They were all to their love. A silent, suffering love, eyes staring into eyes. Standing at a few inches from each other, the fence between them. A huge fence, of strong wire-netting that would not let a hand get through. Both were barely twenty years old. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
LDS Newsroom
- Concern Over Changes to Home Storage Centers Unnecessary June 17, 2013
- Social Media Gives New Twist to Tabernacle Choir’s 2013 Tour June 17, 2013
- Mormonism in Pictures: Temple Square Attracts Millions of Visitors | 14 June 2013 June 14, 2013
- Father's Day Video: Remember What It Takes to Be a Good Father June 12, 2013
- Church Providing Relief After Most Recent Oklahoma Tornadoes June 6, 2013
- VIDEO: Moore, Oklahoma, Woman Leaves For Mormon Mission in Wake of Tornado June 6, 2013
- Mormons Around the World: Country Newsroom Websites | 5 June June 5, 2013
- Mormon Tabernacle Choir to Donate Wisconsin Historical Marker June 5, 2013
- "On Faith" Column: Scouts Policy Should Be Seen for What It Is: A Reaffirmation of Core Values May 31, 2013
- Mormonism in the News: Getting It Right | 30 May 2013 May 30, 2013
Blog Archives
Folklorization
- And, Brother Decoo, could you come in your native dress? It’s this time of the year again. Circus by the aliens. Officially it’s called Cultural Heritage Night, or International Fashion Show, or LDS WorldFest. Mormons love it. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Sweet spirit
I failed as a primary teacher. No, not in Belgium. Here in my Provo ward. But it cannot be said I did not try. Velcro, scissors, wax crayons, strings, glue, buttons, figurines. Scriptures and stories. We made the armor of God in cardstock, dressed King Lamoni’s sheep in wads of cotton, notched Nephites, laminated Lamanites, and did the Jaredite Journey Goose Game (“You are at the Tower of Babel. Can’t understand what they say. Lose 1 turn”). But at the end of each lesson, the little faces would look up at me and one would voice for all: -... Read more »
Ninety one words
Karl was a stutterer and he had to say the sacrament prayer. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Latin
Some of us like to throw in some Latin from time to time. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Auschwitz
Sixty years ago the death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated. Behind the barbed wires, many of the survivors could not stand on their feet to greet the liberators. The average weight of an adult was 77 pounds. Emaciated, with hollow eyes, those breathing skeletons, covered with a thin layer of tensed skin, only experienced a shift in their nightmare, for the nightmare of their memories would last for the rest of their lives. More than one million people had been murdered in Auschwitz alone. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Genealogy
My parents died a few years ago, both in their nineties, after a fulfilling life and with the memories of having survived two world wars and sixty years of marriage on the Old Continent. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Opposed, if any?
The sustaining of the second counselor in the Relief Society Presidency in our ward was unanimous. The bishop, who asked the question for opposing votes, had just a quick glance over the audience, while gathering his papers to sit down. No opposing votes. Of course not. But again, I felt relieved. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Tsunami
Belgium, December 29, 2004. For days now I have been confronted with TV-images of bloated and rotting bodies littered along shores, of parents crying over the corpses of their children, of living children staring dumbfounded into a camera and holding up a note with their name and the question “Seen parents?” – while it is almost certain, after three days, they have become orphans. Thousands of orphans and they still cling to their note. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Dealing with Brother H.
I cannot remember when Brother H. came to our branch for the first time. Somewhere in the late seventies or early eighties. A middle-aged man, single, not too tall, graying hair, with lips drawn between an angelic and an ironic smile. Was he brought in by the missionaries or did he find us? I am not sure anymore. I tend to think the latter. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Part-Mormon couples
Married, but only one of the partners is Mormon. In the “mission field” such part-Mormon couples are numerous, probably more than in area’s where Mormons have lived for generations. Sociologists study this phenomenon among various affiliations. “Religious intermarriage”, “religious homogamy / heterogamy”, “interchurch / interfaith marriages” are some of the key words of this academic field of study. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
A tribute to simple saints
Her name was Sister Pooters. Petite, energetic, single. She was around seventy when I, a young convert, met her at our local Mormon branch. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Missionaries and their converts: a story
Though I have never been on a formal mission, my first five years in the Church were closely tied to missionaries. I was their age, I worked intensely with them. 1 person likes this post. Like Unlike Read more »
On the left: pioneer ancestors and the International Church
To continue with the international perspective I was asked to give, here is one post that opens the door to some political debate… I hope it will not deviate too much from the questions asked at the end! Two items to set the perspective: 1) First, the vast majority of Mormon pioneers who came from Europe in the 19th century were people with leftist traits. Mostly workmen and craftsmen, dedicated to social justice, inspired by egalitarian dreams, they turned their back to an exploitative society. In Mormonism they found this galvanizing combination of religious conviction and communalist ideals (I... Read more »
Primitive Church
The missionaries found me when I was 17. That was back in 1964 in Antwerp, Belgium. I read Joseph Smith’s history and Moroni’s promise. I knew it was true. Immediately, fully. The Gospel unfolded like the rising sun. 2 people like this post. Like Unlike Read more »
From Mormon to LDS in international perspective
I first had the title “We love the Mormonettes!”, but that would have covered only a tiny piece of my long text. But if you want to get to the Mormonettes, read on! Are you Mormon or LDS? In Utah, but also elsewhere in the U.S., the shift towards the use of LDS is inescapable. Language use has its own laws, stronger than official guidelines. Indeed, those guidelines are clear, as stated in the Church Style Guide for the Media, directly related to a statement from the First Presidency: “Please avoid the use of “Mormon Church,” “LDS Church” or... Read more »
International Church issues
Thank you, I feel honored to be a guest here! As a “foreigner”, I have been asked to add a Mormon international perspective. That means… non-American. Strange already that in our World Church the perspective continues to be U.S.-centered, with the rest of the world sensed as a large peripheral circle, referred to as the International Church. Of course, there is no American Church nor any (inter)nationally identified Church. There only is the Church of Jesus Christ. But we need to be realistic. Let’s turn the perspective around for starters. How do members abroad look at Utah? Be the... Read more »
Conferences and Events
- LDS Semi-Annual General Conference
- Book of Mormon Lands Conference
- BYU Religious Education Student Symposium
- Reid L. Nielson: "The Latter-day Saints and the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair"
- Joseph and Marilyn Bentley: "Mormons and the Holy Land"
- Armand L. Mauss: "The Intellectual Journey of a Mormon Academic"
- Mormon Theology Seminar
- American Society of Church History Annual Meeting
- American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting
- Communal Studies Association Annual Meeting