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OK, so maybe it’s more just some random photos than an essay. (more…)

…because, you know, Mormons have lots of wives!

Get it?!!?

(I promise it was hilariouser the first 4,594 times I heard it. Blame it on my delivery.)

Every now and then I see a surge in people talking about Emma and her life, groups of women connecting with the Church’s past by connecting with the prophet’s wife. But for the most part she’s supporting cast, a footnote in the life of Joseph. I’ve wondered how she sat to the side and watched her husband leave their family so often during the founding and growth of the church. He was often traveling to spread the Gospel, and he was repeatedly jailed. Yet there she was, birthing children, raising children, and grieving over the loss of children, alone. On top of that she probably had people knocking on the door all the time, wondering when, exactly, was the prophet going to return?

Though my circumstances are altogether different, they are still very similar. My husband is far away and unable to return home. I was pregnant during a previous deployment, and I am now attempting to raise my children by myself. I have bouts of immense loneliness, and trials that must be uniquely designed to be of the utmost difficulty to me alone. I sometimes wonder where I stand in the pecking order of my husband’s priorities, and I will even confess to a little bitterness now and again. Communication is often sparse and there is a constant underlying fear for his safety, the elephant in the room that everyone avoids. As a soldier’s wife I am frequently reminded that his mission is not a popular one. His motives and intelligence have been questioned, which is frustrating for the spouse of a man so filled with honor, integrity, and principle. (more…)

With the Presidential campaign over, Obama victorious, and McCain graciously bowing out of the public spotlight, I find myself looking back on what has been a very long, very tiring, but very interesting election cycle. For Mormons, it’s been quite a ride for two reasons: Mitt Romney, and Proposition 8. Both topics have been talked about ad nauseum on the bloggernacle. But linking the two topics together, I think we Mormons can thank our lucky stars that Romney DIDN’T make it out of the GOP primaries. (more…)

Living out in Colorado, I don’t get to attend too many Mormonism-related events. But the last couple months have been pretty good out here. First, I was able to attend a screening of “Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons” (more on that in another post), and just last week, Regis University in Denver held a Mormon-Evangelical dialogue between Mormon Dr. Robert Millett and Evangelical Rev. Gregory Johnson through its Institute of the Common Good. Having just read the book they co-authored – “Bridging the Divide,” I jumped at the chance. (more…)

- Obama or Palin’s lack of experience
- Nitpicky senate voting records (all senators compromise, that’s the name of the game)
- Their stance on abortion
- Their stance on gay marriage
- If they are anything like me
- How many houses they have
- Flag pins
- Middle names
- Their race
- Their sex
- Their age
- Whether or not they originally supported the war in Iraq
- Preconditions
- Pork
- Media bias
- Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright
- Palin’s wardrobe cost
- Palin’s pregnant daughter
- Palin’s accent/winking
- Biden’s gaffes

I’m sure there are more that I will think of later.

Neal A. Maxwell is on my list of Top Five Favorite General Authorities. He was an intelligent, witty and spiritual man, and when he spoke, he would go straight to the heart of the subject. This weekend I came across a talk he gave at BYU in 1978 entitled, “Meeting the Challenges of Today.” A portion of the address really stuck out for me– the irony 30 years later is unmistakable. Here is an excerpt:

Discipleship includes good citizenship; and in this connection, if you are careful students of the statements of the modern prophets, you will have noticed that with rare exceptions–especially when the First Presidency has spoken out–the concerns expressed have been over moral issues, not issues between political parties. The declarations are about principles, not people, and causes, not candidates. On occasions, at other levels in the Church, a few have not been so discreet, so wise, or so inspired. (more…)

Is my ward the only one that seems to just barely mumble “amen”?
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As long as people have believed in a benevolent God (in other words, from the days of Adam), they have also struggled to explain why there has to be so much suffering in the world. Some have suggested that all suffering is the result of sin. Others dismiss the whole concept of sin and say that everything is just obeying natural laws. (more…)

Or, Our Eternal Household Argument Debate Discussion…

Is communism the Law of Consecration in action? Or, lacking national/worldwide conversion to the gospel and our belief system, is it simply forcing people to make good choices and do “the right thing”, mirroring in theory a certain plan put forth by a certain guy who didn’t get the job?

At what point do we stray from “esteeming our brother as ourselves”(D&C 38:24) and “being one” (D&C 38:27, Moses 7:18), and enter into “Satan’s counterfeit for the gospel plan….the greatest anti-Christ power in the world today”(President Marion G Romney, 1979)? President Ezra Taft Benson said there is no Utopia to be found “when capitalism and free enterprise are overthrown, private property abolished, the family as a social unit eliminated, all classes abolished, all governments overthrown, and a communal ownership of property in a classless, stateless society established”. So then which, if any, of those things could we institute to show service and compassion without endangering freedom and liberty?

We are counseled to work for all we receive, be self-reliant and independent, and give service. So what recourse would there be when one refuses to do those things but continues to benefit from the productivity of others? Should we allow families to suffer and perhaps die because they refuse to put their two bits in the kitty? What if there’s only one pair of gloves and every person is in need of them, how do you decide that one? Should people really be rewarded with more because they work harder or longer(actions), or should we leave it to a higher authority to decide what we earn based on the content of our character and our dedication(intents)? In a mortal world, who should that authority be? Does anyone else’s head hurt from thinking too much? Who wants a doughnut break? Chocolate or sprinkles?

Mo Mommy has been around the ‘nacle a while. She’s a 30-year old momma with a husband in Iraq. Her personal blog is found here. And most importantly, Susan thinks she’s a cool chick (which means you do to). These are not the droids you are looking for.

Welcome!

The line is perhaps a little funny, and usually meant to be so. But I wonder. Can we discount the reality of the adversary? The the answer can be found in this jewel of a quote from Nephi (2 Ne 28:22). One of the Devil’s best moves has been to convince people that the horned, cloven-footed guy with a funny tail doesn’t exist and there are no consequences to breaking the commandments. The really clever move was to etch the caricature of him so deep in our culture - and thus our collective subconscious - even while his existence was not in doubt that it’s hard to remember sometimes that he is in fact nothing like the popular culture has portrayed for the last millennium or so. I don’t know what he looks like, but I suspect he wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows if we were to see him around here. It’s been said that he can appear as an angel of light (2 Ne 9:9), so I don’t expect him to advertise his intentions by his appearance. (more…)

There is a common understanding among us that the goal of our lives is to become perfect. It is understandable, of course, with Jesus saying it right in the Sermon on The Mount (see Matt 5:48). This exhortation should be viewed in light of other recorded inspired counsel and understanding. (more…)

California LDS members watched a live broadcast concerning Proposition 8 in their chapels last night featuring Elders Ballard, Cook, Bednar and L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy. Over the course of the evening, the brethren addressed the points made in Rusty’s email (see The Email Forward Has Convinced Me. Too Bad I Don’t Live in California) and unequivocally cited them as real potential dangers should the proposition fail (they also mentioned the skewed, world-influenced views some of the saints have adopted regarding SSA). (more…)