Mormon Bloggers

Wonderful book! Neal A. Maxwell is one of my all time favorite writers. For me, he is the ultimate wordsmith. Elder Maxwell (an LDS apostle) had a gift for packing volumes of meaning in a few words. So when Missy (friend for life) gave me the “Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book” a couple of days ago, I was thrilled. Missy and I met in the mission field (Honduras) over 25 years ago. The bond from our companionship has endured mightily through all these years and the long distances. Who can explain why chemistry happens between two souls like ours? We’re nothing alike, and yet ridiculously paralleled in our life experiences. Almost like paternal twins sometimes. We’re convinced we were made to experience life together. She’ll be mortified to find her picture on my blog, and since I’m visiting in her hometown right now, I’ll have to be extra cautious. If the world does not hear from me again, check for any freshly mounded dirt in her backyard... Read the rest of this entry »

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 →

There is a hardly a topic as fraught with controversy as “money.”  Yet every day, the vast majority of God’s children (or their spouses) labor all day long for the money necessary to support themselves and their families.  In truth, most bread winners will spend more of their life at work than with family or attending to spiritual matters.  As working “by the sweat of our brow” to obtain a living is part of the common experience of man, it is one of the purposes for our life here on earth. In modern day revelation, we learn that God’s “commandments are spiritual … not natural, nor temporal” (D&C 29:35), and that “all things … are spiritual” (D&C 29:34).  Thus, while money may seem to be exclusively a “temporal” concern, issues such as money, work, spending, investing, and giving to the poor are all governed by spiritual laws. Put God First in Our Life An oft-quoted biblical verse teaches that the “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1... Read the rest of this entry »

“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.”Henry David Thoreau  Heee-Yeah! – Riiiiight!Perhaps ol’ Henry spent a little too much time at the pond?Kinda funny that Nathaniel Hawthorne said this about Thoreau: “He has repudiated all regular modes of getting a living, and seems inclined to lead a sort of Indian life among civilized men- an Indian life, I mean, as respects the absence of any systematic effort for a livelihood”.  Read More →

For the last 4 years, I have been very bitter.  Bitter that I had to go to work when The Princess was only 2 years old.  I was able to be home with all 3 of my boys, and I didn’t understand why I couldn’t be home with my girl.  But over the years, I have received several revelations.  I have talked about this several times here.   But in the last month, I have come to the biggest revelation of all, which has eased the bitterness. Heavenly Father knew I was going to have to go to back to work, and he prepared the way for me.  Back in 1998, I was prompted to go back to school.  I didn’t know why at the time.  It took me 2 years, another child, and 2 carpal tunnel surgeries, but I made it through.  I got my Bachelor’s degree.  And then I didn’t use it. But, when it was time that I had to go back to work, I had a degree to use.  I didn’t have to go and work at Wal-mart for minimum wage.  I didn’t have to work nights... Read the rest of this entry »

“I haven’t received notification of any new blog postings recently, ” a friend wrote. “I really miss reading your thoughts and insights.” He reminded me that I have an audience for my writing, which is something hard to cultivate and worth keeping. My writing continues off blog, but not out of sight. I’m publishing in [...] All Content Copyright (C) 2007-2009 TJ Hirst. No content may be reproduced without the copyright owner’s express written consent.The Writerly Life  Read More →

~by Heather L. Some of you may be wondering what the Book of Mormon is all about. Besides being the ancient historical record of multiple families who were led by God out of Jerusalem, for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Book of Mormon is considered the word of God along with the Bible. It was preserved for our day to teach us the things we need to do to return home to God’s presence with our families. It is filled with experiences, counsel, warnings, promises all meant to help us here and now. Here is an experience I had recently where the Book of Mormon’s teachings blessed my life and my family: “All hands on deck!” my husband called. “6:38am? Really?” I lay in my bed angry, frustrated, fuming over my husband’s “way too early on a Saturday morning” call to paint the deck. Yes, I murmured against my husband. Big time. “6:38 AM!” My daughter came to the bedroom door, and I knew I had to get up. I knew I needed to get on board with... Read the rest of this entry »

Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography is a delightful read. I especially enjoy his observations of human nature and behavior. When trying to get a militia together for local colonial protection, he met opposition in the form of political correctness by those who felt violence and being armed was wrong (sound familiar?) Later he marched past a town who had been heavily attacked and those same protesters armed to the hilt, including the pastor. They were successfully protecting themselves. When he asked the pastor why they had arms, after they fought so hard to be politically exempt from forming or contributing to the militia, the pastor informed him that very few felt that way anymore. Mr. Franklin commented “but common sense, aided by present danger, will sometimes be too strong for whimsical opinions.” After marching his militia further north, they came to the place where they were to build a fort. Because of the extensive rain, they were only able to work about every... Read the rest of this entry »

Those of you who know me know that I hate – HATE self promotion. I have the hardest time in the world telling people, “come buy my stuff!” Just the thought makes me want to gag. Which brings up the question, why did I go into music and writing? Well, the $4 answer is that I love to do it. I love writing, I love composing, and I’m happy to share it with those who come asking for it. Anyway, so my publisher – remember, I’m brand new at this stuff, is asking me to be proactive and find ways to advertise my book (once it’s ready) in as many ways as possible, multiple times a day. Some of the suggestions they have include blogging, twittering, having a regularly updated website – stuff like that. I follow a lot of other authors, so I see how most of them are doing it, with tweets, giveaways, review invitations, and contests. They’re doing great at it. I’m amazed at how well they are able to promote their stuff without sounding too advertisy.... Read the rest of this entry »

In case you were curious, another round of 30 for 30 is going on at Kendi’s Korner and across the Internets, but I am not participating. Why not? Democracy is why not. You see, the people have spoken, and they have said they don’t want to see me blog about clothes for a month, because when I have a daily blogging goal like unto such, I generally don’t blog about other things (at least, that’s was Vilja‘s line of reasoning). But then, hahaha suckers! I haven’t really been blogging much anyway. I’ve been super busy with work and getting my ducks in a row before school starts. I can’t promise I will be blogging as much as I was when I was an unemployed stay-at-home attic-cleaner, but I do promise that I have some good stuff in the works (including some 2011 book reviews, and a REALLY INTENSE post about dating … eh? Anybody perking up?). So please don’t give up on me yet. Also, if you totally super hearted my last 30 for 30 and... Read the rest of this entry »

Temple Square at General Conference Last month from January 17-23, Philadelphia became the first city in nearly 50 years to reestablish National Thrift Week. National Thrift Week was an American social movement that was begun in 1916 and continued until 1966, when it was abandoned. Apparently for many, thrift has been a forgotten virtue for the last few decades but it is now making a comeback. Let’s look at what the original National Thrift Week was trying to accomplish and then follow up with quotes from Mormon Church presidents because for Mormons at least, thrift never went out of style. National Thrift Week In 1922, according to the New York Times, the committee in charge of National Thrift Week emphasized: Enrolling 500,000 individuals to operate their finances on the budget plan. State Thrift Week committees had quotas. Observance of Benjamin Franklin’s birthday in cooperation with schools, patriotic societies and businesses. Franklin was a keen practitioner of... Read the rest of this entry »

Yay!  It’s February!  January is over!  For those of us who do payroll, January is the crazy month.  We have quarterly taxes to do, sales tax to report, and W-2’s to get out.  It’s insane, and my boss is not that fun to talk to.  I ended up working on a Saturday morning to get a report out for her.  And it doesn’t help that stupid clients wait until the 25th to give us their paperwork. As in their entire year’s worth of bank statements that have to be data entered and reconciled before we can do their sales tax.  Grrrr.  But, it’s over!  And now we can breathe! Now I can think about doing my own taxes.  I love doing my own taxes!  Read More →