Mormon Bloggers

– Oct 12, 1879
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 12 Sunday I met at 11 oclok. Br Nelson Prayed. WW spoke 30 M Moses Curtis 10 M, Br Bloomfield 17, Lot Smith 10 M. In the Afternoon I attended a Priesthood Meeting. The word of wisdom was spoken upon. Tobaco, liquor, Coffee, tea &c was dwelt upon. (1)

– Oct 17, 1879
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 17 I received a letter from G. Teasdale. I wrote 4 letters to J Jaques, Phebe, Bulah & John Taylor and Council about selling tithing flour or wheat.

I received a letter from J Jaques [ ] speaking of Selling the Esstate of Presidet Young. Said that Earnist Young the ownly Male heir in the suit against the Esstate was found Drunk on the side walk. Was Carried to his house and died in the morning. He did not live to Enjoy the money paid him in the suit. Br Jaques speaks of the rain and Cold weather. (1)

– Saturday, Oct 25th 1879
[Abraham H. Cannon Journal] After arousing in the morning, the first town of any importance that we passed was Mansfield, which contains a great number of large and beautiful brick buildings. At Alliance I took a cup of coffee and a sandwich for a change from my regular diet…. (2)

– Sunday, Nov. 9th 1879
[Abraham H. Cannon Journal] …After reaching 49, I was writing in my journal until meeting time, half past two, when I went to meeting, and heard a number of the Saints bear testimony to the truth of this Gospel; After meeting I was introduced to a number of the saints. We then came to 49, had tea, as it is called, and returned to meeting at half past six; Bro. Clayton, President of this district invited me to speak, so I arose and addressed those present for a short time, after which others spoke… (2)

– Monday, Nov 10th 1879
[Abraham H. Cannon Journal] …. About 4 P.M. Bro. Dunbar and myself went out for a walk to make some purchases; I obtained a satchel, umbrella, and a few articles that I was in need of; it then being quite late, we returned to 49, and had tea. The female relief society met here this evening, we and some other brethren being present; the sisters are doing much good, and I spoke a few words of encouragement to them. We administered to a young lady, who has a sore foot. Singing practice followed the meeting, after which Bro. D'- and myself walked part way home with one of the sisters. (2)

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

LDS History Chronology: the Word of Wisdom

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

The Fort Collins Coloradan reports that opposition to the proposed temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fort Collins has emerged, with concerns expressed about the impacts on traffic, health, and environment by the construction of a 27,000 square foot building in a neighborhood currently zoned residential. A map of the proposed site is available HERE. There is no overt sign of any local anti-Mormon bigotry behind the opposition, at least not yet.

KMGH Channel 7 also published a brief story; the 51 public comments appended so far may be of interest.

One of the opponents, David Hirning, best reflects the concerns of others. He notes that Trilby and Timberline Roads are already busy roads that will get even more congested with the presence of a temple. He believes property values will plummet, wildlife will be displaced and the increased vehicle emissions will be harmful to health. Another opponent says existing traffic problems already make it a “disaster” to try and get out of the neighborhood during the morning rush hour. Public comments to the story are also quite instructive, showing that opponents are focusing on the possible combined effects of a 27,000 square foot building serving the religious needs of more than 200,000 Mormons living in Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado; they fear they’ll be “inundated”, so to speak. While these concerns are understandable, a visit to the official LDS Fort Collins Temple site and also to the Fort Collins Temple FAQ site will resolve most of them. To wit:

1. Area Coverage: Smaller than advertised by the media; the expected service area is limited to northern Colorado, southeastern Wyoming, and western Nebraska. When a temple is built, the LDS Church creates a temple district, in which only certain stakes are incorporated. This will maintain a virtual quantitative cap on the number of Church members who will use the temple; the number would only rise very slowly.

2. Traffic Load: LDS Church spokesman Eric Adams said the largest room in the temple estimated will only hold 50 people and will be used throughout the day by small groups. The number of people using the temple at any given time will rarely, if ever, exceed 100; members are required to make appointments in advance to use a temple. And since some local residents are already reporting traffic problems during rush hour, the opening of the temple is likely to spur local officials to improve local road access to the neighborhood even sooner than originally anticipated.

3. Size of the Temple: The large size of the temple is more reflective of the diversity of use rather than the number of people to be accommodated. LDS members use the temple for three primary purposes; to perform eternal marriages, proxy ordinances for the dead, and to receive their endowments. Each function is accomplished in a DIFFERENT part of the temple. Thus, the temple must be large enough to accommodate the different functions.

Opponents of the temple will get a chance to place their concerns on the public record on Tuesday, September 6th, 2011, at 3:00 p.m. during a land use hearing to be conducted by the Larimer County commissioners. The current property owner is requesting that the existing four-lot plat be reconfigured into three lots and that a residential restriction be lifted to clear the way for approval of the temple. An annexation petition for the site has been submitted to the city of Fort Collins, meaning plans for the actual temple would likely go before Fort Collins for approval.

Lately I have felt keenly aware of the fleeting quality of time. Maybe we hear this a lot, but it’s because it is such a significant truth: Time flies. Too often we find ourselves wishing for a certain event in the future, whether it’s nap-time, the weekend, or the arrival of the new baby. As we set our hearts and minds on the future, we miss the preciousness of now.

My daughter will never be two again. I want to savor every sweet moment I have with her. Perhaps it seems a little pessimistic, but I don’t know what could happen at any given time. I could lose her in a heartbeat and regret for the rest of my life that I didn’t enjoy her more while I had her. This has taught me a lesson about being full of gratitude for what I have, especially for my husband and children. I cannot dwell on or live in the past, and I shouldn’t worry too much about the future. Instead, I try to really make the most of the present.

There is power in this moment. It is yours to use however you choose. It can be thrown away in trivial pursuits, or it can be harnessed for good. You can do the Lord’s bidding, you can improve yourself, you can teach your children, you can make a positive difference in someone’s life. Don’t let it pass you by.

Lately I have felt keenly aware of the fleeting quality of time. Maybe we hear this a lot, but it’s because it is such a significant truth: Time flies. Too often we find ourselves wishing for a certain event in the future, whether it’s nap-time, the weekend, or the arrival of the new baby. As we set our hearts and minds on the future, we miss the preciousness of now.

My daughter will never be two again. I want to savor every sweet moment I have with her. Perhaps it seems a little pessimistic, but I don’t know what could happen at any given time. I could lose her in a heartbeat and regret for the rest of my life that I didn’t enjoy her more while I had her. This has taught me a lesson about being full of gratitude for what I have, especially for my husband and children. I cannot dwell on or live in the past, and I shouldn’t worry too much about the future. Instead, I try to really make the most of the present.

There is power in this moment. It is yours to use however you choose. It can be thrown away in trivial pursuits, or it can be harnessed for good. You can do the Lord’s bidding, you can improve yourself, you can teach your children, you can make a positive difference in someone’s life. Don’t let it pass you by.

1) This web site has some beautifully-arranged instrumental traditional Christian hymns (actually accompaniment tracks): Hymns for a Kid’s Heart.

2) This web site has a lot of Christian children’s songs produced in the UK. There are a lot of songs; I didn’t go through everything: Family Worship.

Seeds Family Worship produces songs for memorizing Bible verses. So far they have produced six CDs. Some of their music is pretty good! All of their music can be listened to and bought at their web site. These two web sites have a couple of free (legal) downloadable samples:

• D6 Family has the song ”Go” (Matthew 28:19, NIV).
• Ministry to Children has the song ”More Than Conquerors” (Romans 8:37, ESV).

Since the guest room is my room to use as I’d like when we have no guests, I am going to make it a playroom!  Yes, it will have a bed in it, but it will still be a play room.  I figure, I use the closet to store buckets full of toys anyway, why not have the toys out to play with?  If you know our family situation very well, with 4 teenagers and 2 adult children, and sweet little grandbaby, Lily, being so little and living so far away, you may be wondering who will play in this play room.  I have no idea.  Any little kid who comes along, I guess.  And as Brian said when I stated my plans, “If you build it, She will come.”

Salt Lake City | 2011-08-26 |

Last week, we reported that 71 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) have served with the USNS Comfort’s Continuing Promise 2011 mission. This blog post looks at two of the 11 volunteers who have been on the ship for the entire five-month journey.

This is a long story. Suck it up and stick with it, and you will be rewarded. Today is the story, and Sunday is the follow-up message. Milk before meat. In this case, pizza before wisdom.

Last week my EC and I spent an evening in NE Pennsylvania. Scranton to be precise. (No, we didn’t see the Dunder-Mifflin offices, or meet Pam, or Jim, or Michael Scott. Duh. It was Saturday)

Not being too familiar with the fine cuisine of NE PA, we decided to go out for pizza. Pizza is safe. I’ve had goo pizza all over the world. It’s hard to go horribly wrong with pizza. So with a quick tap on Yelp! and Google Maps, we headed south to Moosic, PA, to a well-reviewed Italian restaurant- praised for it’s pizza. The restaurant was big, and by the way everyone seemed to know everyone else, full of locals.

We were seated back by the kitchen, and after a few minutes were brought menus and water. We went straight to the pizzas to figure out what we wanted. There were six choices.

Open Face Red
Open Face White
Shrimp and Hot Peppers (?)
Double Crust Red
Double Crust White
Double Crust White with Spinach or Broccoli

Then there were a few normal toppings listed as well.  We figured the “Open Face” was a regular pizza, and the “Double Crust” is what we usually call a “stuffed crust pizza.” But we must have been looking a bit confused, because the waitress (Renée) came by and asked if we needed some help. It was pretty obvious that we weren’t locals.

Me: Tell us about your pizza
Renée: Well, we have two kinds, the red and white. My favorite is the double white. It’s very filling.
EC: What do you put on the double white?
Renée: *blank stare*
EC: Back home they put mushrooms or chicken or…
Renée: Chicken? Really? They probably have some chicken back there that they could chop up and put in…
Me: No, no, that’s OK – but what do they usually put in a double white? (I was starting to get curious)
EC: We aren’t trying to be difficult, it’s just that this is a lot different than pizza at home.
Renée: *kicks into explaining to a small child mode* Well you see, the filling is mostly cheese, and they don’t usually put anything else with it. It’s my favorite. It’s very filling. *stares wistfully off into space*
Me: So it’s a top crust and a bottom rust with white cheese in it?
Renée: *defensively* Yeah, but it has rosemary in it and onions baked on the top – you know – TRADITIONAL.


Traditional? Suddenly it all started to become a little funny – and we were already in one of those slap-happy moods.

So at Renée’s urging, we decided on the Double Crust White with Spinach, you know, to make it healthy. The traditional way.

Renée: What size? 6 or 12 cuts.
EC: Is that like a 6 or 12 inch pizza?
Me: Then we’ll get a 6 inch open face red, and a 6 inch double crust white.
Renée: *Looks at us like we are mildly retarded* That is a lot of pizza.
Me: Oh, is it 6 slices?
Renée: Sorta. They are called cuts. 12 cuts would be a lot. It’s very filling.
Me: OK. We’ll do 6 cuts of the white.

A minute later she returns to the table.

Renée: I almost forgot your chickpeas and bread.

Chickpeas marinated in Italian dressing. We weren’t quite sure what to do with them. Put them on the bread? Dip the bread into the marinade? Eat them with a spoon? What do the locals do?  The chickpeas did remind me of 33% of my mother’s 3-bean salad that I didn’t like growing up.

And then we sat. Forever. After about 45 minutes – (about 30 minutes since we stopped being hungry for dinner – full of chickpeas) Renée brought our pizza to us and warned us to be careful because it was very hot. It looked huge. And very filling. Each “cut” looked like a meal unto itself. Note the onions baked into the top:

By now we were finding everything hysterically funny. I had my phone out to take pictures of this traditional pizza. I put a cut on my plate, and a lava-like flood of cheese and spinach gushed out.

First thought: Cheesy goodness!  But Renee had been correct. It was very filling. By the third bite, my wife was ready to be done. And as the pizza cooled down the crust started getting hard – as in “this is destroying the roof of my mouth” or “I am not strong enough to put my fork through this” hard. By the time we finished, the pizza had progressed from ”cheesy goodness” to “interesting” to “I don’t care for this” to “this is nasty”.

My EC ate 75% of one “cut” (Wimp.)
I soldiered on and ate 2.5 cuts. Then I was done. I would not need to eat, or be able to go to the bathroom again, for days. It was a lot of cheese (offset by the healthy spinach).

Renée came back to the table and saw that we had stopped eating. She looked at the two remaining cuts and appeared concerned.

Renée: Was everything OK?
Me: Yes, it was fine.
Renée: Did you like it?
EC: It was great, but..
Renée: It is very filling.
EC: Yes it is.
Renée: Do you want me to wrap this up for you?
Me: No thanks, we are staying in a hotel, and don’t have anyplace to put it.
Renée: *looking stricken* Are you sure?
Me: Yes, but thank you.

Looking hurt and confused, Renee took the leftover pizza back to the kitchen. She was obviously taking this personally.  We then heard voices coming out of the kitchen. We couldn’t hear all of it, but we knew it was about us.
…Don’t want it? …like it?…wrong with it?…

A minute later a different waitress came over to our table – looking stressed and baffled.

Connie: Are you sure you don’t want to take this home?
Me:  We are. We don’t have anyplace to put it. We are staying in a hotel.
Connie: You could wrap it up and put it on the TV and eat it in the middle of the night.
Me: No, thanks, that’s OK.
EC: Would you like to take it home? (ever-considerate)
Connie: Oh, I would love to, but I can’t. I love this stuff. It’s very filling. *stares wistfully into space*

Connie takes the pizza away with a sad fondness that I don’t quite understand. We tried our best to feel bad about it, but failed. Instead, we focused on not laughing out loud.

Besides, we had a flat-panel TV that lacked any kind of pizza-storage area.

So, for us, the Double Crust White with Spinach was a “fail”. But it was an adventure, and probably one of the most memorable dining experiences we’ve ever had.

I guess I’m just not a “traditional” pizza kind of guy.

Sunday: The “rest” of the story…

– Jun 27, 1844 [Lucy Mack Smith] Samuel Smith, eluding armed pursuers, reaches the city just after the mob has dispersed. (1)[Quorum of the Twelve] Amasa M. Lyman retires from First Presidency. (2)– 1844. June 27 (Joseph F. Smith) His father was in the Richmond, Missouri, jail when Joseph F. was born. As a mob ransacked their Far West home looking for papers, a mattress was thrown over the

– Jan 30, 1878
DESERET NEWS advertises "WAGNER'S BEER ON DRAUGHT AT 5 CENTS A GLASS" on same page as its directory of "NAMES OF PRESIDENTS AND BISHOPS OF THE ORGANIZED STAKES OF ZION." The "CITY LIQUOR STORE" ad is also immediately above "GENEALOGICAL" advertisement directed to Ladder-days. DESERET NEWS previously ran several alcohol ads in each issue for years, but alcohol ads now appear next to directory of church officers from its first publication on Jan 9, 1878 until Apr 1, 1880. On Jan 2, 1879 chewing tobacco ad appears on page with directory of church officers. On Jan 6, 1880 church directory appears next to ad for "BETTER AND PURER LIQUORS, WINES AND CIGARS Than can be found at any other house in Utah." (1)

– Apr 5, 1879
[John Nuttle Diary] Young Men using tobacco and wine Bps to release those who would not cease its use from officiating in any of the labors of the Priesthood. (2)

– Apr 13, 1879
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 13 Sunday I met with the People. J. W. Young spoke on the word of wisdom. I bore Testimony. I met in the Evening read the 118 & 121 Section of the D & C, and spoke upon it 45 Minuts. (3)

– Aug 3, 1879
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] Petone gave three young Mormon Elders the Strongest rebuke I Ever heard from an Indian. The 3 boys were smoking. They asked Petone if He would not smoke with them. He looked them sternly in the face and said No The Great Spirit has told me if I would not smoke nor Drink whiskey I should live a long time but if I did I should live but a short time. I said to the boys you should lay that rebuke to heart & never set such an example again before an Indian. (3)

– Aug 28, 1879
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] Aug 28 A great Day in Islata. The streets were Crouded at an Early hour with Islatas Mexicans and Americans. Our room was in the midst of it. The two Lagoonie Chiefs were with us. The feast or wake Continued through the day Drinking, gambling, feasting &c. The people Began to dispers before Sundown but it was 10 oclok before they broak up. (3)

Footnotes:
1 – Advent Adam website (defunct) – based on http://amzn.to/originsofpower
2 – Diary Excerpts of L. John Nuttall, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies
3 – 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/