Mormon Bloggers

“The woman of the future, who is really being born today, will be a woman completely free of guilt for creating and for self-development. She will be a woman in harmony with her own strength, not necessarily called masculine or eccentric or something unnatural. I imagine she will be very tranquil about her strength and her serenity, a woman who will know how to talk to children and to the men who sometimes fear her… The woman of the future will never try to live vicariously through the man, and urge and push him to despair, to fulfill something that she should really be doing herself. So that is my first image — she is not aggressive, she is serene, she is sure, she is confident, she is able to develop her skills, she is able to ask for space for herself.” Anais Nin, 1976, quoted in this article. Also this: Cake – Short Skirt/Long Jacket (Official Music Video). Watch more top selected videos about: Cakes  Read More →

I came home intending to write something of substance before going to bed. Instead my head was buzzing with all the things I want to do before I leave this week. Including the brilliant idea that came to me during church today. I thought I was burned out with creation. Apparently not. Suffice it to say, today was exactly what I needed. Down to the minutia. Not just a talk or a lesson. Like  Read More →

Para me dar um pouco de esperança  Read More →

Ibiza é Ibiza né? Ainda passo um verão lá! Eles deram um ponta pé inicial no verão europeu… curta o video abaixo de umas das melhores casas europeias a HedKandi Untitled from olavo on Vimeo.  Read More →

Back in May I discovered a magical box that contained the last vestiges of my record collection. I posted a sampling of the music that I purchased during my High School years. (link here) The eldest FOMLs asked me to hurry up and write part two, with a recap of the records I bought during my college days.  These are records from 1979 to 1984, before I was able to make the switch to CDs.  So, in essence, this is my final vinyl. As I mentioned before, much of the most important music from those years is not necessarily in my vinyl collection. My friends and I were masters at taping each other’s albums, and living off of cassettes. We especially loved taping from the kids lucky enough to have CDs. (The technology was too new to even consider the morality of copying the music.) So, here is a baker’s dozen of my college albums: Led Zeppelin “In Through the Out Door” I wore this record out. My roommates were good sports about it. Rush “Permanent... Read the rest of this entry »

The Mormon Channel has a 30-minute program called “Music with a Message.” Each episode includes narration and several songs, all built around a single gospel topic. Take a look and see if there is a topic that interests you. Future topics include scriptures, patience, women of Christ. Music with a Message Episode 20 – Joseph Smith Episode 19 – Repentance Episode 18 – Sacrifice Episode 17 – Service Episode 16 – Peace Episode 15 – Prayer Supplication Episode 14 – Hope Episode 13 – Praise Episode 12 – Missionary Work Episode 11 – Love Episode 10 – Jesus Christ Episode 9 – Gratitude Episode 8 – Grace Episode 7 – Forgiveness Episode 6 – Holy Ghost Guidance Episode 5 – Family Home... Read the rest of this entry »

As a piano teacher, I am asked frequently, “At what age is a child old enough to take piano lessons?” The answer is:  It varies with each child.  Consider the following. 1.  Does your child have a good attention span?2.  Can they count to at least four?3.  Do they know the alphabet?  4.  Do they have an interest in it? 5. Are you willing to follow through, making it a priority and encouraging them to practice? As adults, we know that when we lack interest in something, we don’t tend to be successful at it. This isn’t any different with children. We all have our passions in life and I would rather a child pursue the violin if that is their passion, but I have met parents who have made it their own goal for their children to be pianists. While their motives may be good, this produces students whose hearts aren’t in it and they don’t want to practice. When I have taught children forced by their parents, they stop... Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time of year again, and I am excited! The Twist & Shout Concert is this Friday, July 1st – and it is Everything Broadway! You will love what Heather has planned for this 60 minute concert! Here’s the link to the interview Heather Hunt, my sister and director of Twist & Shout, did on Buy Back America. She is 30 minutes into the show, and I spoke to her for 30 minutes. I hope you will invite everyone you know to join us on July 1st. We are going to have so much fun! Heather Hunt on Buy Back America  This is a family friendly event lasting precisely 60 minutes. Heather is a stickler for not having a concert go longer than that. We are having many rehearsals and I have to say, the men of Twist & Shout are hysterical. The guys are singing three numbers from the musical Spamalot, one of them with us, the women. They are so funny it’s difficult to keep singing at times. They are working with the theory if they do all the funny stuff... Read the rest of this entry »

My friend Aaron is pretty much a pop star. He made this video. Aaron’s been in a band for a pretty long time (Eyes Lips Eyes, nee Elizabethan Report) but he has an album coming out soon that’s all his solo stuff. It’s all this danceable. And I wrote the liner notes. Also, he’s one of the nicest fellas you could ever ask for. Five stars. P.S. I don’t know if this is intentional, but this video was directed by a Matt Heder, and Fresh Big Mouf’s persona in this vid is very Napoleon Dynamite-esque. Coincidence? EDIT: Speaking of coincidences, TODAY is Aaron’s birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!  Read More →

~by Michelle A couple of years ago, my dad sang in the choir for an amazing musical/dramatic presentation of the story of Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the gospel, which included the story of how the Book of Mormon came to be. The performance was in the historic Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was so moved by the music, and, of course, the message that is a foundational element of our faith. Recently, Seth Adam Smith put one of my favorite songs from this program, Joseph Smith, the Prophet, to video. This video and song portray the testimony of the three men who were witnesses to the plates from which The Book of Mormon was translated. You can also see a video from a live performance of this song. (See more music from this performance here.)  Read More →

You’ve most likely heard of the Broadway musical, The Book of Mormon, which raked in 14 Tony Award nominations. We haven’t seen it, so we can’t critique, but word on the streets is that Mormon or not, you either love it or hate it. Mormons are sizzling HOT right now! (If you’re Mormon and you know it clap your hands…but be careful you might burn yourself.) Barrington Stage Company is getting ready to present Mormons, Mothers and Monsters. That’s right folks, its another musical comedy with Mormon in the title. Popularity is a short ride. Like our good friend Heidi Klum says: “One day your in, the next day your out…Auf Wiedersehen.” Who knows when Mormons will be back in style again, so we are thinking of producing a Mormon musical. Why shouldn’t Latter-day Saints get in on the Mormon Broadway action? Here are a few ideas we’ve tossed around. We’d love your thoughts on our play concepts and of course any new ideas... Read the rest of this entry »

~by Heather L. I LOVE the Women’s Conference concerts! I love the talks, and the service too, but my very favorite part is the concert! This year was no exception, except that this year it came as part of an amazing answer to prayers! You see, somehow getting kids out the door the morning of Women’s Conference is harder than almost any other day of the year. Seriously. I thought I had it all under control at my house, especially since one of my kids got up at 4:30am to do homework. Being up that early, I was sure I was ahead of the game. NOT! It seemed like everyone else got up in slow motion, or on the wrong side of the bed… or both. We were running behind, and patience was wearing thin. I took a deep breath of relief when the last one was finally off to school. Little did I know that one of my dear friends, Patti, was having a similar time getting her children off to school. She was so discouraged that she considered not even going to Women’s Conference. That was when the first... Read the rest of this entry »