A Journalist's Testimony

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by Lauren Johnson:

I’m a journalist. Back in 2007, after graduating college, and having a hard time landing my first job, I took off for a reporting workshop in L.A.  It was there that I reported on my first murder.  I wrote about this experience in my journal seven years ago.

“A day I’ll never forget was my second day of field reporting. I reported on my first murder. It was overwhelming … to say the least. The man--Edward Gaucho--was only 19-years old, and was sitting on his porch the previous night with friends when a drive-by shooting took place. I interviewed the LAPD, his neighbors, his brother, and his friend.  We went to Edward’s apartment where his family still resides. His brother showed us Edwards’s graduation photo and told us what a great older brother he was. He and his friend pointed out where the bullet holes in the door and ceiling were. They started arguing over one bullet hole, because the brothers’ friend said it was an old one, "when they shot the other guy." It was hard to think these boys could be no older than 12 and had already seen numerous shootings, one ending in the death of a brother. I realized that if this mother could, she would move her children into a safer environment. Yet, it was obvious she couldn't afford to, nor did she speak any English. 

What is Appropriate Religious Decor for Our Homes?

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by Lauren Johnson:

Saint Mark brought this 2009 Conference talk by Elder Gary Stevenson to my attention back in his November post.

Elder Stevenson encouraged us to take a virtual tour of our home with our spiritual eyes… “Is it clean and orderly, and do you see uplifting images, which include appropriate pictures of the temple and the Savior?”

It was a beautiful talk, but one that caused me some questioning. What are "appropriate pictures"? Art within my home has always been quite personal. I am deeply moved by art. I don’t own a Greg Olsen painting, and it’s not because I don’t think he’s talented, or appreciate what he does, but personally, realism art does nothing for me. When it comes to art sold at Deseret Book, the only artist that resonates with me is Minerva Teichert, but I want an original (not that I can afford such a thing) and it would gnaw on me if I purchased a print.

May You Be Nourished and Strengthened After Reading

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by Lauren Johnson:

If they had trademarked it, just think how rich the person who coined the term "Nourish and Strengthen" would be. (I gave it caps there for respect). What if he/she had a penny for every time it was said? Millionaires, they'd be millionaires!

How in the world did we all agree that the best way to bless the food was to ask God that it  Nourish and Strengthen our bodies? Was there a sustaining vote? How did this three-word term get so solidified in the books of LDS prayer?

Do we really feel we should bless the mint fudge brownies at the linger-longer to Nourish and Strengthen us? Do the non-member visitors (I don't like the word "investigators") at the linger-longers think it's hilarious? Probably. Shouldn't we bless the brownies instead to not make us sick, or increase the circumference of our muffin top? Do any of us prayer-memorizers actually say Nourish and Strengthen in real life? (unless you're talking about shampoo, please don't say yes).

So many questions, I know. But now, here's a proposal. I think it's time for a "Say No to Nourish and Strengthen" campaign. The world must be full of other wonderful, and equally nourishing, terms we can use when we bless the food.

a quick brainstorm gives me:
"energize and stabilize"
"metabolize and digest"
"help" (Yup. One word. It's brilliant. Please bless this food that it will "help" our bodies.)

Guest Post: BASEcamp - A Youth Program Reinvented

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When Greg Tanner walked away as Director of the BYU youth program—EFY—after 12 years, it was a leap of faith; but one he felt he had to take. He knew it was time to bring forward a vision for a youth program that had been building in his mind, and in his heart.

The powers-to-be at EFY didn't seem to want more "change." Greg, on the other hand, couldn't stop thinking about change. He saw how the times had changed, he saw how the responsibility of the youth had grown and changed, he saw the mission-age change, and he took to heart the words of the brethren who expressed a need for our homes and our communities to be an MTC.

Today, Greg's vision has become a reality, and BASEcamp is helping LDS youth learn how to Believe, Act, Serve, and Endure.

When asked the major differences between EFY and BASEcamp, Greg explains that BASEcamp is about active learning, opposed to passive learning. Greg carries with him a passion for teaching the youth, and understanding their great responsibility. He feels their lives are full of incredible challenges, but also opportunity. He hopes to help them rise to the occasion. With that in mind, Greg believes there is a need beyond simply having the speakers and classes. Rather, BASEcamp is filled with workshops where youth actively participate. The core curriculum focuses on learning, and learning to teach. Greg explains that you have to learn something in order to teach it. The youth role-play with missionary discussions, and the participants are asked to teach what they know. A big question posed to the youth is: "How do we now help people, knowing what we now know?" The youth are encouraged to think about service, and how their knowledge can benefit others.

Similarly to EFY, they have counselors for the children, but these leaders are instead referred to as "Guides." Greg uses the description of someone who guides people up the mountain, but those climbing still have to climb, and do the work.

Greg strives to make BASEcamp more affordable, and feels strongly about families attending together, because there is more strength and knowledge in numbers. If siblings attend together, the first participant is full price, and the other children--only half the cost.

Thirteen-year-olds get to attend BASEcamp, rather than EFY's strict 14-years-old and older policy. Greg sees no reason to wait. "Sure, we have a dance," he says, and many wonder if a 13-year-old can dance, but Greg says: "How many 18-year-olds can dance?" He says the dance is a social activity, where line dances, and switching partners during slow songs happens. In this day and age, and with the changing times, he repeats: "There is no reason we shouldn't want our 13-year-olds to participate."

Guest Post: Getting a Little Passionate This Morning With the Comment Section

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

Lauren Johnson received her degree in journalism from the University of Utah and served a Mormon mission in Cleveland, Ohio. A laid-off television reporter, she currently resides in Salt Lake City. Lauren is an avid blogger - you can find her at laurenruthie.blogspot.com. She’s also a tweeter @laurenruthie. Read her first MMM guest post here.

Each morning, it's the same. I wake up, roll over, drink my cup of water sitting on my bedside table placed there the night before, and then grab my phone and read the news. Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune, Google News, and CNN are my basic morning go-to's.

Before I go further, last night was a more difficult night. I laid in bed and worried about my future. Uncertainty weighed on me. I think I can say I was genuinely frightened. Fear is a very real feeling--one to be dealt with--but, I believe, unnecessary in achieving anything that one wants in life. Fear is the opposite of faith. That sums it up. And although I understand this, sometimes fear creeps up on me and I have to face it. I don't try to run away from my fear, because it will always catch me. Instead, I embrace it. I hold it close, as if it were a child with nowhere to go, and I try to understand and listen to what it has to say. I repeat back to my fear what it tells me, to make sure I understand. I have a conversation with my fear. Yesterday, I felt the fear of giving up what I thought was my dream career in reporting. I felt the fear of not having a job I loved, and not making enough money to support myself or those I love. And then I felt the fear and "what ifs" of marriage and love. What if I never got married? What if I didn't become a mother? There were a few tears, but after talking it out I felt a bit better--safer--and I fell asleep.

Back to this morning: I woke up. I drank my water. I grabbed my phone and started reading. The first headline that caught my eye was from Deseret News: Number of Older Women Having Babies Continues to Grow.

I read the article with happiness. I could tell my fear had snuck off while I slept. It seemed I had given my fear enough comfort and enough listening and love, that he was good to skip off and do his own thing for a while, rather than keep tormenting me.

The article definitely described the negatives of later motherhood. Things fear and I have talked about before--energy and health, fertility, generational gaps. But it also talked about the benefits that made me so happy--that children with older parents have higher IQ's, better vocabularies, better opportunities and security, and that parents of older children often live longer. The thing that made me the most happy was realizing that it was NORMAL. I knew this. Of course I knew this! Gosh, I only know thousands of ladies and gentlemen just like me in the Salt Lake Valley alone. Older parenting is the new NORMAL. I am not alone.

Then I went to the comment section.

Guest Post: Single, 32, Female and Mormon

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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).

Lauren Johnson received her degree in journalism from the University of Utah and served a Mormon mission in Cleveland, Ohio. A laid-off television reporter, she currently resides in Salt Lake City. Lauren is an avid blogger. You can find her at: laurenruthie.blogspot.com. She’s also a tweeter: @laurenruthie

Single, 32, female and Mormon. Okay, so it might not be that unusual anymore. Thirty years ago I could have still been thrown into Old Maid category. Thank heavens times have changed. Now, it’s hip to be single — in a Sex in the City sort of way … or rather: “Make-Outs in the City?” Or how about “Modern Mormon Make-Outs in the City?” Yes, that’s it. And just like Carrie from our favorite single city show I get to wear Manolo Blahnik heels and a Marc Jacobs dress (with added sleeves). Which makes me think that maybe this should be called Modern Mormon Make-Outs in the City: in an economically-hipster-sorta-way, since most of my clothes are vintage finds from Deseret Industries, with a few H&M hand-me-downs that slightly resemble a Marc Jacobs dress in a cheap, not-so-Marc Jacobs sort of way.

And with all that being said, now I’m back to wondering if it really is hip being Mormon, single and in a city far from the size of Manhattan when I don’t even have enough money for those dreamy heels. (Sure, the make-outs are great, but I think something else, perhaps, maybe … could be better? Just saying.