My new book, In Their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations, is now available at a preorder discount! (See http://store.mrm.org/in-their-own-words-a-collection-of-mormon-quotations-pre-order.html) It’s hard to believe that I started working on this compilation back in April of 2003. It is 300 pages long in a large 8˝ by 11 format. We are looking for an early May release date.

Pray for Brad – I meet a lot of different types of people while volunteering at the Utah Lighthouse bookstore. Of course all of them have some sort of interest in the topic of Mormonism, but not all are interested for the same reasons. Recently I had a 30-45 minute conversation with an ex-Mormon who is now a practicing homosexual. Unlike the irrational protesting-types you see on the news, he was a man who seemed to really want to have an engaging conversation. We spoke a lot about the LDS Church’s role in the passage of Proposition 8 as well as the homosexual community’s quest for “normalcy.” I was able to counter some of the typical stereotypes and misinformation often believed by many homosexuals. I don’t know if he was at all convinced, but at least he heard some facts that he may not have been aware of before. We parted amicably although the conversation was for me, physically draining. Pray that he comes back and we can talk some more.

Video Ministry Moving Forward – We recently asked friends of MRM if they could help with the funds to purchase a new HD video camera that would help enhance our video presence on the Internet. Our thanks to those of you who helped. We’ve already put the camera to work and have posted several excerpts from a series I gave here in Utah a while back. We’ve purposely put these into a “sound bite” format and they are already generating interest. One of the videos where I speak about who has the right to interpret Mormon doctrine was featured on a Mormon blog site. You can read this at http://wellbehavedmormonwoman.blogspot.com/2009/02/who-has-authority-to-interpret-lds.html.  I had to chuckle when I read this disclaimer - “FYI: This guy is NOT a Mormon” You can see a more complete list of our videos at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=4F6150861BA19CBC. 

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Turkey, Israel, and Egypt with fellow MRM colleague and friend Eric Johnson. Eric led a group of several Christian High School students and I was able to tag along as a chaperone. I also kept parents up to date with what was going on through Facebook and email. The cost of the trip was not funded by MRM though I certainly learned a lot that I can use in a ministry setting. One thing that really struck me was that Israel has an ancient history of real people and real events. Mormons on the other hand, when they take a “Book of Mormon lands” tour have to take it completely by faith. The LDS Church will not give an official position for any place name mentioned in the Book of Mormon (outside of Jerusalem). Mormons can’t even agree as to where Nephites and Lamanites may have actually lived. They have several theories, but no hard evidence for any.

Compassionate Boldness Conference – If you are in the Salt Lake City area the last week of May, I hope you can attend. We have a great lineup of speakers with some fascinating topics. For more information see www.compassionateboldness.com.

We thank you for your prayers as we minister here in Utah.