As I end my two weeks of guest blogging, I would like to take a look back.
Relief Society
In my intro bio to T&S I said, “In truth a substantial part of my heart is in Relief Society—not for what it is now but for what I feel it can and must yet become.â€
Primary Lesson #43 Supplement
What the Smith Boys Said This Year
For previous installments, see here and here. Simon turned eight, Nathan turned five, and Truman turned two this year.
Sunday School Lesson #45
Lesson 45: Daniel 1, 3, and 6; Esther 3-5, 7-8
Sunday School Lesson #44
Christmas Traditions
Our family has two fun holiday traditions worth spreading.
Angels
I have lived long enough and had such a variety of experiences that I hardly think I can be called naïve on the subject of prayer.
Gohar Yeghiayan Davidian: A Latter-day Saint in Syria
For half a millennium, ending with World War I, the Ottoman Empire dominated eastern Europe, Asia Minor, and the Middle East.
Quadrupling Fast Offerings
About a year or so ago our stake made a move to improve fast offering receipts. The bishop supported this and urged everyone to donate to fast offerings and, in addition to the general admonition, he reinstituted Aaronic priesthood collection of fast offerings after church.
Wave theory
Family trees are familiar and similarly dissatisfying models in historical linguistics and in the history of religion.
Sacred???? Santa
We could hardly we accused of being “Bah, humbug.†We have a holiday season filled with light, music, food, family, gifts and most important love. Also, as far as I can tell, we consistently pass the “grandkid test.†We are just not very traditional in our approach.
In which our heroine is forced to confront her own hypocrisy
So if a friend said to me, “What do you think about that Mormon prophet who got arrested for polygamy?”
Santa
For several years running I submitted some version of the following editorial to the Deseret News. Last year they finally published it. You may well guess it was controversial, as of course I knew it would be. I will have more to say on the subject of Santa, but first I want your initial reaction to this piece.
Santa-god and the Second Naivete
I spent all of September and a good part of October finishing an essay on community for a journal on the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, and it nearly killed me.
Mother’s Blessings
Last Saturday, I had lunch with my oldest daughter and her best friend, Adrea, who happens to be my best friend’s oldest daughter. My friend, Buffy, and I went through our first pregnancies laughing at ourselves and at each other, but also struggling in our new marriages.
A History Shall Be Kept
What are the most quoted scriptures in the Church? Check at the end of this post to see if you agree.
Ned Desaules and the United Order – 2 of 2
Ned also records the risks faced by children in that time and place: “Edwin King[’s] smallest boy accidentally fell in my well yesterday, & had a narrow escape at drowning. Bro. Hammond fished him out.â€
“John, you’ve prepared for this your whole life”
My brothers, dad and I got together to watch the BYU-Utah game yesterday. With only three seconds left, down by four and needing a touchdown, BYU called a timeout to plan their final play. Not since 2003 had a college football team won on the last play of regulation. Everyone at our party was too excited and anxious to sit down, and we publicly wondered at the intensity the players must be feeling. After the game, BYU quarterback John Beck was asked what he was thinking as he walked on the field after the timeout. “I took a deep breath and said, John, you’ve prepared for this your whole life.”
A cautionary tale
We had a large garden before we had lawn when we bought our home in the early 1960s. During my “domestic phase†years I felt obligated to preserve—can, freeze, pickle, dry, etc. as much as possible. (We even have a root cellar on our suburban lot.)
The Happiest Wives
According to a study done by two sociology profs at the University of Virginia, the following are most closely correlated with happiness of wives:
Light
I find light in all its iterations compelling. I often sit crossed legged in front of our bedroom fireplace with a fire and/or just a candle on the hearth. Sometimes I listen to music or beat a drum as I watch the flames. Sometimes I just sit.
Ned Desaules and the United Order – 1 of 2
On a day when TV news programs carry images of 170 million Americans storming shopping malls in a frenzy of consumerism, here’s an account of a different kind of economic system
Bill Shrives
For forty years, Bill Shrives was a train signal supervisor for Southern Pacific Railroad. Every day, the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people depended on his doing his job conscientiously and correctly. As with nearly everyone who plays an important part in keeping the economy humming, it is safe to say that nearly no one thought about Bill Shrives when their train sailed safely past the signals he inspected.