Mormon Bloggers

“Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.” (Moroni 10:32)

Deny yourself all ungodliness. In every situation ask yourself how you would feel if Christ walked in at that moment. Always strive to be doing things worthy of your time and energies.

Love God with all your might, mind, and strength. Don’t put anything before or above God in your life. Put His will for you first and foremost, no matter how challenging it may be.

Doing these two things constitutes enduring to then end, because the first will keep you from doing anything you shouldn’t and the second will keep you doing the things you should.

We got hit last night. I was sitting here in my comfortable chair with my laptop this morning, trying to figure out how to best bless your lives with an inspiring post, when I looked up and saw something swaying through a window. Toilet paper.

My first thought? I wonder if the sprinklers already went off. (A sure sign of getting old)
My second thought?  I wonder how bad they got us.

I went outside and looked around. I instantly knew it had been done by girls. Girls can’t TP. Sorry to sound so blatantly sexist, and I’m sure there are exceptions, but you can spot the difference from a mile away. They did a decent job on the bushes, some strips were strewn about the lawn, but the tree coverage was completely lame. It looked like they walked around the trees and hung the paper, as you would icicles on a Christmas tree. It didn’t even look like they threw any rolls up and over. And the volume of TP was really weak. This attack didn’t even merit an honorable mention in our home’s history of being TP’ed.

So, my parental TP calculator worked it out that the culprits were:
a) girls
b) short
c) young and poor enough to have to take TP from home supply

Sherlock Holmes has got nothin’ on me.

So, I went back inside and woke up my 14 year old FOML and told him to go clean up the mess his friends made. (BTW, within hours my deductive reasoning was completely validated when one of the poor, young, short girls just had to get on Facebook and spill the beans. Kids today…sheesh! Discretion anyone?)

No, I wasn’t angry. I know some parents flip out, use words like “vandalism”, “police” and “Oooh, Charmin”, but I don’t think it is a big deal. I just made my son go out and re-roll all the paper and bring it in the house to use later.  Just kidding! We donated it to the Deseret Industries. Kidding again!

Getting TP’ed puts you in a weird area between being vandalized and being honored. And you usually don’t know which it is supposed to represent, so I choose to go through life looking at it as an honor. (A few years ago some boys who were “honoring” my daughter with about 80 rolls had me on the verge of anger. They were good. Really good. We were pulling TP out of our trees for a year)

When I was a kid, (Scout age to be exact) we would sleep outside at each other’s houses during the summer, giving us freedom to roam the neighborhood a will, armed with TP. The usual victim? Our beloved Scoutmaster. We did love him. We just had a very immature way of showing him. We would hit his house at least once a week with tremendous throwing ability, and lots of TP. He would get mad and try to catch us, but we were highly skilled at concealment. He would result to standing on his porch with a flashlight yelling into the night air. “You guys need to knock it off, or I’m telling your parents.”  He never did, because he loved us too.

Looking back, I feel a little bad that we picked on him so often. I feel especially bad that sometimes we used pastel-colored TP.

Times have changed, but some things never completely go out of style. Except one thing: The girls that TP’ed our house were accompanied by one of the girl’s mothers.  Whaaaa? What has this world come to? (That is a rhetorical question)




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– Apr 8, 1844 [Joseph Smith] Conference continues. Joseph wants to continue his sermon, but “it is just as impossible, for me to continue the subject of yesterday as to raise the dead. My lungs are worn out.” He does, however, state that “the whole of America is Zion itself from north to south.” He also speaks on the “washings and anointings, and . . . those last and more impressive ordinances.”

– May 3, 1845
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 3d I took coach with Br Hardy & rode to Blackburn & called upon Elder John Hartley. We soon had an interview with Elder Wm. Speakman who went with us through the town. We visited their room which they had fitted up & sent for me to come & open it. Their seemed to be some misunderstanding between the Preston Singers & the Blackburn Saints But I trust it will be settled amicably.

I took tea with Br Hartley. Sister Hartley presented us with a good dish of Cockels. Elder Hardy returned to Preston in the evening. Distance 9 miles. I spent the day & night at Br Hartleys. (1)

– May 11, 1845
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] …Met in the Afternoon. I blessed the bread & wine & it was administered to the Saints after which the time was taking up by the Brethren & sisters in bearing testimony of the work of God, & the Power of God rested upon the Congregation untill it melted us into tear This is the Conference that Br Kimball speaks of in his Journal…. (1)

– May 12, 1845
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 12th I parted with the lovely Saints in Clith-ero took Coach rode to Blackborn. From thence to Preston whare I had the happy privilege of meeting with Elders Holmes & Hardy. I met the Saints in Preston & Preached to a full house. Was followed by Elders Holmes. I spoke from the CII Psalm. We had a good time. I spent the night with Elders Holmes & Hardy at Capt Willes. I had a severe Cold & pain in the head during the night. Distance 25.

This being the Whitson week all business was suspended & the people in the streets having a Holly day & at night their was so many drunk in the street & on the side walk that it was with difficulty for a sober man to go along without being run against. (1)

– May 29, 1845
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 29th I reeleyed 4 letters one from Holmes Clark Davis & Charles Miller. I wrote 2 letters one to Holmes one to Davis.

In the evening I went to the seashore with Elder Stratton to Baptize. On the way we saw a man run over a child with a waggon. Their was 500 people gatherd around it in as many minutes. They thought the child was killed but it soon revived. The man was taken up by the policee, & fined for being drunk & carelessness.

When we arived the water the tide was out. We got three cars to take the candidates down into the water and Elder Stratten went down into the sea and baptized 12 persons. We had a plesant and interesting time. Many of the Saints were present & numbers of the world & the whole company left the beach singing by the way. I took supper with Br Hall. Distance 6 m. (1)

– May 30, 1845
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] …After returning to the city I took tea at Br Caines & attended council with the officers of the Liverpool Branch & had a good time. Distance 10 m. (1)

Footnotes:
1 – Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies

LDS History Chronology: the Word of Wisdom

Mormon Timeline: the Word of Wisdom
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/

[William Clayton Journal] We have continued to labour very hard in splitting rails up to the present time. The wether now begins to be very hot almost more than we can bear. We are yet very far short of completing the fence and in danger of having the corn spoiled by cattle every day. (1)
– 170 years ago today – Jun 30, 1841. Wednesday.

[J.D.T. McAllister Diary] Administered to Man with stomach trouble

called and administered to Casper Bryner. trouble with Something like a frog or Lizard in his stomach. had fasted four days. no food nor drink. (2)
– 130 years ago today – Jun 30, 1881

An LDS missionary records in his journal Harold B. Lee's answer (given in the temple) to the question, "If the "second endowment" existed and "if so, what connection does it have with the Holy Spirit of Promise, and who receives it and why and how," Lee's answer: "You don't have to worry. You've received all the ordinances necessary for exaltation….It is a special blessing given by the President of the Church to men who have been called. It is not necessary to receive it, however. You have all the endowment you need to be exalted." (3)
– 50 years ago today – Jun 30, 1961

1 – George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1995, http://amzn.to/william-clayton
2 – Diary Excerpts of J.D.T. McAllister, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies
3 – On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com

On Monday, I posted about the value of a personal inventory.

Once we’ve done the inventory, then what? On the surface it seems pretty simple: repent where we need to. Once we recognize our sins, we can feel remorse, seek forgiveness, restore what has been lost and never repeat the sin.

But the inventory is about more than sin. It’s also about what we’re doing right in our lives. And it’s about identifying weaknesses that may be different from sin.

Twelve-steppers will move next to confession: telling God and another person about the inventory they’ve done. For me, telling someone else (in the church’s Addiction Recovery Program, a bishop is also included if needed) has a curative effect. It takes the weaknesses that are buried inside of us and puts them on the table, so to speak. We share the burden. Someone can comfort us, mourn with us, help to bear our burden.

The Savior counsels us to share our burdens with him:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

That passage of scripture actually shows what’s next for twelve-steppers (and the rest of us if we’re wise): after we share the burdens, then we take up the Lord’s yoke. We put ourselves in a position to have him remove our weaknesses.

More on that in my next post.

But as for that sharing of our inventory: it’s not as scary as it seems. I have done a personal inventory and shared it with my wife. She was not surprised by anything on my list. She had been living with me for over 25 years and knew me pretty well. In fact, my list had some positives and some negatives. And, bless her heart, she added another positive item to my list that I had left off.

But the power of sharing the list gave me courage to seek to turn weaknesses into strengths.

Curly before he was curly
Every time I sit down at the computer, I think of a couple of things I should have said here or there in a blog, but forgot. So I want to tie up some of those loose ends today. First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned anywhere that Sport is the one who drew our picture that has now become Twelve Makes A Dozen. You might have guessed that already if you noticed

Spanish and Portuguese speakers can now listen to content from the Liahona magazine online in their own language.

Beginning with the June 2011 issue, audio of all of the material printed in the Spanish and Portuguese versions of the Liahona will be recorded and posted online monthly. Audio versions in other languages are under consideration.

The Liahona is the international magazine for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is printed in up to 52 languages.

How to access the Liahona:

• Subscribe to the Liahona to have the printed version delivered to you.
• Read it online by going to liahona.lds.org, selecting a month, then using the option to “Select Another Language” on the right side of the page. (You can also access the Liahona through the language pages at language.lds.org.)
• Listen to the audio in English, Spanish, and Portuguese by going to liahona.lds.org, selecting a month, then clicking the MP3 icon in the “Listen” column. (You can display the entire LDS.org in Spanish and Portuguese by clicking ”Languages” in the upper right corner of the site.)
• Receive updates about the Liahona by “Liking” the Liahona magazine’s page on Facebook (facebook.com/liahona.magazine).

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In this Mormon Times article, Brooke White, a former American Idol finalist and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, talks about how her faith and prayer help her navigate her career as a professional musician.

“The problem with history was that it was written by the survivors, and they usually wrote it in sunshine, or harvest day, from victory stands.”

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir just finished its 2011 tour. Here is a video with some thoughts from people who attended the choir’s performance. Did you get to hear the choir? Have you ever heard the choir perform? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section.

Read more about each day of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s tour below hat tip to Mormon Soprano who shared the links on her Facebook page):

Day 1: Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square at Norfolk, VA

Day 2: Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square: Flashmob at Williamsburg

Day 3: Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square at Wolf Trap

Day 4: Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square at Philadelphia

Day 5: Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square Shuffling Off to Buffalo

Day 6: Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square at Chautauqua

Day 7: Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square: A Restful Sabbath

Day 8 of Mormon Tabernacle Choir Tour