Author Archives: S.D. Sorensen

General Conference Book Club Week 2: Elder Christofferson

Posted in General Conference Book Club by

01_06_chrisWelcome back to the General Conference Book Club.   If you’re new to the book club, you can find details by clicking here. I can’t tell you how happy it made me to see so many people excited to participate last week.  Your insights were phenomenal.  For those who read and did not comment, we would love to hear from you too.  Your comments can be as simple or as elaborate as you feel compelled to share.  I felt strengthened just knowing that I was part of a “team” of individuals who were sincerely studying and trying to find personal application from the words of the living prophets and apostles.  Loved it.

The comments will remain open on the Week 1 talk by Elder Holland, so if you 1) are just joining us, 2) want to catch up, or 3) haven’t had a chance to read everyone’s insights, feel free to go back there.

So for week 2, we’ll turn our attention to a talk given during the Saturday morning session of General Conference, by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  He spoke about the blessings, promises, and protection assured to us through covenant keeping.  It’s a great talk.  I’m excited to study it this week, think about it, tie it into my scripture study, and then hear what you have to say about it.

>>Click here to find the talk entitled “The Power of Covenants” by Elder D. Todd Christofferson<<

His talk addresses covenants ranging from baptism to the temple, and the important role of the Holy Spirit in keeping those covenants.  The video below is a clip from (I believe) the PBS special done about Mormons, and experts both from within and outside of the Mormon faith define covenants and what role they play in temple worship.  I thought I’d throw it in as an additional resource as we study Elder Christofferson’s talk.

A few basic details (where there’s been a little confusion):

1.    Just a reminder that if you would like to get an update when others make comments on this talk/post, you have three choices:  A.) Under the Actions list below, click on “Comments RSS”  to subscribe to comments, or B.) When you leave a comment, before you click the “Submit comment” button, click the little box below it that says “Notify me…”.  If you don’t see either of those options, click on the title of this post; that will put it in a page by itself and you should find everything I referred to toward the bottom of the page.  Or C.) Come back to the post as often as you’d like and just read the latest comments.

2.  Leave your comments about this talk here on this post.

If you are looking at my main blog page where this post is followed by several other posts below it, you simply click the number next to the word “Comments:” directly beneath it,  or if you’re looking at this post in its own page, you can just type in the empty box entitled “Leave a comment.”

“Mom, you’re not going to like this…”

Posted in Diapers by

This entry was originally posted on August 21, 2008.  (I’m trying to rebuild my lost archives.)

droppedimage“Mom, you’re not going to like this…”

(That is how 4-year-old Clark’s confession began last night as he was putting on his pajamas,) “… but sometimes when we’re at Aunt Becca’s house and I go to the bathroom …” (uh oh, this is going to be bad.) … “I can’t reach the sink, so I just wash my hands in the toilet.”  I didn’t even believe him until he vigorously nodded his head up and down and said, “I’m serious, mom.”

“But Claaaaark, that only makes your hands dirtier!”

(with a look of regret) “Oops!  And I forgot soap, too.”

You can imagine Aunt Becca’s great joy at hearing the news, her mind reeling through the many times she’d asked him to go wash his hands so he could help her make cookies or dinner.  Of course, Daddy thought this was a hilarious story and all the boys laughed and laughed together.  I have no life lesson to attach to this story; it was just too good to not share.  Perhaps my biggest concern is his great pleasure at our reaction of shock and disgust.  This does not bode well for the future.  Sigh.

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Worst jeans ever.

Posted in Uncategorized by

dscf2008So I mail-ordered a pair of jeans once. The company shall remain nameless (It starts with Cold, ends with Creek, and there’s something liquid in the middle). I really needed a new pair of jeans. And they were on clearance! And I really didn’t want to go jeans shopping with 3 children under the age of 5. And if I have to hire a babysitter to buy jeans, then I don’t have any money left to buy jeans. So I ordered them. And something completely unexpected happened: They fit! I was so delighted that they actually fit me on a one-shot mail-order wonder that I decided to overlook the painted floral design at the bottom of one of the pants legs. What a bargain.

So the first time that a stranger stopped me to tell me that there was something on my pants, I shrugged it off. But then after hundreds upon hundreds of people stared, tapped me on the shoulder or whispered amongst themselves, I started to get a complex. And then one day when my tactless brother told me it looked like there was cow poop on my pants, I resigned myself to the fact that my jeans sucked. Can’t people recognize a floral embellishment when they see one?

dscf2009(Go ahead, click on the picture.  I know you’re curious.)  Geesh!  Clearance, people!  Can’t you see they FIT me??  Well, I mean they did fit me before I “celebrated” the holidays all winter long and pushed their claim of “stretch” to the limits.  And while I took these pictures today, I noticed an Easter egg sticker smack dab in the middle of the butt.  Wonder how long that’s been there. . . .

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So when have you endured shame for the sake of a bargain?

Getting it right

Posted in Uncategorized by

Alright, there are plenty of things I mess up.  I’m not the most patient mother in the world, I’m always running late and forgetting things, and even Matt admits I’m no laundry maven, and well, let’s face it, that list could go on and on.  But I would like to focus on the positive here and publicly declare that there is one thing I do right:

Books.

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I read to my kids.  A lot.  It’s the one area I spoil them in and don’t feel guilt about it.  Holiday gifts always include books.  I’m also a sucker for book orders from school.  I love that their rooms have shelves full of books that are theirs to keep and read whenever they want.  We go to the library (almost) every Monday and they check out more books.  (Due to my skill of running late and forgetting things, I also pay enough fines every few months to keep most of the library workers employed.)

And you know what?  My kids love to read now.  Grant has started trying to read chapter books, and Clark reads so well that, despite being 4 1/2, he helps Grant with the hard words like “information,” “Philistines,” and “chrysanthemum.”  Even Natalie prefers to read books on her own than be read to.  She’ll sit down, turn the pages, look at the pictures, and narrate the story by herself, making it up as she goes along.  And if I try to get them to go to bed without reading them a scripture story, they won’t let me get away with it.

I don’t usually brag.  Hopefully my readers know that.  But this is one thing I’ve done right.  And I would now like to confess that my motivation is mostly selfish.  Consider the following:

  1. When my kids are out-of-control hyper, I know I can settle them down if I offer to read them stories.  They cuddle and listen quietly.
  2. The library is a free outing that also requires a certain level of quiet.
  3. They almost always bring a book with them when we go anywhere in the car.  Translation:  quiet.
  4. Now that they are “independent” readers, I start getting them ready an hour before bedtime and then let them have reading time until lights out.  Again, extra quiet time for me.  Books are awesome.

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So I’m curious, what’s something you do right?  Give yourself a little credit.

And p.s.  I am loving the General Conference book club.  You guys have made the greatest comments already and it’s not even halfway through the week.  Remember that you can click on the reply button under any comment if you want to respond directly to someone else’s comment.  And though many people have written long, awesome commentaries, yours can be as “small and simple” as you want.  There are no rules and I love just knowing that people are reading.  It seriously made me feel connected to a bunch of strangers to know that we’re all studying the same thing together and collectively getting inspired and motivated.  Awesome, ladies, keep it up!

My life was an inspirational movie, for about 12 seconds

Posted in Divinity by

Life as a mother of young children usually bounces back and forth between chaotic and monotonous, but there are occasionally profound moments that remind you of the power and importance behind what you’re doing, and without sounding overdramatic, your place in the universe. And so it was yesterday. We had a nice quiet Easter morning. The Easter Bunny came on Saturday, thus making it possible to have a nice, quiet Easter morning. The kids got dressed and we headed off to Church. By the time we got home, it was actually bordering warm outside, so they were anxious to play outside. Matt took them out to play while I stayed in and worked on getting Easter dinner ready.

I pulled my grandmother’s tablecloth out of the linen closet, and thought of her for a moment as I spread it across the table. I put the Easter lily in the center of the table, the one a checker lady at the grocery store gave us for free the other day because she said she “was just waiting for someone cute to come along.” (It had been partially broken earlier in the day, and the cute person she was waiting for was Natalie.) I couldn’t help but think it miraculous that it had held tight to its buds for several days and then chosen Easter morning to burst into bloom:
dscf2007As I wandered into the kitchen, I stood at the window and watched my children at play.  The ham was in the oven.  The potatoes were in the crock pot.  The song “Lead Kindly Light” was playing from my iPod, and there was sunshine coming in through the window.  I watched Clark precariously balanced on the monkey bars at the top of the swing set.  He was determined to get from one side to the other, but the distance between each rung was more than his arms and balance could reach.  I saw him slowly and deliberately sit on one rung at a time, lean to balance on his arms, and pull up one knee until his foot could reach over the rung.  He would transfer the foot to the next bar and then pull all his body weight across the gap, teetering while his trembling arms balanced his weight.  I felt anxious, half wanting to run out and save him from a 6-foot fall and a trip to the E.R., and half cheering him on.  He made it across, lowered himself down onto the slide, and grinned proudly as he propelled himself back to the ground.

The thought occurred to me that this was symbolic of our parent-child relationship.  As he grows older and becomes more and more independent, I will watch him through the figurative window.  I’ll worry when he seems close to danger, and I’ll celebrate as I see him triumph.  And then, with the leftovers of Easter lessons and thoughts floating around in my mind, I realized it was a symbol of the relationship I have with Jesus Christ.  I try to be so independent, and sometimes I am clumsy.  He could come rescue me each time I struggle, but He lets me work through things.  He helps me develop the skills and confidence I need to face the next round of challenges.  If I do fall, He always catches me and heals me.  And He cheers me on all along the way as I try and try again.

I snapped out of my thoughtful trance and as my eyes refocused, I noticed for the very first time that buds had begun to grow on the tree outside my kitchen window.  After a long and dreadful winter, and the thoughts I just had about my Savior, it was a miracle.  That tree was the first real sign of Spring that I had seen, and a reminder of the power of Easter and the promise of renewal.

budding-leavesAnd all that happened in about 12 seconds or so.  It really felt like a magical, transcendent moment with a soundtrack and everything, and then it was over.  Natalie needed a diaper change, the table had to be set, and I found a rotten sippy cup that needed to be cleaned.  But it was nice while it lasted, and it was a poignant Easter moment.

(This post was entered in the April Write-away Contest at Scribbit.)