Meridian has published over 1,500 original articles in 2013 alone. We’ve totaled up the page views and present to you now the top 25 most viewed articles of the year. The articles that have received the most attention are an interesting reflection on the issues that are most pressing to Latter-Day Saints as a people. Issues like traditional marriage, religious freedom, and women and the priesthood figured prominently this year.
Here are the top 25 most viewed articles on Meridian for 2013:
In any relationship, one of the things that seems to cause the most pain and anger is the feeling of betrayal. This same problem can surface in our relationship with the Church. For example, if a member finds information that conflicts with his or her assumptions about Church history, they may feel that the Church has lied. The pain and anger of feeling betrayed may take the leading role in the desire to leave the faith while the original troubling issue or issues may become secondary. A testimony lost at this stage can be hard to restore. What might have been sufficient answers earlier become insufficient once resentment-as a result of presumably being deceived-replaces faith. At this point logic and rationale take a back seat to emotion and answers to the original challenging issues are often met by a litany of other issues…
The odds of becoming a professional football player in the NFL are literally less than one in a million. I remember as a kid, dreaming of playing professional football. Nothing was going to stop me, even though it was a long shot. I was determined to make it and worked hard to improve my athletic ability as a youth. As I got older and played high school football, I performed very well and was a standout on my team. However, as time went on, the stark reality of being 5’9″ and 165 lbs began to set in, and I realized that I would not play in the National Football League. What I did not realize at the time though, was that I would be part of a story that was even more of a long shot. It would be a story that would not only change my life but also the life of a special individual and millions more who he would have an effect on…
Maybe you’ve heard that the Second Coming is at hand. Of course we don’t know the hour and we are advised to look forward to many signs before it is upon us, but prudent people believe that preparation is a good idea. The last time the Savior appeared to the world, cataclysmic events ensued. The entire geography of the Nephite and Lamanite nations was altered. Few catastrophes have rivaled that which occurred in the Americas. The Fall of Adam, the division of the continents in Peleg’s day and Noah’s great flood come to mind…
Something happened in the Garden of Eden that defined the battlefront of the continuing war between good and evil. What is the battlefront? The woman and her children. They became Satan’s primary targets, which prompted God to set up a safety net…
“I am pleased to announce that effective immediately, all worthy and able young men who have graduated from high school…will have the option of being recommended for missionary service beginning at the age of 18, instead of age 19….I am pleased to announce that able, worthy young women who have the desire to serve may be recommended for missionary service beginning at the age of 19, instead of age 21. . . .” (Thomas S. Monson, General Conference, Oct. 2012)
With those few prophetic words, President Monson seemed to open up a whole new era of enthusiastic missionary service for both young men and young women in the church. ..
She calls herself “the Tattooed Mormon,” but I call her a modern Mormon pioneer.
Why? Because the story of her conversion so similar to that of the early pioneers…
Although my ancestry is rich with pioneer heritage, I’ve really never known what it’s like to convert to Mormonism. Oh sure, I’ve had my own “conversion” to Mormonism (wherein I had to decide if I really believed in it) but I’ve never really had to pay the price for that conversion; a price previously paid by my pioneer predecessors.
Elder Tavian Alexander Haddock was originally named Slavcho Temenuzhkov Spassov when he was born in the village of Ivaylo, Bulgaria, near the city of Pazardjik. He was later placed in an orphanage some distance away, in Narechensky Bani, and was just five years old when my husband Richard and I adopted him. We had one “homemade” son who was six years old at the time. Our son Elder Baylor Haddock is now serving in the New York Utica mission…
Let me share with you a story that I tell during my firesides that everyone gasps out of shock to.
An experience that happened to me- due to my appearance- that when I say it everyone reacts the way I did when it happened. Although, truth be told, if it wasn’t me telling the story to them, it could of very well been any of them that did the same thing as this man did…
It’s been nearly open season to say whatever vile, critical or false thing you want about Mitt Romney and get away with it said Jay Nordlinger in his “The Superb Mitt Romney” published in The National Review
He writes, “What I have heard since Election Day is astonishing. Romney has been turned into something he has never been.” …
For 100 years, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has enjoyed a strong, rewarding relationship with Boy Scouts of America (BSA).
Recently, BSA has been reviewing a possible policy change in its standards for membership and leadership. Now that BSA has finished its review process and has proposed a resolution for consideration, the Church has issued the following statement…
I am a convert to the Mormon Church from Roman Catholicism, and gained my testimony as the result of spiritual experiences that I cannot deny. In this essay, however, I will discuss instead why, as a feminist, I remain a steadfast member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints…
Miley Cyrus, who has appealed to youngsters as Hannah Montana, gave a raunchy exhibitionist display, stripping down to a nude-colored bikini at the MTV Music Video Awards last Sunday.
“MTV has once again succeeded in marketing sexually charged messages to young children using former child stars and condom commercials — while falsely rating this program as appropriate for kids as young as 14,” Dan Islett, policy director of the Parents’ Television Council complained. Ironically, Miley’s father, Billy Ray Cyrus is on the Board of Directors for the group…
On the day that the Supreme Court announced its marriage decisions, considered dismal by advocates of the natural family, many Utahns gathered for a marriage celebration, affirming that they will continue to stand strong…
For several years people have wondered how Grammy Award winning solo artist, Gladys Knight, came to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her fame as lead singer of Gladys Knight and the Pips has brought her millions of fans, many who are curious how the gospel singing diva was introduced to the religion, and how she was converted.
The story begins with Knight’s oldest son- Jimmy Newman, and includes her daughter, husband, and almost inexplicably, R&B sensation R. Kelly…
The Academy Awards are happening this weekend, with Hollywood’s celebrities and filmmakers honoring one another’s work. The Oscars focus primarily on artistry, which is important to be sure, but from an eternal perspective is not the most important criteriafor what makes a movie “good.” Films like Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained may be well-made, for example, but an ultraviolent, ultra-profane revenge movie is arguably not an example of the force for good that cinema can be.
In conjunction with the Oscars, I wanted to focus on films from the past year that move audiences to live Christ-like virtues…
A crowd came to the Utah State Capitol Rotunda Tuesday night to celebrate marriage, marking the first of two days when the U.S. Supreme Court heard its oral arguments on the marriage cases before it concerning Prop. 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. The theme was “Every child deserves a mom and a dad.” Similar celebrations were held in other states across the country…
For the last several years, FamilySearch has provided members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with an online family tree that has been referred to as New FamilySearch (NFS). Recently, FamilySearch has announced that it is working on a new program called, “Family Tree,” and they have announced that Family Tree (FT) will someday replace New FamilySearch.
While a date for this replacement has not been announced, the FamilySearch blog reported: “Family Tree is a replacement for what was new.familysearch.org. Access to new.familysearch.org will be discontinued for all users in the near future.”…
Single and married members of the Church see the challenges facing singles in a very different way. In a survey of Church members, singles overwhelmingly provided a few very specific answers, while the married respondents only mentioned those issues a few times, while giving very different responses.
With this disconnect is it any surprise that we, as a general church membership, struggle so much to include and help our single adults? I hope that the following survey results and commentary will help you better understand the needs of the singles, and with that knowledge, create more effective singles programs in your area…
Orson Scott Card is at the top of his game. ‘Ender’s Game’, the $100 million motion picture adaptation of his classic, award-winning book, opens this week–a project he has been working on since 1996. You’d think it would be the moment to sit back and enjoy a well-deserved sense of achievement, but not so.
Instead it has been an opportunity for much of the press to malign him and for many, instigated by a group called Geeks Out, to push a boycott of the film. The critics, like a herd, have descended upon Card calling him a host of names…
The oft-repeated and oft-unanswered question “How does gay marriage affect you personally?” seems to be a rhetorical trump card. Talking heads in the media rarely have the time in our sound-byte driven news cycle to give a thorough answer to that question. Here I will explore why gay marriage, or the more legal terms of “genderless” or “equal” marriage, affects everybody. It has potential to redefine what it means to be a mother, a father, and a child. It places the rights of natural parents at risk. Genderless marriage may actually affect heterosexuals more than homosexuals, for it dismantles traditional family law and replaces it with a new paradigm of genderless union…
Over the last week I have watched as many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrated the courts DOMA ruling. Ranging from fond comments on “how far we’ve come” to out right praise of the court; I found the exuberance rather curious.
Following the numerous posts and debates over the subject I found nearly all of the debate missed some very important issues. In nearly every case the parties were debating the immediate impact of ruling on adults and local laws and no one asked LDS supporters of same sex marriage how they could explain the issue’s theological implications. It is true that many individuals alluded to this issue, but no one really asked the terrible questions which arise when one examines the doctrine of the eternal family in contrast to the impact of temporal same sex marriage.
Here I aim to broach some of these questions as if I were to write a letter to my imaginary cousin…
As the co-founder of Ordain Women, you are planning to march with a group of women to the general priesthood meeting of the LDS Church Saturday night to press for entrance. I don’t believe that you think entrance will actually be granted, because your requests for tickets have already been denied, so your motives must be for something else…
Have you ever suffered with depression, stress or any kind of mood disorder? Have you ever wished for more clarity and brain fitness? Do you, or someone you love, suffer from bipolar disease or other debilitating mental challenge?
If you can answer yes’ to any of these questions, or if life is just getting you down, then the discovery made by an LDS father, Tony Stephan may surprise and astonish you. His situation was desperate because depression, anxiety and bipolar disease racked his family-and he decided he had to do something about it…
I read recently in the Deseret News about a Latter-day Saint woman named Kate Kelly (lifelong member of the Church, BYU graduate, and returned missionary), who, along with her followers, are pressing for entrance into the priesthood session of the LDS Church’s General Conference. She said, “This is an important step toward a future where Mormon women will participate side by side with our brothers in all areas of church leadership and life.”
Sister Kelly, who is an international human rights attorney and co-founder of an effort called “Ordain Women,” explains: “This is about the ordination of women to the priesthood.” She says that she represents “Mormon women seeking equality and ordination to the priesthood.”…
Thank you for being our loyal readers and we’re excited for another great year in 2014.
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Lesson 1: “This Is My Work and My Glory”
Moses 1
Introduction to the Old Testament
A few years ago while visiting with a member of our ward, I happened to mention my excitement about some study I had been doing on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) recorded in Leviticus 16. She looked horrified as I began to share my discoveries regarding the symbolic use of the two goats on ancient Israel’s most holy day. The fact that one goat was sacrificed was abhorrent to her sensitivities. My friend expressed that she viewed the Old Testament as a terrifying book about a terrible (and “thankfully past)” time in the earth’s history. She seemed deeply troubled about the Lord’s commandments in the Law of Moses specifically. She could not understand how a loving God would require such behavior, which, in her eyes, was nothing but wasteful and cruel. In the course of our conversation she stated that she had quit studying her scriptures. I have always remembered one of her comments: “Why doesn’t the Lord just come out and tell us what to do instead of giving us page after page of gory ancient history?”
As I left my conversation that day, I contemplated the decidedly different feelings my friend and I had about the Old Testament. Her feelings and concerns were logical. I had experienced similar questions and wonderings myself. Yet, my recent study had been opening up new worlds for me. Most striking of all to me was the frequency of Christ-centered insights that poured into my soul. I had not seen the Savior so much in these historical passages before. Again, why was I getting Christ out of the same book that my friend was so violently opposed to?
Then I remembered that I had been consistently asking for this to happen in prayer. Unlike previous attempts, this time I had been making a concentrated effort to allow the Spirit to become my teacher by specifically asking the Lord to be my teacher. Simple, but incredibly effective-I literally asked the Lord to guide me as I read. It was working. This time, under the Spirit’s tutelage, the normally oblique words on the pages seemed to come alive. They spoke volumes to my yearning understanding. A strange kinship with ancient Israel commenced as their history was beginning to materialize in the theater of my mind. Scene after scene began to play upon my mental stage-each with growing familiarity and increasingly poignant power. I was finally beginning to receive this book as a witness of Jesus Christ. It was marvelous. It is still marvelous!
Of course, these experiences did not, and have not, answered every Old Testament question I have. Those answers await further study and revelation. But I am more joyfully appreciating this collection of the initial chapters in the Lord’s unfolding saga of salvation. The book, for me, has become one my most prized possessions. Truly the Old Testament can and does illuminate and testify of the character and mission of Jesus Christ-the Redeemer of Israel and Savior of the world.
Jesus is Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament
A classic over-generalization of the Bible is to say that the God of the Old Testament is unpleasantly strict and severe, while the Lord Jesus in the New Testament is nothing but caring and compassionate. Some question whether there might be two Gods operating in the Bible-the Father in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New; or maybe that Jehovah’s personality softened when he experienced mortality as Jesus.
However, both ancient and modern revelations declare that Jesus is Jehovah-the same God who gave Moses the Ten Commandments also broke bread with the apostles at the Last Supper.
In fact, the name “Jehovah” means “Unchangeable One” (LDS Bible Dictionary, 710). The Lord himself declared, “Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course in one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and forever. I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name” (D&C 35:1-2). Also, “I am the same which spake, and the world was made, and all things came by me. I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom; and verity, I say, even as many as have believed in my name, for I am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the blood which I have spilt, have I pleaded before the Father for them” (D&C 38:3-4; see also 3 Nephi 11:10, 14).
Another writer has marshaled helpful evidence of Jehovah’s true and consistent personality attested to in both the Old and New Testaments. “The same person who said, Love your enemies’ (Matthew 5:44), said of the Canaanites in the land of promise, Thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: but thou shalt utterly destroy them’ (Deuteronomy 20:16-17). The same Savior who said to forgive seventy times seven’ (Matthew 18:22) destroyed the entire population of the earth with the exception of eight souls (see Genesis 7-8). On the other hand, the Jesus of the New Testament who said that one who refuses to forgive another’s trespasses will be delivered … to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due’ (Matthew 18:34-35) is the Lord of the Old Testament who said, Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool’ (Isaiah 1:18). And the Christ depicted in the book of Revelation, who is shown with the great sickle ready to reap the grapes of the earth and tread them in the winepress (see Revelation 14:14, 20), is the same God of the Old Testament who said to Micah, What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?’ (Micah 6:8)” (Old Testament Student Manual: Genesis-2 Samuel, 1981, 48). Other examples of the sameness of Jehovah’s character could be multiplied (see also D&C 76:1-11).
Consider the significance of this fact for our development and exercise of faith in God. Joseph Smith clearly detailed the requirements to have “faith in God unto life and salvation” as “first, the idea that he [God] actually exists. Secondly, a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes. [And] Thirdly, an actual knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing is according to his will” (Lectures on Faith, Deseret Book, 1985, 38). Thus the only way to have productive faith is know God (see John 7:17). In this way, “to know that the Lord of the Old Testament was the premortal Jesus Christ has tremendous implications … [and] not only for a correct understanding of the Old Testament and the New Testament, but also for a correct understanding of the nature and purposes of God and of man’s relationship to each member of the Godhead” (Old Testament Student Manual: Genesis-2 Samuel, 1981, 48). Though imperfect and incomplete, nevertheless the Old Testament is an amazingly helpful history of the Savior’s ancient dealings with man that sheds precious perspective on the nature of God (see Article of Faith 1:8).
Background to the Book of Moses
The book of Moses is a product of direct revelation from the Lord to Joseph Smith. We naturally assume that Moses wrote the words of this book (Moses 1:23), however, Joseph was not in possession of that record, and hence did not translate’ the book (unlike the Book of Mormon plates and the papyri of Abraham and Joseph obtained from M. Chandler’s sarcophagi). Very soon after the Church was organized, Joseph received revelations and instructions concerning a translation’ (technically a revision) of the King James Bible (see LDS Bible Dictionary, 717).
During this time the Saints were subjected to severe persecution. “At one time a mob of about fifty men assembled, intending to harm the Prophet. On another occasion, Joseph was arrested on a charge of being a disorderly person. He was taken to a tavern where he was abused and ridiculed by men who spat upon him saying, Prophesy, prophesy,’ ignorantly imitating those who had crucified the Savior of the world (see Luke 22:64). Twice he was subjected to court trials in front of a multitude of spectators who were convinced of his guilt and anxious for maximum punishment to be meted out. After two acquittals, he was released, but the hateful mobs continued to hinder the work” (H. Donl Peterson, The Pearl of Great Price: A History and Commentary, 1987, 27).
The Lord revealed to the Prophet the book of Moses in the midst of these afflictions (June 1830). Joseph records, “I will say, however, that amid all the trials and tribulations we had to wade through, the Lord who well knew our infantile and delicate situation, vouchsafed for us a supply of strength, and granted us “line upon line of knowledge-here a little and there a little,” of which the following [the book of Moses] was a precious morsel” (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol.1:98). Little wonder the Lord chose to reveal the book of Moses to Joseph, it details some of the most remarkable visions in holy writ, along with the key to overcoming the temptations and influence of Satan.
“Behold, Thou Art My Son” (Moses 1:1-11)
Sometime after the burning bush and before the Exodus (see Moses 1:17, 25-26), Moses was spirited up to “an exceedingly high mountain,” where he received two visions from God and one visitation from Satan. Here the Lord introduced Himself, declaring to Moses: “thou art my son” (Moses 1:4), and further clarified that Moses was “in the similitude of [the] Only Begotten” (1:6). What comfort and inspiration! In fact, this knowledge would be particularly sweet to one like Moses who had been estranged from his biological family for most of his life. The prophet was then shown the other children of God from the time of Adam and Eve until the “ends thereof” (Moses 1:8). The Lord then departed, allowing Moses time to contemplate and process what he’d learned from the experience.
Who appeared to Moses? It was Jehovah, Jesus Christ. “It should be remembered that it was Christ before he was in the flesh who gave the law and the commandments to Moses, and who spoke for the Father, as He explained to the Nephites when he appeared to them after his resurrection. (3 Nephi 15:5) he was in the beginning with God and was God’ according to John 1:1. The Father was represented by Him and He acted and spoke for the Father, in the creation and from that time forward in all the divine dispensations” (The First Presidency: Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, and Charles W. Penrose, in James R. Clark, comp.Messages of the First Presidency, 4:271). Further, “all revelation since the fall has come through Jesus Christ, who is the Jehovah of the Old Testament. In all of the scriptures, where God is mentioned and where he has appeared, it was Jehovah who talked with Abraham, with Noah, Enoch, Moses and all the prophets…. The Father has never dealt with man directly and personally since the fall, and he has never appeared except to introduce and bear record of the Son” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:27; both quotes cited in The Pearl of Great Price, 73-74). This ability and authority of the Savior to speak as if He were the Father is defined by the First Presidency as “divine investiture of authority” (see James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith, 421; citing a First Presidency statement dated in 1916).
If we are children of God, then why do other passages in scripture speak of us still needing to become the sons and daughters of God? (See John 1:12; 3 Nephi 9:17; Moroni 7:26, 48; D&C 11:30; 34:3; 35:2; 45:8; and Moses 6:68-7:1). In the literal sense, we are the spirit “offspring” of God (Acts 17:28).
Yet, in the spiritual sense, through our own “falls,” we have become natural men and women (Mosiah 3:19; see also Moses 5:13 which explains that it is only when we believe and follow Satan that we become “carnal, sensual, and devilish”). As such, we need to be changed from our sinful and fallen state, a process symbolically titled “rebirth” (see John 3:1-8). This re-creation is accomplished by the Spirit upon our humble and faithful compliance with divine directives such as obedience to commandments and participation in ordinances (see Moses 6:64-68 and 2 Nephi 31:13-14).
King Benjamin’s people underwent such a change when they received the covenant of Christ and were specifically told “and now because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you… ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters” (Mosiah 5:7). Our mortal quest is to not just survive this life as natural (spirit) descendents of our Heavenly Father, but it is to become “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17) through our faithful following of “him who did no sin” (D&C 45:4).
“Get Thee Hence, Satan” (Moses 12-23)
Moses recognized the greatness of God partly through his own nothingness (Moses 1:10-11). After receiving his natural strength again, Moses was visited by Satan who tempted him. Notice his subtle salutation: “Moses, son of man” (Moses 1:12). Yet, the Lord’s earlier declaration fortified the prophet and he responded: “Who are thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten” (Moses 1:13). Lesson learned. Further, Moses could detect that there was a quality to the person of Satan that lacked the power of God’s presence. “Where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?” (Moses 1:13). Moses resists the devil’s insidious call to worship him and calls upon the Lord to cast Satan away from him. Moses wisely recorded his experience, though it is not found in the Bible.
What is different about the Lord’s and Satan’s countenance? Moses noticed that Satan’s appearance was “darkness” while the Lord was so full of “glory” that Moses had to be “transfigured before him” in order to behold (Moses 1:14-15).
We know that Satan can appear as an “angel of light” as he sought to disrupt the restoration of the Aaronic priesthood (see D&C 128:20). Also, Joseph informs us that angels of the devil can appear in such a way that detection is difficult without utilizing a key piece of knowledge gleaned from revelation and quite possibly the prophet’s own experiences (see D&C 129). Moses tells the key to accurate detection. “[God’s] Spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me… and I can judge between thee and God” (Moses 1:15; also v. 18). Elsewhere Moroni declares that the light of Christ will illuminate the difference between good and evil (Moroni 7:13-18) and Section 50 of the Doctrine and Covenants states that messages from evil spirits are hard to understand (D&C 50:15) while those from the Lord’s Spirit are understandable and cause edification and rejoicing (D&C 50:22).
We learn of the power of the name of Christ from Moses’ attempts to cast Satan out. Once Moses learned that Satan was the imposter he endeavored to rid himself of the evil presence. He was unsuccessful on three tries! (Moses 1:16, 18, 20) What is striking about this is that Satan kept getting more and more agitated but did not leave. It was only when Moses invoked the name of Christ, the “Only Begotten” that he was free from the presence and influence of the devil (Moses 1:21-22). Some time ago, Elder Smith from the Asian Area Presidency addressed a group of missionaries and noted that occasionally the presence of an evil spirit was the cause of especially persistence evil thoughts.
He advised those present to pray unto the Father, in the name of Christ, to have the evil influence removed so that higher thoughts could be maintained. He said this could be done in public with a silent plea or out loud if in private. He stressed, as the scriptures amply testify, that no power on or in the earth is greater than the Savior’s; therefore, if we call upon Him with faith on his name we will receive the needed freedom from evil spirits. I can attest to the virtue of Christ’s power in this regard and have always been grateful for that council.
“Behold, This is My Work and My Glory”
Having passed the test, Moses was privileged to receive further revelation from the Lord culminating in another “face to face” visitation (Moses 1:31). The Lord called him to be a prophet and “deliver my people from bondage, even Israel my chosen” (Moses 1:26). To do this, the Lord promised to make Moses “stronger than many waters; for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God” (Moses 1:25). This was dramatically fulfilled on at least four occasions during the Exodus. First, during the plagues of Egypt, Moses was given the power to poison the Nile (Exodus 7:20). Again, Moses was given the power to part the Red Sea, allowing Israel to cross while trapping their pursuers (Exodus 14:21). Later Moses was privileged to heal the poisonous waters at Marah (Exodus 15:25). Finally, Moses was blessed to produce water from a rock when Israel thirsted in the wilderness (Numbers 20:8-11).
Moses was again shown the history of the earth, as well as all its particles! (Moses 1:27-29). This time Moses posed two great questions to the Lord: “Tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so, and by what power thou madest them?” (Moses 1:30). Reminiscent of the Brother of Jared (see Ether 3:10), it is quite possible that the faith and desire of these two prophets to ask questions invited the Lord to show himself unto them. The Lord’s reply to Moses carries the most profound answers to the purposes of this earth’s and other world’s existence, as well as, insight into our eternal potential as God’s children.
We learn with Moses that there are other worlds, numberless to us, but known to God with “other sons and daughters, perhaps just as good as those dwelling on this planet, and they, as well as we, will be visited, and they will be made glad with the countenance of their Lord” (Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, 17:332; see also D&C 88:45-61). These all have the same plan and the same Savior as we do (see Joseph Smith’s poetic rendering of D&C 76 in Times and Seasons, Feb. 1, 1843, 82).
What is the Lord’s purpose in peopling these worlds, including ours? It is that each may have the chance to attain what our heavenly progenitors have already, in similar fashion, achieved! “Here, then, is eternal life [not simply immortality]-to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be God’s yourselves, and to be kings and priest to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 346-47).
Praise be to Moses who first learned this for himself and to Joseph Smith through who God has revealed it again in our day! But greatest praise of all to the Father and the Son who have and are providing all that is needed for our eternal progression.
Fellowshipping in the Parking Lot
On November 27th the Jewish congregation in my neighborhood celebrated the beginning of Hanukkah. They posted an announcement in the local paper inviting community members to come to the library to learn more about the holiday. Fascinated by Jewish culture and eager to learn more, I responded to the invitation and attended the event. I felt comfortable entering the library, having attended many events in the gathering room where the Jews were assembled. But as soon as I opened the door to the celebration I felt like I had gotten off at the wrong subway stop.
Several tables filled the center of the room, with children surrounding each one. Adult women peered over the shoulders of the children as they helped glue and shape various crafts. At one table, children played with a dreidel. At another they created a menorah.
Around the periphery of the room robed men huddled with their heads together. Several had long grey and black beards. All wore a yamaka and many faces were framed with curly peyos. Heads turned and stared at me with such curiosity I wondered if something was hanging from my nose. My palms grew cold and I felt a tinge of fear. What was I doing here? I was completely out of place. Why were there no other gentiles in the room? Wasn’t this event open to the public? I wanted to claim I had made a wrong turn and exit as quickly as possible.
Just then I spotted a woman across the room that I knew from my tennis team. I was as relieved to see her, as a child is to see her mom after being lost at the fair. I practically sprinted over to her, wishing we were better friends than we actually were. As nicely as she could, she asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I saw your announcement in the paper and thought it would be interesting to find out more about your culture” I responded.
“Well you can see this event is mostly for children,” she apologized.
“I intended to bring my grandchildren, but they cancelled at the last minute,” I offered an apology of my own.
We then exchanged information about our own children and I left as quickly as possible.
No More Strangers
I have never walked into a Latter-day Saint meeting and felt this level of discomfort, however, after this experience I felt a powerful empathy for those who had. Every person in that conference room was anxiously engaged in doing good things. The women were teaching the children. The men were likely discussing doctrine, callings, less-actives, or whatever the equivalent is in a Jewish congregation. None could be faulted for their excellent choices. There was simply no consideration for a newcomer.
On Sundays, I rush around like many Latter-day Saints, setting up my room for a lesson, following through on assignments, greeting those I love so well. If a stranger entered the building, I certainly wouldn’t stare because I would probably be too busy to notice. That was before my Hanukkah experience. I now recognize that if we are going to be good missionaries or even good fellowshippers we can’t let what’s best become obscured by what’s good.
A simple awareness of strangers makes if infinitely easier for them to enter our building and feel a sense of belonging among the Latter-day Saints. A friend of mine was getting out of her car one Sunday when she realized she didn’t know the woman in the car next to her. She waited a few minutes for the stranger to get out of her car and my friend simply smiled. The stranger approached my friend and asked, “Can I walk in the building with you?”
“Of course,” my friend replied. And she invited the stranger to sit with her during sacrament meeting. After sacrament meeting my friend introduced the newcomer to the sister missionaries, and to some Relief Society sisters. On Sunday this newcomer entered the waters of baptism and became a Latter-day Saint. This experience convinced me that some pretty effective fellowshipping takes place in the parking lot.
My son, who is the Elders’ Quorum President in his ward concurs. He claims that the parking lot is often the only place he can pin people down. “Some of my quorum members don’t feel comfortable at church,” my son says. “Sitting through sacrament meeting is as much as they can tolerate and as soon as it’s over they dart out of the building.” Luckily my son is quick and nimble and he can usually catch these folks before they lock themselves in their cars. “At least I can shake their hand, let them know we love them, and they are important to us.”
Recently one of my son’s parking lot pals showed up for a holiday party at his home. The less active brother insisted he was “just in the neighborhood and could only stay for a moment,” but he ended up staying for hours. He met other members of the ward, played games, told stories and for the first time in years felt like he belonged among the Latter-day Saints.
One of the benefits of finding a parking lot pal is nobody has to sit alone in church. Sitting alone in a sacrament meeting full of people can feel far more lonely than sitting alone in front of the television at home. When newcomers look around and see pews full of intact families sitting together on a bench, couples holding hands, or even single mothers surrounded by a passel of children, they can feel like they don’t belong.
On Sunday morning rather than screech into the parking lot, just as the minute hand tops the hour, and breathlessly slip into my accustomed seat in the chapel, I’m determined to give myself enough time to notice those brave souls who have made it as far as the parking lot. They deserve a friend to accompany them to the pews.
JeaNette Goates Smith is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Jacksonville, Florida and the author of Unsteady Dating: Resisting the Rush to Romance available at <a href="https://www.
<hr class=’system-pagebreak’ />smithfamilytherapy.org”>www.smithfamilytherapy.org and amazon.com.
Weighing in on New Year’s Eve. Literally.
The living room looks so much larger without the tree. And yet it doesn’t feel “back to normal.” It feels as if it’s waiting for a new chapter.
My husband’s family has a New Year’s Eve tradition of 1.) Measuring everyone’s height and weight and charting it, 2.) Making a list of the year’s top ten greatest moments, 3.) Writing down our new year’s resolutions, and 4.) Reading aloud last year’s greatest hits along with last year’s resolutions. Boisterous cheering and jeering are encouraged.
I understand charting the children’s growth. They get a kick out of seeing how many inches and pounds they can call theirs. Their graphs each look like a jet liner’s perfect take off, just as they should. Mine? Well, seeing as how I’ve been pregnant every other year of our marriage, my graph looks more like a heart beat monitor.
Despite my grumbling about stepping onto a scale (and demanding I get to do so in private and first thing in the morning at that,) it’s still a fun tradition. I love looking into the future and making predictions even if it’s just for one night.
In 2014 our new baby will take his first steps. Our preschooler will master the bicycle. A child will grow taller than me. 2014 will usher in the start of Junior High, it will hold a first day of kindergarten, a first dance, a baptism, and someone will get her braces off.
In our family, it’s customary to cherry pick a few New Year’s Resolutions so we’ll have something to cheer about at the end of next December: Learn to crawl, graduate from the 4th grade, try a new food, run a mile without stopping.
A handful of our goals are, let’s face it, reaching for the stars, but we like to put them out there anyway. For example, my husband has written down, “learn to play 12 hymns” every year even though he hasn’t had one piano lesson in his life. It’s still his dream to learn to play and he won’t abandon the hope.
But most of our goals are repeats from the year before, either because we didn’t pass muster and want to try again, or we did pass muster so let’s keep it up.
Because the future is foggy by definition and the past is 20/20, the best part about this tradition is looking back. When we recap the past year, it’s wonderful to see how life doesn’t always turn out the way we predicted. Most of the time it’s so much better.
A goal to lose weight was thwarted…by a baby. My husband’s goal to complete a triathlon sparked an extended family racing frenzy across the U.S. Goals to try something new resulted in a backyard production of Treasure Island, a traveling choir ensemble and memorizing Beethoven. Goals to move delightfully derailed so we got to stay in our wonderful neighborhood a little longer.
Maybe I wasn’t able to predict the number of stitches we got or the contagious bouts of pink eye that lasted way too long or the fender bender that totaled the car, but all in all, 2013 was a good year. And if I can hop on that scale still fasting, I can hit 2014 running.
Acting On Good Intentions
My dad used to say that good intentions are never enough; they must be acted upon. Still, I find myself too often with good intentions which I don’t follow through on. That was what was happening that holiday season. I was busy with preparation for Christmas when I had a feeling that I should go visit my friend, Stan, who was in a nursing home.
I couldn’t find time in my schedule, so I decided I would visit him right after Christmas. But Christmas came and went, and it seemed like instead of having more time, I had less. As the new year approached I still hadn’t visited Stan.
Then, one Sunday, I felt a very strong feeling that I needed to visit him that very day. The feeling grew stronger as the day progressed. By evening time I could not get it to go away. My wife, Donna, was having a choir practice, and I was the only bass that was going to be there. But, not long before practice was to start, I could ignore the feeling no longer and told her I needed to visit Stan before he went to bed.
“But what about choir?” she asked.
“Start without me,” I replied, “and I will do my best to get back for part of it.”
My youngest daughter said she wanted to go with me, so together we made the 20 minute drive to the nursing home. Once there, we made our way to Stan’s room and looked through the open door.
Stan was sitting on the edge of his bed with the television blaring. But he had his back to it and was paying it no attention. Instead, he was sitting motionless, dressed in his pajamas, his head bowed.
“Hey, Stan,” I called from the doorway. “How are you doing?”
He looked up, and I could see that he had tears rolling down his cheeks. He stared at us for a moment, and after he realized who we were, a smile spread across his face and seemed to engulf him.
“I thought my friends had forgotten that it was my birthday,” he said. “I had been praying all day that someone would remember and come, but no one did, so I decided I would just get ready for bed.”
I knew his family would have remembered, but he had apparently hoped his friends would, too. He struggled to his feet. He was a tough, old farmer, not one to show emotion, but when we walked over, he threw his arms around me. “Thanks for remembering,” he said.
I didn’t tell him I hadn’t even known it was his birthday, but I did feel strange as I thought about the feeling I had felt all day.
Stan sat back down on his bed, and my daughter and I pulled up chairs. We visited for a long time. He told us stories about his service in World War II, priceless stories from a generation that was quickly fading away. I had heard most of them over the years, but my daughter hadn’t, and she was enthralled by them. He talked about meeting and marrying his wonderful wife who had passed on not too long before he came to this place. He talked about his years of farming and raising his children. He proudly told us what each of them was doing.
I knew that choir practiced had already been running for quite some time, but I felt a need to stay with Stan, and I knew my good wife would understand. Stan talked until he grew tired, and the attendant came to help him get ready for bed. He asked us to stay until he was tucked in for the night, and we did. As we prepared to leave, he took one of our hands in each of his and thanked us for coming. He then laid back on his pillow, and drowsed off with a smile on his face as we tiptoed from the room.
As we drove home, thinking of the events of the day, I made a commitment for the new year to try more often to not let my good intentions go by without me acting on them.
Cartoon: Santa’s Home Teaching
Last day of the month, but someone’s got you covered.
Thanksgiving and Amazing History
There have been festivals associated with the harvest every since man began to till the soil. The Chinese celebrated such a feast thousands of years ago, and in our hemisphere, Native Americans and colonists celebrated the harvest years before the Pilgrims arrived.
Nevertheless, Thanksgiving Day, as we now know it, traces its roots directly back to 1621 and the Pilgrims of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Persecuted in England for their religious beliefs, they sailed to Holland in hopes of finding a better life. Instead they found a language barrier, cultural differences, and economic hardships. Once again they uprooted their families, but this time it was for the promised freedom and prosperity of the New World.
The Speedwell sailed from Holland in July 1620;, and met up with the Mayflower and more emigrants in Southampton. By the time they made it to Plymouth, England, the Speedwell had deteriorated so badly that it had to be left behind. Of the 102 passengers that sailed on the Mayflower that September, 41 were Puritans, who referred to themselves as “Saints” 17 men, 10 women and 14 children. Eighteen were indentured servants, and the rest, called “strangers” by the Puritans, were seeking economic opportunity, not religious freedom.
On November 10, land was sighted off Cape Cod. The Pilgrims chose a site on the mainland for colonization, and on December 11, first set foot in the deserted Indian town of Patuxet, which would become Plymouth. (Three years of plague had exterminated the Indian population.) During a bleak winter filled with sickness and hardships, 47 members of the tiny community were buried in unmarked graves to prevent hostile Indians from knowing the number of dead.
The survivors’ first harvest was a joyous occasion. A three-day festival of Thanksgiving replaced both Christmas and New Year’s for these Puritan settlers. Their difficult living conditions left them little time or resources, and their religious beliefs also discouraged merrymaking, especially on traditional feast days that the established church had observed. Since God had allowed them to survive the winter, Thanksgiving seemed to them to be a more fitting celebration.
In 1789, George Washington proclaimed the first national day of Thanksgiving. Abraham Lincoln declared in 1863 that Thanksgiving Day be held annually on the last Thursday of November.
The American traditions of Thanksgiving are steeped in symbols of our first settlers. And don’t forget your own family traditions, whether it’s Aunt Nellie’s candied yams or grandmother’s china gravy boat. It just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without them.
Looking for ideas that keep giving and giving. Check out the specials that Dian has on her website. These ideas will give you more creative projects to do with you kids and grandkids. You will create the traditions and fun that will last forever. Why not give gifts that keep giving and giving. To see the holiday specials go to www.DianThomas.com and check out the items in the store that are up to 60% off.
LDS Fiction:
“Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer” is advice given in Julie Coulter Bellon’s newest international intrigue novel, Pocket Full of Posies. Once again she delivers an edgy, high action story featuring a member of an elite hostage negotiations team based with the Hartford Police Department. This time Bart Gutierrez is the central character. Bart’s earliest memories are of a small Texas town and his close friends, Lucy and Manny. He never knew his father and his mother refused to talk about him. In his mid-teens his mother abruptly left Lucy’s father’s funeral to take Bart hundreds of miles away where he never felt he fit in and had to fight to avoid the gangs and neighborhood bullies.
A joint federal and local team, following strong leads, are set to take down a couple of high leaders of a South American drug cartel who have arrived in Hartford. Bart is annoyed with the way the head of the task force throws his weight around and his dismissive attitude toward the local team. He grows impatient with the amount of time wasted as the officers wait for orders to strike. Before the order comes chaos erupts inside the house they’ve surrounded. A gun shot is fired and Bart is the first to reach the pair inside the house and is shocked to discover the man is dead and the woman is an old friend from when they were children and teenagers in Texas more than ten years ago.
Unknown to Bart, the woman arrested, Lucy Aguayo, is an undercover mole biding her time to exact revenge for the murder of her father and uncle. Once circumstances throw the two together, they join forces to bring down the leader of the drug cartel and in the process they discover two things. The drug lord is dealing in something even more dangerous than cocaine and he has a personal connection to Bart.
Bellon’s characters are exciting, likable, and realistic to a point, but they aren’t deep character studies. The emphasis in her books is on the action which is well researched and keeps the reader’s heart thumping. She uses several people involved in law enforcement, combat, and international law to cross check the various maneuvers and actions her characters make. She also sets the stage well with exciting and varying backgrounds. This book takes place partly in a small US town and partly on an island off the coast of Columbia. Scenes also take place not only in Hartford, but in the air, on a yacht, on a beach, and in a South American villa.
Mystery/Suspense novels usually begin with a piece of exciting action to begin the story, then build the mystery or suspense as the story proceeds, then feature a huge dramatic resolution scene. A Pocket Full of Posies follows this pattern, but the tension remains high throughout the book with one exciting scene after another. Be sure to block out enough time to read this one from cover to cover because there aren’t any good places to stop.
Julie Coulter Bellon was born and raised in Canada, but now lives with her husband and children along the Wasatch Front in Utah. She taught journalism for fourteen years at Brigham Young University. She is the author of ten novels and the recipient of the 2012 Rone Award.
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POCKET FULL OF POSIES by Julie Coulter Bellon, published by Smashwords, softcover, 222 pages, 13.29, also available for e-readers.
Cartoon: New Tracting Idea
Brainstorming session with Elders ‘D’ and ‘C.’
Meridian Writer, Ashby Boyle, Named President of George Wythe University
Four years ago George Wythe University began an intensive administrative overhaul and cleanup of both its financial practices and academic records. Today we are pleased to announce the president who will complete final details of the cleanup process and lead GWU into a bold and bright future, Dr. Ashby Boyle II. As General Counsel for the University over the summer, Dr. Boyle is intimately familiar with the full history of the school, from its origins in 1992 to its painstaking turnaround starting in 2009-up to the present. Few match his understanding of GWU’s past, or his commitment to its future.
Dr. Boyle holds a total of seven degrees, which he earned at Princeton, Yale, Columbia and Cambridge, and he is intimately familiar with the classical canon of Western Civilization that comprises GWU’s expansion of the Great Books curriculum. A former adviser to President Ford and law clerk for Chief Justice Warren Burger of the United States Supreme Court, Dr. Boyle also taught religious ethics and other subjects at Yale for five years. Utterly committed to the cause of liberty, he has received awards and fellowships to conduct research on Spain’s transformation from a fascist dictatorship to a constitutional form of government, to teach property law, and to publish a critique of religious jurisprudence at Supreme Court. He is also a practicing attorney in New York and Utah. Dr. Boyle is uniquely qualified to both lead and teach at an institution devoted to mentoring the classics for the virtues of statesmanship. You can learn more about Dr. Boyle in his official bio.
Dr. Boyle also brings a host of valuable associates gained over his illustrious career-an asset of reputation and future recommendations that will significantly benefit GWU students as they seek opportunities in their quest to move the cause of liberty. Both administratively and legally, few people are as qualified as Dr. Boyle to serve as president of GWU to complete its cleanup, and to lead its students into a bold future.
As we celebrate new leadership, we would be ungrateful if we did not affectionately thank our most recent president, Dr. Schulthies, for paving the way for this development. During his tenure, President Schulthies introduced a vital ethics component into the curriculum and he raised the academic bar to the present level. At the same time, he tirelessly sacrificed to work on solving the serious administrative problems he inherited, a labor for which we are all deeply grateful and indebted. We anticipate great things of him in his next administrative role as Headmaster of John Adams Academy in Roseville, California. As a favorite instructor among students, we are also pleased that he will remain on the GWU faculty to teach via live video feed into the classroom of future semesters-a use of technology we now utilize with other select faculty as well.
Meanwhile, we are delighted today to announce the appointment of President Boyle. With Fall Semester rapidly approaching he is busily preparing new faculty and expanding our alliances at the State Capitol the Courts and with the media. Having participated in this year’s Statesmanship Invitational as well as Commencement (the highlights from which you can view here), plans are already underway to further enhance these and other inspiring events. We now look forward to a fresh new horizon that is richer than ever-one filled with even greater opportunities for our students as they fulfill their missions while moving the cause of liberty.