Moderately Religious: believing in a secular world 
It has now been a few weeks since it was announced that several congregations would disappear and be merged with existing wards or merge with new wards (a ward is a local unit in the Mormon Church, like a parish in the Roman Catholic Church). What can we say about it now?
Religious freedom is under pressure worldwide, especially in Russia. The Supreme Court in Russia recently ruled that the Jehovah's Witnesses are an extremist organization. This legal battle had been going on for years against the organization, which according to Russian authorities is an anti-state sect that incites hatred. With this verdict, in one...
Now that it's official, I can finally write something about it. I have been called as Digital Channel Coordinator for the Netherlands-Flanders area. This also means that I will be released as president of the elders quorum in Ghent. I had known about it for several weeks, but now that it has happened, it does something to me. Of the callings I have already had, this one has crept deepest into my heart...
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in Article 18 that everyone is free to believe or not believe as he wishes. Articles 19 and 20 of the Belgian Constitution also regulate this right. But in Nevele, mayor Johan Cornelis (CD&V) and alderman Mia Pynaert (sp.a) now want to impose a restriction on religious freedom. Only recognized religions are allowed...
I seem to have been drawn to the theme of music lately. All week I have had the hymn “Thou art great” in my head. And the question why actually. This hymn sings about one of my favorite themes, especially creation and how, by looking at creation, you come to the conclusion that God exists. For me that is very personal because that's how I am...
I have always really loved the Joan Osborne song One of Us. The question “what if God were one of us?” has always been something for me that made me think “I think He knows all too well what that is, but do we know?”. The lyrics of this song contain beautiful sentences that made me think even more about certain aspects of life and...
Christmas is the time when we commemorate the birth of Jesus, even though we also realize that Christ was not born in December and that it is actually based on a pagan festival. In fact, Mormons know by revelation that the Savior was actually born on April 6. However, don't let that stop us from making it a real celebration of Light.
Dear Jean-Marie, Forgive me for addressing you amicably, but after reading your book “Frank and Free” I have the feeling that I have gotten to know you better, as someone with whom I would like to spend hours in a brown pub, philosophizing together and selling bar talk, sometimes thoroughly discussing nuances in our different opinions, other times bursting with laughter...
This week I had an interesting comment on my Twitter timeline. Someone who had spent time with a Mormon family in the US thought Mormons were nice, sweet people, but was bothered by the fact that they felt better than other believers. I was like, “huh, I don't think so, one of the reasons I was attracted to this church.” Still, I can...
Now is the best time to start developing the person we ultimately want to be. It's a nice quote from President Uchtdorf that I put into a meme today:
A question that has been popping up more often lately. A simple, honest question. And the answer is: yes, Mormons are Christians. Next question?
Oh, a little more explanation? OK, here it comes.
There are things that creep through your life, things that you worry about and that resurface again and again. With Laurens I often have the frustration “come on guy, I know you can behave better”, exactly as if I forget that he has autism or, in other words, as if I want to push that autism away into a corner where I don't have to worry about it...
On Sunday evenings we traditionally have the missionaries who are active in Ghent at our home to serve them a delicious meal. In return, they always provide a spiritual message, often in the form of a question or an indication. This time their question was "Now that it is Easter, everyone is thinking about Jesus Christ. But instead of talking about the...
Since it was announced last week that policies were being clarified regarding same-sex marriages between members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there has been quite an outcry. Reportedly, hundreds of members have even written a letter to cancel their membership in a mass protection campaign. That's their right, and I think it's in...
What happened in Paris on Friday, November 13, is terrible. So many innocent victims. People who have done nothing wrong at all, most of whom probably do not even have an opinion about the international problems that are the basis of terror. It's incomprehensible. It is completely sickening that this is happening in the name of a religion. I'm going to pay the bill...
Faith is a strength, it can provide comfort and support... I often hear comments from friends who do not believe and with their statement they actually ask me a question that they may not dare to ask: is faith always that strong? I simply have to answer no to that question. My faith is not always strong. There are also doubts sometimes, but mainly concern...
More and more people are noticing that Mormons make up only 2% of the American population, but are relatively more common in the business world, often with success. The Economist previously published an interesting article about this. There is a book that I can definitely recommend: “The Mormon way of doing business”. That's why I sometimes get asked...
I recently had an idea for a fun family evening. Everyone was to take a piece of paper and write down the answer to the following question: What would you ask Heavenly Father if He were suddenly standing here in front of you? The answers you get and the conversations that follow are very educational. For example, Lucas asked “Do you really love me?” I stood...
I am currently actively involved in an interesting project. From other projects I have found that there are many young people who are still looking for meaning. Many young people are curious about the message of Christ, but do not dare to say it openly. Admit it, if you say today that you are religious, then you are a weirdo. We notice...
This week we said goodbye to our Apostle Elder L. Tom Perry. He died after a short illness, a violent, rapidly spreading 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 think...
Moderately Religious: believing in a secular world 
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