Concerning the overall worth of this chiasm, Welch concluded, “Helaman 6:7–13 deserves to take its place among the finest examples of chiasmus found in the Book of Mormon.”[10] Not only is this instance a model example of the ancient poetic form, but the fact that its central message is most impactful in ancient Hebrew is yet another evidence of the Book of Mormon’s authenticity and divine imprimatur. As Welch put it, at several levels—verbally, historically, and theologically—“Joseph Smith would have had no way of consciously concocting this parallelism on his own.”
The legacy of being a minority religious group that was alienated, threatened and driven from their homes is a very strong piece of the modern Mormon identity.
A testimony is essentially a list of those things we have faith in. But faith is distinct from belief. Faith is how we live our lives, not how much we believe in things.
We progressives believe in diversity, and we want women, blacks, Latinos, gays and Muslims at the table — er, so long as they aren’t conservatives. Universities are the bedrock of progressive values, but the one kind of diversity that universities disregard is ideological and religious. We’re fine with people who don’t look like us, as long as they think like us.
Based on our belief in the principles of exaltation, eternal marriage, and spiritual families, there’s no way that we couldn’t have a Heavenly Mother. In fact, according to revelation received by Joseph Smith, Heavenly Father could not be God without a Heavenly Mother.