Nine Months With a Dumb Phone

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by LJ:

So there was this one time I went from an iPhone 4 to a Nokia brick phone for nine months.

I downgraded because I was too tight-fisted to pay retail prices for a smart phone and because my inner hipster was reveling in the return to simplicity. (Or maybe it's my inner Luddite. Hard to tell.) I would eschew the time-suck of constant Internet access. I would curb the narcissist that lurks behind every Instagrammer. I would be better than all of you.

Let me spoil the ending for you: I am back in a smart phone. I took this photo with my Droid, which has a far better camera than the fancy point-and-shoot I bought in 2007. I texted it to several people, put it on Instagram, and then reveled in the validation that came rolling in.

So much for a return to simplicity.

However, this has been a return to convenience. This phone obeys some simple voice commands and frankly that makes me a little giddy. I can tell the robot inside to call my husband and it dials him for me. It makes a friendly pinging sound whenever someone validates me on social media or--even better!--tells me where the nearest QT is so I can get a giant cup of crushed ice. (Yes, I don't get out very much.)

All that being said, I don't regret the regression to Dumb Phone. It acted as a kind of reset for me, a chance to clear my head and realize I was becoming a total screen monkey. With my little umbilical charger cord severed, I spent 300% less time on the Internet. I called people instead of texting. I rediscovered how much I hated texting with T9. I paid more attention to my kids. I read more books.

Now that I find myself back among Smart Phone users, I have to find a balance. I can appreciate voice commands, the fancy camera, picture texting, mobile Skype and Voxer. (Seriously guys, it's an app that turns your phone into a walkie-talkie, which should appeal to the 5th grader in all of us.) I can also turn it off, put it down, and remember that my time is too precious to spend constantly losing on Candy Crush.

How do you find a balance?


Laurie Jayne (LJ) Stradling began her writing career with horrible grade-school poetry (the kind with illustrations in the margins). She has since moved onto blogging and the occasional piece of fiction, which has improved slightly since she gave up the illustrations. LJ is a quiet feminist, a loud mom, a well-kept wife and a fervent believer in prayer. She also believes that most dogs came to the earth after the Fall of Adam. Twitter: @lauriestradling.

Google Saves Marriages

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by Pete Codella:

We were out to dinner with friends. My wife was delivering a glowing review for a new restaurant we had tried with another couple a few months ago. She was convinced the restaurant we had liked so much was called Ho Hut, but then came around to the idea of it being Hu Hot.

It's been a joke with us since we ate there, a hut for hoes? No, that wasn't it. What was the name of that place?

It was a place we really liked, where you pick fresh veggies and pile 'em high in your bowl, then they grill them in front of you on a large rotating round grill with a handful of cooks moving around, spraying the grill with water to clean it off, then oil to season and sauté the veggies. It's an Asian stir fry joint.

I was convinced the place was called Hu Hut.

In front of our friends, we proceeded to stake out claims on the real name of the restaurant.

They were laughing and we were verbally sparing.

Finally I said, "Fine. I'll Google it."

Then my friend chimed in:

Google has saved our marriage so many times. There's really no need to argue any longer when a quick Google check on your smartphone can get you the right answer.

True enough.

For the record: The restaurant we enjoyed so much is called HuHot Mongolian Grill. It's a restaurant chain. You should check it out if there's one by you. Be prepared to be very full when you leave, even though it doesn't seem like you've got a very big bowl to fill with food.

Debate over. Name found. Now on with our double-date. It was a splendid evening.

And both of us—my friend and his wife and me and my wife—are still happily married. Thank you, Google.


Pete Codella: I've lived in New York, Texas, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah. I've traveled to four continents, shopped in Fez, parasailed in Tunisia, eaten caviar in Moscow and would love to visit my namesake and great-grandfather's stomping grounds in Italy. I was married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple four years after graduating from BYU, so you could argue at one point I was a ‘menace to the community.’ I'm a former singing gondolier at The Venetian in Las Vegas and BYU Young Ambassador. I work in digital public relations and travel to consult and speak about corporate communications and social media. I graduated in 2013 from the University of Utah's Executive MBA program. My awesome wife and I have two great kids, currently twelve and eight and full of life. Twitter: @codella.

Miley Cyrus & Mormons: 10 Surprising Things They Have in Common

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by Scott Heffernan:

My boss at work recently showed me a tool to help with blogging—Hubspot’s Blog Topic Generator. If you’re stuck for things to blog about, it thinks of ideas for you. Just type a few words into the space provided, and it will churn out headline after headline. So far, we have mostly avoided egregious clickbait. However, some of these topics could be pretty interesting.

• How to Solve the Biggest Problems with Mormonism
• The Ultimate Cheat Sheet on Mormon Men
• What Will Mormonism Be Like in 100 Years?
• 20 Myths About Mormons
• 14 Common Misconceptions About Mormons
• Think You’re Cut Out for Being a Modern Mormon Man? Take This Quiz
• Why We Love Mormons (and You Should Too!)

Now if we can list some things that Mormons actually have in common with Miley Cyrus, I'll be really impressed.


Scott Heffernan is an artist, designer, and photographer living in Seattle. He works on the creative team at Archie McPhee, doing all manner of strange things. He grew up a child of the 80s in Salt Lake City and loves skateboarding, toys, and thrifting. He served a mission in England/Wales and has a degree in American Sign Language from the University of Utah. He has one wife and two kids. Twitter: @ScottHeffernan. Tumblr: ScottHeff.tumblr.com.
 Image via: magzinews.com (modified by Scott Heffernan).

Sanctum Sanctorum

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by Ben Johnson:

I'm sure that this post will make me out to be one of those "get those kids off my lawn" guys, but I'm OK with that. A recent post by Seattle Jon got me to thinking about the sacred spaces (or lack thereof) in our lives. When I returned home from my mission my stake president gave me some very sage advice. He said, "In this noisy world we live in make sure to take time out to meditate and allow the spirit to speak to you." This was in 1998, before everyone had a smartphone attached to their hand and headphones grafted to their ears.

It seems that no matter where we go we cannot escape the world. We cannot shut out the noise. This worries me. I've always said that if I were ever bishop (perish the thought) my first order of business would be to restore some tranquility to the three hour block. Every ward I've ever attended resembles Pamplona in July when sacrament meeting lets out. It's mayhem.

Back when I had the best calling in the world I used to make the ward programs. We had the first block and I loved going down to the church early to run my copies and then sit in the chapel before the meeting started. Unfortunately my peace never lasted. As the families arrived for church they inevitably began to chat. As more families entered the chapel the conversations had to get louder. Eventually I felt like I was in the lobby of a theater during intermission.

Even the temple can be overrun by noise and distraction. How often have you gone to the temple and heard fellow patrons loudly discussing the most recent sports contest, or last week's hunting trip, or national politics? Can't we have at least one place in our lives free from worldly nonsense?

Smart Phone, Dumb Phone

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by LJ:

Back in October, I purchased this phone for $30 off eBay in a fit of zealous rage against technology. I never actually succeeded in switching my plan, since my Giant Unnamed Provider told me they'd start charging me more money for less phone, so I stuck with my iPhone 4. I had wanted to break ties with my phone a year after I realized I was being charged an extra $100 a month for the honor of owning an iPhone, but by that time it was too late. I had grown a little charger-shaped umbilical cord to my phone.

I took it everywhere, like a precious object. Whenever I left it in one room, my toddler son would run and get it, proudly proclaiming, "'S Mommy's phone!" and hand it back to me. And I was always, always grateful to have it safely back in my hand.

I drove with it balanced on one leg in case of sudden Internetty emergencies, like refreshing my phone email over and over again at a stoplight. I took it in the bathroom with me. Late at night, my husband and I would lie in bed next to each other and surf the Internet without speaking. It was all very Fahrenheit 451.

I tried to wean myself off my phone by deleting all social media and Candy Crush, but that still left the relentless call of the Internet. Plus, I was doing weird things like checking my financial accounts several times a day just to keep my thumb on that screen.

Fast forward to January. We got stuck coming home from Christmas thanks to a creative scheduling error by United Airlines that had us leaving on our connecting flight two hours before we left our original destination. This combined with the POLAR VORTEX meant we spent two days entertaining our toddler son and infant daughter in two different airports and clinging to sanity by our fingernails.

So now you can understand why in a moment of desperation I gave my crying daughter my iPhone to chew on. It held on bravely for about two hours and then gave up the ghost.

I'm Joni Hilton's Computer, and I'd Just Like to Say I'm Sorry

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by Shawn Tucker (bio)

Hello, I'm a Dell Inspiron 660 and I belong to Joni Hilton. From my Intel® Celeron® Dual Core Processor to the potato chip crumbs between my Z and X keys, I would just like to say that I'm very sorry about Joni's recent article in Meridian Magazine.

I am sorry about the post, but I want you to know that I tried several things to get Joni to not write or publish it. Things were going fine recently, you know, some YouTube videos and some Facebook posts, but then Joni started to write this article against Liberal Mormons. Initially, I hoped that it was just some little rant that she would delete, but then she kept writing.

At first I tried to distract her. I randomly opened Firefox to Pinterest, hoping that pictures of cute Halloween costumes or adorable Relief Society centerpieces would take her mind off of the article long enough to snap her back to reality.

When that didn't work I opened her Chrome browser to Mark 4:26-29, you know, the parable about the seed that grows in secret. I hoped that this would be enough to remind her that others grow in secret and she does not get to know their hearts, minds or motivations. She read the scripture, but I guess the message was too subtle.

Of course the next thing was to open Explorer to King Benjamin's speech, you know the part about bearing one another's burdens. That might have worked, but Joni's screen saver with a CTR shield and the song Choose the Right came up, and by then Explorer had crashed.

With a rising sense of panic, my next attempt to stop the article was to pull up a YouTube video of Jesus showing compassion to the woman caught in adultery, you know, the Church Bible video. I hoped His compassionate look would make Joni think twice. When that didn't work, I changed the title of the video to The Woman Caught Not Living the Gospel the Way Joni Does and then I tried The Woman Caught in Liberalism. Nope, nope, nope — nothing. Joni just kept writing.

#MormonHalloweenMovies: The Twitter Hashtag that Blew Up

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by brettmerritt (bio)

It started at close to 1 a.m. on October 23. A friend of mine on Twitter posted the following:

Now, I love a good hashtag. So, after reading a few more of his, I jumped in with:

Drew and I went back and forth for a bit and, instead of sleeping, I was scouring IMDB lists for more inspiration. Then I finally went to bed. I woke up, went to work. By 11 am, the hashtag had exploded. Later, two local Utah papers and a blog dedicated to Twitter trends had picked up the story:

The Deseret News — "#MormonHalloweenMovies: Twitter users create names of new spooky movies with LDS themes"

The Daily Herald — "From the Web: Top 25 #MormonHalloweenMovies tweets"

Daily Rehash — "Peculiar Hashtags: #MormonHalloweenMovies"

Here's a nifty real-time chart to show some of the data, if you're into that.

What's cool is the variety. For as many tweets as there are, there is just a little redundancy. Some took the route of changing up words in already existing titles, whether they became scary or not, some tried to keep the horror theme intact, some flipped it and used variations on hymns to make them scary. But whatever the approach, 99% if them are really clever and/or funny. There were some great Utah culture ones too, but I tried to keep most of the highlights below constrained to universal Mormon culture.

So, to celebrate Halloween in a manner befitting this blog, here are a bunch of the most retweeted, favorited, shared, and a few of my own #MormonHalloweenMovies up through about Noon yesterday. Get on Twitter and search the hashtag to see more.

@drewchamps — started the hashtag
24 Months Later
Heckraiser
The Tithing
Dr. Jekyll and Orson Hyde
Rosemary's Baby Blessing

@someguybrett
Let the Righteous Ones In
The Blair Witch Re-Activation Project
An American Missionary in London
Monson and Eyring vs Evil

@TheCulturalHall
The Hill Cumorah Has Eyes
Paranormal Combined Activity
The (CTR) Ring
The Priesthood Blessing of Emily Rose

@RFHGina
Drag Me to the Terrestrial Kingdom
Frankenjensen
Last Ward House on the Left

@ericartell
PPI with the Vampire
Brother of Jacob's Ladder
Paranormal Inactivity

@jennakimjones
Phantom of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Brigham Young: Vampire Hunter
Dial M for Mormon
Elder Scissorhands

@ScottHeffernan
I Know With Every Fiber of My Being What You Did Last Summer
Helaman's Army of Darkness
Donnie Osmond Darko
The Brides of Frankenstein

@jshowgren
It's the Great and Spacious Building, Charlie Brown
Attack of the Cannery Tomatoes
The Watcher in the Wards
The Bishop's Gorehouse

Letting the Future Teach the Past

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by Casey Peterson (bio)

The content of this post started 36 years ago, connected one year ago, to a period of time over 100 years ago, that affects my life today. Let me explain.

Manti Temple, 1927, via Keepapitchinin

Last year four of our five children were participating in competitive sports, all five were involved in music lessons, I was finishing my coursework for my doctoral degree, and in spare time we have the work of running our family farm. Yet somehow, one Saturday opened up where no games were scheduled, no animals were out, and no ward activities were happening. My 15 year-old daughter Callie suggested we go do baptisms for some family names she had prepared with the help of my mother. We drove to Manti with our two oldest kids, and had a marvelous time at the temple. Returning home, we asked Callie about the ancestors we had been baptized for that day, starting the remarkable chain of events that connected so many years, generations, and needs.

At the age of 4, my father was killed in a farming accident. One of the results was that I knew very little of my paternal family history, even though I grew up in a town settled by my ancestors. Driving back from Manti that day opened up many questions, but also many lessons about my family that my 15 year-old daughter knew that I didn't. Upon our return, we sat as a family and researched and learned together about fascinating facts. About my great-great-grandpa who converted in Denmark, came to Utah, was called to settle Fillmore, and served as the town Mayor, orchestra conductor, barrel maker, bishop, farmer and molasses mill owner. I knew his name because my kids and I still have his brand that we use on our cattle and horses, but my daughter Callie taught me so much more. That common interest also brought Callie and I closer.

Then I read in Elder Bednar's book Act in Doctrine the following:

"It is no coincidence that FamilySearch and other tools have come forth at a time when young people are so familiar with a wide range of information and communication technologies. The skills and aptitude evident among many young people today are a preparation to contribute to the work of salvation. But do not overly program this endeavor or provide too much detailed information or training. Invite young people to explore, to experiment, and to learn for themselves."

Fam Spammers

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by Seattle Jon (bio)

via someecards

I'm sure we each have a sibling, parent, grandparent or relative who frequently - sometimes despite sincere pleas to stop - bombards us with email forwards. You know the emails I'm talking about - the "Back in My Day," "WTF, Social Security" and "Wake Up America" emails (Buzzfeed has documented 42 different types of these emails).

I have two of these fam spammers. A grandmother in Eastern Washington and my wife's grandfather in St. George. The following email forward is the latest to clog my inbox. I'll not post my feelings about what was sent to spare this grandparent's feelings, so what do you think about this email and/or about email forwarders in general?

Is a Prophecy Being Fulfilled?

On June 13th, the National News reported two items of cataclysmic importance.

1. As of 2014, there will be more children of Minorities, age 5, than children of Whites, age 5, and this trend will continue.

2. In 2012 more elderly whites died than white children were born and this trend will continue.

Think of the ramifications of these two bits of news, and flash forward 3 or 4, maybe fewer, National Election cycles, and visualize who will be governing the United States. Of course, many of the "Minorities" beliefs and lifestyles are such that they could be counted with the whites with respect to values, but sadly, many of the Whites' beliefs are contrary to our traditional values.

These two news items were attributed to the fact that minority couples have more children than whites. No surprise. The birth rate of white couples is about 1.87 children, fewer than is needed to replace their parents, and has been so for many years. This same trend has also been in effect in most of the "white" nations in Europe for several years. And if the minorities in other countries are not gaining statistical dominance, they soon will. The Proclamation on Families issued by the Church stresses the fact that families are the basic unit of the church and of our civilization, and with the trend toward unmarried women having children, the broken marriages producing single mother families, the ascending numbers of gay and lesbian unions, the eventual result is inevitable. The traditional American Family is doomed.

An Open Letter to the Single Fathers of the Church

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by Eliana (bio)

Image via pipitdapo

To be clear, I’m not your target audience: I'm married. But I've been thinking about you guys and it seems like you could use some help.

The most attractive thing you can offer women is to be a good dad. Whether that is one weekend a month, two weeks a year or full-time. I don't know what it is, but a grown man being sweet with kids even when they don't deserve it? Sexy as hell. Seriously.

You think I'm joking and that you should spend more time at the gym. No. Grossly overweight is a problem, but otherwise we don't care about your body that much. If you are over 30 and weird things are starting to happen to you physically—hair in unexpected places, weird red dots—don't freak out. Someone will still love you as long as you keep up basic grooming and hygiene.

I hear a lot of horror stories about you guys, especially your behavior using dating websites. Don't be stupid. Don't lead with how much you miss sex, even if it is true. Don't expect women to be desperate and willing to settle for you.

What else ... I know it is hard. No matter how you became a single dad, life hasn't been what you expected. Join the club. Maybe you thought you could coast after you got a lady in your life. And now here you are, right back in the thick of things. We the married sympathize. Really. We may cringe when we think about dating again, but if you aren't willing to be real with us then we'll probably keep trying to set you up. We don't mean to, it is just an instinct.

If you have girl children, find women in the ward to be in their lives. We women love that kind of thing. Probably not single women or they might be confused. But if there's someone you respect, let her know that your daughter could use a big sister figure. It isn't about you not being enough; it is about having the maximum number of loving adults in your child's life.

I've met some great ones in your Single Dad Club. Really impressive. And some super losers too. It takes all types. If you find yourself slipping towards the loser end of the spectrum, take some of this advice to heart. Own your faith, your trials, your dreams. Your kids are learning from you, even when they aren't around.

Good luck out there. We your fellow saints really are here for you.

Guest Post: Combating Internet Evils w/ Missionary Work Online

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It doesn't matter if you're man or woman, gay or straight, dark- or light-skinned. All can equally submit guest posts to Modern Mormon Men. Write something and submit via email.

Kenny Schank was born in Las Vegas and raised in Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. He is a recently returned missionary who is slowly but surely adapting to "real life." He spends his new-found free time working so he can save up for college and major in ... something. If his dreams are realized, he will find himself later working for the Church Educational System as a seminary or institute teacher. Eager to better qualify for such a position, he is already trying to dry out his sense of humor. He loves playing sports, some good alternative rock, and a thin slice of cheesecake. Or a fat one. Whichever he can get his fork into.

Elder Schneider and Rauni Jussila by Charles Roberts

I love websites that seek to carry on with the noble and praiseworthy task of building others' faith and inviting them to Christ. These days, people spend more and more time online. The internet is an incredible blessing.  Virtually all the information one could ever need is available at our fingertips and can be delivered to us in mere seconds. And that's not even mentioning how much easier it is to learn and share the gospel with the content made available by missionary-minded publishers.

Unfortunately, the devil has gotten really good at his game of perverting the good things God has inspired men to create. For example, music is one medium through which we can find motivation, peace, and even communication from the Holy Ghost. However, it's becoming harder and harder to find a radio station or a new album by your favorite band that doesn't include some sort of profanity or innuendo describing violence or immorality. Even lyric-less songs can drive the Spirit away if they direct our thoughts towards unrighteous action.

Like music and other forms of media, the internet is a powerful tool both in the hands of God and those of Satan. And Satan is tricky in how he uses it.

Have you ever ran a Google search for the word "Mormon?" Do it and you'll find a lot of very helpful links and uplifting sources: official church websites, educational and objective articles on Mormonism, etc. But you'll also find in the mix links to websites that teach misleading and negative falsehoods, "warning" people about the so-called dangers of Mormonism. While God inspires man to use the web to enlighten and bring others to the truth, Satan fights back hard by enticing others to use it to confuse and mislead those who are "kept from the truth because they know not where to find it" (D&C 123:12) and develop a hostility within them towards the restored gospel. This, my friends, is where we come in.

Top Ten (Clean) Twitter Picks

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by LJ (bio)

I first joined Twitter in 2008 to prove to a company they should hire me as their social media coordinator. When I didn't get the job, I abandoned my account for a few years because a) I didn't see the point of Twitter and b) I didn't know how to use it anyway. Hence why I wasn't hired.

Now that I've joined the scads of smartphone-addicted-robots in America, I turn to my phone for entertainment should my brain ever fall to rest. Twitter is my favorite--I can streamline my social media to only include people who spit out pithy punch lines that are (mostly) free of smut.

Without further ado, I present my Top Ten (Clean) Twitter Picks:

Inspirational
C.S. Lewis Quotes (@CSLewisDaily). The best place to turn for a daily dose of my favorite honorary emeritus apostle.

Brits
Rowan Atkinson (@OfficialMrBean). His feed is funny, but also purely self-depricating and never mean.

Science
Science Porn (@SciencePorn). Tasteless name, awesome facts and photos.

Factoids
Google Facts (@GoogleFacts). Several mind-blowing little facts a week. Note: there is the occasional sex-related fact, but nothing crazy.

Novelty Feeds
Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday). These tweets are plots of would-be Seinfeld episodes, and they're dead on. My personal favorite so far: "George dates the model who is 'the face of Duane Reade.' Kramer is furious to learn that she's not actually a pharmacist." Runners up include Sixth Form Poet (@sixthformpoet) and Very Short Story (@VeryShortStory) for pure quality content.

11 Reasons to Stop Texting While Driving Now

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by brettmerritt (bio)

More than eleven teenagers die everyday as a result of someone driving while texting. Obviously that number goes up when you include adults.

Allow me to ask two questions:

What is the acceptable number of yearly deaths caused by distracted driving in our country?

Now, what is the acceptable number of yearly deaths caused by distracted driving in your family?

Both numbers should be zero.

My friend and former co-worker, Haley Ann Warner, and her family experienced great loss this March. Her parents, Dave & Leslee Henson, went on a morning walk in St George, Utah and were hit by a car while walking on the sidewalk. Her dad was killed. Her mom, shielded somewhat because of the actions of her dad, survived with a broken neck, broken back, separated shoulder, and several other injuries that included more than 5000 stitches and staples.

The driver at fault was texting and speeding.

Haley's hope is that we can save lives by educating people on the dangers of distracted driving, most specifically, texting and talking on cell phones while driving. I support this effort wholeheartedly.

Here are some sobering facts. Texting while driving causes:

● 1,600,000 accidents per year – National Safety Council
● 11 teen deaths each day – Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Fatality Facts
● Nearly 25% of all car accidents

Texting while driving is:

● Six times more likely to cause an accident than driving intoxicated
● The number one driving distraction reported by teen drivers

Texting while driving:

● Makes you 23x more likely to crash – National Highway Transportation Safety Administration
● Is the same as driving blind for five seconds at a time. (five seconds of driving at 55 mph covers the length of a football field.) – VA Tech Transportation Institute
● Slows your brake reaction speed by 18% – HumanFactors & Ergonomics Society

And, if you need more convincing, AT&T put together a little documentary for you called The Last Text which you can watch here.

Creating Sacred Spaces

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by Seattle Jon (bio)

I've been thinking a lot about where my downtime went. I rarely feel like I have nothing productive to do and I miss that feeling. From experience I know that being passively engaged, or disengaged altogether, is when my mind wanders best and I can churn big questions uninterrupted.

Interruption-free space is sacred, leading some to call these moments of disengagement sacred spaces. Yet, in the digital era we live in, we are losing hold of the few sacred spaces that remain untouched by email, the internet, people, and other forms of distraction.

Why do we give up our sacred space so easily? The need to be connected is, in fact, very basic in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Our need for a sense of belonging comes right after physical safety. We thrive on friendship, family, and the constant affirmation of our existence and relevance. Our self-esteem is largely a product of our interactions with others.

It is now possible to always feel loved and cared for, thanks to the efficiency of comment walls on Facebook and seamless connection with everyone we've ever known. Our confidence and self-esteem can quickly be reassured by checking the number of followers we have on Twitter or the number of "likes" garnered by Instagram photographs and blog posts (please "like" this post, I'll feel better about myself).

So what's the solution? How do we reclaim our sacred spaces? Here are four potential solutions for consideration:

1. Rituals for unplugging
What if you made the Sabbath about more than just refraining from work, but also about unplugging? The notion of a day every week reserved for reflection sounds pretty good in today's increasingly hectic world.

2. Controlling the connection
We probably all know households that control "TV time," otherwise, it would consume every waking moment. Now, every waking moment is "connected time" – why not control connection as well?

Clicked Off

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by Casey Peterson (bio)

As I walked into church last Sunday, I was hit by the social buzz that accompanies mission farewells. The chapel was filled to about twice the normal capacity with youth in the 16-21 year-old demographic, anxious to hear their friend speak, partake in the social gathering, feel validated in missing their regular ward meetings, and hopefully get fed a good meal afterward. They filled in the seats all around my family, and before skirts and slacks even hit the seats, cell phones were out and in full surfing/texting mode. I was mildly amused until the guy next to me dumped half the water tray in my lap as he was unsuccessful in texting with one hand and passing the tray in a level, upright position to me with the other hand. At that point I felt the spiritual disappointment for the lack of appreciation for a sacred symbol that I had looked forward to all week. I felt the disgust with his lack of courtesy in respecting my right to worship. I felt ashamed for his device addiction that didn't allow him to hear a great meeting or feel a special spirit. And I felt embarrassed to be feeling all of this while I should be focusing on the sacrifice of my Savior and the continued blessings of his gospel in my life.

As the sacrament concluded, my five year-old daughter came to sit on my lap, and gently asked if she could play with my phone. We live in an age that playing who can put your hand over your siblings hand game, drawing in a coloring book, or tracing your hand on the back of the program have been surpassed by free downloads of all kinds. Horse puzzles, interesting kids games (including bible-themed), and many others now have an amazing effect on keeping my squirming children quiet for the duration of the meeting. Step 1, make sure the phone is muted, step 2, sit back and focus on whatever un-kid related activity you want to for the meeting. It's that simple. Except for the fact that uncomfortable thoughts hit in those times, and one hit me.

"I am conditioning the exact behavior that I am condemning," I thought. "I'm taking the easy road, letting an electronic device entertain her, depriving her of learning reverence, paying attention, occasionally navigating the weird, the boring, or possibly the inspiring discourse given." I grew up without a phone in meetings, but still have to fight the urge to check a sports ticker, or venture beyond my Gospel Library app on my phone. However, allowing my kids to learn that behavior from a young age leaves little hope for them and conditions them to use sacred time for entertainment time. It reflects poorly on my stewardship as a father.

This reflection activity has led me in a careful self-analysis of my teaching, particularly during worship services. While it may be harder to go back to squirming, occasional boredom, or even apathy, I may also get back to helping my children to learn from a gospel that teaches endurance, perseverance, and work-to-learn mentality. Not easy, but I hope worth it.

Our Ward Primary is Thinking of Banning the Scriptures

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by Ben Johnson (bio)

That was a shameless attempt to get you to read the rest of the post. In reality, the primary in our ward is thinking of banning electronic versions of the scriptures.

My wife is the stake primary president and one of her duties is to train and support the ward primary presidents. During one such training one of the ward PP's mentioned that she was having trouble keeping the kids engaged during sharing time and during class because of, you guessed it, electronic devices.

I won't go into the details as to why electronic devices are such a problem in primary because you surely already know the reason: the kids are just like the adults! How many of you, like me, have checked sports scores during a lesson, or sent an email during sacrament? How many of you, like me, have decided that 'Kindle-ing' WVS's disquisitions on priesthood are more interesting than the testimonies on fast Sunday? While our electronic devices are very handy, they can be very distracting.

I'd like to put a question to the group: what would the consequences be if our ward primary banned electronic devices? Would the kids be somehow deprived? If so, how? Now let's take it a step further. Imagine that this Sunday your bishop reads a letter from the First Presidency, the gist of which is you are discouraged from bringing your electronic devices to church. Basically, stick with the old leather and paper. What are the repercussions, if any? Is the net effect good or bad?

While I love my phone and Kindle and would probably cease to function without them, I can't help but wonder if leaving them home on Sunday wouldn't be better for me. Granted, this is more a problem with me than the electronics, but I'd love to hear some different perspectives on this.

Electronics on Sunday: blessing or curse? I would appreciate any thoughts the MMM community has.

A Brief Twitter History Of The Author - 2011

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by brettmerritt (bio)

I contend it's a selfish exercise posting blips and blurbs from Twitter and passing it off as a blog post. Seattle Jon contends that Twitter "by its nature is self-indulgent," which is probably true.

Either way, my tweets are sometimes funny, sad, mean, or nostalgic. They are often inappropriate. The main reason for publishing this trip to tweets of years past is that I hope someone can get a little enjoyment from it.

Here for your reading "pleasure," are my "best" tweets from 2011. You can also read my best tweets from 2009 and 2010.

February

• Today's Moment of Awesomeness: Hearing my daughter (1st Grade) read to me in French about zoo animals.
• Was your momma an anesthesiologist? Because, when I look at you, I feel like falling asleep in your arms. #worstpickuplines
• "Whisper to a Scream" #fartsofthe80s
• In the Air Tonight #fartsofthe80s
• Always Something There to Remind Me #fartsofthe80s
• Tainted Love #fartsofthe80s
• James Franco is starring on B'way in a musical version of 127 Hours. It's called ... Amputwheee!
• I want to go back to the day when trolls only lived under bridges and surfaced occasionally to eat people.
• I tried to walk a mile in your shoes but your feet were too small and I got blisters.
• "Enter the last sanctum," is what I heard in my dream before I promptly started to pee the bed. Caught myself in the nick of time.
• Tip: When watching pre-1990 movies, remember that most of the older actors in them are probably dead.
• Movie pitch: George VI gets sent to investigate a murder at hospital for the criminally insane. "Stutter Island"

March

• Play It As It Lays Up #Englishmajorbasketballteam
• The Lords of the Ring #Englishmajorbasketballteam
• A Clock Shot Orange #Englishmajorbasketballteam
• All the King James' Men #Englishmajorbasketballteam
• Last line of my dream: "There must be a reason God doesn't want Alec Baldwin in the Senate."

Is the iPad iBad?

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by Saint Mark (bio)

I have a neighbor with kids the same ages as my sons (6 and 4). They are good kids and the family is upbeat, friendly, and the type of neighbors you would dream to have. However, since the time we moved in next door to them, I have never seen the son without a Gameboy-type of device in his hands. For four months, throughout the summer and into fall, while his siblings ran and played in their amusement park of a backyard, he would sit under a tree and play his video games. My oldest son inevitably would be sucked into the video game with my neighbor's son instead of running through the fountain, playing on the gigantic swing set or doing any other fun and healthy activity that kids do in the summer.

Now, my oldest son loves video games as much as the next kid. But, I didn't want my son to waste his summer and the perfect Colorado weather staring at a screen and throwing angry birds at flimsy structures. So, I limited the time my sons played with my neighbor's sons. This was a sad choice for me because I could see the benefit of neighbor-friends for my kids. But, I feel that my neighbor's son was addicted to the handheld device and my neighbor was not doing much to halt it. In casual conversation the topic of video games came up and I shared with him what we do in our family to limit "screen" time. He heard me but it didn't seem to change his actions or his son's addiction.

MMM Movies: Linotype

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by Clark (bio)

I'm looking forward to seeing Linotype: The Film. Apparently Thomas Edison called the machine the "Eighth Wonder of the World". If that doesn't get your attention you should go back to watching cat videos on youtube or something weird like that.

Blogging for Good

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by Saint Mark (bio)

Julie Beck of the Relief Society General Presidency for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints talks openly and specifically about Latter-day Saints and their involvement in blogging (see video below).

As one of a multitude of member-bloggers, I was intrigued by President Beck's comments. I, like her, see blogging as a positive tool for doing good and helping others come unto Christ. But, I see cognitive dissonance in the underlying agenda of some blogs vis-a-vis what they say they promote and what they actually promote.

Let me know your view. And, where do you think Modern Mormon Men is on President Beck's spectrum of good and, by implication, not-so-good blogs? What could we do to improve? What should we continue doing or blogging about?