Mormon Bloggers

“Not My Will be Done, But Thine, be Done”         New Testament Lesson #25 Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46   … Continue reading »  Read More →

It’s interesting to notice how easy it is to misunderstand/misinterpret history. Historical “facts” arise from different sources, and it is the historian’s job to sift the documentary evidence and see what kind of balance comes out in the end. And the balance doesn’t necessarily come from the volume of the documentation. Popular lies get reported [...]  Read More →

LDS Church Examiner and founder of Society for the Prevention of Anti-Mormonism Gregory West posted a discussion at S.P.A.M about a recent event. This event happened at Pastor John Hagee’s Church – Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. Pastor Hagee … Continue reading →  Read More →

It isn’t really news until the editorial cartoonists get their hands on it.  Here are some of the best: While I am not usually a fan of Michael Ramirez’ work, I found this one to be particularly good: This one is titled “an eye for an eye”  It’s also rather well done. As noted, this one was originally printed on Sept. 16, 2001. And yet… And you knew it was bound to happen…. Filed under: Current Events, Editorial Cartoons, History, Politics Tagged: Current Events, Death of Osama bin Laden, Editorial Cartoons, History, Politics  Read More →

Osama bin Laden is dead.  I cannot tell you how long I have waited to hear those words.  In the early months of the now decade-long war in Afghanistan I listened constantly for the news of his capture or death, the capture or death of the man who had declared war on my homeland, murdered its people and left a section of one of our great cities in ruins.  I waited, we waited collectively as a nation, and we waited in vain.  For nearly ten long years we waited for news of the destruction of our most prominent avowed enemy.  And yet, despite our matchless military power and extensive intelligence capabilities, he evaded our grasp.  Like the “bogey man” of old, he taunted us from the darkness and left us no traces of his existence but shattered lives and cryptic taunts. Until yesterday, that is.  After a decade of waiting, after long having given up hope of the dead being avenged or justice being done, I sat dumbfounded, along with millions of my fellow countrymen as we heard President... Read the rest of this entry »

This piece of history is from a Primary Lesson: Soon after the Church was organized, some of the members began to apostatize, or leave the Church. They quit attending Church meetings, opposed the Prophet, and persecuted the Saints. People apostatized for various reasons. For example, one man left the Church because his horse died while he was traveling to join the Saints in Missouri. Another man apostatized after he saw Joseph Smith playing with children. He thought a prophet should be too serious to play with children. One man saw that his name was misspelled on a Church document and thought that meant Joseph Smith was not inspired by God. Other people left the Church because they did not receive the help they expected with their financial problems. Some members left the Church because they could not forgive other members for actions that had offended them. After leaving the Church, these offended people often became the Church’s worst enemies. Ezra Booth joined the Church in 1831 after... Read the rest of this entry »

I love food, which may explain my fascination for one of my favorite research books–”Plantation Life at Rose Hill: The Diaries of Martha Ogle Foreman, 1814-1845.” Catchy, eh? But really, it is a great book in that Martha Foreman wrote an entry almost every day of her married life giving us a fascinating glimpse into what she and her contemporaries ate, how they prepared it, how they preserved it, and the quantities of food they put up each year. Amazing! Eating required hard work, and lots of it. Really stop and think about the effort required to have a jar of jam on hand, or the bread to slather it upon. Think about a nice breakfast and imagine the time and prep involved in preparing such favorite menu items as sausage, bacon, biscuits, ham, pastries. No wonder eggs, bread and oatmeal often topped the list. I was really fascinated by the quantities of food a plantation had to produce to feed everyone. Rose Hill was run using slave labor, albeit well-treated slave-labor,... Read the rest of this entry »

While conducting research for my books I come across some really wonderful finds. The best are almost always the actual accounts people have left behind–their journal entries, or snippets from personal correspondence–underscoring the critical nature of keeping paper records, which is fast becoming a lost art in our electronic world. There is a wonderful site called “Eyewitness to History” that is a priceless collection of true accounts of great historical moments and events. Every adult will enjoy these true-life glimpses and every student will need at least a few of these as they prepare papers on ancient kingdoms or US history. The site and it’s accounts will enlighten us on some topics, showing the incredible elegance and ingenuity of people who managed great feats without all our modern technology. It also blasts holes in romantic myths of courtly behavior during Medieval times, displaying the atrocities that occurred in those stunning castles, illustrating... Read the rest of this entry »

One of the projects I’m working on is compiling the autobiography of my grandma, Leola Jex Freshwater Curtis, who died when I was 13. She’s a hero of mine, and I’m touched by her writings. She wrote enough stories and letters about her life to fill a book, but never compiled it into one work. I’ve already hit 50,000 words, and there’s a lot more to compile. Anyhow, here’s a sample she shares about the night Charles Lindbergh made his historic flight in a one-man plane. She was a young girl at the time, and was staying with her Grandma, Louisa Watling Jex.   I was at Grandma’s house the night Lindbergh flew across the ocean. I still remember her prayer that night. As she asked a blessing on the food, she also talked to the Lord about watching over this brave boy, alone over the great ocean. “Please help the young flier Lindbergh to get across the ocean in his plane,” she said, “and help him to return safely.” I can still see the tears... Read the rest of this entry »

The Last American Doughboy has died.  Frank Buckles, who lied about his age in order to join the American Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in 1918 died February 27, 2011 at the ripe old age of 110. Mr. Buckles first attempted to enlist in the Marines, but was rejected as flat-footed.  The Army accepted him, despite his lying about his age.  He served on the Western front as an ambulance driver until the Armistice on November 11th.  After the war, Mr. Buckles became involved in overseas business, particularly in the Philippines.  It was there in 1942 that he was captured by the Japanese and imprisoned in the Los Banos prison camp.  He suffered from malnourishment and beriberi, yet still managed to lead his fellow prisoners in calisthenics.  Following his liberation, Mr. Buckles settled in Charlestown West Virginia, where he spent the rest of his life. As the last living American Veteran of the First World War, Mr. Buckles campaigned heavily at the end of his life for a national... Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a spur-of-the-moment kind of girl.  Not necessarily the drop everything and go kind of girl that I used to be, but an instant planner.  My husband can mention a random event in passing and 15 minutes later I’m bombarding him with the best dates to do it and how to get there and where we should stay and how much the whole thing is going to cost.  At that moment I am 100% ready to go….15 minutes (or less)…and my husband is left trying to remember if he was the one who’d set the whole trip in motion. So, what motivates me?  Let me walk you through the three adventures I’ve wanted to embark on just this week. To witness, or be a part of, history. My sister called this week to ask what channel would be broadcasting the launch of space shuttle Discovery.  Three minutes before blast off we found it on CNN and then the NASA channel.  I recorded it and watched later with my family.  Watching instantly took me back to 3rd... Read the rest of this entry »

I spent much of Presidents’ Day at the ER with my husband. Gratefully, he’s fine, but I missed the chance for my annual rant about the dissing of poor George Washington. Again I say. the more you know, the more you understand, but Americans have short memories, or maybe I should say that Americans in many cases have little knowledge, and that is both disheartening and worrisome. The old saying about those who forget the past are destined to repeat it? Apply that logic to the people we place on pedestals and then set in the White House. On February 18, Gallup released the latest presidential poll. President Reagan was the winner, in fact, this question has been asked eight times in the last twelve years and the winner has consistently been Lincoln, Clinton or Reagan. George Washington, the father of our country, the leader of the Continental Army, victor of the Revolutionary War, the glue that held the Constitutional Convention together, beloved first President of the nation,... Read the rest of this entry »