Old Faith Blog

Hunting Season for the Saints I wrote the below two and half years ago and have decided to post it here. What I wrote is my opinion on the spiritual legitimacy of recreational hunting. As big a supporter as I am of our right to bear arms, as I've recently posted here and here , I consider recreational hunting a sin against nature. I should warn you, what you will read below may be considered controversial for a true-believing Mormon, and it includes statements by a man we Mormons consider a prophet of God. Take them for what they are, and enjoy! -- Hunting Season for the Saints – September 9 th , 2005 "When I visited, a few years ago, the Yellowstone National Park, and saw in the streams and the beautiful lakes, birds swimming quite fearless of man, allowing passers-by to approach them as closely almost as tame birds, and apprehending no fear of them, and when I saw droves of beautiful deer herding along the side of the road, as fearless of the presence of men...

I've recently been wrestling with a concept I've heard many times from those who don't believe in or are undecided about the existence of God. I'm sure many have heard this argument as it is commonly used by atheists and agnostics. It's a logical argument that goes something like this: If God exists, and wants me to worship him, and wants me to obey his commandments, how can he expect me to have faith in him enough to do those things, and at the same time give me intelligence, and logic, and reason and not expect me to consider these my best qualities that I should expect an omniscient   God to appeal to first? The only way God can logically expect me to worship him and obey his commandments is if he makes his existence obvious, and not through the supposed "testimony" of others, but to me. Of course, I've heard this argument stated in different ways but the point is the same: How can an omniscient god expect me to worship him and obey his co...