War in the Book of Mormon – Part 1

I had intended for another post to be Part 1, but I attended a promotion ceremony this week, and so… you get this post as Part 1 instead.

This was the first promotion ceremony I’ve attended. A guy I work with was promoted to commander, and I’m always game for a good ceremony and a bit of ritual, especially when I haven’t had a chance to see a ceremony such as this before.

There were a few short speeches by the powers that be expressing the importance of the occasion and the awesomeness of the new commander. He then took the oath of office. Though he had, of course, taken the oath long before, promotion ceremonies include a renewal of that oath. The oath, as found online (and which is the same oath all U.S. government personnel take): Continue reading

War in the Book of Mormon – Introduction

War in the Book of Mormon has always bored me. The war chapters in Alma, for example? Sure, my eyes have gone over the words of those verses and chapters multiple times, but my brain cells were focused on more pleasant things, like Star Trek or rocky road ice cream or… the dentist. I love the Book of Mormon, but it’s the doctrinal aspects that I love. Even the stories take a distant second. I’m all about the doctrine.

War from a couple thousand years ago? Who cares? (I’ve also never really been that into history, as you might imagine.)

But it seems applicable to my life now. Continue reading

The Californians really are to blame

This post is going to be very Utah-centric. I apologize in advance, but continue on anyway.

You know how people tend to complain that Utah drivers are absolutely horrible, and how whatever state the the complainee came from has much better drivers? And you know how Utah drivers often say it’s all the people who move to Utah from California who are really the bad drivers?

Well now there is proof that it really is those Californians! Continue reading

Snarking the 70s, New Era version

Courtesy of a comment on an FMH thread, I read an article from the October 1972 issue of the New Era that must be shared. It’s awesome. It is entitled, “A Letter to Girls about Lady Missionaries”, by Lana Mangelson, a returned lady missionary.

First, I’m so glad I live now and not then. I mean, technically I was a few months old when this came out, but I don’t remember it.

Second, let us analyze how much has changed in the ensuing 37 years. And be grateful.

But before that, an admission: this isn’t entirely fair. It was a different time and I’m going after this article with the fallacy of presentism. But I can’t seem to stop myself! It’s fun!

Continue reading

It’s Been a Busy Week

I have one last thing to do before I go take a much needed nap: write this blog.

Why do I need a nap? It’s been an exceedingly busy week.

It started out with Mother’s Day. No explanation needed there for those of us who are mothers. However, my day included the fact that my daughter traveled up from the Valley to take me to dinner in town. I was to meet her and her housemates at 3 p.m.

I did learn in the course of the day’s events that the extra button on my armrest in the car DOES have a purpose. After church I tried to wind up my windows, and only the driver-side one worked. I use the word “wind”–long i–in the sense that I hit a button and tiny servo-motors in the doors do the actual work. This time, they didn’t work! I sighed, wondering what on earth was going on, and dreading the drive to town with the wind-noise assaulting my ears. Yeah, it was as bad as I imagined it would be.

I happened to mention that I probably needed to visit the car dealership to check out the window problem, and my daughter’s housemate said he’d take a look at. I’d located the various fuse boxes already in my ownership manual, and pointed them out. All the fuses looked good.

While my daughter was showing me their new van–which, incidentally, got totaled in an accident this week!–the housemate continued checking things out. I heard a whirring sound behind me: the window going up. Housemate had located the problem.

That extra button? It’s a child lock. It locks windows so children can’t operate the automatic buttons and roll the windows down. Somehow I accidentally tripped it.

That was Sunday. Monday was busy with preparing for a Book Signing the next day, as well as updating various web pages.

Tuesday was the four-hour-long book signing. Afterward, I went home and crashed after finishing preparations for the presentation on Dialogue that I was to give to a writers’ group the next day.

Wednesday I was prompted to go to the Valley after my presentation and attend another writers’ meeting. I grabbed my suitcase, which always has “travel” things in it, put in a change of clothes, and set off. The presentation went well, the drive was nice, and the meeting that evening was super. I even survived the night without my CPAP machine, which I had prepared to take along, but missed getting into the car.

I did several errands on Thursday, and went safely back home.

Friday was catch-up day, preparing for an American Night Writers Association Board meeting on Saturday. Printing off materials used up most of an ink cartridge. News came that the hostess was ill, so the meeting was moved to another home. I emailed that I was coming the next day, and to give me directions via phone by 8 a.m., my departure time.

After I got to the Valley, I checked my phone (which I had forgotten to turn on!!!) to learn that two other members of the Board woke up sick, so the meeting was postponed to another day. I ran several other errands (including getting passport photos taken), and met with family members to decorate the graves of my husband and daughter. Then I returned home, somewhat hot from the temperature in the Valley. I crashed for a nap, but when it was time to wake up, decided to just go back to sleep for the night.

Today was another busy Sunday, with choir practice before church. I think I’m wiped out now, so it’s nap time. I don’t want to fall ill like my fellow board members!

~Marsha Ward