Echo Chambers, Old and New

Some Covenant Christian women have created semi-public forums—Slack channels and Gaggle groups—where participation is conditional. You’re welcome, as long as you don’t disagree with their narrative. Questions don’t open conversation; they quietly close it.

That pattern feels familiar to me.

Years ago, while attending the LDS Church, my temple recommend was removed after I asked questions in Relief Society. I was told by the bishop that I was there to learn, not to teach. Apparently my questions were too instructive. When I asked if I could simply read a scripture aloud, the answer was an emphatic no—you know too much about the scriptures. I was permitted to participate only insofar as my comments aligned with the narrative being presented.

I eventually left that community.

Today, I worship among a different group of people who call themselves Covenant Christians—a new community beyond church structure, yet with the same instinct. I’ve watched familiar dynamics resurface, driven by the same reflex: protecting unity by controlling who gets to speak and which questions are allowed to surface.

To be clear, there is one Slack channel still open to all Covenant Christian women, and I’m genuinely grateful for the integrity of the admins who keep it that way. Open spaces matter. They are rare—and worth protecting.

I don’t take myself or my situation too seriously. But I do take patterns seriously. Especially the ones that repeat themselves under new names.

So I wrote a song.

The Gaggle Slack Echo Chamber is a lighthearted folk satire dedicated to exclusive platforms that can’t quite tolerate disagreement. It’s not about individuals. It’s about process. About what happens when curiosity is managed instead of engaged, and when “safe space” quietly becomes agreement only.

Truth doesn’t need an echo chamber.
It needs daylight—and maybe a fiddle.

Christmas Worship 2025

Enjoy these Christmas Originals written by Emily Willis! We're loving these new songs!

Fasting: Physical and Spiritual Benefits

Fasting is a powerful practice that offers both health and spiritual blessings. Over the past month, as I’ve applied this law and principle in my life, I have felt a deep desire to fast more often. I’ve seen that fasting works as a principle—its blessings are received in proportion to my sincerity and intent—and yet it is also a law, a divine commandment that strengthens both body and spirit when honored.

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The Health Benefits of Fasting

Dr. Sten Ekberg teaches that fasting supports the body’s natural healing processes. When we stop eating for a period, insulin levels drop, allowing the body to switch from burning glucose to stored fat. This reduces insulin resistance, supports healthy weight loss, and decreases harmful visceral fat.

Fasting also activates autophagy, the body’s cellular cleanup system, which recycles damaged cells, supports mitochondrial function, and may slow aspects of aging. Many people notice steadier blood sugar, fewer cravings, and improved metabolic flexibility.

Reduced insulin and oxidative stress can decrease inflammation, resulting in clearer thinking, less joint discomfort, and improved vitality. Heart and metabolic markers, including triglycerides and HDL, may also improve.

Because fasting allows ketones to become a primary fuel source, many report sharper mental focus and better mood. Hunger and satiety hormones rebalance, helping the body recognize true hunger. Finally, fasting gives the digestive system a rest, calming the gut, improving digestion, and resetting eating patterns.

What Happens If You Don't Eat For 5 Days? Watch on YouTube.

Safety note: Fasting is not recommended for children under 18, pregnant or breastfeeding women, those with eating disorders, type 1 diabetes, or certain medical conditions.

These physical benefits naturally lead to the deeper mental, emotional, and spiritual clarity that many people experience through fasting.

Spiritual Benefits of Fasting: Receiving the Holy Ghost

While fasting has physical benefits, its spiritual blessings are even greater. The Glossary of Terms on Fasting explains:

“And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the holy ghost (3 Nephi 5:15). This scripture is not about hunger or poverty. It is about fasting and seeking after righteousness. All qualify for this blessing by ‘hungering after righteousness.’ All qualify by ‘thirsting after righteousness.’ In other words, one receives the holy ghost in proportion to the hunger and thirst he or she displays. Fasting is a promised means for increasing the holy ghost in one’s life.”

Wow! Look at this incredible blessing! Fasting is a promised means for increasing the Holy Ghost in one’s life. "The Lord speaks in simple formulas; they work. When tried in sincerity, acting no hypocrisy, with real intent, they work. Half-hearted efforts are not so effective. But when a soul, any soul, hungers and thirsts after righteousness, they are filled with the holy ghost."

Fasting and prayer open the spirit and allow individuals to know matters through the power of the Holy Ghost. As Alma testified:

“And this is not all; do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety? Behold, I say unto you, they are made known unto me by the holy spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself” (Alma 3:8).

The sons of Mosiah also illustrate this principle. After their missionary service, they returned to Alma having “given themselves to much prayer and fasting,” and as a result, “they had the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of revelation… and they taught with power and authority” (Alma 12:1).

The Glossary further explains:

“Fasting is the most effective way to slacken the grasp of this telestial world on the mind and to move toward another ambience. To fast is to do without some normal necessities; your everyday considerations must be put aside because you will be doing other things that require a totally different mind-set. To fast is to disengage from the temporal and wasteful activities of the ‘real world.’”

Fasting, when done with sincerity and real intent, promises:

• Greater companionship with the Holy Ghost
  
  

• Clarity of mind and spirit
  
  

• Increased sensitivity to revelation
  
  

• Alignment of the heart with God’s will

Hungering and thirsting after righteousness is the pathway to being filled with the Holy Ghost.

Ideas taken from Glossary of Terms on Fasting

Why Scripture in the Language of the People Matters

One of the most remarkable patterns in the history of faith is this: when the word of God becomes readable and understandable to ordinary people, spiritual awakening follows.

For centuries, the Bible in Europe was available primarily in Latin. It was read in churches, quoted by clergy, and interpreted for the people—but the vast majority of men and women could not read it for themselves. Faith depended on someone else explaining what God had said. Access to scripture was indirect, filtered, and often limited.

Everything changed when the Bible began to be translated into the languages of the common folk—German, English, French, and others. Suddenly, farmers, mothers, merchants, and students could search the scriptures on their own. They could hear and read God’s word in their own tongue. They could wrestle, question, ponder, and pray without needing a mediator. The Reformation, the spread of literacy, and entire movements of spiritual renewal emerged as people started reading God’s word for themselves.

John Wycliffe risked censure to produce the first English Bible, insisting that every believer should read God’s word personally. William Tyndale declared that even a plowboy should understand scripture, and he was executed for translating it into common English. Martin Luther’s German translation spread rapidly and allowed ordinary families—not just scholars—to study the scriptures in their own homes. Each time the word of God was placed into the language of the people, faith deepened, understanding expanded, and spiritual renewal followed.

We are witnessing something similar in our own day.

The Bible has recently been translated into modern Hebrew, making it readable and understandable to Israelis in a way it hasn’t been for centuries. Instead of encountering scripture as an archaic text that feels distant or academic, they can comprehend it in their native tongue. Joel Rosenberg interviewed Victor Kalisher, the head of the Israeli Bible Society, sharing how this new translation is helping modern Israeli readers read and understand the Bible.

As I was reading the June 20th revelation this morning, my attention was drawn to the idea that God wants His word to be understood—not obscured, not hidden behind linguistic barriers, and not dependent on gatekeepers. The pattern of history shows that when scripture becomes accessible in the common language of the people, faith deepens and spreads.

I am so grateful the Book of Mormon has been translated into modern English. Greater understanding and insight has come to our family as we have read the Covenant of Christ, the modern English version of the Book of Mormon. This revelation shows God’s consistent care in instructing His children using clear and understandable language.

“. . .In the future when translating the Book of Mormon into other languages, use this Covenant of Christ version as the source for that work. And again, let this be how you proceed with the Hebrew translation also underway. . .”
—June 20, 2024 Revelation

Scripture in the language of the people is an act of liberation. It invites personal revelation. It removes unnecessary intermediaries. It lets God speak directly to His children in words they already understand.

History testifies of what happens when this gift is given.

And we are living in a moment where it is happening again.

Nail in the Head