Monthly Archives: January 2013

GCBC Week 17: “Where Is the Pavilion?” by President Henry B. Eyring

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This week’s talk addresses the distance we sometimes feel between God and ourselves, especially at difficult times in our lives. “Many of us, in moments of personal anguish, feel God is far from us….” President Eyring discusses ways to recognize Him, know He is close to us, and move ourselves closer to Him. He encourages us to have child-like faith and trust in knowing of his care and active role in our lives.

Where Is the Pavilion? by President Henry B. Eyring

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What stood out to you from this talk? What can we do to avoid and remove pavilions in our life? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

(A reminder to those of you who are new to General Conference Book Club: You’re welcome to return to this post any time this week and leave your comment and thoughts in the comment section below. You may also want to see what others are saying about the talk and engage in a conversation for mutual understanding and encouragement. A new talk will be posted each Sunday and will be studied and discussed throughout the week.)

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GCBC Week 16: “Protect the Children” by Elder Dallin H. Oaks

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This week’s talk is one of those powerful, direct talks with a good dose of doctrine and apostolic warning. Elder Oaks reminded us all of our obligation to care for the children of the world. His stern reminder reinforced the absolute necessity (in God’s plan) for righteous parenting.

Protect the Children By Elder Dallin H. Oaks

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What stood out to you from this talk? What can we do to obey and honor this principle in a world that is failing many of God’s children? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

(A reminder to those of you who are new to General Conference Book Club: You’re welcome to return to this post any time this week and leave your comment and thoughts in the comment section below. You may also want to see what others are saying about the talk and engage in a conversation for mutual understanding and encouragement. A new talk will be posted each Sunday and will be studied and discussed throughout the week.)

10 Reasons I Have Become a Terrible Blogger

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I’m sure there are deep, meaningful reasons behind my decline in blogging, but until I can figure those out, these are the best excuses I can come up with:

  1. My desk. Papers, papers, and more papers. Everytime I sit down at the computer, I am surrounded by the skeletons of unfinished projects.  For example: There are still stacks of Christmas card envelopes that I need to update addresses for. Also, receipts to file, notebooks full of random thoughts and lists that I need to determine if they’re worth keeping or not. Plus lots of stuff for …
  2. Teaching. I’m teaching a Doctrine and Covenants class at BYU right now. I love–absolutely love– preparing for the classes, but I’m not going to lie. It takes a lot of time, a lot of books, a lot of notes, and … a lot of ignored other projects. Oh, and I also teach Sunday School at church.
  3. Homework. Not my own, not my students, but my children’s homework. It will be the death of me. Every day from 3 until 7, I wage a treacherous battle of wills, wits, and unsharpened pencils. When it’s all over, I usually want to hide under my bed with a bag of chocolate chips.
  4. Crazy ideas. When my brain needs a break, I usually write some ridiculous status on Facebook or try to implement some long-desired project in my house (you know, as a distraction from the truly pressing projects). Just last night I decided to paint my pantry door bright blue. Sounds cool and fresh, right? Wrong. It looks terrible.
  5. The Book. This whole book-writing business is not for the faint of … time. I honestly think that the whole post-submission production process has required as much of a time commitment as actually writing the book. It’s okay, though. I am proud of it in a I-set-a-goal-and-actually-finished-it-all-the-way-done kind of way. And do you want to know something cool? It’s already available for preorder at Deseret Book! Seriously, like it’s a real book or something.  Go check it out.

So, there you have it. If you have asked yourself the question I have asked myself, “Stephanie’s blog used to be so cool; I wonder what happened?,” now you know. Well look at that, I don’t even have 10 reasons. That was only 5. I rest my case; I’m losing it.

GCBC Week 15: “Trial of Your Faith” by Elder Neil L. Andersen

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This week we will be studying Elder Andersen’s talk from the Saturday afternoon session of conference. I love the talk because I think it sets a clear path of how to navigate questions and doubts with faith and in a way that will bring answers and truth and testimony. My favorite part is when he points out the right sources to turn to when we are looking for answers and clarification.

Trial of Your Faith By Elder Neil L. Andersen

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One of the fastest ways we can come closer to Christ is to repent and regain the Holy Ghost. The Spirit can comfort, quiet fears, answer questions, resolve doubts, and restore confidence.

What stood out to you from this talk? What strategies have been helpful to you when your faith needed bolstering? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

(A reminder to those of you who are new to General Conference Book Club: You’re welcome to return to this post any time this week and leave your comment and thoughts in the comment section below. You may also want to see what others are saying about the talk and engage in a conversation for mutual understanding and encouragement. A new talk will be posted each Sunday and will be studied and discussed throughout the week.)

Oops.

Posted in Uncategorized by

This week has been a little crazy busy and I forgot to put up the GCBC post on Sunday.  How about just read a talk from the general Relief Society session and we’ll start fresh this coming Sunday? Sorry about that.

In other news, I got a preview of the official book cover today. Feel free to pop in at my author page and check it out.