Layne's Lunch

       As LDS General Conference approaches this week I've been thinking about spiritual spectators.  Have some of us turned our personal spirituality into a spectator sport?  Do we, marvel at the demonstration of spiritual power during general conference by those we view as spiritual superstars and then lounge on the couch of spiritual listlessness?       Ponder this analogy. There are those who showed great athletic promise in high school but completely abandoned physical exercise somewhere in their 20's.  These Monday morning quarterbacks sit on the couch through the weekend watching college and professional sports to re-live what they perceive as their glory days.  They know all the plays, all the moves, their favorite athlete's statistics, and their training programs, yet they never apply any of that knowledge to their personal life.  Likewise, there are many returned missionaries in the Church who have spiritually done the same thing.  They spend their life r

Early in His mortal ministry, Jesus became concerned about the commitment of his followers and after feeding the 5000 he taught them doctrines of the kingdom.  However, some, on hearing Him and His doctrine, said, “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” (John 6:60). We notice a similar statement by Laman and Lemuel when asked to go back to Jerusalem and get the plates from Laban. "And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord." (1 Nephi 3:5) This was a recurring theme with these two brothers.  Later they said: "And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear". (1 Nephi 16:1) So, what makes it hard?  We know from Matthew 11:30 that the yoke of Christ is easy and His burden is li

Harry Truman  is credited with saying: “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” I have heard that quote in many forms, and I agree with it.  However, I never really thought about the follow-on question, "What are leaders reading?"  Like most people who study leadership I have read books by Dale Carnigie, Stephen R. Covey, Jim Collins, John C. Maxwell, Ken  Blanchard, Tom Rath, Peter Drucker, and dozens of others.  But I never really thought about what I should be reading.  I simply assumed that if you want to be a better leader you should read more leadership books.  I am convinced that is not a bad idea, but is there a better idea?  The other day I came across this quote by Ezra Taft Benson:      ". . . one of the most important things you can do as priesthood leaders is to immerse yourselves in the scriptures. Search them diligently. Feast upon the words of Christ. Learn the doctrine. Master the principles that are found therein. There are fe

Each of us have critical intersections in our life where we make significant decisions that impact the rest of our life.  Some of these are where to attend college, missionary service, who to marry, how many kids to have, and what profession to pursue. Those who are wise seek to align themselves with the will of the Lord by asking the same question  that Saul asked Christ after he appeared to him:  " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" (Acts 9:6) This question can weigh heavily on our minds.  Recently as I pondered a significant question in my life and I was lead to this scripture:  9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend. 10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerit