Author Archives: guest

Order at Home

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      One of my passions is astronomy.  When I go out in my backyard and look through my telescope at my friends, the planets and stars, I feel so close to God.  Not because heaven is in space, but because it is so obvious there is organization in all things.  He is a God of order; with everything in it’s perfect place.  Everything has a purpose; a mission.  Since He is order in all we see it only makes sense that people should live by order too.  
     Just like laws and principles govern the skies and the earth, there are laws meant to govern us as well.  That is why we have chosen to apply governing rules to our home too.  We feel like there is no better example of how to run a home than the way God runs our world; the current home for His family. 
     Our family has a set structure.  We have certain meetings each week to strengthen the family relationships and keep the home in order.  The meetings we have are Continue reading →

A Strict Parent

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In January 2009, the interviewer from the BBC Britain asked me if I thought I was a strict parent.  I have never liked the word strict, because I have associated it with a parent who yells a lot, is stern looking and engages in power struggles.  So, in response to the question, I said, “I wouldn’t use the word strict to describe me, but I would say I am firm.”

I shared my thoughts about the word strict with a wise friend of mine.  She looked me in the eye and said, “You are wrong about people who are strict.  A strict parent DOESN’T HAVE TO YELL.”

All of the sudden I wondered if the semantics of the word strict have been changed in recent years.

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Ethical Responsibilities of the Mormon Author

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I’m doing NaNoWriMo this month. It’s a fabulous activity; I can’t recommend it highly enough for anyone who has even the slightest interest in doing some creative writing. The concept of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000-word novel in the month of November. You just write, write, write. Editing is eschewed; that’s what the rest of the year is for. Sure, you’ll write a lot of crap that way, but that’s okay. To quote from the NaNoWriMo website, “By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.” It’s an exercise in simply writing. It’s really rather enjoyable.

This leads me to my contemplations and quandaries this morning. Continue reading →

FAIR Conference 2009, Day 2

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Day 2 was as enjoyable as Day 1. As before, Blair Hodges has excellent notes, so I’ll link to those.

John Lynch – “Uh oh!” to “Ah ha!” in Apologetics—20/20 Foresight for a Faithful Future in Defending the Church
[LOGP summary]
We are decidedly partisan in defending the Church. What are we defending?
1. Foundational claims of the restoration
2. Canonized teachings
3. Priesthood authority
4. The good name of general authorities and the Church

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