By Soyde River
President Packer years ago, gave one of the most significant talks I ever read, about being spiritually self-reliant. Yet we live in a culture in which we are immersing ourselves in self-pity and becoming ever more emotionally dependent on therapy, on blaming others for our troubles, on contemplating our navel (and our vicissitudes), to the point where we are so self absorbed that we are constantly depressed.
By Tanya Spackman
The last couple of weeks I was on a business trip in a different state. I had to work one of the Sundays I was there, so missed church. Surprisingly, I even drove by the local LDS church each day on my way to work. I’m lucky in that I rarely miss church due to work; in the 5 years I’ve had this job, this is only the second time I’ve had to work on Sunday. I occassionally miss church due to illness or travel (non-work related), but I’m almost always attending some ward on any given Sunday.
…or, that “Old-Man Richins” sure is square.
by Jim Richins
The youth in my ward have developed a habit – I won’t call it bad, although I certainly do not feel comfortable with it. This (relatively) new behavior may not be unique to my ward, nor in fact, may it be a recent development across the Church. I’m wondering if this particular phenomenon with my ward is typical of most wards and their youth, or perhaps my ward is atypical. If this phenomenon is common, then perhaps it is an indication of the times in which we live. But, if the experiences in my ward fall somewhere out on the fringe of normal behavior, then I won’t feel so uncomfortable with my opposition to it.
by Daniel Bartholomew
I have long thought that one of the strengths of our Church is that it calls on the general membership to do basically everything in its meetings. Any worthy church member of sufficient age may be called upon to pray, give a talk, conduct the music, play the organ or piano, etc.
Until recently it never dawned on me how deeply some people fear being in front of others or being asked to do anything in front of other people. Yes I knew that some people became uneasy or nervous. So often we hear people express this at the beginning of a talk. I once even saw (years ago) a person faint while at the pulpit. But I didn’t realize that for some this problem is so severe that even the possibility of offering a prayer causes intense fear and even panic.
By Jim Richins
As we journey through life, we are occasionally blessed with moments of sublime satisfaction. These moments of joy are transitory yet ubiquitous, periodic but fleeting. Everyone experiences these moments, many have posted about them in the Bloggernacle. They are like bread crumbs left on the path to peace by a loving Father. For me, they are meteoric epiphanies – bright and spectacular, but then, frequently, gone in an instant, leaving only a faint trace in memory.