Reasonably Religious: believing in a secular world 
Faith offers no escape from difficulties, but provides strength and comfort during hard times. Trust in God and the example of Christ can give deeper joy and direction, even when answers are sometimes missing.
It's always similar things that make me go into defense mode regarding my faith. Today again. A simple tweet about how awful and idiotic faith is hurts me, because I think faith can also be beautiful. [tweet] I only know Wim from Twitter and I don't want to form any judgment about his statement. I can only speculate...
In the past week, numerous newspapers, online sites, and other media reported on a video of a twelve-year-old girl speaking at a Mormon meeting and giving her testimony. She says she is lesbian, that she doesn't think God made a mistake, but then she is suddenly asked to sit down. Especially here in Europe, this causes a lot of consternation. I admit...
This week we said goodbye to our apostle Elder L. Tom Perry. He passed away after a short illness, a rapidly spreading aggressive cancer. He was 92 years old. At his funeral, beautiful words were spoken by other apostles who reminded us of what Elder Perry had taught us through his life: As an apostle, he was a special witness of Christ. I still believe...
A while ago we were interviewed by Dag Allemaal. Today the article appeared. As always, there are things in it that make you think 'oh come on...', but it's still just a booklet, looking for sensation. I think they were disappointed that Mormons are ordinary people, not weirdos and certainly not polygamists. So they just added a few titles and a...
This weekend I felt sorry for Rocco Granata. In Het Laatste Nieuws there was an interview, in which he spoke, among other things, about his faith and a good friend: 'I must mention Father Vanderdonckt. He was a Jesuit at Xaverius College and once my son Sam's Latin teacher. He became a kind of spiritual father to me. I loved him and now that he has passed away, I still think daily...
Lecture given on July 8 in the municipality of Ghent When I was called as second counselor in the stake presidency, I first had a conversation with President Buysse. His last question was 'are you willing to do what the Lord asks of you?'. My answer was very clear and a resounding YES. In my prayer, I regularly ask for His guidance and strength, to go where He wants me to...
It happened! Yesterday, Belle and I were baptized in a beautiful, serene baptismal service. It all went so fast: I would have liked it a bit slower. Elder Larson spoke in his address about baptism itself and Elder Schulte spoke about baptism by fire. Beautiful words and especially their personal additions were very nice. Elder Larson referred to how he looked up to our strong testimony...
Today, after a year of reflection and our first contacts with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we went to Sunday service again. Since it was the first Sunday of the month, it was fast and testimony meeting. I don't know why, but I felt the need to share my testimony. It went something like this: I wasn't really raised religious...
Reasonably Religious: believing in a secular world 