Every Latter-day Saint knows this verse. It gets quoted in talks, in lessons, and on refrigerator magnets:

19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.²

There is an interesting episode that appears in the Book of Job that describes the ‘sons of God’ presenting themselves before the Lord². This has led many to ask, “Who are these ‘sons of God’?” Certainly they include the angels. But is there anything else we can find out about them? Could the phrase ‘sons of God’ be describing something more? Maybe a status or rank? Let’s look into it.

Somewhere in the back of most Latter-day Saint minds lives a mental map of the world with a few conspicuous blank spots. China. North Korea. Saudi Arabia. The logic is familiar: before the Lord can return, the gospel must reach all nations. Matthew 24:14 says so plainly. Those blank spots are the outstanding business.

It is a reasonable reading. It is also built on a word whose meaning has quietly shifted over time. What was once the secondary definition has become the only one most of us hear.

Click the image above to view full size. Cross your eyes slightly or relax your focus to see the hidden 3D image.

If you grew up in the 1990s, you probably remember Magic Eye books. Those mesmerizing posters filled with what looked like random noise—until suddenly, impossibly, a three-dimensional image would leap out at you. A dolphin. A spaceship. A castle.

There is a verse in the Doctrine and Covenants that most Latter-day Saints have heard dozens of times, usually in the context of a joke during sunday school. It comes from a revelation given to Joseph Smith in September 1831:

Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.¹

Many of you probably feel inadequate in your testimony of Jesus. I am willing to bet that at least some of you have never felt the burning in the bosom (D&C 8, 9) or have heard his voice speak to your mind or heart. This can lead to feelings of frustration or disappointment. It can cause feelings of doubt, especially when others who scoff at those who believe in Jesus seem so sure in their position. It’s fine to rely on the testimony of others until you can reach a point of being able to stand on your own. While we might smile and laugh a bit at young toddlers learning to walk, nobody seriously teases and mocks them for their lack of ability. We all know that with practice and with a bit of experience they will learn to walk, eventually run, and some will even become so proficient that they can accomplish amazing athletic feats. The toddler learning to walk seems to have a great desire to figure it out — they try and try again.

If you have ever been to a historic site, a national park, or a shopping mall (do people still go to shopping malls?) you have probably seen a map with a marker showing your location at the site. The map usually shows in large letters: “You are here”. It’s to help orient you regarding your current position in relation to your surroundings.

I think in religion we often look at our surroundings and see a mental map in our head that says, “You are here”. There is an assumption that every step along the way to where we are was in the correct direction. If we are “here”, then we are exactly where we were supposed to be. But are we? Is it possible that steps in the wrong direction were made from time to time? Is it possible that at least some of those missteps were reinforced instead of corrected? I think so. In fact, I think it’s more likely than not that we’ve made mistakes in doctrine along the way. Entropy, drift, apostasy – whatever you want to call it is the default state of the universe.