7 Powerful Words that Hold the Key to Both Temporal and Spiritual Growth

Brent Esplin

Merrit H. Egan grew up on a dairy farm but claims his parents raised him to be great.  He lived up to those lofty expectations by becoming a successful and prominent physician in Salt Lake City.  Merrit and his wife had 11 children and they did their best to pass on the legacy of success to them. One of the Egan’s daughters is Natalie Gochnour, Associate Dean in the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah and Chief Economist of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.  In an Read More…

Choosing Consecration: Retirement Is Not a Gospel Concept

Brent Esplin4 Comments on Choosing Consecration: Retirement Is Not a Gospel Concept

I love “The Parable of the Black Belt” as told by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their book Built to Last.  The authors invite you to imagine a martial artist kneeling before the master sensei.  The occasion is one the student has prepared long and hard for.  After years of dedicated practice this is the ceremony where he hopes to be awarded his black belt.    The sensei begins, “Before granting the black belt, you must pass one more test.”  “I am ready,” answers the studeRead More…

Choosing Consecration: The Financial Finish Lines Framework

Brent Esplin

In an earlier post I wrote about how a comment by President James E. Faust in a leadership training meeting made me realize that the Law of Consecration is not just something we might be asked to live in the future but something we should be striving to live now.  This idea intrigued me but I struggled to think of a practical way to follow President Faust’s counsel.  Specifically, I struggled with how to figure out what enough was (the topic of my last post), and how saving for retirementRead More…

Choosing Consecration: How Much Is Enough? And Who Decides?

Brent Esplin2 Comments on Choosing Consecration: How Much Is Enough? And Who Decides?

True story, Word of Honor Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer now dead, And I were at a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island.  I said “Joe, how does it make you feel to know that our host only yesterday may have made more money than your novel ‘Catch-22’ has earned in its entire history?” And Joe said, “I’ve got something he can never have.” And I said, “What on earth could that be, Joe?” And Joe said, “The knowledge that I’ve got enough.Read More…

Choosing Consecration: Give Yourself Some Credit

Brent Esplin

In my last post I wrote about how a comment made by President Faust helped me realize that the law of consecration isn’t just a theoretical concept that we might be called on to live at some future date but a celestial principle we should be striving to live right now.  However, I think I still missed the point. You see, after President Faust’s comment my mind immediately jumped forward to how my wife and I might be able to live the law of consecration at some future time when we would hRead More…

Choosing Consecration

Brent Esplin

Consecration is the giving of one’s time, talents, and means to care for those in need—whether spiritually or temporally—and in building the Lord’s kingdom.  – Spencer W. Kimball I remember being in a leadership training meeting at the Bountiful Regional Center in which James E. Faust, 2nd Counselor to President Hinckley in the First Presidency, was the presiding authority.  I don’t recall what year it was but I am guessing it was between 2000 and 2005. Towards the end of the mRead More…

Giving Brings Joy

Brent Esplin

I have listened to thousands of sermons on the urgent need to give.  I find myself wondering why it is that preachers never talk about how much fun it is to give…. – Jon M. Huntsman Sr. Huntsman was a successful businessman but what really brought him joy was not making money, but giving it away.  Knowing how much fun giving was he found it frustrating that the joy of giving so often takes a back seat to trying to make people feel guilty for not giving more, especially in church sermons.
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In Temporal Matters the Church Practices What it Preaches – and That’s a Wonderful Thing

Brent Esplin1 Comment on In Temporal Matters the Church Practices What it Preaches – and That’s a Wonderful Thing

Church finances have been in the news recently as a former employee of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints filed an IRS complaint alleging that the church should lose its tax-exempt status because it had not disbursed money from its Ensign Peak investment fund for charitable or religious purposes.  The Church responded, stating: “Claims being currently circulated are based on a narrow perspective and limited information. The church complies with all applicable law governing oRead More…

Laws and Blessings

Brent Esplin

“You can pray all you want, you can hope all you want, but until the law is fulfilled upon which that blessing is predicated, it won’t happen.”  – President Russell M. Nelson As a pioneering heart surgeon Russell M. Nelson experienced both remarkable success and tragic failure.  Early open-heart surgeries were extremely risky and weren’t always successful.  He and his colleagues were treading new ground and they recognized they had a lot to learn.    As described in the great Read More…

A Lesson In Listening from My Wife and a Malfunctioning TV Remote

Brent Esplin

“Husbands and wives, learn to listen, and listen to learn from one another.”  – President Russell M. Nelson I love sports but my wife, Alice, couldn’t care less.  She can’t understand why I get so excited during games.  I know this will be hard for other sports fans to believe, but she actually thinks that yelling at the TV during games doesn’t help.  In fact, she sometimes reminds me that the players can’t hear me.  She might be right about the players not being able to hearRead More…