Additional Resources for Members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

On our Tools page, I shared a list of my personal affirmations. I have a version of that list that includes some LDS doctrinal points. You can view it here, and if you want to save it locally, just right-click on the picture and select “Save image as.”

Just as the Bible is full of scriptures that support the science of brain rewiring… as another testament of Jesus Christ, the same is true of the Book of Mormon. (Other scriptures used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints contain additional references.) A list of some of these scriptures can be found here, or can be downloaded as a PDF.

Many years ago, an article I wrote entitled Understanding, Fulfilling Your Patriarchal Blessing was published online by Deseret News. At the time, I knew nothing of neuroplasticity. But looking back now, I can see that I was absolutely on to something with my idea of reading your patriarchal blessing out loud, first person, present tense. I still do that to this day, and bear testimony of the power of this practice.

TBA – I’m currently working on a lesson on Christ-centered neuroplasticity appropriate for church activity nights and/or family home evening. It should be available in the fall of 2024. Please check back often for updates.

Here are some additional favorite resources associated with other members of the LDS Church:

• My all-time favorite LDS writer when it comes to the Light of Christ and the quantum field (not currently addressed on this website, but it will be soon), neuroplasticity, and the phenomenal power of faith in God to transform our lives — prolific author/writer and truly inspired human being, Larry Barkdull.

  Sadly, he passed away before he could complete his writings on the afore-mentioned subjects. Thankfully, his wife gave Meridian Magazine permission to publish multiple articles of his from those writings. I have been successful in finding eleven of them, but unsuccessful in discovering the existence of any more. I have also been unable to find out if the unfinished manuscript will eventually find a state of completion sufficient to publish as a book. (I suppose this is my way of putting it out into the universe that I’d love to move that process along.)

  I’m listing the eleven articles below, in order, with titles and links. If you read or follow no other authors or links that I share here, PLEASE read these articles. Larry Barkdull’s genius at connecting the dots between quantum science, brain science, and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is unparalleled. I grieve mightily that he passed before I discovered his genius and before he could finish his book.

  1. Faith — A Power as Real and Invisible as Electricity — July 13, 2022
  2. Can we Work with More Power and Faith? – July 18, 2022
  3. How to Harness Your Mind for Greater Power and Faith — July 27, 2022
  4. The Symbiotic Relationship Between Faith, Light, Truth, Priesthood, and Power — August 4, 2022
  5. What are the Characteristics of Spirit? — August 16, 2022
  6. The Prophets’ Descriptions of Faith — August 23, 2022
  7. How Faith is Alive and Expansive — September 19, 2022
  8. The Trial of Faith Empowers Faith — November 18, 2022
  9. The Difficult Challenge of Enduring to the End — November 28, 2022
  10. Faith in God the Father — January 11, 2023
  11. The Character of God — February 7, 2023

  This final article by Larry Barkdull is not part of the series, but I stumbled across it as I prepared my list, and it relates to the matters at hand beautifully. I was quite moved by it, so it is included here…
  Miracles Reveal the Character of God – February 20, 2017

• Orson Pratt shared some remarkable insight into the what brain science is all about in these remarks delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 12, 1860 (If you’d like to listen instead of read, an audio narration of this content can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R52YIj1NDmU
• Dr. Janae Nelson is an emerging voice in connecting neuroscience with spirituality. Learn about her contributions to scientific research on this and related topics at https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FvR7tmcAAAAJ&hl=en. Here is an article about her in the Church News. I also recommend reading her article published in The Journal of Positive Psychology on the benefits of returning thanks to God and others.
• Life coach Jody Moore doesn’t attach the label of brain rewiring to what she does, but according to what I’ve seen of her coaching methods and philosophy (a great emphasis on the power of our thoughts), it feels applicable. She has some great resources for Relief Society activity nights and family home evenings. Her web site has a long list of coaches available to help support her many paying clients – I can’t help but be impressed. I admire what she is doing, how she is doing it, and especially why she is doing it. Blessings to you Jody!
• Author Karol Truman is LDS, and her very popular books have been around for a while. They are used frequently by wise therapists… leading the field before it was really a field! One of her most fascinating core tenants is that specific physical ailments are generally tied to specific trapped emotions, detailed in an alphabetized index in the first book, allowing for quick referencing. The science of brain-rewiring is central to her philosophy and her recommended scripting practices, but not necessarily identified specifically with the newly emerging terminology. The following books she authored can be found on her website and on Amazon:
  • Feelings Buried Alive Never Die (1991, 1995, 2001, Olympus Publishing)
  • Healing Feelings from the Heart (2000, Olympus Publishing)
• Tamara Laing is an LDS author and blogger whose focus is on energy medicine and natural health and wellness from a Christian/LDS perspective. If this sort of thing is new to you, please keep an open mind, while also knowing you and I don’t necessarily have to agree with every single thing shared by anyone referenced in on this website to glean something of value from them. I personally have become extremely open-minded about energy medicine over the last decade or so of my life, and really appreciate her mission and what she is trying to share. I was especially intrigued by this particular blog post of hers – More On Healing Generations — as it relates to inherited trauma and epigenetics, quoting Truman Madsen and Larry Barkdull.
• James T. Summerhays is a frequent contributor to Meridian Magazine. He wears and has worn multiple hats at BYU and with Deseret Book. On January 1, 2010, BYU Studies Quarterly published an article/review essay by him entitled Twisted Thoughts and Elastic Molecules: Recent Developments in Neuroplasticity.

  When I found the Summerhays article online, I’m certain my squeal of delight was audible for miles, as were my shouts of “AMEN!” uttered repeatedly as I read it through. (Please know that it’s not exactly light reading, though… a good foundation in the vocabulary of brain science and related subjects will definitely come in handy if you decide to plumb its depths.) I’m beyond thrilled to know that there are such scholars among us, spreading the word so beautifully about the power of our brains – made in the image of God’s, like the rest of our organs – to align us to God’s will and His loving desire for all of us to find wholeness and healing in His Son.

• Paul Baker’s article Faith to Heal the Brain (Meridian Magazine, March 4, 2015) is another exploration of the hope for healing found in the science of neuroplasticity. This compelling story of two LDS women coming together over the effective addressing of neurological/mental health challenges in the brain-injured son of one of the women is heart-warming and highly recommended. (… and largely thanks to the writings of author, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge.) An inspiring continuation of that story is found here: How One Man Overcame Severe Brain Damage to Serve a Mission, Live His Dreams
• I don’t have an article or book by this gentleman to reference specifically, but I wish to bring Shawn Gale, PhD., to your attention because of his extensive research on the effects of things like traumatic brain injuries and toxins on neurological function.
• Radiologist Dr. Jeff Anderson launched something called The Religious Brain Project in 2014 to study possible brain function differences in individuals with strong religious convictions, recruiting and studying a group of LDS returned missionaries as part of his experiments. The fascinating results are outlined here: U. study: Spiritual experiences associated with brain’s reward center
• With brain science academia so dominated by men, it was refreshing to find this 2013 interview of Sarah Street, then a molecular physiology professor at UNC Chapel Hill. Though her career path since this interview has taken a somewhat different direction, the time and effort evident here in how she makes the connections between our physical health and our emotions is worthy of our attention.
• This article from the March, 2017, Ensign is spot on. They don’t use the term “brain rewiring,” but it is exactly what they are talking about.

If you know of any other LDS authors, scientists, scholars, professors, or influencers whose work has relevance to mine, please email us the appropriate links. Thank you! We look forward to building this pool of resources and information.

Finally – this isn’t directly connected to Faith Squared Music, except that it came from the same person: me! And – it is about music. Specifically, how to lead it. Nothing to sell here, just a valuable resource for choristers and choir directors. Enjoy! Making a Joyful Noise – 101