Mormon Bloggers

For many months, I have wanted to briefly cite my love and admiration for George Washington.  I have written about John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and other luminaries in our struggle to be free, but last night I was prompted again to say something here about Washington. We were sitting around a bonfire, as is our custom here at the Ranch during the summer evenings, eating homemade grape ice cream (I’ve given you the recipe in a comment below, you won’t be disappointed) and sampling Grandma’s desserts (many varieties of cookies, brownies and other delectables).  One of my precocious granddaughters after listening to me talk about the founders in glowing terms, asked, “Grandpa, did you know George Washington?”  I told you I was growing older. . . I replied, trying to repress my laughter, “No, I didn’t really KNOW him personally, but I’ve read a lot about him and the other founders.”  Some things have to... Read the rest of this entry »

. . . a time to every purpose under the heaven . . . A time to be home, and a time to be in the workforce After 16 years as a stay-at-home or a write-at-home mom, I took a full-time job in the circulation department of our local newspaper. The night before my first [...] All Content Copyright (C) 2007-2009 TJ Hirst. No content may be reproduced without the copyright owner’s express written consent.To Every Thing There Is A Season  Read More →

I served in a position in the church where I was under the direct supervision of our stake president. I had for years admired our stake president, even long before he had that calling. He was humble and kind. He knew adversity in his life and he also knew the joy of doing things the Lord’s way. When he was my “file” leader, from time to time he had to correct me. That was part of what I expected as he trained and led me, and I’m fortunate that he saw it as his responsibility, as well. I remember on one occasion in particular, he asked to speak with me after a meeting I’d conducted. He thanked me for what I had said in that meeting, and then very clearly pointed out where I’d gone afoul of specific instructions he’d given in a recent training meeting. And yet, he did it with such love that I was happy to hear his feedback, even though I was embarrassed that he had to give it to me. But, sensing that reaction in me, he also put me at ease... Read the rest of this entry »

~by Jenny Pocock Something unique about the Mormon faith that has greatly enriched my life is the multitude of opportunities for service. Many churches do massive amounts of service, but in the LDS church we also serve each other in set responsibilities referred to as “callings.” This results in blessings all around. In the LDS church there is no paid clergy. Each local congregation has a pastor, what we call a bishop or branch president, who volunteers his time and abilities. Actually, the entire congregation is asked to serve in varied positions of responsibility. We call these jobs or positions “callings.” We believe that these calls to serve are made with inspiration from God, for the benefit of the congregation, community, and the person performing the service. The time a person serves in a specific calling is varied. Members serve until they are formally relieved of duty – what we call “being released.” The attitude we are encouraged to take in performing our duties... Read the rest of this entry »

In bishopric meeting this morning, our new bishop shared the spiritual thought.  He chose the subject of goals and quoted from page 146 of Preach My Gospel on how to set them.  Here are some excerpts of the goal setting advice offered on that page: “Goals reflect the desires of our hearts and our vision of what we can accomplish.  Through goals and plans, our hopes are transformed into action.”  What we reach for in goals reflects what we desire in our hearts.  Our goals reveal our true selves. Goals, faith and agency “Goal setting and planning are acts of faith.  Do everything in your power to achieve your goals while respecting the agency of others.”  I believe the best goals are the ones that we can control.  It does little good to set goals dependant on the actions of others. Think about it.  You can set a goal to have another person do some specific thing that is desirable, but you have no control over what they actually do.  You can ask, invite, persuade and demonstrate... Read the rest of this entry »