A Tribute to Tim Merrill
Sacrament meetings for me had become known for what was not taught rather than what was taught. So imagine my delight when I was sitting in a Sacrament meeting and heard the word of God being taught. I listened and was nourished. The speaker was Tim Merrill and I remember thinking I need to get to know this man. It was not long after, that I was speaking in a Sacrament meeting as a member of the High Council and was teamed with Tim Merrill, who was the Stake Sunday School president. How delighted I was when he stood with only his scriptures in front of him and nourished me again with the word of God.
That led to me asking for him to speak with me when my companion speaker was unable to speak. If I remember correctly I asked for him another two or three times. I asked for him because I wanted to be taught more of God's words, but knew the congregation would also benefit.
Not too long after I was called to be the Stake Sunday School President and, you guessed it, I asked for Tim as one of my counselors, and for an entire year once a week I was privileged to be taught by him. See Feasting on His Words.
It was several years later that I was in Utah and called Tim to go to lunch. Besides a delightful conversation with much edification (he even paid for my lunch), he told me about his blog
www.owlofthedesert.blog and I must say that I have read and re-read his posts and continue to be edified, enlightened and delighted by his creativity in using the word of God to remind us of who, what and why we worship--God and Christ. His ability to separate religion from truth reminded me of the first time I heard him say in one of our weekly 'feasting' sessions that in the Book of Mormon religion is always portrayed as moving us away from Christ
Needless to say he has stretched my mind and continues to do so with his blog. He picks a series and I would guess only completes it when moved upon by the Holy Ghost. But they are all interrelated and you will benefit from his insights, his creativity, his humor and most of all his command of the Lord's language.
His is not a blog for the timid, however, and if you are looking for pats on the back for being good members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, forget it. He just completed a series of 23 posts on "Lord, to whom shall we go?" Charting the Course of the Church from Here to the Second Coming, and he does not hold back. Why? Because the Lord does not hold back and he is, after all, teaching us what the Lord wants us to know and experience in these last days before His second coming.
One of my all time favorite quotes comes from Tim's series "Give Heed to This Compass" which is now a 10 part series, which I don't think he has finished yet.
Ready? Here it is.
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again, and I'll keep saying it until I am served with a restraining order sighed by a judge: It doesn't matter who's speaking: it only matters whose words are being spoken. Are they the words of Christ?
a. If yes, then give heed and hearken to the message, no matter whose lips are moving.
b. If no, then we may disregard the message, no matter whose lips are moving."
Also, as he reminds us, it is up to us to know the difference.
I see Tim as one of the many prophets and teachers sent by God to help prepare for His second coming, a pattern repeatedly recorded in the Book of Mormon. How do I know? By what comes out of his heart and mind onto the computer software he uses to create his blog. You will do well to listen and hear.