Mormon Bloggers

I taught my son’s Sunday School class this week. It was The Dreaded Fourteen And Fifteen Year-Old Class. And I survived. In fact, it was pretty cool. I was bishop to many of these kids when they were baptized; maybe that’s why they went easy on me. Of course we use the same manual and same scripture blocks in the youth classes as in Gospel Doctrine. I prepared but didn’t quite know what to expect. I probably over-prepared. (Ok, I certainly over prepared, but I was glad I did.) When I teach a youth class, I like to have lots of arrows in the quiver just in case I need them. The lesson this week was on Paul’s second missionary journey. We looked at the maps of his journeys, and we had the kids draw a world map on the board so we could talk about to what “world” the apostles were carrying the gospel. We reminded them of the story of Saul / Paul (and they loved playing dumb about it…). We then talked specifically about how Paul had to listen to the spirit to know... Read the rest of this entry »

My nephew is serving his mission in Arizona where several of my wife’s siblings (and therefore his aunts and uncles) live. He is presenting living and working close to all of them, and they see him on the street pretty often. He is, by all accounts, an outstanding missionary, and there’s no evidence that his occasional brushes with his extended family are distracting in any way. Reading recently of their sightings of said missionary made me think of the very few times I bumped into people I knew from home while I was on my mission. I served in Germany over three decades ago. When I went, I assumed I would be in a completely different world from friends and family I left behind. (My brother had served in Kentucky, and was never more than a day’s drive from our home his whole mission.) To my surprise I did see people I knew from before my mission a few times. The first was most startling. My companion and I were changing trains in Mainz, trying to make a quick connection to get... Read the rest of this entry »

It is harder to find free music online in non-English languages, but there are some good sources. Here’s what I’ve found so far: LDS.org has selected music in Spanish, Portuguese, and French. I’m sure these pages will be more complete eventually. Youth.lds.org has the song Strong and Courageous by Jenny Phillips in Spanish and Portuguese. Sally DeFord Music links to recordings of her songs in Spanish by Allison L. Weiss (see below) and Arnaldo Heresman. Allison L. Weiss has recorded music in Spanish. Jenny Phillips has music in a lot of other languages, including Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, Swedish, and Tagalog! Liahona.net has a great collection in Portuguese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian, and Tagalog. You can also find at least two songs in Latin and one in Hebrew, in the English section. Janice Kapp Perry and Joy Saunders Lundberg wrote a song called Save the Family,... Read the rest of this entry »

I was looking at some of the web sites that I had gotten music from before my mission (a little over 2 years ago) and found some updates! This may or may not be new to you, but here’s what I found: LDS.org Music from General Conference: I downloaded the music from October 2009, April 2010, October 2010, and April 2011 (click on “Show Music”). Youth.lds.org: This web site didn’t even exist before my mission, and some of the music is new (there is some overlap with other LDS.org music pages*). Jenny Phillips Jenny Phillips has written a lot of music and gives a lot away for free. Of great significance is her Languages page, which has translated versions of many of her songs. Signing up for her newsletter allows you access to more Free Downloads. MormonMusic.org There are 10 songs I haven’t seen before under Free Music, on the first page of the list. Note that a lot of the music at this site (though not all) is from Liahona.net, another great resource. * These are the pages... Read the rest of this entry »

Positive Music and Downloads: Free Song, 8/19/11: Each Friday, Positive Music and Downloads offers a new free song download. This week they are offering “Lead, Kindly Light,” sung by Daniel Beck, for free to the first 100 downloaders. “Lead, Kindly Light”Artist: Beck, DanielAlbum Artist: Beck, DanielAlbum: Abide with Me (2011)Track: 8 of 10, Disc: 1 of 1Composer: Newman, John Henry (words); Dykes, John B. (music) The album artwork (CD Cover) can be found here.Lyrics can be found here. You can subscribe to the Positive Music and Downloads newsletter from this page.  Read More →

Man … life is a whirlwind around here. For most moms (those that don’t homeschool) Summer break is a busy time. They look forward to school starting so that life can slow down for them. For me, typically it’s the opposite. Summer is a breeze and it’s when the kids go back to school that my life gets busy, because … well … after all I am the teacher also. This coming year, our 10th year of homeschooling, I will be homeschooling only one child. It’s bittersweet. It’s hard to explain. This past summer has been insane busy though for us. Our oldest (14 yrs) went away three times this summer making for much preparing for those adventures. The older he gets the more he has to do. It’s all good, I’m glad he’s enjoying life. It just makes for a busy Me. Then of course we have been getting ready for his new adventure of attending the local high school. Yesterday was his Freshman orientation. I resisted the urge to bring... Read the rest of this entry »

For your own good, please go read Margaret Blair Young’s wonderful series on Mormon missionaries in Africa at Meridian Magazine. The fourth article in the four-part series is here. You can link the other tree from the fourth, and it’s well worth the trip.  Read More →

The Eagle project looms over a boy scout as one of those walls to be climbed before he reaches his goal to become an Eagle Scout. Sometimes just finding the right project is a barrier to even beginning. But then a project comes. It’s approved and the planning begins—planning which cannot possibly identify all the [...] All Content Copyright (C) 2007-2009 TJ Hirst. No content may be reproduced without the copyright owner’s express written consent.How A Boy Becomes A Man  Read More →

LDSMusicNow: Free Song, 8/16/11: Each Tuesday, LDSMusicNow offers a free song download. This week they are offering “All That I Can Be,” performed by April Meservy. “All That I Can Be”Artist: Meservy, AprilAlbum Artist: Meservy, AprilAlbum: Somewhere Between Sunsets (2010)Track: 10 of 12, Disc: 1 of 1Composer: Meservy, April; Harris, Eric J. The album artwork (CD Cover) can be found here.(lyrics not found)  Read More →

As you and I dig into our pockets to help people in disasters and crises, please keep these facts in mind: The American Red Cross President and CEO – Marsha J. Evans received a salary for the year 2010 of $651,957, plus all personal, medical and pension expenses. Less than 10 cents of your donated dollar actually goes to the cause. The United Way President Brian Gallagher receives a $375,000 base salary, along with numerous personal and family expense benefits. Less than 12 cents of your donated dollar actually goes to the cause. UNICEF CEO Caryl M. Stern receives $1.2 Million per year (100k per month) plus all living and housing expenses, including a ROLLS ROYCE. Less than 15 cents of your donated dollar actually goes to the cause. The Salvation Army Commissioner Todd Bassett receives a salary of only $13,000 per year (plus housing) for managing this $2 billion dollar organization. 96 cents of all donated dollars go to the cause. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day... Read the rest of this entry »

I took the day off work today because it’s my son’s birthday and some of our adult children are in town to help celebrate. So this morning my wife and I had the opportunity to make our bed together. (Usually we follow the “last one out” rule — the last one out of the bed makes it. On my work days, my wife is usually last one out, unless she can’t sleep. On sleep-in days, I am usually the last one out.) As we tugged at the sheet and bedspread to get them even, we laughed as we pulled them out of one another’s hands until they were finally aligned. It would have been just as easy to be annoyed at the other’s tugging, but we had a common goal, and we were well rested enough to laugh rather than scowl. A valuable lesson in marriage: common goals and a propensity to laugh rather than scowl can make all the difference.  Read More →

Positive Music and Downloads: Free Song, 8/12/11: Each Friday, Positive Music and Downloads offers a new free song download. This week they are offering “We Believe,” sung by Sam Riddle, for free to the first 100 downloaders. “We Believe”Artist: Riddle, SamAlbum Artist: CompilationAlbum: EFY 2011: Believe, Hope, Endure (2011)Track: 1 of 13, Disc: 1 of 1Composer: Unknown The album artwork (CD Cover) can be found here. You can subscribe to the Positive Music and Downloads newsletter from this page.  Read More →