The One Climbs Show

When we ask for blessing, do we really understand what we are asking for and what the implications are? How might this impact how God responds or not and if that response aligns with what our intentions are.

We're going to look at three instances we have in the scriptures where God commands people to build boats. Why boats? What can we learn from comparing these different accounts and what ideas can we draw from these accounts that can benefit us today?

This episode examines a recurring pattern in the Book of Mormon where spiritual vitality declines gradually, then collapses decisively. It focuses on the period leading up to the reign of King Benjamin, a critical transition point where prophetic warnings intensify, record-keeping shifts from the large plates of Nephi to Mormon’s abridged record, and covenant faithfulness is tested at scale. By tr...

Introducing a new edition of the Book of Mormon that I've been working on that includes the Lectures on Faith as a primer. It should be available on Amazon soon and will be sold at cost with no markup. In this video, I provide some background as to how it came to be and provide a preview of how it's going to look and some of the unique features of this edition. Book of Mormon 1920 Reader&#...

What is the difference between an archetype and a symbol, why is it important, and how can knowing this assist in my search for meaning and purpose in life? We're going to do a deep dive into this topic in this episode!

I propose that Mormon demonstrates at least a couple of times how Nephi's prophecy about war and the fountain of filthy water are connected. It seems the river Sidon actually becomes the fountain and why it is filthy is a little morbid but I think Mormon saw this connection and wrote it into the record.

Did you know that the incense burned on the altar of the Israelite temple was composed of four different materials? Understanding the background of these materials could potentially help us improve our relationship with prayer.

This is how a single footnote in an essay led to a paradigm-shifting idea about theology that opens up some interesting thoughts that we'll discuss in this episode of oneClimbs. Show notes: Link to the free PDF. download of "Through the Veil": https://oneclimbs.com/2013/06/24/through-the-veil-pondering-the-temple-experience-through-scripture/

Ok, here is part 2 and I highly recommend watching part 1 first because there is no introduction here, we pick up right where we left off and conclude our examination of potential literary patterns in Amulek's sermon.

Ok, this episode is not going to be for everybody. I'm diving into an entire sermon without any preparation or prior study to apply a methodology that I use to identify literary patterns in the text of the Book of Mormon. This exercise not only shows the complexity of the construction of the text and ideas but it can help to reveal doctrine and principles and deeper meaning that might not be avail...

In Mosiah 18:20 and 25:22 what did it mean that the preached nothing save/except it were repentance? I have some ideas and what this might mean for us today.

The Lectures of Faith, or in other words, the "Doctrine" portion of the Doctrine & Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was removed by a committee in 1921 for four questionable reasons. Were they legitimate reasons? What if we have been looking at the theology of these lectures all wrong? I would like to propose a way of looking at the lectures that solves the...

It appears that Mormon, the abridger of Nephite history, intentionally framed the story of Alma the elder and his people onto Nephi's vision of the tree of life using word links and other imagery.

What are miracles? We'll explore a little about how the Hebrews defined them and what the greatest miracle of all is that we can each experience for ourselves.

Doing a bit of a deep dive into Lehi's vision and exploring some fresh takes on various aspects of the symbolic elements and seeing what we can find.

Some thoughts about the unique phrase "eye of faith" that only appears in three places in the Book of Mormon and what some potential meanings are that might go unnoticed, but are powerful beyond imagination. Based on this post of the same name: https://oneclimbs.com/2011/04/04/what-is-the-eye-of-faith

In 1 Nephi 17, Lehi's party arrives at a beautiful paradise they name "Bountiful" at the end of a very difficult 8 year journey in the wilderness. Laman and Lemuel, upon learning that Nephi is planning on building a ship begin to vent their frustrations about their perceived misfortunes and how their lives could have been better if they had remained in Jerusalem. We take another look...

We live in a world where there are many differences of beliefs, even among others within our own faith traditions. How do we navigate this well and exist with peace with people who don't believe the same way we do? I suppose it is an age-old question but I'd like to share some of my favorite quotes and experiences to add to the topic.

Thoughts about some of Jesus' last words upon the cross and how they point to Psalm 22 where there is some more wisdom there for us who are going through situations where we too feel forsaken or deserted by God.

I don't know that there is anything else more important and timely that I can talk about than this. This information has been available for a long time and it is so plain and simple that it is only kept from people because of our own strange compulsion to overcomplicate things. Let's break it down and see what amazing gifts that Christ has for us if we'll only seek to receive them.

Whenever Nephi found himself in difficult situations, he drew upon the knowledge of what God did for others who were in similar situations. We'll explore Nephi's story and the similarities to Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel, (maybe Aaron, Hur, and Noah), Solomon, Isaiah, and Samuel. There are likely many others but it is a lesson to us on how we too can likely their stories to ours and find our own s...

The Lectures on Faith introduces us to 6 characteristic and 6 attributes about God. But is there a clue right there in the scriptures that inform us about the attributes of our Heavenly Mother? We're going to dive into it and explore some different ideas. This one is mostly just a thought experiment where I'm thinking out loud but perhaps you might have some additional thoughts or ideas to take th...

Some thoughts about how we can tend to thing the scriptures apply to "others" and not us. If we see the scriptures as a mirror, their lessons can be far more profitable to us in our journey. 

A sister-in-law of mine shared a story in her church talk last Sunday that got me thinking about trust in God's wisdom and power when it comes to outside threats.

Contact is one of my favorite movies and it stars Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey in a story that blurs the lines between faith and science. There's one particular scene that has always stuck with me and I think it conveys an important theological idea in a very approachable way.