Remembering Memorial Day

by ScottHeff (bio)

Images by ScottHeff.

Glad Tidings: An Appreciation of The Book of Mormon

by Bradly Baird (bio)

Bradly lecturing the Senior Primary

I cannot quite comprehend the fact that as soon as Singing Time began today, I lost my temper with the children of the Senior Primary. I stopped the opening song halfway through, lectured them on paying attention and being reverent, and made them sing the opening song again. I cannot quite believe that I was rude to one of our children and to a teacher who came to her defense after my unkind salvo. What I do know is that I was grumpy, tired, and had developed a massive headache throughout the course of our meetings today, and I allowed those feelings to interfere with my teaching. I didn't feel better until I settled down this afternoon and read these words from the Book of Mormon (and then repented of my misdeed).

Know ye that ye must come to the knowledge of your fathers, and repent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up.

And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his judgment–seat.

And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end.

Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you.

For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them. (Mormon 7:5-9)

So tonight, at the close of a rough Sabbath day, I express my sincerest gratitude to a loving Heavenly Father for his extraordinary plan of happiness and for his willingness to forgive me when I have offended one of his most precious children. It was a humbling experience and I gratefully receive the lessons of the day.

The First Date to the 101st Date

by brettmerritt (bio)

I just read an article on Primer called, "4 Simple First Dates that Don't Involve Dinner" and it got me thinking a lot about dates and dating and my dating past.

My first date with Amelia was a dinner and a movie.

I am willing to bet that a high number of people reading this did the exact same thing on their first date. Now, there is nothing wrong with this. I love dinner. I love movies. So does my wife.

But it got me thinking that of the 160-175 dates we've been on in our courtship and marriage, 140 of them are probably dinner and a movie. That's not great. I mean, it's fiiiiiine but there's no magic. Ideally, we would take more chances and do a variety of activities. The point is that it's up to us to make our dates fun and ensure it's a time where we are actually reconnecting with and enjoying the company of our spouse (or significant other). The more adventurous we can make our dating, the more alive our relationship will feel. I hope, anyway. This is new territory for me.

The trouble with this plan is the planning. In fact, one of the times we decided to forgo dinner/movie, we went to a concert. We stood in line in the rain, bundled up, waiting for the delay to be over and enter the venue. After nearly two hours of this, we gave up and walked back to our car a mile away and as we got in, we heard the music start. Yay.

So, here are some simple alternatives to the dinner and movie first date or 101st date (some borrowed from the aforementioned Primer article):

• Walk through the mall reminiscing about how much it has changed and how you have changed, eating ice cream or sipping a Julius while window shopping for running shoes or khakis. You'll find plenty to laugh about too.

Modern Mormon Sermons: "We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down"

by Saint Mark (bio)

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints call them "talks," but most non-Christians call them sermons. This is a series of sermons that many Latter-day Saints love and believe. I hope these sermons promote and perfect your faith as they do mine.

Read or watch the sermon here.

First of all, don't you just love this photo! Elder Hales and he should have a jet fighter challenge. I'd much rather see them fly onto an aircraft carrier under a banner that says "Mission Accomplished."

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf began his April 2009 General Conference sermon with a story, which is similar to how President Monson usually speaks. And, like President Monson, President Uchtdorf captures my attention.

On a dark December night 36 years ago, a Lockheed 1011 jumbo jet crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing over 100 people. This terrible accident was one of the deadliest crashes in the history of the United States.

A curious thing about this accident is that all vital parts and systems of the airplane were functioning perfectly—the plane could have easily landed safely at its destination in Miami, only 20 miles away.

During the final approach, however, the crew noticed that one green light had failed to illuminate—a light that indicates whether or not the nose landing gear has extended successfully. The pilots discontinued the approach, set the aircraft into a circling holding pattern over the pitch-black Everglades, and turned their attention toward investigating the problem.

They became so preoccupied with their search that they failed to realize the plane was gradually descending closer and closer toward the dark swamp below. By the time someone noticed what was happening, it was too late to avoid the disaster.

After the accident, investigators tried to determine the cause. The landing gear had indeed lowered properly. The plane was in perfect mechanical condition. Everything was working properly—all except one thing: a single burned-out lightbulb. That tiny bulb—worth about 20 cents—started the chain of events that ultimately led to the tragic death of over 100 people.

Of course, the malfunctioning lightbulb didn’t cause the accident; it happened because the crew placed its focus on something that seemed to matter at the moment while losing sight of what mattered most.

President Uchtdorf speaks of having pure thoughts and that the key to such is filling our minds and lives with good things. I know people like to list what is not good for us in the world, but, to you, what are some good things that are on this earth?

Guest Post: The Crystal Baptisiversary

In spite of his pretentious pseudonym, GMP is much like any other single, active, lifelong member of the Church. He enjoys reading and writing, working on his car, and finding new music to become obsessed with, in addition to jogging, camping, and snowboarding. Ladies, he's pretty much your dream guy, except in that he is a self-proclaimed homosexual. His blog, Gay Mormon Pioneer, is a window into the life of the Millennial gay Mormon, struggling to live in accordance with the Gospel and occasionally succeeding. There, he chronicles his struggles with pornography and his desire to enter the temple, serve a mission, get married, and raise a family, with bits of his boring daily life thrown in the mix. Check out GMP's first guest post here.

Photo by Asako Narahashi.

May 3rd was the anniversary of my baptism. Fifteen years ago, I unknowingly made the most complicated and confusing commitment I've ever made, one that will have implications on every other commitment I make in this life and the life to come.

Today, I was reflecting on that decision I made as an eight year-old tot. I tried to remember the feelings I had before and after the baptism, but aside from embarrassment at having my toe float to the surface and needing to be dunked again, I don't remember much. I remember snippets from my interview with the bishop, his unusually grave attitude giving me some pause about the choice I was about to make. But, as with most  eight year-old kids, I was ultimately excited to be baptized, and anyway, I didn't feel like I had much choice in the matter. I looked forward to being a member and receiving the gift of Holy Ghost, but it felt like I wouldn't be allowed to choose otherwise even if I wanted to.

Did my young, bespectacled self realize the deputation he was accepting? Could he have possibly foreseen the life he would lead? If he did fully understand what he was taking on himself, what was his motivation? And if he couldn't see what the future was to bring, would he have changed his mind granted that knowledge?

I was thinking about that when a scripture I heard this week came to mind. Found in Romans 8:16-18, it reads:

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

This scripture made me realize that today is a day of celebration. Little GMP made the choice to be baptized, and whether that choice was motivated by lemming-like imitation, a burden to please my parents and the primary president, or a genuine desire to serve the Lord and commit myself to His gospel, I'm grateful he was baptized.

Ultimately speaking, that decision could be blamed for all the internal conflict I feel, the pressure to do what others would have me do, and the anonymous rejection I sometimes experience from my friends and neighbors. But those unfortunate circumstances are more than offset by the peace and solace I find every day through the grace of the Atonement and via the comforting guidance of the Holy Ghost. The storms in my life are aptly calmed because of the good choices one kid made 15 years ago. He might not have had the ability to see the future, but if I had the ability to change the past, I wouldn't try to change his mind. Might warn him about his buoyant toes, though.

Is Your Ear On The Track?

by Seattle Jon (bio)

image by Seattle Jon, taken at Teddy Bear Cove

A few weeks ago, we welcomed a seven year-old boy into our home. After nearly five years of trying to adopt, Jonny is a long-awaited addition and a blessing we were beginning to doubt would ever happen. Needless to say, his presence had an immediate impact on us.

My wife and I had driven alone to pick up Jonny in Portland while a good friend watched our other three children. After arriving home and giving him a quiet tour of our house, we took Jonny to have dinner at our friends’ house. They live on the ocean, so the kids (our four, their two) asked me to take them across the railroad tracks and up the beach to a shelter someone had built. The first thing I did once we exited their yard was to show Jonny how to listen for trains by putting his ear on the track.

After an hour of playing, we started back. The two oldest boys were already up the beach, past the stairs leading up to the tracks. They yelled that they’d climb the rocks and wait for us. Looking south, the tracks are visible for miles and miles and I didn’t see any trains. Turning north, the tracks bend out of sight a few hundred yards up the beach. Not seeing or hearing anything there either, I gave them a thumbs up and marched the remaining four kids up the stairs and onto the tracks for the short walk back to the house.

The first thing Jonny did was put his ear on the track, then to my surprise he said, “I hear a train.”

Mouse Killer

by MAB (bio)

Since we moved to an apartment in Amsterdam nearly a year ago, we've had a little mouse problem. Apparently it's nearly impossible to not harbor a few of the pests when living in this old city with its old buildings. One of the many perks, I guess, of living the exciting international life.

One of the first things I did was go out and buy a couple of those old-fashioned mouse traps. The kind that are difficult to set and apparently don't work very well. At least not with our mice. I would wake up in the morning to find they had cleaned off whatever I put out as bait but nothing was ever caught. 

After a few weeks of inadvertently feeding them off the traps, I stopped my attempts and decided to just let them be. I figured they were just cleaning the crumbs off our floor anyway. But over time I got this nagging feeling that these mice were direct descendants of the mice (or was it just the rats?) that helped spread the Plague. No, there are no fleas so my fears are irrational, but still mice are supposed to be dirty right?

Anyway, two days ago I entered our shower room (showers and bathrooms are separate here, long story) which is all tile and leaves little egress for adventurous rodents. While flossing I caught a glimpse of a wee mouse from the corner of my eye. It was trapped in a tiled corner with no where to go.

Saintspeak 9: The Letter G

by Seattle Jon (bio)

Another installment from Saintspeak, the mormon humor dictionary from Orson Scott Card. Previous installments can be found here. Reproduced with permission from Signature Books.

G.A. 1. Abbreviation for General Authority: "Do we have a G.A. at stake conference?" 2. Nickname used by missionaries for the Catholic Church: "The reason we don't baptize much here is because everybody belong to the G.A." (great and abominable church)

Gathering The practice of separating the Saints from the world by bringing them to live together at one place where they can build a perfect society that will be an example of godliness to everyone, as was done in Jackson County, Missouri; Nauvoo, Illinois; and Provo, Utah. Nowadays the Saints are told not to gather anymore, except at BYU during football season.

Genealogy The study of your ancestry in order to link up with someone famous in the Church, or, failing that, to link up with an active family that already has your genealogy done for you.

Glory of God Is Intelligence In their humility, Mormons generally avoid seeking after glory.

Golden Question "What do you know about the Mormon Church? Would you like to know more?" A question Mormons regularly ask non-members, but rarely think to ask themselves.

Greenie A missionary so new in the mission field that he still believes his district leader is always inspired, people are eager to hear the gospel, and his girlfriend will wait for him.

Guest Post: An Opportunity For Honesty

Have something to say? Anyone can submit a guest post to Modern Mormon Men. Just send us an email with your post, a post title and a paragraph of introduction (on yourself).

Ben Prime is a BYU graduate in Audiology and Speech-language Pathology from 2009. He is also a Graduate student in Communication Sciences and Disorders (Speech-language Pathology for those not up on their terms). He is single, modern, Mormon and incidentally, male. Read Ben's first guest post here.

One of the best things about being a Speech-Language Pathology student is that regularly we get to talk to very inspiring people. Very rarely is it anyone famous. Generally they are very ordinary people who have some connection to our field. Often they are people with disabilities, or caretakers of people with disabilities.

Today was one such treat. I won't go into the woman, or her disability, that’s not what matters. What matters is that you know that she has a visible disability acquired as an adult, with all the mourning and struggles that such a disability entails (which are similar to, but different from, the mourning and struggles of a disability from birth).

She shared with us how her therapist had dared her to go out in public and reintegrate into her life, and how hard it was at first. She then shared with us how when she'd finally gotten to the point where she was comfortable with reemerging, a child asked her parents at the grocery store, "What's wrong with that lady?"  This is where the woman becomes extraordinary. She asks the parents' permission to talk to their child and explains, "I was sick, and because of that now I have to talk differently." A very simple and honest answer.

To which the child responded, "Cool! Can I try?"

She went on to explain how we, as speech therapists, should encourage people in her position to speak up for themselves. She said, "In that moment when someone first asks a question is an opportunity for honesty." After the presentation, I went up to thank her and asked if I could pass on this pearl of wisdom. She said, "Please do."

I feel like I've stumbled on a major theoretical refiguring of my life. Instead of seeing it as frustrating to explain the gospel, a disorder, my work, my life or anything else to someone, I can now try my best to see that first moment of questioning as an opportunity for honesty.

The Uchtdorf Meme

by Scott Hales (bio)

If you've been on the internet lately you've no doubt come across internet memes, those pesky works of viral pop art that occasionally show up on your Facebook News Feed. You know, like the lolcats, the Y U No Guy, and my personal favorite, the Condescending Willy Wonka.

Not surprisingly, Mormons have been quick to jump on the internet meme bandwagon. For example, on Facebook, you can join the group BYU Memes and have all sorts of fun looking at the Mormon- and BYU-themed memes that Mormon Facebookers from around the world have come up with. You'll also notice, as I have, that a subgenre of the Mormon meme is developing: The Uctdorf Meme!

Here are just a few examples:

For a while, this image got a lot of sky mileage...