Marriage

Posted in Divinity by

I came across this quote today.  I like it.  I acknowledge that there are exceptions for abuse or other extremes, but it is a sound principle we can all do better at.

“When people are married, instead of trying to get rid of each other, reflect that you have made your choice, and strive to honor and keep it, do not manifest that you have acted unwisely and say that you have made a bad choice,nor let any body know you think you have.  You made your own choice, stick to it, and strive to comfort and assist each other.”  Brigham Young, Deseret News, 29 May 1861, 98.

Tribute to Sister Julie B. Beck

Posted in Divinity by

Sister Julie B. Beck has served as the general president of the Relief Society, the largest women’s organization in the world, for five years.  While I look forward to learning from the new president, Sister Linda K. Burton, I couldn’t go without honoring what Sister Beck has done for me personally.

There are so many things I could say about the powerful influence that Sister Beck has had on my testimony, but I think the best evidence is this list of posts where I have quoted her or referred to some of her teachings and counsel:

pornography-satans-power-tool/

personal-revelation-and-testimony

the-lioness-at-the-gate/

dear-not-feeling-it/

the-anti-mom/

small-victories-and-normal-failures-a-few-days-in-the-life-of-a-supermom/

time-to-come-clean-lets-talk-about-internet-addiction/

gcbc-week-2-priesthood-and-handmaidens/

sunday-leftovers/

my-favorite-comma/

confession-and-clarity/

so-heres-the-thing-about-resolutions-or-how-children-ruin-everything/

guilt-the-motherload/

im-not-done-yet-or-continuation-on-a-theme/

sometimes-they-get-it/

womens-conference-final-chapter-intentional-parenting/

shut-up/

Thank you so much Sister Beck for helping me to better understand doctrines of Jesus Christ and better understand my role in His kingdom.  You have made me a better woman, mother, wife and disciple.  I’ll forever be grateful for that.

GCBC Week 1 and contest winners

Posted in General Conference Book Club by

[image credit: ksl.com]

Wasn’t general conference absolutely wonderful?  So much to love and feel.  The first week of General Conference Book Club is now up and running over at Becca’s blog, My Soul Delighteth (<– Just click right there.).  Don’t be shy.  Head on over and share your favorite conference moments.  I’m headed there next.

Here are the answers and winners of the questions for the general conference guessing game.  Answers are in red, followed by the winner for each question.  If there was more than one winner, then I shuffled them up and picked a winner using random.org.

General Conference Guessing Game

1.  How many new temples do you think will be announced?  None were announced.  😦  The winner with the closest number was Heidi.

2.  What’s your guess for any auxiliaries to be reorganized? (RS, YW, YM, SS, none)  Both RS and presiding bishopric were reorganized.  Oh, how I will miss Sister Beck!  Eight of you guessed right, but the winner was Becky.

3.  Take a guess at one location of a new temple.  Name a state in the US or a country outside of the US.  Again, none, so no winner for this question.

4.  Barring any absence, 11 of the 12 apostles speak in the four Saturday and Sunday sessions. Who’s your guess for the one apostle that only speaks in Priesthood session?  Elder Bednar.  Allyall was the only one who guessed this right.

5.  Who will conduct the first session of conference (Sat. AM)?  President Uchtdorf.  Twelve of you were spot on, and the winner was Mel.

6.  How many members of the church will be announced in the statistical report?  14,441,346 members worldwide.  Becky’s guess came closest.

7.  What color dresses will the women of the Tabernacle Choir wear on Sunday morning?  They wore purple/lavender dresses.  None of us guessed that right, so no winner to that question.

8.  Who will be the first woman to speak in this session of conference?  Sister Cheryl Esplin spoke first.  Shari won this one.

9.  What color tie will President Monson wear on Sunday?  Well, it looked to me like periwinkle :), so I took the three closest answers.  The winner was Lisa.

10.  Make a guess for a congregational hymn that might be sung at any of the four sessions.  There were four congregational hymns:  How Firm a Foundation, Called to Serve, Rejoice the Lord is King, and Hope of Israel.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but no one got this one right.

Okay, so there ended up being SEVEN question winners.  When they were all entered into a separate drawing, the grand prize winner was:  Mel.  Congratulations!  Send me an email (look up by my profile picture to get the address) and I’ll send you a copy of this great book that includes a couple of my very own essays:

Okay, what are you waiting for?  Head on over to GCBC.  Have a great week, everyone!

GCBC Update

Posted in About Blogs, General Conference Book Club by

So the countdown is on.  24 hours until General Conference.  So. Excited. (We got tickets to the Saturday AM session, and I can’t wait to take my boys.)

In case you missed it, you still have time to make your guesses for the General Conference guessing game contest.

This Sunday marks the beginning of the SEVENTH round of our semi-annual General Conference Book Club.  It is such a great opportunity to study and review all the talks from our prophets and apostles.  I have been hosting the GCBC here for three years. But because I’m taking a little sabbatical, Becca will be adopting and hosting this next round of GCBC at her blog:  My Soul Delighteth.

She will do a great job with my “baby” and I hope that all of you that have been so faithful in participating will continue to make your contribution there.  I also hope that those of you who keep thinking and trying to participate will take this chance to jump in and be a part of a great discussion and powerful study material.  So starting this Sunday, almost as immediately as conference is over, hop on over to week one of GCBC.  The first week will be a place for you to share your favorite conference moments, thoughts, quotes, topics, talks, etc.: a forum for celebrating what you heard.  Then starting the next Sunday, you’ll go through all the talks one by one.

It’s awesome.  Do it.

And have a FANTASTIC weekend!