Mormon Bloggers

Jesus Christ: Be Still My Soul I hung up the phone after speaking with an acquaintance. His emotional and spiritual temperature seemed to change with every set of daily circumstances.  When something lent him favor, he was up and kind. He was humble when he positioned himself to see his blessings; when he forgot them, he was a different person. He dove off emotional cliffs that weren’t there. He acknowledged a miracle when he saw it and in the next breath, when an outcome wasn’t just what he expected, he was kicking and screaming. What I saw in my mind’s eye was, of all things, a fly.  I saw it buzzing all over the place, never with a secure or lasting landing place, not being anchored to something that would allow it to be still, quiet. I thought again of [Clay]: He was like that fly. I thought to myself, “He has no anchor in Christ, and is just like that fly, buzzing through life and changing colors with every event and happenstance.” I prayed for him. Peace... Read the rest of this entry »

There’s plenty to worry about in the world. Macro events, micro events. Global warming, unusual weather patterns, natural disasters, war. Family concerns. What the kids are up to. Will one’s job last? Will one finish school? Will one get accepted into school? And on and on. All of these things (and more!) can disturb our peace of mind. The question is, does worrying do any good? Not for me. Part of the point of the gospel is to bring us peace. Consider the Savior’s words to Peter and the apostles prior to the Lord’s atoning sacrifice. Just after he prophecies that Peter will deny him three times, the Savior says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1). Later in the same chapter he says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (verse 27). Don’t worry. (Resist the urge to hum like Bobby McFerrin.) Telling... Read the rest of this entry »

Our cat Izzy taking over the bread basket. Happiness and contentment are not determined by our circumstances. Instead, peace & well-being come from within. Sending love your way!  Read More →

I know it has been ages since you have heard from me, and you probably think that I might have died but I am still here!  And I hope that this blog post will make up for the lack of my writing the past few weeks.  So I am now serving with an incredible missionary Elder Zayne Callahan as my companion, and we have been working hard the last five weeks and have been busy with teaching, which is one reason I haven’t written anything here.  Anyway, his birthday is coming up soon, so just a few days ago, his older sister sent him an Easter/early birthday present.  In that present, he received a few little toys and trinkets to play with as well as some rattlesnake eggs.  You might be wondering why on earth a missionary’s sister would give him something like rattlesnake eggs, but they are quite cool!  We showed them to all of the other missionaries here in the Referral Center (RC), and they were quite surprised at the contents of this package. At this point,... Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes trusting that the Lord is in charge, that He is aware, and that afflictions are for our eventual gain can be difficult. Especially when we are right in the middle of our sorest trials. Neal A Maxwell said that one of the greatest objectives in life is to learn patience in the face of irony, injustice and persecution. Consider what Christ says in the Doctrine & Covenants 101: 11 Mine indignation is soon to be poured out without measure upon all nations; and this will I do when the cup of their iniquity is full. 12 And in that day all who are found upon the watch-tower, or in other words, all mine Israel, shall be saved. 13 And they that have been scattered shall be gathered. 14 And all they who have mourned shall be comforted. 15 And all they who have given their lives for my name shall be crowned. 16 Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God. Bringing the Spirit into our lives through scriptures,... Read the rest of this entry »

The following was adapted from the Improvement Era magazine of February 1911. No More War? For the abolition of international war, Mr. Andrew Carnegie has transferred to a board of trustees, twenty-seven in number, Senator Root of New York as president, ten million dollars, in five per cent first mortgage bonds. Andrew Carnegie in 1913 The proceeds, five hundred thousand dollars annually, is to be freely used by the board to establish a lasting, world-wide peace. When war is abolished, the fund is still to be used for the banishment of the next most degrading evil. [100 years later, we have wars or conflicts in Afghanistan, Balochistan, Cambodia, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Ingushetia, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, North Caucasus, North West Pakistan, Sahara, Somalia, South Thailand, South Yemen, Sudan, and Yemeni. Founded in 1910, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is still in operation.] Falling Mule Death Elder John Edward Kirkman, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Kirkman, of Salt Lake City, and... Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, I visited a good friend in the hospital.  She is elderly and having numerous health problems.  As my companion and I came into the room, she was awake and sitting up and we began to talk.  She is the type of person who, in her earlier life, was outspoken and powerful, but at the same time has very tender feelings and has suffered much.  She is kind-hearted and thoughtful and she trusts God.  While laying on her hospital bed, she was connected to a miriad of wires and tubes and the like–electronic pads and interveinous whatnot.  A screen above her and to her right showed her blood pressure, temperature, heart-rate, and a number of other things that I don’t understand.  All I know is that when graph shows a consistent pattern of troughs and peaks, things are good.  I also know that a good resting heart-rate is somewhere around 70 beats per minute.  Hers read in the mid 90′s.  We took two seats a few feet from... Read the rest of this entry »

Now that General Conference has come and is almost two weeks gone, I want to take a blog post or two to talk about some of the talks and wonderful messages they contain for us.  When I listen to Conference, I always think of things I can do to improve myself and be better.  However, as is human nature, I tend to put this improvement off until I forget completely about it.  Thus if I take some time to go back and study the things that prompted me to want to be better, I will be more likely to actually do some improving.  So this blog post is more for me than anyone else, but I wanted to share it because it might be useful to you as well. The talk I wanted to take a look at today is from the first Saturday morning session of the Conference.  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave the last talk of this session, and he talked about something that I should have used several years ago but I can always use it in my future as I’m sure we all can.  President Uchtdorf’s... Read the rest of this entry »

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“How’s work?” This question started nearly every conversation with my family or friends in the past three weeks. Those who ask already know the answer because they know me.  They know my need for order and balance.  They know that I make family time and personal time a priority. They know I value quiet. “An [...] All Content Copyright (C) 2007-2009 TJ Hirst. No content may be reproduced without the copyright owner’s express written consent.Labor Day Blessings  Read More →

My calling at church is to help teach the Stake’s 12-week Book of Mormon class.  We have three 12-week class sessions a year (sometimes four).  This class is meant for anyone who would like to get closer to Christ, in other words for anyone who wants to feel more peace, confidence and brightness of hope.  Basically everyone.  After doing this for almost three years straight, there are some obvious, repeating patterns among the members in general.  One of them are the secrets about family life we keep to ourselves. Our Stake President alluded to that when he got up in our Sacrament Meeting and announced the class was starting again in September.  He gave it a rousing endorsement and described who would be interested in the class.  He included in his list of would-be attendees “for anyone whose spouse is driving them crazy”.  Of course, that was worth a chuckle.  Afterwards I told him, “now 90% of the ward will be in... Read the rest of this entry »

I should not be Mormon. I was raised in a very troubled home where religion was as twisted and distorted as the family dynamics. By all means, my early experiences should have sent me running away from the LDS church, as fast as possible! Everything from my young life pointed me towards being non-religious. What happened? I came across a paperback Book of Mormon left on a coffee table, by some LDS missionaries. It was bright blue with a gold angel on the cover, you remember those?  The book spoke directly to my heart and soul, like no other book could. And I have read many wonderful, poignant books to compare it to. And even now, decades later, I cannot outgrow that book. It always stays a few paces ahead of me, opening my eyes, filling my heart with new concepts and light. Through the years, the Book of Mormon has taught me that Jesus is the Christ, He is a personal Savior, who in every sense of the phrase, is the “true and living” God. “True ” because... Read the rest of this entry »