A Well Examined Life - A Mormon’s Musings on Some of the Things in Life that Matter Most

A Samaritan and an Innkeeper

[Author’s Note: This is the continuation of an essay I authored on December 25, 2025, called “An Adult Christ at Christmas,” a title I borrowed from a short treatise authored by the Catholic biblical scholar, Raymond Brown. I recommend you read that essay first (if you have not already done so) before reading this one.]

“Life is constant movement, and therefore goodness in life is not a certain state, but the direction of movement.”
Blaise Pascal, Pensées

“A text without a context is just a pretext for making it say anything one wants.”
Ben Witherington, III, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Asbury Theological Seminary

The Parable of the Good Samaritan, as recorded by Luke the Evangelist, was delivered by Jesus during his final journey to Jerusalem. It is arguably the most well-known of Christ’s short stories. Lamentably, it is also the parable most prone to decontextualization, i.e., removing the story from its original context in order to advance an interpretation Christ never intended for the sole purpose of championing a parochial interest. This is especially true of allegorical readings of this text.^[1]

An Adult Christ at Christmas

The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there
— “The Go Between,” by L. P. Hartley

The crux of Christ’s mission and the core tenant of his gospel—his “good news” for mankind—was revealed on the day he was born. So, too, was an “alternative theology,” i.e., a different recipe for achieving peace on earth championed by a most formidable opponent.

“Now it happened that in those days an edict went out from Caesar Augustus that all the inhabited world should be enrolled in a census. * * * * And suddenly there appeared with the angel a throng of the heavenly army, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest places and peace on earth among men of goodwill. Luke 2:1; 13-14. (D. B. Hart Translation).

More Precious Than Gold

Larissa Phillips is a remarkable woman.

Among other things, she is founder of the Volunteer Literacy Project, a nonprofit organization devoted to teaching adults how to read. The “Rex Runs Off!” books for children were authored by her, along with “Decodable Bile Stories,” selected tales adapted from Genesis using structured phonics to help beginning adult readers. She also likes to eat meat, so she learned how to kill animals humanely.^[1]

The Things We Covet

Chris Anderson

A 28-year-old black man by the name of Coleman Hughes popped up on Chris Anderson’s radar screen towards the end of 2022. In his capacity as head of TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment and Design), Anderson was always on the lookout for individuals with a fresh perspective on scientific, cultural, and political topics to speak at TED’s annual conference in Vancouver, Canada.

Mr. Hughes had become an item not because his ideas are novel. Rather, his popularity was the product of his quaint, counter-cultural message: that people should be treated equally in all circumstances—public or private—regardless of their race. Since TED’s avowed mission is to “spread ideas that spark conversation” and that move people “to think differently,” and to pursue “knowledge—without an agenda,”^[1] Anderson invited Hughes to make his case for “color blindness.” Mr. Hughes accepted the invitation with alacrity^[2] and delivered his remarks at the annual TED Conference held in April 2023.

Duty, Honor, Country

I have an office on the fourth floor of our town home in Arlington, Virginia. Weather permitting, such as yesterday, I like to open the sliding glass door next to my desk. The ambient sounds below—the wind passing through the trees, children playing in the small park below, and birds chattering in the majestic oaks—have a soothing effect.

On occasion, military jets pass swiftly overhead. When I hear them approach and am not otherwise engaged, I’ll open the screen door and step onto our balcony to watch them fly in formation. It brings back memories from my childhood in East Central Illinois when my father would take my brothers and me to watch the Thunderbirds perform during the annual airshow at Chanute Air Force Base.

The Election Scandal that Rocked BYU and the Young Man Who Saved the University

Author’s Note: The events described below are all true, with the exception of one unconfirmed report. They are documented by both contemporaneous news stories and eye witness accounts.

A Warning: The scandal described below occurred about 50 years ago in what today would be considered a primitive culture, one totally foreign to our learned and refined society. Out of respect for our modern sensibilities, each paragraph containing a disturbing anecdote will be preceded with this symbol—🔫 ⚠️—so as to allow vulnerable readers to skip the offensive material. (I chose a water pistol, instead of a Glock 19 (my weapon of choice), as my trigger emoji out of respect for my readers.)

A Request: I ask you, gentle reader, to make allowances for the unenlightened attitudes of several of the participants in this story. Their periodic displays of cluelessness and gauche behavior are often troubling. Your patience, and most importantly, your condescension, are greatly appreciated.

Jewish Decide

“Let me here say a word to the Jews. We do not want you to believe our doctrine. If any professing to be Jews do so, it would prove they were not Jews. A Jew cannot now believe in Jesus Christ. The decree has gone forth from the Almighty that they cannot have the benefit of the atonement until they gather to Jerusalem, for they said, ‘Let his blood be upon us and our children.’”

So said the prophet Brigham Young in 1866.^[1]

Brigham Young, photgraph by Charles William Carter (ca 1872)

On Marriage

The sum which two married people owe to one another defies calculation. It is an infinite debt, which can only be discharged through all eternity.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

In February 1973, an article called “Strengthening the Patriarchal Order in the Home,” appeared in the Ensign, the flagship publication of the Mormon Church.^[1] The author, Brent Barlow, expressed deep concerns about certain disturbing trends in family governance. Most troubling was the transition “from a patriarchal to a democratic or even matriarchal type of family organization.” Further, this shift from an authoritarian to an equalitarian family structure coincided with an increase in the number of wives and mothers entering the work force. This, Barlow said, can place added stress on family relationships.^[2]

Barlow blamed these developments on society’s departure from biblical teachings.^[3] We should heed the counsel of the Apostle Paul, he said: “the husband is the head of the wife,”^[4] and wives should submit to their husbands.^[5] In defending the patriarchal order in the home, he placed special emphasis on the Lord’s words to Eve immediately prior to her expulsion from Eden: “I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”^[6]

“Hypocrisy is the Tribute Vice Pays to Virtue” —Francois de La Rochefoucauld

N.B. The person who is the subject of this essay never saw or read its contents prior to its publication, had no foreknowledge of this essay, or my plans to write it. He is at liberty to repudiate it in its entirety. The views expressed below are mine and mine alone.

Several years ago, Aaron Sherinian saved my life. Since then, he has become my closest—and, perhaps, my most intimate—friend, apart from my wife (and my dog). We counsel each other frequently, break bread together periodically, and engage in irreverent behavior constantly. He’s an exceptionally good listener, laughs at my jokes, and bathes regularly. In other words, he’s the perfect friend.

Aaron was recently named Director of Global Communications for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka, “the Mormon Church”). As the managing director of the Church’s Communication Department, he will oversee Church interactions with the media, promote the Church’s humanitarian initiatives, coordinate major events (e.g., the reopening of the Salt Lake Temple), and, in consultation with Church leaders, communicate the Church’s message to the world. In other words, he’s a PR Guy.

Where Words Fail

One day in the mid-1960s, I wandered into a music store in downtown Champaign, Illinois. By “music store” I mean a store where you can purchase musical instruments, sheet music, and the like.

While perusing the rock-and-roll section, I spied a piano arrangement of the Beatles’ hit song, “Yesterday.” This is what I had been hoping to find: a soulful tune that, if played with deep emotion, would prompt the cool girls in my junior high school to notice me. The moment I returned home, I headed straight for the Yamaha upright in our living room and began to practice the song.