Back in the Saddle Again

Well, I'm back.  The haitus is over.

I want to start this foray into the blogosphere with a more overt expression of my current intentions.  I read through my previous statement, and I don't necessarily want to amend that too much.  I'm still interested in pop culture, and I like to flex the ol' PhD occasionally.  I might even wax funny occasionally, if PhD's are actually allowed to do that without sucking all the moisture from the atmosphere.

But I am increasingly interested in having a voice in the national--check that:  world--dialogue about religion and its place in the public sphere.  I am also interested in both Mormon and general Christian apologetics

So, here is my intital salvo:

I am still an orthodox member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

I have a personal witness from direct experience that there is a God.  I have faith that I am in the image of God, and that he looks human though I haven't seen Him.

I have direct personal experience--I might rather say "experiences"--that prove to me that God loves me.  I have faith that He loves everyone.

I have direct personal experience--again, multiple experiences--that prove to my satisfaction that God does not lie.  In all cases in which I have been able to personally test the veracity of what God has said (either through the LDS canon of scripture or through personal experience), I have discovered that God has spoken the truth.  I have faith that He cannot and will not tell a lie.  I have faith that cases which I have not been able to test--either because they have not happened yet, or because the test is otherwise not available to me--these cases will also prove that God speaks the truth.  I have faith that things I do not currently know or understand will be knowable and understandable and will prove God's veracity.

A long time ago, I prayed to know if "the Mormon Church is true."  The unequivocal answer was a resounding "Yes!"  There can be no possible doubt for me that the answer came from God.  I am reluctant to publish too much of my spiritual experiences, and indeed, I don't believe it's necessary for me to prove to the world that the experience I had on the first night I prayed, or experiences I have had since, are from God and not my own little brain.  However, I feel a certain responsibility to be a witness, just as if I had received a subpoena to testify in court.

I have had innumerable spiritual witnesses that the Book of Mormon is a true, ancient document, and is the Word of God, equal to the Bible.  I am perfectly willing to discuss the Book of Mormon at length.  I love the book.  Both as a scholar of literature and as a practicing Latter-day Saint, I confess that the Book of Mormon is my favorite book.  If I were allowed only one book (and me a compulsive reader!), and if I were confirned to some limited space, I could find happiness in reading and studying and pondering the Book of Mormon--both as a literary and as a devotional text.  The King James Bible, Shakespeare, and Mark Twain would be icing on the cake--but the cake alone would suffice.

So here I am.  Back in the saddle again.  Chafing at the bit.  Champing in the gate. 

And maybe I can finish that novel while I'm at it...