Mormon Bloggers

Last month, violent extremism struck Norway in the form of one Anders Behring Breivik.  A self-described “Cultural Christian” seeking the liberation of Europe from the supposed threats of Marxism, Islam and Feminism, Mr. Breivik unleashed the most destructive rampage that Norwegians had seen since the invasion and occupation of their nation by the Wehrmacht during the Second World War.  In a few short hours, Breivik detonated a car bomb in the capital city of Oslo, killing eight people, after which he traveled to youth camp on nearby Utøya island, where he shot some sixty-nine other young people to death.  His justification for this massacre was that in killing these young leftists, he hoped to spur Europeans to see the threats that left-wing governance and Islamic immigration posed toward the traditional homelands of Christendom.  Essentially he saw himself as a modern-day Crusader striking a blow for the preservation of the West. I will not dignify the ravings of Mr.... Read the rest of this entry »

~by Janelle For 12 months or more I have been a distracted disciple. A year ago we sold our home in hopes of finding the “perfect” place (within budget constraints) to raise our family in California. I now know that this search for perfection has distracted my mind and heart away from God. Since moving three times in one year, we found three things out about ourselves: 1. A bigger house didn’t make us any happier. 2. A spiffy neighborhood didn’t make us happier. 3. Our children attending a higher rated school didn’t make us any happier. What previously made us happy was the people we served, the interconnectedness and interdependence of our previous neighborhood and lives. We have met and loved new people while living in our rental homes, but because we saw ourselves as transient, we didn’t throw ourselves into serving our neighbors and ward members. What a mistake! We sought to find ourselves a new life, but our self interest left us spiritually adrift. About... Read the rest of this entry »

By: Stephanie I love restaurants. Really love them. In fact, I love pretty much any kind of food I don’t have to make myself. I’ve been known to fantasize about being given a job where I’m an undercover restaurant critic who writes articles for the newspaper about local restaurants. They pay my bill, and I spout off brilliant analytics of menu, food, service and ambiance. That would be SO cool. I’ve never been a huge fan of buffets, but once children came along, buffets became the compromise. I still didn’t have to cook, the kids could eat quickly and pick what they want, and it was one step above the drive-thru window on the food chain. (For the record, we don’t eat out nearly as much as I’d like to.) Unfortunately, it’s very easy and very common to carry this buffet attitude into other aspects of our life. We are our own boss– we have freedom of choice– and all too often, our choices are based solely upon what we want and what we don’t want. My... Read the rest of this entry »