Mormon Bloggers

I’m grateful for a wonderful wife, Jean, who is an awesome mother to our three year old son, Seth. She makes me a better person – always has, always will. I appreciate her companionship, her friendship, her love and support. I am thankful that she respects me, trust me, believes in me, and stands by my side. I love her straightforward nature, her kindness, her great example of charity, and

In my last post, I discussed the baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost as a core component of the gospel of Jesus Christ. According to the scriptures, this second baptism is the GATE to the strait and narrow way to eternal life (2 Nephi 31:18). It is also the sanctifying power that is a [...]

So last night I was at the Stake Center ostensibly to see and hear Elder Scott. What I didn’t realize was how each and every one of the speakers would touch me.

My Stake President is a really fine man. I have only heard him speak twice now, but I have really enjoyed both times. He clearly speaks from the heart, he truly cares about the membership of his Stake, and he loves his Church a great deal. He spoke on many subjects, but one thing that really amazed me is that as he spoke of Missionary work it was as though he already knew what I was going to say. Without our having talked about it at all, he really put down the foundation upon which my talk could rest. I was touched by what he said and I am quite thankful to have him as my Stake President.

Then I gave my talk as I showed in my previous post.

Next up was one of my Stake Presidents’ counselors. This was the same gentleman that conducted my interview for the Melchizedek Priesthood. He spoke of the people that had been brought there that were not members. It was an easy thing to put myself in their shoes because that is where I was not very long ago. His message was a good one and I think it was well received by anyone with an open heart.

Then, someone I had not expected (or known about) at all – a member of the Quorum of the Seventy spoke. He opened his talk in a language I actually did not recognize at all. I was quite impressed as he stated that he was obedient to his wife, that his wife had asked that he deliver a message, that the people that needed to receive the message had received it. Then he proceeded to talk about a great many things. His sincerity was obvious as he shared many stories with us all. One story that really affected me was his transition from asking Missionaries what they had learned each morning in studying the scripture to sharing with them what HE had learned each morning. We can teach so much by example that sometimes I think we forget and end up taking steps to try to force (or coerce) people into doing what we desire of them. The old saying about flies and honey springs to mind. His discussion of the Missionaries reaction to his teaching was good to hear. Another story he told that touched me personally was when he talked about his son speaking. His son reflected to the assembled people that one of the most powerful things that had affected him in his youth was when he would go upstairs and find his Father studying scripture.

Next up was Elder Scott. It was amazing in many many ways to see and hear him. His sense of humor, even in the face of adversity was striking! He had some difficulty with his computer for a while, and he made three or four comments during that time that really surprised me. One was something along the lines of “Switching computers is like meeting a new friend – you need to find common ground”. Another was something like “I wish this computer wasn’t from Argentina – their computers are masculine. If this computer was feminine, it would be a little more friendly to me.” The actual words of his remarks were not as important to me as the very casual way he shared a positive minded thought while he truly struggled with the computer. From where I sat, I could see his actions – somehow the computer was trying to connect to the internet, and also he was in Photoshop. He kept trying to open the document he wanted and it wasn’t there. I know Photoshop extremely well, and was just five feet from him. Being a computer person, on the one hand I was extremely tempted to try to help him, but something told me that there was a problem going on that I wouldn’t be able to solve. On the one hand, I was thinking that I could look in his recent documents or even do a search of all photoshop files on his computer in an attempt to find what he was looking for. I even thought of searching for image files (like jpeg, tif or gif) in case that was what format his content was in. But again I received a prompting that I didn’t know what he needed and I would only further delay his getting to the information he desired. This confused me because I really thought I should be able to help him.

Then, a little later, amid his continuing dialog, and after a computer reboot, he left Photoshop entirely, launched Wordperfect, and found his presentation there. It wasn’t IN Photoshop at all. So no matter how many perfect searches I looked up on his computer, no matter how many file types I knew of, no matter HOW WELL I knew Photoshop, I wouldn’t have been able to help him one bit.

Then he shared a new way to learn from the scripture. You begin with an establishing statement – something like “I can prepare myself to be closer to the Holy Ghost by”. Then, as you read passages of scripture, you find evidence of things people have done or had evidenced to them to accomplish the establishing statement. One example he gave was Enos 1:10: “And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying: I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments.” (Note that while there is more in that verse, what I have written here is all that he showed us on the projector). The moment he asked the question “What do we see here that addresses our foundational statement?” I saw it – the section stating “I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments.” I raised my hand, but being behind him, he didn’t see me. It was great to see an Apostle teach in such an open way, asking questions, having people respond. I think everyone learned more by his way of teaching than if he had simply “told us” what he wanted to say. By going through the steps, going through the motions, showing us by example, we all learned more I think.

Finally, his example of trying to hard to copy scripture notes from someone (I wish I could remember who – I think it was an Apostle, and I think it was while he was a Mission President) really touched me. The person whose scripture notes he was trying to copy (staying up until 4:30am copying them diligently, only getting through as far as Mormon) actually was so impressed that he had someone type up all of his notes. He sent them all to Elder Scott, who, I believe, copied them all into his own scriptures. Then Elder Scott said to us something like “If it was THAT important to them to share the notes they had in their scriptures with a young Mission President, then I decided it was pretty important to read the scripture. And I did, and have continued to.”

A large portion of Elder Scott’s message last night was about us reading scripture every day. I will certainly be making a great effort to do so.

So what do Latter-Day Saints believe about the Sabbath Day? It’s really quite simple. What we do on the Sabbath-day, is a reflection of our Faith in Jesus Christ. In an effort to keep the Sabbath-day holy, Latter-Day Saints will refrain from shopping and participating in other commercial and sporting activities that are so common today.

We meet together in local congregations to worship the Lord, and renew our covenants we made at baptism through partaking of the sacrament, often called communion or the Lord’s supper by other faiths. We rest from our labors, and use this day to worship the Lord, and are renewed by our associations with our friends and family.

One might write a letter, visit a friend or relative, or simply take a nap. Studying the scriptures, fasting and praying are also appropriate Sabbath-day activities.

It’s a day to set apart from your normal routine, so you can focus on what is most important and be renewed.

For many, the Sabbath becomes the day they look forward to most in the week. You can truly be renewed both physically and spiritually.

In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Moroni spoke of what those early followers of Christ did on the Sabbath:

Moroni 6:5-6
5 And the ^achurch did meet together ^boft, to ^cfast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.

I had five minutes to talk before Elder Scott tonight. I could not BELIEVE how many people were there, no one had adequately warned me…

I think I did manage to deliver it how I had hoped. The speakers tonight – ALL OF THEM were really really excellent. Lesson learned – I should have brought paper and pencil to take notes. I won’t make that mistake again!

I have placed the text of the talk I gave below. The words on “paper” honestly do not deliver the message the same way as when I speak them. But this should give you the core of what I intended to communicate to people.

When I first received news of being given this amazing opportunity to be up here on the stand with an Apostle, my immediate thought was – “I have so much I want to say, what can I do in just five minutes?” Then, just a few days ago, it really dawned on me just how very precious five minutes can be.

Earlier this year I moved into a new house and hired Carlos to lay tile. I didn’t know Carlos – he was recommended to me by a friend. Carlos told me that he would be unavailable for a week before I needed him to put the tile in. Later, while he was working on my house, he explained that his daughter had been struggling and that his entire family had taken a week to work with her and to try to help her with some issues she was having. After talking to Carlos for less than five minutes, I realized just how lucky his daughter was that she had a Father and a family that cared that much for her. That was in January. I learned just a few days ago that Carlos is Mormon.
 
A decade ago, I formed a gaming group of about forty people, and we had fun playing computer games most weekends. Almost all of us were interested in gaming ANY TIME that we could get together, but two of them seemed to always be busy when I would try to schedule something on Sunday. Time and time again, they had other plans. Eventually I realized they were NEVER available to play games on Sundays. Then, one at a time, they both went on their missions – one to Mexico, the other to Spain. I learned that they were Mormon, and I realized that it took them only SECONDS to tell me that they had other plans on their Sundays, but in doing so, they had impressed upon me just how important the Sabbath day was to them. In March of this year, one of these two good friends Baptized me, and the other Confirmed me.

Twenty four years ago, I met a young LDS man named Scott Driggs at Poston Junior High; he was a jock, one of the most popular kids in the entire school, someone I had nothing in common with. I was new there, having just moved to Arizona from Missouri, but Scott would talk to me almost every day, for no reason at all other than to kindly inquire as to what was going on in my life that day. Earlier this year, after reading his message in my Junior High yearbook, I made contact again, and talked to him about the Mormon Church. After asking me if it was ok, he took five minutes to request some missionaries to come to my home, which ultimately lead to me being here today.
 
I beg of you – NEVER underestimate what you can do in five minutes. In my case, it took being around Mormon people for twenty four years before my heart softened enough to let the Holy Ghost in. But I can tell you in sincerity that I needed each and every one of those five minute interactions for me to be where I am today.

The missionaries that came to my house didn’t come there by just knocking on random doors – someone sent them to my home – someone that took the time to ask them to. If YOU know of someone that might be receptive to the Church, get your missionaries involved! Don’t just assume the missionaries will find people by randomly knocking on doors – they need our help.

Know in your heart with certainty that when you go about your daily life, when you hold the Sabbath day holy, when you talk to people about your beliefs, when you live as much like Jesus Christ as you are able, that you have an impact on other people’s lives. You may not see the result today, or tomorrow, or even in twenty four years. But in less than five minutes, YOU may just bring another soul to God.

My daughter turned 9 months old yesterday!  I can’t believe how quickly time passes and even though this is my 4th baby, I forget how fast they learn things. 

She’s been pulling up on everything, crawling with speed, clapping, dancing to music on her knees, feeding herself all kinds of foods, laughing at herself in the mirror, initiating peek-a-boo, making singing noises, and whenever she sees this picture on our wall of her brothers, she squeals happily.  It’s the cutest thing.  Gratefully, I can also say that she sleeps through the night, which is not something I could claim with her brothers at this age.

Yesterday she did a funny thing and I wondered if it was a coincidence.  For the first time, she took some wipes out of the baby wipe container and she just happened to have a dirty diaper right at the moment.  I wondered if that was her way of communicating that she wanted to be changed.  I suppose that could be because her brothers weren’t much older when they started bringing me diapers and wipes when they wanted to be changed.

She loves to watch what I’m doing, especially when I do the dishes now.  She looks eager to do everything we’re doing and has become interested in the pots and pans in the cupboards.  I have fun memories of her brothers wanting to help me clear out the dishwasher by handing me things.  She’ll be doing that in no time!  I hope she’ll enjoy doing our daily chores with me and that I can make it fun for her.  It will be fun teaching her how to cook too.  My boys love it.  I wonder too if she’ll branch out on her own someday to discover talents that I don’t have and can’t teach her myself.

I have the funniest memory of my oldest son when he wasn’t quite two yet.  We got home from church and shortly after we all laid down for a nap, he woke me up saying the eggs were ready in the pan.  The frying pan that morning was still on top of the stove and he wanted more fried eggs, so he cracked them into the cold pan and amazingly didn’t get any shell in it.  It was hilarious.  I didn’t have the heart not to cook them for him, so my nap was very short lived.  It seems small children are naturally productive.  Do we teach them to dislike work when they’re older?  I remember wanting to help my mom with everything when I was little, but somehow lost that desire by the time she wanted me to help with everything.

Speaking of chores, I better get to mine.  Maybe my kids will join me.

Positive Music and Downloads: Free Song, 5/29/09:

Each Friday, Positive Music and Downloads offers a new free song download. This week they are offering “Home,” sung by Jessie Clark Funk, for free to the first 100 downloaders each day.

“Home” (from the Broadway musical “Beauty and the Beast”)
Artist: Funk, Jessie Clark
Album Artist: Funk, Jessie Clark
Album: Broadway (2009)
Track: 6 of 10, Disc: 1 of 1
Composer: Ashman, Howard (words); Rice, Tim (words); Menken, Alan (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.

Do you realise that as an ordinary person YOU have extraordinary power? I went to a leadership Forum last week and I’ve been thinking a ton about the subject. It was actually about blogging and telling MY story. People want to read about Ordinary people doing their own extraordinary things. I have Power beyond measure just by commenting and sharing about my experiences. And you too have more power and influence then you might think.
Think to yourself about the stories you have read or heard that are most touching to you? Are they by leaders of countries? Or are they by and from ordinary people who you can relate to. I find that the most heart wrenching and touching stories to me are told by those who lead ordinary lives and who are willing to share their experiences with me.
I challenge all of you to share something you have learned or experienced today. Answer the question what has made you better today? Where have you seen god’s hand in your life? Who is your role model, why? There are so many experiences and stories to share, all you have to do is take the time and share it. You never know who’s life you will touch through your experiences.

My Ordinary Experience

“Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.” -2nd Nephi 1:20

This phrase is basically the theme of the Book of Mormon and as of late I have been pondering upon its application to me. I mean I am a good girl, i don’t murder, or commit adultery or anything, but do i keep the commandments of god the best that i can? I am preparing to serve a mission and I can see Satan’s influence stronger then ever. I am so far from perfect and I know my weaknesses, and it is apparent that Satan does too. I find i am getting distracted from my goals and letting myself slack. It is interesting how it isn’t the “big” commandments that Satan uses to destroy us, it is the small things, which slowly begin to bind me. We all will face challenging things but we need to remember to face those trials with virtue and will integrity. We are asked to follow the commandments of the lord not because they are going to hold us back but because they make us free and truly happier.
I can promise you that if you do the things the lord asks you will be blessed beyond measure. I pray that you never have to experience a time when the lord cuts off his presence from you. Commandments are blessings and through divine obedience you too can be blessed! So this is my ordinary experience, and i testify to you that these things are true, not because i was told they were, but because i have experiences.
Quote: “It matters not that you are well known. What matters is that you are worthy of knowing. “
A. Kerr

A friend of mine has been going through some major trials.  She already suffers from mental illness and on top of that, she has had many medical problems, most of which were a result of her most recent pregnancy.  Currently, she feels angry at God and that He is being mean to her.

I don’t know what to say.  I know many times people have made her feel worse as she reaches out for help.  Because of the pain she’s in, she finds pretty much everything difficult and is bitter she has more surgery ahead that will lead to more pain.  I’m getting to the point where I’m afraid to say anything to her because I don’t want to make her feel even worse.  At the same time, not talking to her would hurt her feelings.

I tried to share how I managed when I was on crutches for four months with three little boys who were 6, 3, and 2.  She thought I was trying to tell her she was asking for too much, but that’s not what I was saying.  I was saying that sometimes when you need help, the help isn’t there, and sometimes there are creative ways to make it work on our own that we haven’t thought of.  The point was, I wanted her to have everything she needed and she was more likely to have a few very important requests granted than many requests.  I couldn’t have everything I needed or thought I needed when I was on crutches.  I couldn’t get my son in his crib anymore and asking someone to come over every day to put him in it just wasn’t realistic.  So either he would fall asleep in some random place or not take a nap.  It was difficult, but we survived and I focused on the things that were being done for me.  I had to save my requests for the things I absolutely had to have help with, like getting him to the van across our parking lot.  That was flat out dangerous to do on my own.  Had I asked for everything I wished I had, I’m sure people would have avoided me like the plague.  I didn’t want to wear them out and I feared that this would happen with my friend. 

That conversation didn’t end all that well.  She sounded discouraged, but I was trying to help her understand that it’s not that people don’t want to help, but that often they can’t because of their own trials and other times people just don’t understand why you can’t manage certain tasks on your own, so you need to be cautious about what you ask for.  Unfortunately, when you have one medical problem after another, there will always be someone who will view you as a hypochondriac or wonder if you’re just looking for attention. 

Last night as she expressed her frustration again at everything she’s dealing with, I had no idea what to say.  I listened to others around her making attempts, but I couldn’t tell if it was helpful at all.  I’m afraid to try anymore.  If they haven’t been through almost the exact scenario, she thinks they don’t understand and are minimizing what she’s going through.

I tend to believe that trials sort of even out.  We don’t have the same trials, but we all have many and can draw closer to God through them.  I always look for the lesson I’m supposed to learn in hopes that I won’t have to keep repeating the experience.

How do you lift others in despair?  Have you run into situations like this?  I want to help, but I don’t know if it’s possible.

The launch of Mormon Radio, a new official radio station of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at radio.lds.org, includes an exclusive interview with Rome Italy Stake President Massimo De Feo, who discusses the Church in Italy and the reaction of the Saints to the Rome Italy Temple announcement.

Rome, Italy Temple Site

The Rome Italy Temple is currently in the design and planning phases. No groundbreaking date has been announced.

INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT DE FEO:

If anyone would like to submit photos as the temple is in progress, we’d love to post them with a statement regarding your feelings about the upcoming House of the Lord in Rome, Italy. Please send to Karen at email@moregoodfoundation.org.

Talented but troubled high school rugby player Rick Penning (Sean Faris) loses his position as the star of an Arizona rugby union team when he is sentenced to a boys’ Juvenile Detention Center in Salt Lake City. Rick ends up playing for Salt Lake’s famous Highland High School rugby team, coached by Larry Gelwix (Gary Cole), in the national championships – against his old team, which is coached by his father, Richard Penning (Neal McDonough). Emily (Arielle Kebbel) is Rick’s love interest, and Marcus (Sean Astin) is his guidance counselor.

Forever Strong is based on true stories about a high school rugby team, Highland Rugby, which is the inspiration for the film. Rick Penning is based on a real member of the rugby team who played in Flagstaff, Arizona who was sent to a group home in Salt Lake City.

The production company Go Films decided to make a film about the legacy of the team and coach. “Forever Strong” is one of the team mottoes of the high school team the film is based on.

You can visit the official website for the movie by going to: Forever Strong and you can order the movie from DeseretBook.com by going to: Forever Strong the Movie.