Few authors have had as much an influence in my life as J.R.R. Tolkien. I will reserve the story of how I fist became acquainted with Tolkien for a future entry, for now it is sufficient to say that his thoughts and his art have permeated my childhood and adult playtime as well as the entirety of my education from grade school through college.
Monthly Archives: February 2005
A hometeaching suggestion
Russell has a nice discussion on who we should ask for priesthood blessings and on what occasions over at Times and Seasons. It reminds me of something I have occasionally done with new home teaching families.
The home teaching visit script generally begins with “So, how is your family this month?” and end with “So, is there anything we can do for you?” The answers are usually perfunctory: “We’re fine,” and “No, not that I can think of.”
Around the Net…
I thought it might be nice to have an “around the net” listing interesting links of the week. I know Times and Seasons has their sidebar with good links. But there are always a few articles that deserve a bit more comment than just a link.
Teaching the Saints II
Last week I discussed a little bit about teaching and gave six points I thought caused problems and that we could improve upon. A few of my suggestions, such as limit the crying, generated a bit of controversy. A few thought that I was intimidating those called to be teachers who were feeling inadequate. Well, if you thought those were controversial I’m sure my next few points will be even more so. My last post was primarily about the style or form of our teaching. This one focuses in on content. That is, things you probably ought not mention in your lessons.
Out of the mouths of babes: A two-year old’s prayer
Jim Faulconer’s report at Times and Seasons on what sounds like an excellent series of discussions on prayer at BYU this semester has me thinking. His post comes at a time when I find myself pondering the nature of prayer for another reason. My two year-old son Stanley offered his first prayer earlier this week. He has been stubbornly resistant to the idea up until now, refusing to repeat the words we whisper in his ear. It was as though he did not want to pray unless the words were his own.