Joseph Smith
A Mission Based In Scripture
Doctrine and Covenants 112:5
Contend thou, therefore, morning by morning; and day after day let thy warning voice go forth; and when the night cometh let not the inhabitants of the earth slumber, because of thy speech.
Words of Mormon 1:17-18
For behold, king Benjamin was a holy man, and he did reign over his people in righteousness; and there were many holy men in the land, and they did speak the word of God with power and with authority; and they did use much sharpness because of the stiffneckedness of the people—Wherefore, with the help of these, king Benjamin, by laboring with all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul, and also the prophets, did once more establish peace in the land.
Jude 1:3-4
It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in… turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness.
Doctrine & Covenants 88:81
Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.
Matt 10:32-39
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Channel Ethos
Hard on ideas, soft on people.
Matt:10:16
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Judge ideas and behaviors, not people.
JST Matt 7:1-2
Judge not unrighteously. 1 Now these are the words which Jesus taught his disciples that they should say unto the people. 2 Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment.
Moroni 7:15
For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil;
About Me
I grew up in one of those families that always seemed to be discussing the things you should not discuss at Thanksgiving dinner (politics, religion etc). Ever since I was young I was immersed in ideas about the world and having been in public, private, evangelical, catholic and even home schools I have for most of my life come into interaction and discussion with people from various backgrounds. So from a young age I have been passionate about ideas because it became very apparent that more than anything else, it is ideas that shape our world. This blog and its related forums and channels are a continuation of that exploration and passion. With that said, I am a man with many passions and I embrace the notion that life is first and foremost to be lived, not just thought about.
I grew up in a Latter Day Saint (aka Mormon) home. My childhood was immersed in playing football, baseball basketball, boxing, hunting, fishing, trapping and riding horses as I grew up 10 miles down a dirt road outside of Sparks, Nevada. I grew up a country kid, the son of a Plumber and a stay at home Mom who taught me and my 7 siblings to value faith, work, education and our country. They wanted us to go out and make an impact on the world and they led by example. My Dad, a blue collar worker who never went to college is one of the most well read men I have ever met and now serves as a State Senator in the Nevada State Senate. My mother, who grew up in a trailer park also had love for public service. So after raising her 8 children and sending them all to college she used her sharp mind, talent and charisma to be elected to the Nevada State Assembly.
I served a 2 year mission for my Church in Argentina where I became deeply committed to my faith and fell in love with the people, the country and became (and still am) fluent in Spanish. I attended both BYU and BYU-Hawaii, eventually graduating from the latter with a degree in Operations/Supply Chain Management. While in college (after a storybook Hawaiian romance including every island adventure we could think of) I married my college sweetheart Erica and we now have 4 beautiful children that are the love of our lives. Shortly after our marriage I partnered with another recent BYUH grad and after much effort our company has grown to over 30 employees and we continue to expand.
My passion first and foremost is my family and my faith but I am a man of many passions. I love sailing, surfing, hunting, travel, sports and just about anything that take me on an adventure. Ultimately this blog is a place for another of my many passions. My passion for the exploration of the world of ideas. I would love your feedback and for you to join in this exploration with me. Feel free to join my discussion forum to get on our email list. I also do accept guest posts if you feel so inclined.
