The Latter-day Saint Muser

Welcome to the incredibly confusing world of Tax laws! In a recent "public scandal" a former church employee claimed that the church has been misusing its donations and hiding its money from tax laws. This ex-employee was a senior portfolio manager at the church owned organization, "Ensign Peaks", an organization responsible for investing a portion of the church's funds. According to Nielson (the name of the former employee), the church gives about $1 Billion a year for Ensign Peaks to invest--and it sounds like they're doing a good job at it! Since 1985, Ensign Peaks, has amassed about $100 Billion! So it sounds like they're doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing. So, what are Nielson's complaints? Well, according to him Ensign Peaks broke IRS tax-exempt law because it has not donated to any charitable causes. Instead, he claims, that Ensign Peaks has only ever used funds from the $100 Billion twice--both times to bail out chur...

It's a YES from me Yes, it's as good as everyone is saying it is. You should watch it. ...Oh, you want me to actually talk about it? Well okay, I suppose I will. Just as a warning, there will be some Spoilers, so you've been warned. If you don't want it spoiled, go and watch the movie, then come back and read this. Oh, and don't read this out loud to your kids unless you want them to know the truth about Santa...yeah, trigger warning for people who are sensitive about Santa stuff, I guess. Hey look at that, a Christmas movie that isn't about the power of "believing" in a mythological figure who was created as a hoax to get children to behave! Thank you! Yes, Klaus  is one of those rare Christmas movies that doesn't make you feel guilty for having to "drop the truth bomb" on your kiddos after watching it. That's kind of the problem I have with other Christmas movies. Take  Elf  for example. The majority of that movie is ...

My Quick Frozen 2 Review (Spoiler Free) Well folks, it's finally here, the movie that millions of children, and their parents, all around the world have been waiting for. This movie is breaking records and it hasn't even been out for a week yet. It's possible that this movie may even outperform its predecessor and go on to claim the throne for highest grossing animated movie of all time. And in my opinion, I think it's earned that title. In recent years, I've been slightly dissatisfied with Disney and Pixar's sequels. It started, in my mind, with Monster's University all the way back in 2013. We were given a movie that had the same characters and world, yet lacked the heart and passion of the first movie. Then, we had Finding Dory, which wasn't "terrible" mind you, it was just too safe . It almost felt like a re-telling of the first movie's plot--but centered on Dory instead of on Nemo and Marlin. Then, last year, we got The In...

In Acts chapters six and seven, we read the account of the martyr, Stephen. Stephen was one of the seven men chosen by the apostles to help assist the members of the church (equivalent to one of the presidents of the Seventy today). It seems that he spent most of his time serving and teaching in Jerusalem.  While serving in Jerusalem he "did great wonders and miracles among the people". He also spoke with "wisdom and the spirit" in the synagogues with people of many different backgrounds and positions. He was sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and preaching to the people about the fulfillment of the Law of Moses. This was deemed blasphemous by the Jewish leaders at the time, and so he was put on trial by them (with false witnesses, just like the Savior), and then sentenced to death by stoning. In the church, we usually spend the most time talking about the vision that Stephen had right before his execution. As the Jewish leaders reviled and condemned...

"Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite Atonement" There are many things that happened during the Savior's final mortal days. There is of course when He suffered in Gethsemane, was captured by the Jews, given to Pilate, and then crucified. As members of the church, we tend to focus a lot  on when He suffered in the garden of Gethsemane. I remember some non-denominational Christians asking me one time why we focused so much on Gethsemane as Latter-day Saints, instead of focusing on the Crucifixion. It's true that we do focus more on Gethsemane than other Christian religions do. And I think the main reason for that is because of what we learned about it from modern revelation. We've learned through modern revelation that the Garden of Gethsemane is where Jesus began the Atonement. It's where his greatest suffering started. However, what we tend to forget is that Gethsemane is not where the Savior's suffering ended . His performance of the Atonemen...

Disney Rankings Finals: Best Overall Well, this is it. This is the final entry in my Disney blog. We've looked at which movies had the best characters, best music, best romances, etc. Well now it's time to look at which movies were simply the best overall. Which movies did the best at combining all the many different elements to make an artistic, coherent whole. This isn't really a list of which Disney movies are my favorite  per se (although many on this list are), simply put, these are the Disney movies from each round that I think are the most well-made.  In previous sections I included examples of fan art, and covers of Disney songs, so in a similar vein, in this post, I will share reviews that other writers have about these movies. 12th Place: 101 Dalmatians Joe the Disney Guy: "101 Dalmatians" A fantastic movie that was truly heart warming and just really fun to watch. It has great music, fun character designs, unique art...

The Question of Judas Iscariot A lot has been said and speculated about Judas Iscariot. For centuries, his motives for betraying the Savior have been questioned along with his fate for doing so. There are a lot of questions that could be asked about Judas: Did he really mean to betray Jesus? If Jesus knew he'd betray him, then why did he make him an apostle? If it was prophesied that Jesus would be betrayed, then does that mean Judas was wrong--or was he just fulfilling prophecy? I'd like to offer some of my own opinions about these questions--along with what we know from the scriptures and the living prophets. Don't take my opinions as doctrine, they are simply my own opinions and speculations.  Let's look at the first question: Did Judas truly mean to betray Jesus? Usually, this question arises because people don't think it's possible for someone like an apostle to have purposefully betrayed the Savior. As Elder Holland put it, ...

Disney Rankings Finals: Best Music/Songs Disney is known for having great music in its animated movies. Music in Disney movies has been a tradition since their very first animated movie, Snow White . Many studios have attempted to copy Disney's musical success (and they're have been some  successes such as Anastasia  and Prince of Egypt ), however, no one does animated musicals quite like Disney does. In this section, I will cover the top 12 Disney animated movies that I feel have the best music and songs. This will include lyrical music, as well as orchestral. Since I can't really show you pictures of the music from these movies, I've decided to search YouTube for some of the best covers of songs from these movies, and have provided videos and links for them. Enjoy! 12th Place: Snow White Evynne Hollens: Cover of "Someday My Prince Will Come" ( here ) Zora Catone: Cover of "Heigh Ho" ( here ) So, desp...