Every 5th Sunday in our ward, the Young Women started a tradition where a member of the Bishopric comes in and the Youth can ask them any questions they have. By Way of Contrast, here are some example questions:

Young Women:
-Who is Heavenly Father’s Father, and why Don’t we worship him?
-Why is there Suffering in the world when there is an all loving God?

Young Men:
-If you could pet a panda, would you?
-Which is your favorite Star Wars Movie?

Is this just my ward, or is it churchwide?

I frankly find this disturbing.

President Clark, you have a problem.

So, I have noted that my typical habit of buying books and giving them away has once again depleted my inventory. So I have been shopping the internet tonight, and I started thinking about the fact that I should buy books that help people with their issues, which got me to thinking about what all the issues are that my lds and other friends are going through, and I thought I would posit to the group what the best “faithful”* books are that deal with these issues:

So what is the best book(and you can’t answer the scriptures) that deals with:
(more…)

So I have to teach the Young Men a lesson this Sunday on choosing an Eternal Companion, and while I was going through the lesson, I noticed a sort of lacunae.

Why do we want to get married?

The only thing the manual provides is that old chestnut “Men can’t be exalted without being married”.
(more…)

As I opened the August Ensign, and went over the prophet’s message, I found it interesting that in Aug 2008, the prophet decided to talk about September 11, 2001. Then I realized it was a reprint.

Yes I know this isn’t new by any stretch of the imagination. President Hinckley did this often.

And I know Monson has been repeating Sermons for 40 some odd years now.

But seriously, does President Monson contemporize his own republishings? Does he even select them? Or is this all done by some Ensign editor who with oversight from some curriculum guy? I’m just curious. Anyone know someone in the know on what the process is here?

*- I’m not bashing the choice to republish or asking for a doctrinal reason for it. I’m just curious about the process and practice thereof.

I just want ya’ll to know that this is going to be kind of a weird post so…um…it’s just going to be weird. I will divulge something about myself that I don’t think that even Geoff, my husband, knows. Well, he probably knows, whenever Geoff’s around I tend to barf out whatever thoughts are in my head. I’d just like to think I had enough dignity to keep this to myself. Until now! (more…)

Living in Oregon I don’t get to many of the various conferences, but as it turns out I will by in Utah this year during the FAIR conference on Aug 7th and 8th (since my brother in law is getting back from a mission that week) so I am going! I attended the FAIR conference one other time a few years back and it was a great time so I am looking forward to it this year. As usual, I see some bloggernaclers on the program and in particular I’m excited to see what Blake, Brian, and JimF do under the title Philosophy and Mormonism.

Who else has plans to be there?

This recent story over at KSL cracked me up (hat tip to Eric Snider and sorry if you saw this already):

A frustrating night for some would-be robbers in Salt Lake City, especially for one whose demand for cash went way wrong.

In Utah it may be a difficult deal to tell the difference between the words “fill” and “feel.” Last night when a robber presented a bag at the Cafe Treo, he told the server to “fill” it.

“The employee thought the suspect said ‘feel’ the bag, so the employee reached over and felt the bag,” said Detective Jeff Bedard, spokesman for the Salt Lake City Police Department.

Bedard says the suspect replied, “You’ve gotta be kidding” and fled the store empty-handed. “Maybe he had a chance rethink his life of crime,” Bedard said.

After the Duchess I thought I was through with dogs forever. I know that Geoff really hoped deep in his heart that I was through with dogs but I think in another spot down deep in his heart he knew that I wasn’t, because I really like dogs. So, after about 3 years of constantly being asked for a dog by all of my little babes I decided to give in again. (more…)

So, moving on to “the Duchess” (or as I like to call her, Fat @$$). We now lived in Arizona and had settled in to our new home. The baby of our family was now about 2 and I thought things were calm enough to attempt dog ownership once again. (more…)

Last December, much to Geoff’s dismay, we (the children and I) brought a new addition home to the J household. It was a tiny, cute little Rat Terrier that, after much debate, we decided to name Fui (pronounced Phooey). The Rat Terrier breed is very similar looking to the Jack Russell, but with a smaller head and finer facial features. Our dog is black, tan, and white which is commonly referred to as a “tri-color”. Fui is mostly black with a white belly and legs and the occasional tan spot. He looks like he is wearing a little Zorro mask and cape. Duh…we should have named him Zorro! (more…)

A new report from the Center for Disease Control is out announcing that for the first time more than 25% of adult Americans are officially obese. Now you may be thinking, “my friends may be a little overweight but I’m glad they aren’t obese.” But of course this study is using the BMI index definition of obese. In that definition your chubby friends very well could be officially obese. Here are some examples of obese people:

- Anyone who is 6′ 2″ and more than 234 lbs.
- Anyone who is 6′ 0″ and more than 221 lbs.
- Anyone who is 5′10″ and more than 209 lbs.
- Anyone who is 5′ 8″ and more than 197 lbs
- Anyone who is 5′ 6″ and more than 186 lbs
- Anyone who is 5′ 4″ and more than 175 lbs
- Anyone who is 5′ 2″ and more than 164 lbs

Do you know anyone who fits that bill?
(more…)

There was and interesting article today at Time.com (via Yahoo News) focusing on a recent survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. [Update: See more detailed survey results here and here] Here are some excerpts:

Americans of every religious stripe are considerably more tolerant of the beliefs of others than most of us might have assumed, according to a new poll released Monday. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life last year surveyed 35,000 American, and found that 70% of respondents agreed with the statement “Many religions can lead to eternal life.” Even more remarkable was the fact that 57% of Evangelical Christians were willing to accept that theirs might not be the only path to salvation, since most Christians historically have embraced the words of Jesus, in the Gospel of John, that “no one comes to the Father except through me.”

Quizzed on the breadth of the poll’s definition of “Evangelical,” Pew pollster John Green said the 296-page survey made use of self-identification by the respondents’ churches, denominations or fellowships, whose variety is the report’s overriding theme. However, he said, if one isolates the most “traditionalist” members of the white Evangelical group, 50% still agreed that other faiths might offer a path to eternal life. In fact, of the dozens of denominations covered by the Pew survey, it was only Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses who answered in the majority that their own faith was the only way to eternal life. (Italics mine)

(more…)

Last month I was “fired” as Ward Clerk and moved to be Young Men’s President. Our Ward is Small, and so we combine Teachers and Deacons. We have 6 active youth who run the gambit in family settings.

Recently an apparent issue has come up where rumor has it that someone in my ward came up to one of my young men and chastised him for having black nail polish on while blessing the sacrament. (He’s Goth, or Monster Metal, or whatever it is called these days. ). Rumor has it that the boy was pretty angry about these comments. I don’t know what his reaction really is, but I can imagine. I don’t even really know which Young Man it was (I have two Goth kids, could be either one)

Now these are good guys. One always wears a suit to church and purposefully puts his “down to his waste” hair back in a pony tail. He blesses the sacrament nearly every week, and while he has no plans to serve a mission, attends mutual every week, and faithfully helps his grandfather home teach and serve half the widows in our ward. (By help, I mean he takes them the sacrament every week and takes some of them dinner almost every night.) The other is working with me every week towards achieving his eagle scout, despite great personal obstables he has come accross. Both have committed to me to work on their Duty to God awards and Both are 80% done or better.

More importantly, I have worked with these kids for years as a Sunday School Teacher, and I have a personal spiritual witness of their vital worth to God. Before I said these were good guys. Let me not understate this. These are AWESOME young men.

These are really smart kids, going through normal patterns that really smart kids go through, rebelling against the norms of society because let’s face it, the norms of society really suck for teenagers. Sure some could argue that “Goth” culture (or whatever it is) is just another norm of society (a trap as it were so that even those rebelling from the norms would fall into a consumer friendly market that is easy to produce product for). But the real thing is, I don’t want these Young Men to confuse praxis as applied by some members as the Gospel for the Way that brings happiness in this life and the next.

Being a teenager is hard enough. You’ve got the “circus in your pants” problem, the relationships problem, the accountability problem, the “church rules now apply to you” problem. I mean, what isn’t a problem or challenge at that age?

It reminds me of another young man I know who was once given crap by someone for having painted Toe nails while doing a baptism. He had a crazy Dennis Rodman fetish and apparantly Painted Nails were part of that Fetish. That guy later went on a mission to Indiana and baptised me.

My first instinct is to paint my nails black, but I don’t want to exacerbate the problem by openly being a jerk to someone who was a jerk, and it’s only a rumor at this point, so who knows. And besides, wearing nail polish bothers me. My second thought was to have a mini lesson on hedges, based sort of on Geoff’s recent post. Or maybe a mini lesson on stupid people and the church, or even a mini lesson on social conformity and cultural misunderstanding across generations.

anyway /end rant.

Any ideas?

It’s finally over. After about 4 years of enjoying the higher law in our stake — a 2.5 hour block every Sunday — we are switching back to the standard 3 hour block. Lament and wail oh ye Queen Creek saints; Zion hath fled!

I know what some of you are thinking: “A 2.5 hour block?? That must be awesome.” It has not just been awesome… oh no. It has been the most awesomely awesome awesomeness that ever inspired awe in some… uhhh… people. But alas it is over. Starting this Sunday we are back to three full hours. I don’t know how we’ll survive it. But survive it we must I suppose.
(more…)

My third grade daughter was distraught the other evening. She has/had a crush on a boy and after school that day, fearless girl that she is, she asked him if he wanted to “go with” her. She never did find out his answer, but what made her distraught was that she later asked someone if it was ok for kids like her to “go with” a boy and she was told the answer was no because there was a “Mormon law” that said you shouldn’t date until you are sixteen. That kind of freaked her out. So that night after bedtime she tearfully came to Kristen and me to confess her perceived sin of earlier in the day. I calmed her fears the best I could and explained that basically it was really nothing and that she had not broken a Mormon law. I explained that there is nothing wrong with her having a crush on a boy and there is nothing wrong with her admitting it to him. And there is no law or rule against such crushes.
(more…)

A few months ago, I enjoyed being in a Question and Answer session with Elder Anderson of the Presidency of the Seventy, as our stake was split, This weekend he has returned as we are being moved from our stake into another Stake, which is also splitting. Having anticipated this meeting for some time, I began compiling a list of questions I’d ask him, some about things like the second anointing, others about theodicies, others still about the atonement and pre-mortal life, but this morning, I felt a strong prompting to ask my wife what to ask, and she laid out her concern, which I am sure our sisters over at Zelophehad’s Daughters could empathize with. So feeling prompted by the Spirit, I asked Elder Anderson tonight in the Stake General Priesthood meeting:

(more…)

So I found out just yesterday that the church officially announced it will be building a new temple here in Gilbert Arizona. I thought that was pretty cool. Then I found out where they plan to build it and realized that it is like 2 miles from my house (as the crow flies). That rules. No more of those arduous 45 minute drives into Mesa!! But seriously, I’m pretty stoked about it. Rumor has it this will be a fully operational temple, albeit not a giant one. I guess there are benefits to living near a lot of Morms.

Update: Brian Duffin sent me the picture below which is reportedly an artist’s rendition of the Gilbert temple although some say it is actually a picture of the Panama temple so take it with a grain of salt:

A few weeks ago, my wife and I were talking about Christ and how he never gives up on his relationship with us. We were talking about how he is perfect, and understands us, and wants us to be like him and his Father. And we were talking about how he loves us so much that he leaves it up to us, and doesn’t force us. Lastly, we talked about how he never gives up on us.

Then my wife reminded me of a friend of mine who I’d been avoiding, who had been really hateful to me, and hurt me badly, and we hadn’t spoken in years. He’d quit the church and tried hard to get me to quit, calling me intellectually dishonest for believing in God and Evolution. My wife reminded me that as Christ doesn’t quit loving, and neither should I.

As a man, I began thinking of How th Scriptures do say that “The Spirit shall not always strive with man.” and how Christ does quit in his efforts to reach some. Then I thought about how this could be: How does Christ quit on us? There is only one reason I can think of why Christ would back off. That is because it would be more painful for us for him to continue than for him to go on. It’s not his own pain Christ was concerned with, but it is our pain. He lets go and steps away because he knows it hurts us more for him to hold on sometimes. He allows us to “shrink” away.

This is kind of what I think is happening here in this life, Our Father in Heaven saw it would cause us more pain in the pre-existence if we were’nt able to progress. Joseph Smith once said that in the preexistence that we were oppressed, and the primary reason for gaining a body was to be free from this oppression. I think part of that freedom is freedom from the presence of God. It is God quitting. Cutting his apron strings, He let go, like the old cliched of when you love some one. If we love him, we’ll come back, right?

When I was in High School I dated this girl, we dated for six years, she slept with some other guy, and we broke up. I was crushed. I hurt all over. I wanted her back so badly, but after a while, when the guy moved away, and she was lonely and came back, I realized, as much as I wanted to be with her, to have ger be my life again, I had to let her go, because the pain we caused each other together was to great. I was hurting her, she was hurting me. We were bad people. In that pain, I, a wanna be atheist, called out to God and asked him to make the pain stop. A year and five months later, I joined the church, and the pain was gone. Looking back, I learned a lot from that year of pain. I learned a lot about letting go. I learned there is a God, and I am not him.

And I am not Jesus. Jesus quits because he knows it would be more painful for us if he continued. I have no such knowledge. Last night, I had dinner with my friend, grateful not to know, grateful for the ability to quit. To quit being angry. To quit feeling upset. To let go.

Hey: My sister-in-law is moving to Salt Lake to go to LDS Business College. I know a bunch of ya’ll live around there. She just got off her mission (to Utah, but Provo) and is looking for a place to live. We live in Texas, and I’ve never lived in Utah (except the MTC) anyone have any ideas of someplace safe (and really cheap) we can afford to put my sister-in-law up in?

I know this is atypical for the blog, but this girl is pretty important to me.

Just wanted to throw this up to get anyone’s thoughts that went to the World Leadership training today.

If you didn’t go, it’s playing every three hours on church satellite today.

Elder Holland Conducted
Elder Packer gave an Opening Address
There was a Round Table discussion by Elder Holland, Elder Oaks, and Sister Beck, Sister Tanner, and Sister Lant (I think)
Then President Monson addressed us.

Highlights:
Not everyone is meant to have a big family, but we should not discourage members from having big families, but help those who have big families. Other nations are much better than the US in having extended families. Husbands and Wives should be equal partners and communicate openly. Women leaders should be consulted in Church Leadership. Men preside, Women Facilitate Men Presiding. Church activities should support the family, rather than the church programs expecting to be supported by families. It’s ok to not have a perfect family or not to have a traditional family. Homemaking is not housekeeping or making bread. (At one point during the broadcast, my wife looked at me and said they must read Julie Smith)

If anyone else went, we were there with the kids, so were occupied, but it sounded like Packer said something like there was life before Adam and Eve. My wife and I wished for Church Tivo…

Let me know what you were interested in or what stood out to you.

This weekend our stake is splitting, so Elder Perry M. Webb of the Seventy and Elder Neil L. Anderson of the presidency of the seventy are here for a special stake conference for this purpose.

Yesterday, as is typical, we had a priesthood session followed by an adult session of conference.

As the typical nature of priesthood session, this is where the GAs are at their most candid. It was especially interesting yesterday as rather than having any prepared remarks, Elder Anderson opened the time up to be a question and answer session (with the caveat that we kept the questions spiritual and not intellectual, and with the preemptive example that he did not know where the sword of Laban was currently.) I never ask questions in these sorts of forums (Maybe because my first instinct is always to ask about the second anointing, which shuts me up pretty quickly) but there were some very interesting comments made, and I thought some would be interesting to share. (more…)

The Church leaders urged Utah legislators to bring compassion back to the discussion of illegal immigration. What does that mean? I’m going to suggest what I consider to be a fairly obvious resolution to the immigration problem that is also compassionate by my lights. It is also fairly certain to actually work!

Let’s begin with the obvious. We can count on Hispanics to continue to flood across the U.S. borders as long as there is no work in Mexico and jobs are plentiful in the U.S. We can count on it because Hispanics will do what all good and decent people do — they provide for their families. They look for a better life for their children. Of course there are those illegal immigrants who who aren’t good and decent who come to traffic in drugs and commit crimes. But they are only a small fraction of the many immigrants who have sought to made the U.S. their home.
(more…)

A new study in the news today is indicating that married couples who are willing to argue with each other (and resolve the arguments) live longer than those who keep it in. Those of you who felt bad about not keeping up with the old advice to never go to bed angry in a marriage can breathe a sigh of relief.

USA today has a fun little candidate match game which tells you who you should vote for.

Just for fun, who does the site tell you to vote for?

(It told me to vote for 1.Ron Paul or 2.Mitt Romney)

Steven King is quoted as saying that the character Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter series of books is the “greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter” [1] I think he is right on. I can’t think of a more despicable and grating and wicked fictitious villain in recent years either. The thing about Dolores Umbridge though is that it seems to me she is simply a personification and caricature of what we like to call the “Christian Right” in America.

If you have not read the Harry Potter series of books or have not seen the most recent movie (which features Ms. Umbridge) you may not know what I’m talking about here. Dolores has all the ingredients needed to make one’s skin crawl. She plays the sweet innocent role to perfection, complete with a simpering voice and (in the movie at least) all pink wardrobes to go along with her love for kitty cats. But it is all a front to cover a cruel, conniving, pitiless, bigoted, unforgiving, uncharitable, ungracious, hypocritical and bullying person on the inside. Dolores is cordial but not kind. She is saccharine but not truly sweet. She is a gleaming white sepulchre with rotting stench in the middle. In other words she is a true villain. (more…)

Men and women are not the same. I know this on many levels. I have a father, a brother, a husband, a son, and yes, even guys that are my friends. You would think after 37 years I would have a better understanding about what makes them tick, what drives them, and what they are really all about. Most of the time I think (naively) I do understand men pretty well. Then every once in a while a guy will say or do something that makes me think, you and I are not the same. (more…)

Apparently there are a lot of Utah Ute fans who are having a cow over a post-game comment by BYU receiver Austin Collie. Collie is the receiver who caught the long pass from Max Hall on 4th and 18 in the waning moments of the game on Saturday. That unlikely play eventually led to the Cougar victory. As far as I can tell here is what Collie said to a radio journalist in the euphoria after the game:

“I wouldn’t say it was lucky. We executed the play well. We should have had another one (TD). Obviously, if you do what’s right on and off the field, I think the Lord steps in and plays a part in it. Magic happens.”

The sports message boards and Utah radio airwaves have been abuzz with debate over this comment. Journalist Mike Sorenson said: “That implies a higher power favors one team over another and that his team is favored for being more righteous.” Is it just sour grapes or is there something wrong with what Collie said?

(I lean toward the former…)

So a friend at work found out I am LDS today. (Which is easy to do, since I have a book of mormon on my desk and tell everyone I am a member of the Church.)

Anyway, his reaction was really surprising to me. He said “So you believe Jared discovered America.” This really threw me off, as I had never really thought of it that way. I muttered something off about how people probably crossed the bering straight thousands of years ago, but that I did, as a believer, hold true the story in the scriptures.

so he said “so they came accross the ocean in submarines?”

I responded “um, not exactly” and briefly mentioned a us news and world report that came out five or so years ago about pre-columbus transoceanic voyages and the evidence for them. We then quickly switched topics to work.

It felt really awkward.

So why did terms like “discovered america” and “submarines” throw me off? (This is a friend we are talking about, not some anti-mormon attacker, just to make sure we are clear.) How do you deal with odd questions like these?

In 1949, several weeks before his 51st birthday, C.S. Lewis wrote a personal letter in which he reflected on the meaning and purpose of aging. He said:

Have you ever thought what it would be like if (all other things remaining as they are) old age and death had been made optional? All other things remaining: i.e. it would still be true that our real destiny was elsewhere, that we have no abiding city here and no true happiness, but the un-hitching from this life was left to be accomplished by our own will as an act of obedience and faith. I suppose the percentage of di-ers would be about the same as the percentage of Trappists is now. (more…)