The Huldah Gates In Jerusalem, on the southern wall of the Temple Mount, stand the remains of two ancient gates. Today these gates are sealed, and archeologists simply call them the “Double Gate” and the “Triple Gate” on account of the number of arches they have. Yet anciently these gates were called the “Huldah Gates,”…
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We don’t know much about the Mary, the Mother of Jesus but I think she may have been a musician. Perhaps not a formally trained one like we’d think of today, since it is unlikely she received much formal education. Instead I think Mary was one of those women for whom music is a natural…
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Rebekah is the most determined and energetic of the matriarchs in the Old Testament. Not only does she seem to RUN everywhere, but she shows incredible resolve, wisdom and strength many times throughout her life. One of these times is when, only a few hours after Rebekah watered his camels at the well, Abraham’s servant…
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The Temple in Jerusalem plays an important role in the New Testament. It was the center of the Jewish faith and consequently, was the center of many of Jesus’s teachings. Not only were many of Jesus’s teachings given at the temple, but his sermons were full of temple references, imagery and symbolism. 1) It was…
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Early Christian Missionaries
Katherine Nelson’s performance of “Pilate’s Wife” To hear the other songs in this album or to purchase the CD click here.
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Has anyone else been a bit ga-ga over the new royal baby? I am a bit embarrassed to say that I have been gobbling up every tidbit I’ve been able to read about William and Kate’s new baby boy. I’m not usually one to fall for celebrity stories or drama but there is just somethings…
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My first baby was hard to push out. After an extended length of pushing he was born and we saw that he’d had his elbow up by his head (try reaching your arm to your opposite ear and you’ll have the right position, except he was so flexible his elbow was in line with his…
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This year in Relief Society we are studying the life and teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith, the 10th prophet of the church. As I read through the short biography of him given in the front of the manual I was very touched by a story about him and his second wife, Ethel Reynolds Smith. Joseph…
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It seems like very General Conference I have my ears and heart open to, and searching for, messages about birth, womanhood and motherhood. They are topics that I can always rest assured will get addressed in some way during General Conference. This time my heart was especially touched by Elder Henry B. Eyring’s talk entitled…
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A week before my first son was born I spent a very special afternoon with my Grandmother. She is famous for making wonderful chocolates, especially carmel turtles. They are the best. It was getting near Christmas and I’d convinced her to let me help her make her Christmas chocolates. I went with the hope that…
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For the last six months my husband and I have been reading the Harry Potter books to our kids before bedtime. Last night we finished the seventh book, and like I always do when good stories come to an end, I felt a bit sad. Ever since I was a child I have always struggled…
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Rebuilt Jerusalem’s Walls
And get a coupon code for a FREE study guide on women in the scriptures
The Great Woman of Shunem
Matriarchs of the Lamanites
First Witnesses to the Resurrection
Breastfed and cared for Rebekah
Ministered to Jesus Christ
Anointed Jesus Christ
Queen of Judea; Mother of Solomon
Adoptive Mother of Moses
Mother of Moses
Followed Jesus Christ
I wrote this as an Instagram/Facebook post for Easter and it has gone viral in the past several days. I figured I better put it some place more official so that I can keep track of it and keep credit for it before it gets lost on the internet! Have you ever noticed how in…
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Founder of Egypt; Matriarch of the Pharaohs
Queen with Great Spiritual Gifts
Held down the Home Front
Victims of Cruelty
Wove Peace and Prosperity
Were Sacrificed for their Virtue
Brave Traveler
Empowered their Sons with Faith
Healed by Accessing Christ’s Power
Son Raised from the Dead by Christ
Female Leader of the Church
The Mother of God
Ancient Influencers
Witnessed a Prophet being Imperfect
Raised from the Dead by Peter
Servant and Succorer of the Church
Lied to the Prophet and then Died
Answered the Door for the Prophet
Had a Dream and Warned her Husband
One of the First People Healed by Jesus Christ
The First Gentile Convert; Successful Business Woman
Mother of John the Baptist; Cousin to Mary
Grandmother of Timothy; Mother of Eunice
Married to a Non-Believer and Mother of Timothy the Missionary
Believed Paul when He Preached on Mars’ Hill
Early Christian Convert
Prophetess and Witness of Jesus Christ
Midwives who Saved the Hebrew Babies
Queen Who Said No
Faith to Follow the Prophet
Musicians in the Tabernacle
Everyday Missionary
The Prophetess
Desperate Housewife
Wife who made Hannah feel Bad
Queen Who Turned Solomon’s Heart Away from the Worship of Jehovah
Mysterious Enigma
The Second Mother of All Living
Inherited Alongside their Brothers
Chainbreaker and Rescuer of the Baby King
Prophetess who Interpreted Scripture
Gave God a Name
Woman Redeemed
Receiver of Revelation
Mother of the Aaronic Priesthood
Wife of Felix, Roman Governor of Judea
Queen of Persia and Savior to Her People
Prophetess and Judge of Israel
Changed the Law
Husband Took Her Name
Victim of Abuse and Rape
Wicked Queen of Judah
Gave into Despair
Wife of Joseph
Fearless Peacemaker
Mother of Nations
In September my daughter Rose was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was an awesome day and an awesome experience. I have been meaning to write about it for months now, but I’ve been so caught up in finishing and launching my Old Testament book that I haven’t…
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I have so neglected this blog the last year. The little widget on the sidebar tells me that I have only posted three— THREE— posts on here in 2017. One of the big reasons for that silence is that for the last year this project has taken a huge part of my time, my creativity…
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It has been a crazy summer and I apologize for abandoning my blog for the last few months. If you don’t follow me on Facebook or Instagram then you may have missed the news that my husband got a new job in Idaho. This summer we have been in the process of selling our house…
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There are more than 317 women and groups of women in the Old Testament, and many of those women have names! This is a list of all the women in the Old Testament and the places they are mentioned in the Old Testament, New Testament, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl…
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The Mother of All Living
Prophetess and Mother of the Prophet Samuel
Builder of the Tribes of Israel
Prophetess and Leader of Women
Wife of Issac, Mother to Joseph and Benjamin
Guardian of the Abrahamic Covenant
Misunderstood and Brave
Matriarch of the Book of Mormon
I have had many requests for book recommendations for studying the Bible and women in the scriptures. I have amassed a fairly impressive library over the years and so I thought I’d go through it and just share with you several of my favorites. All of these books will help you dig deeper into the…
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We recently inherited a 1960 set of Encyclopedias from my in-laws. It has been fascinating to skim through these books and get a snap shot of what the world was like during that time and what people were thinking about. Many things haven’t changed (like an elephant is still an elephant, right?) but there were…
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I was recently (okay, recently as in four months ago) called to be the Young Women’s president in our Ward. I haven’t ever had a calling in young women’s (not since I was a young woman) and so it has been a big learning experience for me. I’ve also never been a president of anything.…
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Painted as Maori Warriors for one of our Story of the World units I’ve been wanting to do a homeschool tour for awhile but was intimidated by all the typing and pictures that a post like that would entail. So I decided instead to do some videos and give you a tour of our home…
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This is something completely different from what I normally write. Our library is having a Harry Potter fan fiction contest and it inspired me to write down this story I’ve had ruminating in my head. I’ve been piecing it together ever since I wrote my post about “Why Being a Mom is Just as Cool…
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I love the Old Testament. I’ve loved it from the first time I read it as a fourteen-year-old struggling through the confusing names, places and stories, but enthralled with the sense of discovering hidden treasures. In the years since I’ve read it at least a dozen times. The more I read it the more the…
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Samaritan Women by Mandy Jane Williams When was the last time you opened up your copy of “Daughters in My Kingdom”, the book about the history of the Relief Society? If it has been awhile then you should go and grab yours off the shelf and open up to the the first chapter. I want…
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These words by Amy really resonated with me and helped me think about the ways I try to “fix” things that I can’t. There is some real wisdom in her words and I hope you learn from her. And, by the way, I didn’t tell her to put my book as her favorite… though I’m…
DetailsI’m excited to have Michelle as my guest poster today for my Relief Society Celebration! I’ve been following her blog, Scenes from the Wild, for awhile and it is one of my favorites. Mostly, because she gives me hope. Hope that maybe someday this wild family of mine might look something like hers does, with…
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You are in for a treat today! Nikki has the most incredible story and the testimony to go with it. I have learned so much from her and she constantly inspires me to be better and to look at things differently. Enjoy! I’ve been asked to write a special blog to celebrate the anniversary…
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Speaking in this last General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson expressed the following, “…we need women who. . . are courageous defenders of morality and families in a sin-sick world. We need women who are devoted to shepherding God’s children along the covenant path toward exaltation; . . .women who know how to call upon…
DetailsI’m excited to have Jan as my first guest poster (is that a word?) for my celebration of Relief Society! I love everything that Jan writes. She has such great thoughts and says things so well… so make sure to jump over to her blog afterwards. I love me a good book club. Or a girl’s night…
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Keep reading for a chance to win this beautiful printable of the Relief Society Declaration This week the Relief Society, the oldest and largest women’s organization in the world, will celebrate is 173 birthday! I have a great love for Relief Society, which has mostly been gained by serving in it for the last 13+…
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When my husband and I were first married the best advice we got from our parents was, “Always say a prayer together before discussing money.” We have always tried to follow that counsel and not only has it helped us manage our household better, but it was also the first way we learned to counsel…
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This is the original illustration that went along with the story I wrote this opinion piece when I was 16 years-old for my High School newspaper. It came from a talk we had one day in the journalism room with some of the Senior boys, who hated asking girls out to dances because…
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There is one word in the Bible that bothered me for a long time. It was the word unclean, especially when it was used in connection with menstruation, childbirth, sexual intimacy and women’s bodies. For example in Leviticus 15 it says this, “And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh…
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I’ve had a goal to learn ancient Greek for a long time. It first began with my high school journalism teacher who loved the language and would often write Greek words on the white board when he taught. My senior year I even convinced him to give me Greek lessons before school started, which he…
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I originally wrote this post as a guest post for another blog (which doesn’t exist anymore). I recently found it in my draft box and I am going to post it here so I don’t lose it. This was written when I just had two little children (I can’t believe how small they were!) and…
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Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily,…
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In President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s popular Conference talk, “Your Happily Ever After,” he lavished young women with words that I’m sure were music to their ears: You are truly royal spirit daughters of Almighty God. You are princesses, destined to become queens. Your own wondrous story has already begun. Your “once upon a time” is…
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Dear Noelle, It has been three weeks since you were born and I am just now finishing the story of your birth. I’ve been stealing moments, in between naps, meals, and the general chaos of five children, to write down what I felt and remembered. Somehow what I have written seems wholly inadequate, and I’m…
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2015, you have been good to me this year. I’ll be sad to see you go, but excited to see what 2016 will bring! My favorite {blog} tradition is sharing a review of my most popular posts of the year. So just in case you missed any of them (or want to re-read your favorites)…
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Even though it is almost a week late, I’m pleased to introduce: Noelle Evalynne Farrell Born on December 19, 2015 at 11:17 AM 7lbs 15 oz and 20 3/4 inches long About her name: Noelle for being a Christmas time baby Evalynne for being born on her Grandpa Evan’s birthday and Farrell… because…
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{1} Technically it isn’t Friday anymore but I’m having trouble sleeping. I figured I might as well use my time well instead of laying in bed staring at the wall. I’ve never had pregnancy insomnia but the last few nights I’ve found it hard to stay asleep. Part of it might be that I am…
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I’m very excited to introduce my latest project… a study guide for the women in The Book of Mormon! Which is now available on Amazon or as a download. There are only six named women in The Book of Mormon, three that are unique to The Book of Mormon (Sariah, Abish and Isabel) and three Bible…
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I am not very creative when I am pregnant. I realized this about myself several babies back. I’ve learned that my usual enthusiasm and passion for writing exponentially decreases in proportion to the size of my belly. It isn’t just that I am more tired or busy, though I am sure those things factor…
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My friend Heidi at A Lively Hope put together this beautiful Names of Christ Advent Devotional. For each day leading up to Christmas she has created a stunning hand drawn ornament that corresponds to one of the names of Christ. Each day of advent you read a short excerpt of scripture that highlights a different…
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Last year I had the pleasure of reviewing McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding’s book Girls Who Choose God: Stories of Courageous Women from the Bible. The book, which is designed for young children, featured more than a dozen women from the Old and New Testament. McArthur told me that they had hopes that Deseret Book…
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{1} Wow, what a week it has been! It has been so full and I have to admit I am terribly homesick for my kiddos, my husband, and my normal life. Which is good, right? In fact, when my kids dropped me off at the airport they were hanging all over me, smothering me in…
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My good friend Lani brought it to my attention a few weeks ago that it has been a LONG time since I did a Five Things for Friday post. I don’t know that I have a very good excuse, except that my life has been full to the brim and lately all I want to…
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This is part 7 of my series “Cultivating a Heart Open to Life” “When has marriage ever been about having children?” These words, spoken over the radio, stopped me mid-stir. I was making dinner for my family and listening to the news on NPR. The news coverage was about the legal battles that had…
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This is part 6 of my series “Cultivating a Heart Open to Life”
This is part 5 of my series “Cultivating a Heart Open to Life” “It is common to think of our time as standing at the apex of civilization, from which the deficiencies of preceding ages may patronizingly be viewed in the light of what is assumed to be “progress”. The reality is that in the…
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This is part 4 of my series “Cultivating a Heart Open to Life”. A version of this post was first posted on The Gift of Giving Life “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” Acts 10:34 Before my youngest son was born my…
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This is part 3 of my series “Cultivating a Heart Open to Life.” In one of my favorite books “Ishmael” by Daniel Quinn, the author asks his reader to imagine what would happen if a man haphazardly built an aircraft, based on his own preferences and completely ignored the principles of gravity and aerodynamics. He…
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This is part 2 of my series “Cultivating a Heart Open to Life” The story of Moses is one of my favorites, mostly because his story is filled with incredible women. We are introduced to many of these women at the start of Moses’s life and are shown several wonderful examples of women…
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This is part 1 of my series “Cultivating a Heart Open to Life.” The Ancient Egyptians believed that after you died you would be taken before the God Anubis (pictured above with the jackal head) and your heart would be weighed against the feather of truth. If your heart was found to be lighter than…
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So I have happy news to share today! Farrell baby #5, who has been given the womb name of “Baby Otto”, will be joining our family around the end of December! I’ll freely admit that there are days when I think I must be crazy for having another baby, but I can’t…
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I once had a friend post the question, “What is your greatest pet peeve?” on her Facebook page. Most of the responses were the type you’d expect– people who don’t park straight, people who leave their shopping carts in the parking lot, putting the toilet paper roll on upside down, people who put the…
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My junior year of college I signed up for a women’s literature class as part of my Women’s Studies minor at BYU. Shortly before the class began they notified us that there would be an instructor change, but since I didn’t know either instructor I didn’t think much of it. When I went to go…
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Last Sunday was Father’s Day here in the United States and since it always seems like I am three steps behind in life, I am once again going to post a belated Father’s Day post. I have lots of good stories about my Dad but my very favorite story happened when I was about 15-years-old…
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Way back in February I was asked if I’d be willing to review H.B. Moore’s new book, “Eve: In the Beginning.” It has taken me such a long time to get around to it that I sort of feel bad, but I figure that it is better late than never. I think it took me…
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Eleven years ago my aunt died. She was an incredible person– beautiful, vivacious, kind. Her death was completely unexpected and it was a tragic shock for her three daughters and for our entire extended family. When my Dad called to tell me she had died I was at work, and since I was living near…
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Several weeks ago I was asked to write about my personal journey with the temple, about how I felt the first time I went, how I have learned and progressed in my understanding and appreciation of the temple, and how I have handled questions or concerns about temple worship. This was really a beautiful thing…
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“Samuel Dedicated by Hannah” by Frank Topham I have been reading the Old Testament again, this time to mark the women in it and because Cedar Fort asked me to do a book on the women of the Old Testament. It won’t be out for several years still, but I figured I’d better start studying.…
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It won’t come as a surprise to anyone who reads this blog regularly that typos are my tragic flaw. I try my hardest to proofread and re-read my writing, but no matter how hard I try there are always typos. Most of the time I just don’t see them at all, even if I…
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Awhile ago our church library was cleaning out its shelves and during the process I inherited all the old flannel board story figures. There were over 30 stories from the Bible, The Book of Mormon, Church History, and a few random ones. No one else in our ward was interested in them but I considered…
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Music is an important and sacred part of worship. The scriptures tell us to “praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving” (D&C 136:28). Several Church leaders have also expressed their love of music and the power music has over us. President J. Reuben Clark Jr.…
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For the last several months I have been wrestling with a trial of the soul. It is one that has brought me to my knees again and again and has had me crying out for relief. In many ways I feel a bit like Job, whom the Lord allowed Satan to tempt and persecute, not…
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“Zion’s Camp” by C.C. Christensen I teach online Seminary for our Stake, for those kids who live too far away to attend early morning Seminary. This year we are studying the Doctrine and Covenants and last week we studied the sections 103-105, that deal with the history of Zion’s Camp. Zion’s Camp was an army…
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Last Sunday I substituted in Primary, the 6 and 7-year-old class. Our lesson was on the priesthood and its blessings. I started my lesson by making pinwheels with the children and talking about how there are powers (like wind) that you can’t see but still have the ability to do powerful things. I then moved…
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I am really excited about this giveaway today! I am giving away TWO free tickets to a new event called Spring Break for Women which will be held in Brigham City, Utah on April 25, 2015 at Box Elder High School. Similar to Time Out for Women, this event will feature some amazing speakers and…
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“The Pharaoh” from “Chickens of the World” by Matthew Meyer I mentioned in my recent post about our home school that for our unit on Egypt we mummified a chicken. This turned out to be such an unusual experience that I think it deserves its own post. We have been using The Story of…
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“To do well those things which God ordained to be the common lot of all man-kind, is the truest greatness” – Joseph F. Smith This morning I got an email informing me that my favorite teacher passed away last night. Mr. K was my High School journalism teacher. He was grumpy as a bear…
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Up until about 7 or 8 years ago I proudly called myself a feminist. Ever since I can remember there has been a passion and fire in my heart for women and women’s issues that at times seems like a raging inferno. I remember standing in front of a statue of Venus at the…
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I’ve been thinking for awhile that I needed to do a homeschool update and share what has been working for us this year, and what hasn’t. I know that I learn so many good things from other people that I thought I’d mention what we have been doing in case it is helpful to…
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“Moses and his Nubian wife” by Jacob Jordaens ((1593-1678) Numbers 12:1 Her Story: This woman married Moses, the prophet who led the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt. She is called an Ethiopian, which can also be translated as Kushite, meaning she was from the ancient African kingdom of “Kush”, which is where…
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My wonderful, amazing, beautiful little sister got married just before Thanksgiving. It was incredible to watch her– my little sister– get married to a wonderful man, in the right place, and in the right way. Her wedding was beautiful, magical, and holy. Really, it was perfect in every way. Even the torrential rain was perfect,…
DetailsMy book “Walking with the Women of the New Testament” has been out now for almost two months and I have been amazed at how well it has been doing. I know that many stores have sold out of it (it is even out of stock on Amazon right now) and the publisher already ordered…
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It is that time of year again! The time when I go through all the posts I have written in the last year and share which ones have been the most popular. I certainly didn’t write as many posts this year as in the past, but that is because for most of the year my…
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I know that this is a blog on the women in the scriptures, but there is one man from the scriptures I have been thinking a lot about this Christmas. Joseph, the husband of Mary. It sometimes seems like Joseph gets swept aside in the story of the Nativity. Mary and Jesus are the main…
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This Christmas season my heart is a jumble of so many thoughts about Mary. I’ve spent the last year writing about her, dreaming about her, thinking about her, and pondering on all the women and men she would have known in mortality. The more I learn about her the more astounded I am by…
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Several months ago I started following Bless this Mess Please on Instagram and fell in love with her. I usually don’t read food blogs (cooking is something I put minimal effort into) but I love Melissa’s Instagram feed and the glimpses into her small town, wanna-be farm life. I’d only been following her for a…
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I have an early Christmas gift for you! I was contacted by LDS Living Magazine a few weeks ago. I have never had a subscription to this magazine, but my Dentist in Utah always had it in his waiting room and it was my favorite thing to read. It isn’t a magazine that focuses so…
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I was scrolling mindlessly through my Facebook feed tonight when I happened on this news article posted by a friend and my heart skipped a beat. I hungrily read through the article, which talks about how CES (the Church Educational System for the LDS Church) just recently changed its policy and will now hire female…
Details“Walking with the Women of the New Testament” is officially released! {Big cheer… followed by a sigh of relief… and then another big cheer} Many of the people who pre-ordered the book have already gotten their copies and I have been hearing such good feedback about it. Which makes me so happy. My good friend…
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I am very excited to share the project that I have been working on the last few months. I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time and I am so excited it is ready! I’ve put together study guides to go along with my new book, “Walking with the Women of the…
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This afternoon I sat on the porch and watched the leaves fall off our maple tree. I basked in the crisp sunshine that warmed my face and took a deep breath of that smell.. the fall smell…and I felt joy rising inside my heart. I sat with my face to the sun and just drank…
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-1- I just had to show off what I (almost) finished this week! I started this quilt for Rose about three years ago, and finally finished it. The edge just needs to be bound, and I am taking it over this afternoon…
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I feel spiritually filled after General Conference this last week. I don’t think I even realized how much I needed that spiritual nourishment until it was over and I felt so much better. There were so many wonderful talks and I could probably write a post about most of them, but I was especially touched…
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I have written, and re-written, the second half of Miriam’s story a dozen times (read the first part here). It was hard for me to write. Mostly because the topic is so close to my heart. Over the last few years my heart has broken as I have watched people I know and love, and…
DetailsI’m excited to be hosting Link and Mingle today with my friend Shaylee Ann! The rules for this are very simple. Just use the linky tools below to link up to your blog (you don’t have to have a specific post) , your website, your Facebook page, Instagram or Pinterest account… pretty much any social…
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Wahooo! So pre-orders for my book, “Walking with the Women of the New Testament” are now available through Amazon! And it is on sale!!! You should go order it RIGHT NOW… really you should. Because if you do then you will have it in your loving arms, all ready to snuggle with by the fire,…
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-1- We have been having and on again, off again battle with our lawn mower this summer. It is super fickle and will only turn on if it feels like it, which isn’t very often. Even when it does get going it doesn’t cut very well because the blade is uneven. This means that even…
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Ex. 2:4–8; 15:20–21Num. 12:1–15; 20:1; 26:59Deut. 24:9Micah 6:4 Her Story: Miriam was born in Egypt during the time that the Hebrews were enslaved by the Egyptians and the Egyptians, fearful or the Hebrew’s numbers, were systematically killing all newborn Hebrew boys. Miriam was from the tribe of Levi and was the daughter of Amram (see Numbers…
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Forgiveness is complicated. As a survivor of severe childhood abuse, it is a topic I have spent much time considering. Forgiveness is beautiful, but it is often not easy to understand or apply to our lives. Part of the problem is that when people discuss forgiveness, they have different definitions in mind. To one it…
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–1– I promise that I am not dead or missing in action. This summer has been wild and busy. I’ve had ideas and posts buzzing around in my head all month but hardly a moment to sit down and write. Mostly it is because I’ve been in the final stages of getting my book Walking…
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So, it seems that this year is the year to share the good news of Women in the Scriptures! Not only is my book coming out this Fall, but Camille Fronk Olsen (my former teacher) also has a book on Women of the New Testament coming out (which I am thrilled about), AND then this…
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I’ve been in Indiana the last week visiting my cousin and her wonderful family. I drove 9 hours (one way) there and back all by myself with four kids! While I took off driving east, Jon went west and took the scouts from our church on a High Adventure trip to South Dakota. We both…
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While working on “Walking with the Women of the New Testament” I looked for a comprehensive list of all the women in the New Testament and surprisingly, I couldn’t find one! Can you believe that? So I thought that it was time the internet had one. This is a complete list of all…
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In March Iowa was covered in snow and the temperature was still in the single digits. I was despairing that spring would ever come and so, in a burst of optimism, I went to the garden store and filled my cart with seeds, potting soil, and containers. I came home and spent the afternoon planting…
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One day, when we lived in Utah, we met up with some other homeschooling families at a nearby reservoir for a nature walk. I am always early to everything (I hate being late) and this morning was no different. My kids and I waited around in the parking lot for awhile and just when I…
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For Mother’s Day I am so excited to share this guest post by Amber Richardson the producer of a powerful short film called Women of Faith. If you haven’t seen the film yet, take a moment this Mother’s Day to watch it. It is only a half hour long and has a powerful message. I know…
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Recently I had a reader email me and ask me for this presentation I gave at a conference several years ago. I’d forgotten all about it and was glad she reminded me. It is Women in the Scripture Jeopardy! I know you can hardly contain the excitement right? Click the picture to download the presentation…
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Wednesday night Jon went out to check on the animals before bed. He closed up the pen and counted, “goat, sheep, sheep… lamb!” Standing right next to Cutie Pie (our ewe) was a tiny little lamb nursing. Jon came running back the house hollering that we had a lamb in the barn. I couldn’t believe…
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Isn’t it pretty? I am so happy with how it turned out! Can you guess which woman is on the front cover? (Keep reading and I’ll tell you). I finished writing last week (Hallelujah!) and it feels so good to have all the thoughts out of my head and on to paper. I printed off…
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-1- My kids are so excited for General Conference that their enthusiasm is like electricity in the air. They LOVE General Conference and it ranks as a “holiday”, right up there with Halloween and Christmas (except even better because it happens TWICE a year). They have been saying cute things all day like, “When we wake…
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I am so excited for the FIRST ever General Woman’s Meeting this Saturday. For the first time women from the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary will all be meeting together for the first session of General Conference. It is going to be a historic meeting! When I heard that that they were going…
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-1- I am convinced winter is never going to end. It has been a long and oh, so very, very cold winter. And I don’t know if I can take much more of it. I thought I was tough, but this winter has been so cold. We’ve had almost two months where…
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I was recently invited to review Alonzo L. Gaskill’s new book “The Lost Teachings of Jesus on the Sacred Place of Women.” The title really intrigued me and I figured that this book would be right up my alley. And it was. This book isn’t very long, only 112 pages. The first part of the…
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This is a lesson for my Mom’s MTC. If you want more specifics on how I use these lessons in my home read the start of this post. Patience Includes: Accepting God’s will and timing Endurance Accepting personal weaknesses and faults Flexibility Contentment Memory Verse: “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and…
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One night when Jon and I were engaged we were sitting on the couch in my apartment. He was studying out of his human anatomy book and I was working on a paper for my Women’s Literature class. In my class we had been discussing archetypes and had just read the book “She” by Robert…
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The days my babies were blessed have been some of the sweetest in my life. This time with Tabitha I have been thinking how, for nine months, I carried that sweet baby inside of me, sharing everything with her. The burden of her pregnancy was hard, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It challenged every ounce of…
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In The Family: A Proclamation to the World it states that, “ Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.” That word ” nurture” bothered me for a really long time. I did not see myself as an innately nurturing person. As a young woman I didn’t really have a desire to be…
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“Behold thy Son” by Lester Nielsen Several times in the New Testament Christ calls his mother, Mary, by the term “woman.” He does it at the start of his ministry, when he performs his first miracle at the wedding in Canaan. When she expresses concern that there is no wine he responds,“Woman, what have I…
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My husband was doing a search on LDS.org tonight and happened across this article that my grandfather wrote for the New Era in 1984. My grandfather was a great man but I hardly new him because he had severe Parkinson’s disease for most of my life. He died when I was nine. It was a…
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-1- This was our first year having Christmas away from family, and while I did really miss them, it was fun to be able to start some of our own traditions. Ever since college I have had this idea to do a “Shepherd’s Dinner” for Christmas Eve where we would all dress up like…
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I can’t believe another year has flown by. I know it is cliche, but time really does go by too fast. I heard an elderly couple in the grocery store talking about how time seems to move even faster now that they are older and it just scared me. If time is going to start…
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“And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God!” 1 Nephi 11:26 My oldest son was born not long before Christmas. His birth was beautiful and has forever changed my feelings about Christmas. As I stared into his sweet, pure face that first Christmas day my heart was overflowing with gratitude…
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Christmas time leaves me feeling a bit frazzled. I always seem to leave Christmas shopping and gifts until the last minute and end up stressing about them way more than is necessary. A few days ago it dawned on me that Christmas is not far away and that I hadn’t bought or made…
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-1- Okay, so I know it is not even close to Friday anymore (and I have 6 things today) but I really wanted to write this all weekend and I never got the chance. I am feeling sad that this blog has been neglected the last few weeks. I have so many things that I…
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John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, my ancestors! The kids and I read a wonderful book about the Pilgrims the other day for school. It had lots of information about them that I had never learned before, including the fact that only 5 of the 18 women who sailed on the Mayflower survived the first winter!…
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Detail from “Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph” by Rembrandt Genesis 41:45, 50; 46:20 Her Story: After Joseph, who had been sold into Egypt, successfully interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream Pharaoh rewarded him by making him the ruler over Egypt. Joseph’s name was changed to Zaphnath-paaneah and Pharaoh gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti-pherah the…
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For real. I have been working on it for the last few months, but didn’t know if I could tell anyone about it. But, since I just signed the contract that says they are going to publish something I write… or take a pound of my flesh… I figure I can let the secret out of…
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This weekend we went to Nauvoo, Illinois. Nauvoo was the last settlement the Mormon pioneers had before they were driven out by persecution and migrated to the Salt Lake Valley. It is a really interesting town because many of the original houses and buildings have been restored or rebuilt by the LDS and Community of…
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In college I had a Bishop who was one of the most spiritually in-tune people I have ever met. He taught us to love the scriptures through his own example. Every morning he would get up at 4 AM to study and pray for an hour. He did this no matter where he was, no…
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Today I am excited to share the music of Marie Pearson Tarbet. I was put in contact with Marie several months ago and was so touched by the message and the beauty of her songs. Today I want to share with you two of her songs “Rockin’ Their Babies” and the “The Gift”. Both of…
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I was eight months pregnant with Tabitha when the royals, William and Kate, had their royal baby. At the time I was nesting and trying to carve out a space in our house for the new baby. Babies don’t really need very much, but the one thing I really needed was a new dresser to…
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“And if thou wilt inquire, thou shalt know mysteries which are great and marvelous; therefore thou shalt exercise thy gift, that thou mayest find out mysteries” D&C 6:11 Last Saturday was the General Relief Society meeting for the LDS church. I was moved by each of the talks but the part of the meeting…
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-1- Life has been good. A bit sleep deprived and cranky, but really good. I feel like our transition to four children hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be. But then again I think that is because I have lowered my expectations. I remember when Rose was born my motto was, “Success…
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After a long break (sorry) here is the next lesson in my Mom’s MTC. If you would like to know the details of how we implement these lessons in our home please read the first part of this post. Charity Kindness Friendliness Gentleness Service Song: “I’m Trying to be Like Jesus” #78 in The Children’s…
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“I am a girl.” Those were the words that flooded into my heart the moment I saw those two pink lines appear. The force with which they came impressed me and made me wonder. Later that day I was at a church conference. Abe and Rose were fussy so Jon and I took them out…
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There is nothing better than having a new baby. Something sacred happened in our house when she was born, and it has made time slow down. There doesn’t seem to be anything more important to do than– love– her. She is beginning to grow into her name. It always feels so strange to give…
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Turns out that Labor Day is a good day to labor. We started out working hard all morning in the garden picking green beans. Later in the afternoon Asher and Rose had a green bean and lemonade stand in our front yard. They made $12! Later that evening we had several families over for a…
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-1- 38 weeks. That is how far along I am with this pregnancy. I wish I could say that it has flown by, but honestly I am starting to feel like I have been pregnant forever. This has been a really challenging pregnancy, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. I thought that after having three children I’d…
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“And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:13) Beguiled. What does that word mean? For a long time I thought it only meant “tricked” or ” deceived” and it bothered…
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We are in Utah this week! My brother-in-law got married yesterday in the Salt Lake Temple and we came for the wedding. It was such a beautiful day and there was an incredible spirit in the room when they were married. I really love wedding days. There just isn’t anything better (okay, except maybe new…
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There is a famous story about Joseph Smith (often called “Majesty in Chains”) about how, during his imprisonment in Richmond Jail, he and several other men lay on the floor unable to sleep because the guards were boasting of the murders, robbery, and rapes they had committed against the Saints. Of this experience Elder Parley…
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Can I tell you a secret? I don’t know how to read Hebrew or Greek. At all. Not even a little bit. Nada. Okay, that wasn’t too much of a secret. But it suprises me how many people assume that I must be able to. So let me tell you my real secret. I use…
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-1- Just had to throw this one in because it was so cute. So someone told me I had to start mentioning the downsides of living in Iowa because I was making her want to pack up and move. So, to balance the score, I will try. Besides being so far from family (which is…
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Have you ever seen the movie “Labyrinth“? It is a very odd Jim Henson movie from the 80’s about a young girl who has to rescue her baby brother from the Goblin King (ie. David Bowie). When we were younger my cousin and I loved it. I distinctly remember spending a whole summer afternoon making…
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We have a beautiful historic library. The building was built in 1901. The whole bottom floor was built to be the children’s section and it is a wonderful space. Out of all the cities we have lived in this by far the best children’s library that we have ever had. There is a back entrance…
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-1- I was talking to my sister on the phone the other day, telling her about another one of our animal adventures, and finally she just laughed and said, “Heather your life is starting to sound like something out of a children’s book.” That made me smile because it does seem like we are having…
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The Banquet of Esther and Ahasuerus by Jan Victors There was a time in my life when I had a lot of anger about issues relating to women. I wasn’t angry at a specific person or organization per se, but angry at a world that treated women as objects, raped them, enslaved them, prevented them…
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-1- We got Jon an unusual Father’s Day gift. A goat named “Little Red.” About two weeks ago we had FOUR of our chickens get carried away by some foxes (sob). That only left us with three chickens, and since our coop is fairly large we knew that those ladies would freeze this winter without…
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Fourteen was a hard age for me, my parents relationship was rocky, my mom was sick, and I constantly struggled with feelings of low self-esteem. There were times when I felt completely alone. Yet, it was in the midst of those trials that I had a great spiritual awakening. It was then I received a…
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I want something strange for my birthday. Basically a box with two big Q-tips This is the DNA Test for the National Geographic Genographic project. For $200 they will send you two mouth swabs, which you swish around in your mouth, and then mail back to them. With the swab they are able to use…
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-1- The first week we moved to Iowa we had dinner with the Relief Society President and her family. Her youngest daughter took a liking to Rose and ended up giving Rose the stash of plastic dress up shoes she had out grown. Rose was thrilled. She has been begging for a pair of those…
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Detail from “Lehi’s Exodus Into the Wilderness” By Tandy Iverson I was always a little bit bothered by the story in 1 Nephi 5, where Nephi relates the story of his mother complaining against his father. I mean, surely the woman who raised Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph and was married to the prophet Lehi was…
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Rebecca Price, one of the organizers of the LDS Holistic Living Conference, contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in giving away a FREE ticket to this year’s conference. If you haven’t been to this conference you really should. There is something for everyone, even if you don’t consider yourself to be “alternative”, “crunchy”,…
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Here is part two of my Breastfeeding Women in the Scriptures series. Read Part 1 here if you missed it. Hannah “For This Child I Prayed” by Elspeth Young “But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will…
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-1- I had a really sweet Mother’s Day. I have never seen two kids as excited about Mother’s Day as Asher and Rose were. You would have thought it was Christmas the way they went on the night before saying, “Oh, Mom tomorrow is Mother’s Day! Aren’t you so excited. So so so so so…
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I had a good long bawl this morning. Once I let myself go it surprised me how much emotion I had stored up inside those tiny tear ducts. After buying a house, a new car (out of necessity), and moving half way across the country in the last few months we can see the bottom…
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-1- Right before we moved into our house my Mother-in-law said that someone asked her how long she thought it would take us to get chickens. The answer… Not very long. A house just doesn’t quite seem like a home without them. And we are so excited for fresh eggs again. There really is nothing…
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Several years ago I did a series on women’s birth stories from the scriptures. It was really a wonderful experience to go through those women’s stories and piece together their experiences. For some time I have been thinking it would be fun to do a series on the stories of women’s breastfeeding experiences in the…
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Several nights ago I decided to make bread before bed. I quickly threw together a batch of bread, confident that I knew the recipe off the top of my head, and stuck it in the bread maker. I turned the machine onto its longest setting and went upstairs to get ready for bed, intending…
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-1- We are in Iowa now! It has been a crazy month of transitions and traveling and so it feels really wonderful to be settled into our house. Transitions are always hard, but it is amazing how right and good this house, this community, this ward, this situation feels. It feels like we have come…
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Here is the third lesson in my Mom’s Missionary Training Center. We did these lessons in November, so many of my lessons corresponded with Thanksgiving things we were doing as well. It worked out great for us but these lessons should work for any month of the year. If you would like to read more…
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Our car broke down a few weeks ago. We were on our way to Idaho to visit my family, in the middle of a bad snow storm, when our car started to make strange noises. Jon exited at the nearest exit and as soon as he turned off we heard (and felt) something snap and…
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–1– My little Rose is developing quite the attitude. She has always been an opinionated little girl, but lately she has become a sassy pants. She doesn’t talk back but she has developed a signature scowl (which if you have seen it you know what I am talking about) and is VERY vocal about everything.…
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Several weeks ago Stephanie Dibb Sorenson, who blogs at Diapers and Divinity, asked me if I would be interested in reading and reviewing her new book, “Covenant Motherhood.” I knew that she had been working on it for awhile and was excited to see the final product. The premise of her book is that motherhood,…
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One of the hardest parts about moving to Iowa in a couple of weeks is that I will be leaving Utah without meeting so many of my blog friends here. So, I am happy to say that there will be THREE opportunities in the next two weeks to meet me before I move. I would…
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I have been having a blogging identity crisis lately. Someone asked me awhile ago where my blog fit into the blogosphere? Are you a mommy blog? A religious blog? A lifestyle blog? A feminist blog? A craft blog? A cooking blog? A family blog? A platform blog? I didn’t really know what to say.…
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“Charity” by William Adolphe Bouguereau, 1878 In college I worked on a volunteer Rape Crisis Response team. For three years I took turns carrying a pager for 48 hours each month, responding to dozens of summons from the hospital and the police office to help women who had just reported a rape. I stayed…
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-1- So, I have a good excuse why this blog has been sort of quiet lately. Baby #4 is on his/her way in September! Is this anyone else’s favorite Pixar short? We are all really excited, especially Rose because this baby is due around her birthday. She keeps telling me that she is getting a…
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Acts 24: 24 Background: After returning to Jerusalem after years of missionary travel Paul was persecuted by Jewish leaders and accused of sedition (Acts 21- 23). He was taken into custody and taken to the Caesarea to be brought before Felix, the Roman Governor. Felix agreed to listen to Paul and listened as he defended…
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A few days ago I got an email from a woman who had just started doing one of my Mom’s MTC lessons with her boys ( 8, 5, and 3). She wrote: … I got ready to do honesty this week and started today because my oldest son was staying the night at his cousin’s…
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-1- I just about cut the end of my finger off the other day. I was opening a can of beans for lunch and the can opener didn’t make a clean cut all the way around the can. I grabbed a fork and was trying to pry the lid back when my finger slipped and…
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Not long ago I under took a study of the word “vessel” in the scriptures. For sometime I had been impressed by the scripture (which is repeated four times in the standard works) which says, “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst…
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Last week I was sick. Throw-up, lay on the couch, moan, and hope my kids didn’t destroy things too much sick. At one point my little Rose really wanted me to read her a book, but I was so sick that the thought of sitting up made my head spin. She begged and begged, but…
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This is my second lesson in my Mom’s MTC, if you want all the nuts and bolts about how we use this curriculum in our home please read this post. Obedience – To God – To Parents – Listening Songs: “Quickly I’ll Obey” pg. 238 Children’s Song Book or “I Feel My Savior’s Love” pg.…
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-1- Ames, Iowa. That is where we will probably be moving in a few months. Is anyone from Iowa? I don’t know a soul in Iowa and the thought of moving there excites me and terrifies me all at once. Jon and I feel good about the idea of moving, but it is hard to…
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Several months ago in Sunday School we had a lesson on marriage taught by an instructor who had been a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War. He gave an example that helped me better understand what it means that men “preside” over the church and in the family. The teacher explained that whenever he would…
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Like I promised, here is the first lesson from my “Mom’s Missionary Training Center”. Honesty isn’t one of the nine Christ-like attributes that is listed in “Preach My Gospel ( it technically falls under the “virtue” section), but I felt like my children needed some specific attention in this area. So depending on what your children…
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Last summer I spent a lot of time researching educational methods, curriculum, and learning activities. Jon and I are about 90% sure that we would like to home school our kids (ack! Did I really say that out loud) and so I was trying to figure out what I needed to have in order to teach…
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Last year for my New Year Five Things I posted my top five most read blog posts of 2011. It was fun to go back and look over them and so I thought I’d do it again this year. So, here are my top 5 most popular posts of 2012 (in no specific order). -1-…
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I promised to show the gifts that my family made for each other this year, so here they are! For my brother and sister-in-law we made them a chess set out of nuts and bolts. I originally wanted to make this for Jon, but then realized that he would have 10 times more fun designing…
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Last year when Christmas fell on Sunday I loved going to church to celebrate the birth of Christ. It just seemed like the right place to be on Christmas. Yet because the LDS church has no paid clergy (all positions are volunteered by members) church services aren’t usually held on Christmas Day, unless it happens to…
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-1- Asher’s birthday was last week and he got some strange presents… which was mostly my fault. Way back in October Asher was obsessed with Halloween decorations. Every time we saw a house that was decorated for Halloween he would start to hyperventilate with excitement. He asked me 1,000 times a day when we were…
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“Here Bring your Wounded Hearts” by Elspeth Young Romans 16:1-2 Background: Even though Paul never personally ministered to the saints in Rome he sent them instruction and encouragement in the form of a letter, which is now the book of Romans in the New Testament. His letter to them was written towards the end of…
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I haven’t been on the Internet much the last few days and so yesterday was the first I heard about the “Wear Pants to Church” event that Mormon feminists are planning as a show of solidarity. I don’t consider myself to be a “Mormon feminist”, as I’ve mentioned before none of the brands of feminism…
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For my Five Things today I wanted to share with you my top five favorite Christmas decorations. I would love it if you joined in today and posted your own post about your favorite Christmas decorations! My house is certainly not impressively or beautifully decorated for Christmas. It is really an eclectic mix of home-made,…
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I loved the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional last night. Listening to it always puts me in the right frame of mind and heart for Christmas. If you missed it you can watch the broadcast here. I was especially touched by Elder Eyring’s talk and his recollections of a Christmas that he worked hard to create…
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-1- I feel like Thanksgiving got hijacked this year. I have never been a big fan of “Black Friday” and have actually never been out early enough to see what it is really like. Though, this year I was sorely tempted to go out and get a cheap printer. But Jon has taken a blood…
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This was originally posted July 2009, but I have been feeling the same way again recently. I guess this is why it is good to write down your feelings– they help strengthen you later. It is crazy to think I wrote this when Asher was only 19 months old, time goes by way too fast.…
DetailsI have a wonderful gift to give you this holiday season– a discount to help you share “The Gift of Giving Life: Re-discovering the Divine Nature of Pregnancy and Birth” with the people you love. A coupon code for 33% off if you buy 3 or more copies! This only will work if you buy…
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I feel grounded choked down by laundry, children, dishes, covenants choices already made Time is racing past me the march of degrees, careers, travel, experience steadily passing me by like hikers on a mountain trail. They get closer to the…
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Wow, this is my 50th Five Things For Friday. Actually, more than that because I don’t number all of them. That is a whopping lot of words. Are you tired of me yet? -1- We started a new tradition this year. Well, actually I don’t know if we can call it a “tradition” yet since…
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Genesis 39 Background: abt. 1544 BC After Joseph’s brothers sold him to the Ishmaelities (Gen. 37) he was bought as a slave by an Egyptian named Potiphar who took him to Egypt. The Lord was with Joseph and when Potiphar saw that the Lord prospered everything that Joseph did he “found grace in his sight”…
DetailsI have a theory that I want to test. This is it: That if it wasn’t for women– especially women over 40– democracy as we know it would fall apart because there would be no one to run the polls. I am just curious, how many men did you see running the polls where you…
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-1- I know I gave you a peek at my kids Halloween costumes in my last post, but they looked so cute that I want to share them again. Asher was a mummy. He has been telling me since last Halloween that he wanted to be a mummy this year. All year I fretted over…
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On October 3, 1918 President Joseph F. Smith received his glorious vision of the spirit world— the world we go to when we die– and Jesus Christ’s visit to it during the three days his body was in the tomb. He said that as he pondered the Spirit of the Lord had rested upon him…
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-1- It snowed! At least in my neck of the woods, it did. A few weekends ago we cleaned out our garage ( which consisted mostly of shoving un-packed boxes into the loft space) so that we could park our cars in there. This is the first time in my entire life that I have…
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Several weeks ago April Craig contacted me to share with me the beautiful project she was working on, because she thought I’d be interested in it. Which I was. April is a talented photographer and has spent the last few years putting together a collection of photographs of different Biblical women. Here is what she…
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This story by a pioneer woman named Hannah Cornaby has been on my mind a lot the last few months. In her personal history Hannah wrote: “One morning having, as usual, attended to family prayer, in which, with greater significance than is often used, we asked, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and having…
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-1- I have really loved, and very much appreciated, reading other women’s posts about their daily schedules. It has motivated me to be a bit more organized in my own life and reassured me that the chaos of my day is perfectly normal. I have come to realize that having a good, or at least…
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Not long ago I read an article in The Washington Post entitled “D.C. Third Ward Mormons Welcome Romney, even though most are democrats.” The post made me smile because for the last several months, ever since Mitt Romney announced his candidacy, I have been thinking about this ward… a lot. About six years ago, when…
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Tryphena and Tryphosa, who were mentioned by Paul in his list of faithful Roman Saints in Romans 16, helps illuminate what we know about early Christian women’s participation in the church. In Romans 16 Paul lists the names of ten women, specifying that each of them was involved in working for the service of the…
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I know I am not the only one whose jawed dropped wide open during the Saturday morning session of General Conference when President Monson announced that they were lowering the missionary age from 19 years-old to 18- years-old for men and from 21 years-old to 19 years-old for women. I was totally taken back with the…
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-1- Phew! It has been a whirlwind past two weeks. My husband has had some trainings for work and since they were all here in Utah the kids and I went along with him. Last week the training was down in Vernal, Utah (South Eastern Utah) and this week the training was in Logan, Utah…
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Three years ago, about this same time of year, I wrote this post. In it I said : “I love the image of our glorious Mother Eve receiving the Savior as He visits the spirit world with hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of her daughters standing behind her, ready and excited to receive the fullness…
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“The Daughters of Zelophehad” by Elspeth Young Numbers 26: 33, Numbers 27: 1-11, Numbers 36: 2-12, Joshua 17:3-6, 1 Chronicles 7:15 Background: After Moses had led the children of Israel out of Egypt and they had wandered in the wilderness for a significant time, the Lord commanded Moses and Eleazar to, “take the sum of all the…
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I am really excited about the last giveaway I have for my 4th Blog-iversary celebration! If you haven’t entered the other three giveaways you still can until Sept. 28th! When I was at the LDS Booksellers Convention I met a beautiful woman named Michelle who owns a company called Personal Ponderings that makes and sells…
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Happy 4th Blog-iversary to me! Today I have another great giveaway in celebration. All the other giveaways are still open until the 28th, so make sure you check them out as well. Several weeks ago Shaylee Ann who blogs at Mother {at} Heart contacted me to let me know that she had started working with…
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Another giveaway in celebration of my 4th Blog-iversary. ALL the giveaways will be open until Sept. 28th, so make sure you check them all out! Last month I mentioned how I attended the LDS Bookseller’s Conference and how our booth was next to some pretty amazing people. One of those amazing people was Michael Mercer…
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This week is the 4th anniversary of the day I started this blog. I started this blog because after Asher was born I felt really strongly that the Lord needed and wanted me to stay home with him. Being a stay-at-home mom wasn’t ever in my life plan but I couldn’t deny the message I…
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About this time last year the air conditioning in our car went out. Luckily though I only had to go a week driving in the heat before the weather started to turn cool. That one week was terrible (granted I was pregnant and hot already) and I remember thinking that there was no way that…
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-1- I need some help from experienced (or not so experienced) quilters. I really want to make Rose a twin sized quilt for her bed, but the challenge is that I want to make it out of my scrap material. I have looked at different quilt patterns but I am feeling overwhelmed by all the…
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I took my kids on a nature walk today up the canyon. We were having a really good time collecting rocks, caterpillars and leaves until Asher found the biggest leaf he’d ever seen and asked me to reach into the bush to get it. I had Abe on my back in a hiking backpack and…
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I am excited to announce that in two weeks I am going to be participating in a Women in the Scriptures panel hosted by the Mormon Women Project (you can read my interview with them here). I am really excited about this and hope that some of you will be able to come. It should…
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I have always loved birthdays. The parties, the balloons, the cake, the presents, the attention. Birthday’s have always been a big deal in my family and celebrating them is a lot of fun. Yet it wasn’t until my oldest son celebrated his first birthday that it dawned on me that a birthday celebrates a BIRTH.…
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-1- During Family Home Evening on Monday night we drew some pictures for our lesson and Jon suggested that we could mail them to his brother who is serving a mission. Asher was excited about that but Rose announced that she wanted to mail her picture to Heavenly Father. When they were done with their…
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I promised that I would share some pictures from the LDS Booksellers Convention I attended two weeks ago. Felice Austin and I went to promote our new book “The Gift of Giving Life:Re-discovering the Divine Nature of Pregnancy and Birth” and to try to woo some bookstores into carrying it. We were pretty successful. We…
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“God Liveth and Seeth Me” by Elspeth Young Genesis 16; 21:9-21; 25:12 Galatians 4:22-31 D&C 132: 34, 65 Background: After many years in the wilderness, including a brief sojourn in Egypt (Gen. 12), Abram and Sarai were still childless. In Genesis 15 the Lord came to Abram and told him “Fear not, Abram: I am…
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-1- I can’t believe that the summer is almost over! How did that happen? I remember when I was little it seemed like summer dragged on forever, and now as an adult it just seems to fly by in a haze. Maybe I need to do a bit more tree house building, reading, and exploring…
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Jon and I have been taking our kids swimming a lot the last few months. Several months ago we had an interesting conversation about the differences between men and women’s locker rooms. Apparently ladies, for all of you who don’t know, men don’t cover up in locker rooms. It is totally acceptable to walk around…
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Speed dating. That is what I have been up to lately. This week I am participating in the LDS Booksellers Convention in Salt Lake City, promoting our book “The Gift of Giving Life:Rediscovering the Divine Nature of Pregnancy and Birth.” Yesterday they had a “speed dating” event where authors, artists and musicians had three minutes…
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Sometimes I think God’s timing is simply inspired. I had been feeling prompted for months to contact Katherine Nelson to write something for Emma Smith’s Birthday celebration. When I finally got up the nerve to email her I was first, thrilled that she said she would, and second excited that her manager asked me if…
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-1- My motivation to blog has been really low lately and so this Five Things might be scraping the bottom of the barrel today. But hey, it happens to us all. I did write this post for The Gift of Giving Life blog this week though. Here is snippet, and a cute picture of my…
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Utah is gearing up for its 24th of July festivities. July 24th is the day when the first Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley and celebrating it is a really big deal in Utah. Salt Lake will have their big “Days of ’47” festivities on Tuesday but Bountiful, which is the city just to…
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-1- I caught a bat. Well, three bats to be exact. The week after the 4th of July we went up to Idaho to my family’s cabin. We invited Jon’s cousin and her family along as well. They have four little children under the age of six and we have three little children under the…
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This is my last post for Emma Smith’s Birthday Celebration and I just wanted to thank everyone who has participated by sharing their testimonies of Emma and The Book of Mormon. I have loved reading them and I hope that the posts last week have given you a new appreciation and understanding of Emma Smith…
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In the final days of Emma’s life her son Alexander recorded that she had a remarkable dream. In Gracia N. Jone’s article, “My Great-Great Grandmother, Emma Hale Smith” she wrote: “A granddaughter, Emma Belle Smith Kennedy, remembers Emma: “Her eyes were brown and sad. She would smile with her lips but to me, as small…
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When I was about 10-years-old I went with my Grandmother to the Church Office Building where she was working as a missionary. I waited in the lobby for her while she did some work and I picked up an old issue of the Ensign magazine. I flipped through it and landed on an article entitled…
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@font-face { font-family: “Times New Roman”; }@font-face { font-family: “Calibri“; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; I am so excited to share this beautiful post by Katherine Nelson for Emma Smith’s Birthday Celebration. Katherine had…
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Today is Emma Smith’s 208th birthday. When I thought about what she might most appreciate as a gift the thought came powerfully to me that what she would want is to hear people bear testimony of The Book of Mormon. Emma literally sacrificed everything she had, her family, her home, her children, her physical comfort,…
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This is the first post for Emma Smith’s Birthday Celebration this week. I am excited to share the interview I had with Mark Staker who is a Senior Researcher at in the Historic Sites Division of the Church History Library . For the last eight years he has done in-depth research on the life of…
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Next Tuesday, July 10th is Emma Smith’s, the wife of the prophet Joseph Smith, 208th birthday. She is one of the only women mentioned in the scriptures whose birthday we know and so last year I did a week long birthday celebration for her. It was a powerful experience for me to reflect and ponder…
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-1- I have been feeling really home sick lately. I know we moved more than a month ago but I really miss my house, my neighbors, my ward, my grocery store, my apriocot tree (which would be overflowing right now), my shower, my yard, my chickens. Pretty much everything. It is hard to get use…
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Sarah from “Shelves in My Mind” sent me an email a few weeks ago with her thoughts about the Great and Honorable Women she had come across in her reading of Acts. I thought she had some great ideas and asked if she would write it up for a guest post. So today I am…
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Wow. I did it. Saturday I successfully pulled off three different presentations ( two 90 minute ones and one 45 minute one) at the LDS Holistic Living Conference! I feel really good about how they went. I gave it my all and I had the Spirit with me… and in the end that is really…
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-1- On Tuesday one of my friends invited me to go to a “Disney Days” that one of the radio stations was hosting. We thought that there were going to be Disney characters and such, but there wasn’t. We were disappointed but the kids still had fun. Mostly because they had a huge Disney princess…
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Several months ago I was contacted by one of my readers and asked if I’d be interested in reading and reviewing her mother’s new book. I have never been one to turn down a free book and so I happily said I’d read it. A few days later I got the book “A Glimpse of…
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As I was working on one of the presentations that I am giving at the LDS Holistic Living Conference this weekend (you can still register!) I stumbled across this great statement on a Pinterest page. I had the perfect picture to go with it stashed away in my files and so I couldn’t resist putting…
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-1- Summer is underway for us and so far it has been quite exciting. First there was Rose locking herself in our bedroom for 2 hours. For some reason the house we are renting had a mega super key lock on the bedroom door and Rose couldn’t get it open. Finally my mother-in-law came over…
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The Meeting of David and Abigail, by Jacob Willemsz de Wet the Elder 1 Samuel 25:3- 43; 27:2; 30:5-18 2 Samuel 2:2, 3:3 1 Chronicles 3:1 Background: Right before Abigail’s story David and his men had been pursued all over the desert by Saul and his army. At one point David and his men found…
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-1- After writing my “Dwelling in a Tent” post a few weeks ago I remembered that I promised I would tell you the story about how Jon lived in a tent for a few month while we were engaged. It is a good one. Jon and I got engaged in August while we were both going to…
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This was originally posted in March of 2009 A few days (or was it weeks) ago I was making dinner and listening to NPR talk about Hillary Clinton’s first trip over seas as Secretary of State for the United States. As I listened to Mrs. Clinton talk about her trip to Asia and her upcoming…
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Lately I am feeling a bit like I imagine Sarah felt when she and Abraham left their home in Haran to go into the wilderness of Canaan, to“.. the land that I will shew thee” (Genesis 12:1). Or how Sariah must have felt when Lehi asked her to leave the comfort and the beauty of…
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It has been a few weeks since I have had consistent Internet access and so I feel like I have been really MIA (missing in action) for awhile. I thought that for this post I’d just post pictures that might give you an idea of what I have been up to. -1- GRADUATION! Trying…
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I can’t believe the month of May is already half way over. It has gone by so quickly, but then again my life has been pretty fast paced lately. I just thought I’d check in and see if anyone else is still hanging in with the dress dare and is still wearing skirts and dresses!…
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The last two weeks have been wild and crazy. We have been in the process of graduating, selling and moving from our house, searching for a place to live, going on vacation, teaching my sister-in-law the temple preparation classes, and helping to get my brother-in-law ready for his mission to Taiwan. Not to mention publishing…
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A year ago one of my blogging friends posted that she was doing the “Dress Dare” hosted by the young Catholic women who blog at “Defining Beauty”. Here is the details of their dare. Here we go! The Official Rules are: Wear dresses and skirts throughout the month of May. Exceptions: Snoozing {zzz} and Exercising.…
DetailsMy baby is here! She was born a few days ago and is now ready to come to your house! The pre-sales have all been shipped and should be in your hands around May 8th. If you haven’t ordered a copy yet you can buy one here NOW. If you order it soon it should…
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-1- For the last few months Jon and I have been teasing each other about whose “baby” was going to be “born” first– his thesis or my book. It looks like mine made its emergence (in print) first! Felice got the very first copy of our book ‘The Gift of Giving Life: Rediscovering the Divine…
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Friday and Saturday I performed with the modern dance group I dance with. Everything went really well and it was so much fun to be on stage with my little boy. He did great. One of the pieces that the adult company performed (we are all mothers) was entitled “Milk” . It was a beautiful…
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This might be the most heather-centric Five Things for Friday ever written. This week has been CRAZY wild and I feel like I’ve been in the public (aka, anyone else besides my husband and kids) eye non-stop this week. Jon told me I am in danger of getting a big head and so I thought…
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Christ and the Woman with the Issue of Blood by Paolo Veronese Matthew 8:20-22; Mark 5: 25-34; Luke 8: 43-48 Background: As Jesus traveled around throughout the country teaching and working miracles He was approached by “a certain ruler” of the synagogue named Jarius. Jarius knelt before Jesus and begged, “My little daughter lieth at…
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-1- Can I show you what I found at the DI yesterday? Aren’t they beautiful? If you know what these are you can officially label yourself as a nerd:) They are Montessori cylinders, part of the pre-school curriculum for the Montessori educational method. I nearly had a heart attack (literally) when I saw them on…
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This Easter thoughts about “the womb” and “the tomb” have been on my mind. I have been thinking a lot about the lesson I learned after Abraham’s birth. In his birth story I wrote: I got in the shower to clean up. As I rubbed soap over my belly I couldn’t help but think how…
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-1- A few nights ago my husband and I snuggled up on the couch and spent a good hour watching the new Bible videos that the LDS Church has released. There are about 6 or 7 beautiful videos depicting Christ’s last week on earth and they are really good. If you need something to get…
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A few weeks ago I was contacted by Angela Eschler and Heather B. Moore and asked to review their new book “Christ’s Gifts to Women.” When I got the book the first thing I noticed was how beautiful it is. The cover is wonderful but the inside is even better. It is just full of…
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I so enjoyed General Conference this weekend, though to be 100% honest I really only heard about 2/3rds of it. Jon and I are looking forward to some date nights this week when we can re-watch the talks we missed because of tantrums, poopy blow-outs, and other miscellaneous adventures! And even though life is crazy…
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– 1- I can tell Spring is coming soon because the woodpecker has started pecking on our chimney pipe again. Several times a day I hear a drumming rattling noise coming from the roof… and that sound is the best indicatorthat winter is almost over and Spring is just around the corner. And That there…
DetailsI have been trying to find time to sit down and write this post all month. Life has just been so busy, so sorry this is a bit late 😉 I wrote last year about how our family likes to celebrate Purim, the Jewish holiday celebrating Esther and the Jew’s miraculous deliverance. Cocoa shared this…
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As I mentioned last week I’ve been having to keep our house in a state of unusual tidiness in order to have it ready to show at the drop of hat. My kids have actually been doing a great job of keeping things clean and helping me tidy up. I’ve been really impressed with how…
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Claudia is mentioned in Paul’s second epistle to Timothy when he sent him greetings from several of the saints who were with him in Rome. Paul wrote, “… Eubulus greeth thee and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren” (2 Timothy 4:21). Beside her name and the fact that she remained faithful even…
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-1- This week has gone by in a blur. I can’t even believe that it is already Friday again. I have been so busy this week with selling our house that I haven’t had time for much of anything else. We got two offers on it this week! It has been pretty exciting, but since…
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I was very excited to receive another submission for my series on Latter-day Saint Women Around the World (keep them coming!). This post is from Soyolmaa from Mongolia. I have heard from people who have been to Mongolia that the LDS Church is growing really quickly in that country and that they are some of…
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-1- We put our house up on the market last week. Wow, crazy, scary. If buying a house made me feel like a grown up, selling a house makes me feel like a grown grown up… almost. My husband starts his new job in a few months and we are hoping to move to Salt…
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I just wanted to let you all know that the registration for the LDS Holistic Living Conference is now open! As I mentioned before I am speaking at the conference this year and I would love it if you could come out and support me and the conference. I would love to see you there!…
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Originally posted July 6th, 2009 “She is Come Before Hand’ by Elspeth Young (used with permission) On Sunday I taught a lesson on Women in the Scriptures at our church. My goal with the lesson was to help the women learn how to recognize and relate to the women that are mentioned in the scriptures.…
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-1- Last year I promised that I would remind you about Purim, the Jewish holiday that commemorates the story of Esther, so that you could hold your own Purim festivities. The date for Purim changes every year because it is based on the Jewish calender and this year the date for Purim is March 7th…
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I got a new set of scriptures for Christmas and, even though it has been hard letting go of my old ones, I am loving the adventure of marking up a new set. It is almost like reading the scriptures for the first time again. I am discovering things that I never saw before, and…
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I wrote this essay my last semester in college for the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics, a very prestigious essay contest. It made it into the top 50 essays. Which, considering there were over 3,000 submissions was pretty good, even if it didn’t win. I later won 2nd place in a BYU Studies essay contest…
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@font-face { font-family: “Times New Roman”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.SecA few weeks ago one of my friends started a book club to study the Classics for a group of homeschooling mothers in our area. Even though…
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My youngest sister is an aspiring fashion designer and a few months ago she and I had a lot of fun looking through a blog called A New Dress a Day. The blog started when the author challenged herself to wear a new dress every day for a whole year, but she could only spend…
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-1- I apologize about not having a Five Things for Friday last week, I know some of you were planning on it. Last week was just unbelievably crazy and when it came right down to it my choice was between neglecting my husband and staying up way too late to write my post or spending…
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This is the last submission I have for my series on Latter-day Saint Women Around the World… sob. I’ve really loved getting these and I just want any one out there who is still working on one– or who thinks that they might like to do one– that I would be VERY excited to get…
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I started writing this post around Christmas time but never finished it but better late than never… right? This Christmas the LDS church released a series of Bible videos from the life of Jesus. One of the first ones they released was a video of Elisabeth greeting Mary and Mary giving her psalm, also known…
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The practice of women wearing veils is found repeatedly throughout the scriptures, and for a good portion of human history it has been common for women (and sometimes men) to veil their heads and faces. Today, in many religions around the world women still cover their heads and their faces when they are in the…
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-1- My husband’s family are the only people I know who truly celebrate Ground Hog Day (which for all of you international readers is a bizarre holiday we “celebrate” in the US on February 2nd) . They have Ground Hog Day traditions, which as much as I dearly love them, I thought was completely bizarre…
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Today’s guest post about Latter-day Saint Women Around the World happens to be from one of my all-time favorite people. Julianne and I met in a class on HIV/AIDS in college forever ago and she is definitely a kindred spirit. She’s lived all over the world but I am so glad that she was willing…
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We blessed Abraham on Sunday. And as much as I could write about what a sweet experience it was to see my husband take our little boy in his arms and give him a name and a blessing… I mostly want to talk about what he wore. I really wanted Abe to have a special…
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-1- Awhile ago Cocoa of Chocolate on My Cranium asked her readers which fictional character they most identified with. I loved the question but didn’t have time to respond at the time. So I am going to do it now. I am most certainly Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. Granted I am not…
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I’ve been feeling sort of low lately. It seems like Satan has been working hard on me to make me feel small, worthless and hopelessly flawed. There are days when life, and all the suffering, pain, and heartache that comes with it, seems so meaningless and I really begin to wonder why I am here…
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Our book “The Gift of Giving Life: Rediscovering the Divine Nature of Pregnancy and Birth” is coming out in print soon! We initially thought it would come out in November but the layout and editing took longer than expected. Right now it is looking like it will be off the press sometime in March! This…
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-1- It is that time of year again, when people start looking for ideas for their Relief Society Birthday parties! I thought that since I have some new readers since last year that I’d share the links to the two scripts that I have written. The first is a re-enactment of the First Relief Society…
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The Resurrection of the Widow’s Son at Nain, Illustration from ‘The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ’ by James Jacques Joseph Tissot Luke 7:11-17 Background: Jesus was traveling around Galilee with his disciples teaching and working miracles. He had entered into Capernum where he was sought out by a “certain centurion” whose beloved servant was…
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I am excited to introduce Odette from Germany today as my guest poster for my Latter-day Saint Women Around the World series. One of my best friends is also from Germany and we met when she was foreign exchange student here in the US almost 12 years ago, so I really loved reading Odette’s story.…
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-1- The other morning I was upstairs getting ready when I heard peals of giggles coming from downstairs. I’d left Asher and Rose down there while I showered and got dressed and the whole time I’d been getting ready I had this sinking suspicion that they were up to something. And boy was I right.…
DetailsFor the last two years I’ve issued my “Women in the Scriptures Challenge” at the beginning of the year and I am going to do it again this year… and probably for the rest of the time I write this blog. I think it is a really important way for followers of Christ to study…
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Today’s guest post for my series on Latter-day Saint Women Around the World is by Suzan from Kenya! I am Suzan and am from a family of twelve, some of which are deceased. I am from Nairobi, Kenya. 1. What is the dominate belief system in your country? Do most people consider themselves to be…
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I’ve seen several other bloggers do a review of their “greatest hits” of 2011 and I thought it would be fun to do that for my Five Things for Friday today. I am adding a little snippet of each to jog your memory or to entice to you to go back and read it if…
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We finally put away our Christmas decorations today, and with how crazy life has been around here lately I am just impressed that they got taken down before July! As I was packing things up in boxes I remembered that all month I’ve been thinking about these two little penguins, which have been standing on…
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My guest post today is from Ayanda from Johannesburg, South Africa. I was so touched by her beautiful testimony and am so excited by how much the church is growing in her area. It is so beautiful to see how much the Lord loves all his children! My name is Ayanda. I live in Johannesburg…
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-1- I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. Mine was really nice. I really enjoyed having Christmas on the Sabbath this year. We were visiting my dad and his church started at 9 AM. So we did our Christmas stockings and presents from Santa in the morning but then saved the rest of…
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I still have quite a few more submissions to share for my Latter-day Saint Women Around the World series and am expecting to receive a few more in the next little while! It has been so much fun to get to hear about the different experiences women are having all over the world with the…
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I loved this video from Sister Beck sharing a memory from her girlhood and reminding us to open and read the free gift that all the sisters of the Relief Society have been given this year… the “Daughters in My Kingdom” book! Now is the moment when I try to make you feel guilty. Have…
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” …the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.” 1 John 2:8 Today is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. This means that today is the shortest and darkest day of the whole year. It is beautiful to me that the time when the world is as dark, cold and barren as…
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Story #1 When I was 15 I begged my parents to buy me a red wool coat. The one I wanted was expensive, really expensive, and so I used every ounce of my persuasive power to convince them that I had to have that coat or else my life would be over. My persistent pleas…
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-1- I just wanted to say thank you to all the wonderful women who have written posts for my series on Latter-day Saint Women around the World. It has been so much fun for me to read and share them… not to mention it has been such a help to have a series of pre-prepared…
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“According to Thy Word” by Elspeth Young used with the artist’s permission I know I shouldn’t pick favorites but the Gospel of Luke is my favorite book in the New Testament. This is because Luke includes more stories about women in his gospel than any of the other gospel writers. His account is just overflowing…
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Today’s guest post is by Pamela from Finland. Pamela is the one who inspired me to start doing these posts on Latter-day Saint women around the world. So you if you are enjoying this series you have her to thank for it! I am so glad that I’ve gotten to know her better, and hope…
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-1- Turns out having three kids is harder than having two kids. Last week someone asked me how I was handling transitioning to three kids and I emphatically told them that I was doing great and that it was much easier than I expected it to be. Well, that was last week. The week when…
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Today’s guest post is by my husband’s cousin Emma Lucy. She, along with her family, just recently returned home to United States after having lived in Bosnia and she just started her Freshman year of college! Hearing about her adventures has been a lot of fun and so I was excited she was willing to…
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Today’s guest post is by Freja from Australia. It was really fun for me to get to know her better, her writing is a lot of fun. And personally I’d recommend that while you read her post you try to do it in an Australian accent, it makes it even better! My name is Freja.…
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Today’s guest post is from Filicity, from South Africa. My sister-in-law who served a mission in Botswana met Filicity at the Johannesburg, South Africa Temple. This is what my sister-in-law said about her: “I actually just met her when we were at the temple one day since she is a temple worker there. She was…
Details-1- I know I probably shouldn’t admit this… but I really enjoy staying home from church with a newborn. Don’t get me wrong, I love going to church and miss attending the meetings but it is also really sweet to have a few hours where all my attention can be devoted to my new little…
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My guest post today is by Curls from Motherhood: The Great Adventure. It has been fun for me to get to know her better the last year or so and I loved reading her thoughts about being a Latter-day Saint in Canada. You can read more about her adventures (and her super cute little girl)…
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I received a wonderful comment a few days ago on a post I wrote last year called “In Which I Vent”, which was an rant about a PG rated movie that showed several scenes of intimacy between a husband and a wife. This reader’s comment brought up some really interesting thoughts and I thought it…
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For today’s guest post I am excited to introduce Jo! She does a good job of introducing herself and so I’ll just skip straight to her post. The questions in bold are the ones I asked and her responses are below. Hi. My name is Jo and I live on the East Yorkshire coast, UK…
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Today’s guest post is from one of my sweet friends (and fellow doula) Amy. She use to live just down the street from me but last year moved with her husband and two little kids to Japan. I was thrilled she was willing to talk about her experiences being a member of the LDS church…
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Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day here in the United States and so I thought I’d use this Five Things for Friday to express things I am grateful for… which this year isn’t hard to do at all. I am grateful for 5 wonderful women who sent me this beautiful necklace last week! The women I have…
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Today’s guest post is from Isa from Sorocaba, Brazil, a city of about 630, 000 people about 50 minutes outside São Paulo. I loved reading Isa’s responses, she just bubbles enthusiasm for life and the gospel. I hope you enjoy her as much as I do. The questions I asked are in bold print and…
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Thanks to the wonderful international readers who responded to my post a few weeks ago I am excited to start my series on Latter-day Saint Women Around the World today! My first guest post is by Gabriella who is a Relief Society President in Pecs, Hungary. I have so enjoyed getting to know Gabriella and…
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–1– Wow, I can’t believe that Abraham is already a week old! It has been a really beautiful week. I LOVE the newborn stage, their needs are so simple and they are so fresh from God. Even though our house has sometimes been chaos, this baby has brought with him a little bit of heaven…
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Thursday morning– exactly two weeks before my due date– I woke up with a dull, crampy ache in my abdomen, lower back, and legs. It didn’t feel like labor and so I assumed it was just another one of the many pregnancy aches and pains I’d been feeling the last few weeks. Yet as the…
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Abraham Bay Born two weeks “early”! on Thursday, 11-10-11 @ 7:57 PM 6 lbs 15 oz (smaller than my others by almost 2 lbs!) 20 3/4 inches And practically perfect in every way. We are a little tired (mom, dad and baby) anda little thrilled beyond what we can handle (Asher and Rose)but we are…
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The Egyptian goddess Hathor greeting Queen Nefatiri (Image Source) Abraham 1: 23-24 There are two women named Egyptus mentioned in the Book of Abraham, the wife of Ham and Ham’s daughter. In order to clarify which woman I talking about I will designate the wife of Ham as Egyptus (W) for “wife of Ham” and…
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-1- Sorry about not having a Five Things for Friday post last week. All THREE of our computers were being fickle, I was traveling by myself with two little kids, and I have been SO tired lately. So I am sorry the post didn’t happen, but just know that if I miss a week I…
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On Friday I had the opportunity to go a “mommy blogger” luncheon sponsored by LDS Philanthropies, the fundraising arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I haven’t been to very many blogging events before and it was really fun to meet some of the women I’ve been friends with online in “real”…
DetailsI have a special favor to ask of my international (aka. outside of the US) readers. For the last few months I’ve been feeling prompted to do a series about Latter-day Saint women from around the world and how the gospel is growing in their countries. I received and email a few months ago from…
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Image Source I have always been really sensitive to violence. When I was young it wasn’t uncommon for me to run to my room sobbing because of things I’d seen in a movie or on TV. Even now when I read or see something violent it stays with me for days, clinging to my mind,…
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-1- Last fall we didn’t have time to carve pumpkins and so I ended up just throwing one of them out in our garden. In the spring all of the seeds from that pumpkin took root and I had HUNDREDS of little pumpkin plants all over my garden. I transplanted about 20 of the little…
DetailsOriginally posted October 19, 2009 I am really proud of my husband. He spent all of last semester working on a design competition with several other students at his University. The project wasn’t for any of his classes, it was something he took on in addition to his regular school work and his graduate research.…
Details-1- My kids are so excited about Halloween. This is the first year that they have been old enough to understand what it is all about and they can hardly wait. I don’t know what got them so excited about it but for the last month Asher has been asking me (at least 4 or…
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My little boy has really been into “dress up”. Every day he comes downstairs in a new outfit and has a new identity. Some days he is a train engineer, a robot, a spaceman, a pirate, and for awhile a witch… complete with the witch hat and dress. The first day he wore the witch…
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Image Source 1 Samuel 1: 2-7 Facts About Her: She was married to Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite (vs.2); She was a polygamous wife and shared her husband with Hannah (the mother of the prophet Samuel) (vs. 2); She had children,…
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-1- I am 33 weeks pregnant this week. I can’t believe that in little less than two months (hopefully) I will be holding this baby in my arms. It makes me so excited! I am having mixed feelings about this pregnancy ending though. One one side I am super ready NOT to be pregnant any…
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All weekend I was excited to do a post on General Conference but then I started to get overwhelmed trying to figure out how to narrow it down to talk about one thing. There was so much good stuff. When I saw this list of questions over at Diapers and Divinity I thought it would…
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I am so excited to announce that we have a cover for our book! Yippee! Isn’t it pretty? I am so excited about this because it means that we are getting so close to having this book done and out into the hands of women! Our publisher has pushed back the release date a few…
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-1- I am so excited for General Conference this weekend! Anyone else? My husband translates for Conference and so this time of year our home is filled with the words of the prophets– and I love it. He translates a language called Papiamento which is a mixture of Dutch and Spanish and is spoken on…
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For the last week I’ve been mulling about something a friend wrote. She said, I have had the opportunity to work with an amazing woman who has done exceptional work serving the children of God and also raising a family in the gospel. Her life is not perfect of course, but I consider her to…
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I am excited to announce that the random number generator selected 6 lucky winners from among the comments I got for my 3rd “Blog-iversary” giveaway! If you won a prize PLEASE email me at heatherlady at gmail.com with your address and contact information before Friday to claim your prize. Grand Prize Winner of Cody Miller’s…
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-1- Why does it seem like everything always happens at the same time? It seems like life is either super relaxed and boring or super crazy and hectic… but rarely somewhere in between. For example, my husband is finishing his Master’s thesis in the next few months which means that he will be starting a…
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“In Favor With God” by Simon Dewy(Image Source) I’ve been devouring my copy of “Daughters in My Kingdom” and have been loving every chapter. I’ve had so many “ah-ha” moments while reading, but one of the most powerful ones came to me while I was reading Chapter 9: “Guardians of the Hearth: Establishing, Nurturing, and…
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Image Source 2 Kings 11:2 2 Chronicles 22:11 Background: Ahaziah, the King of Judah, was a wicked King because he was advised by his mother Athaliah, who was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (2 Kings 10). He accompanied his uncle Jehoram, king of Israel, in a war against Hazael, the king of the Arameans.…
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I am always astounded at how fast a whole year can go by. It seems like I was just celebrating the second anniversary of this blog a few months ago! Yet as I think back on the last year I am overwhelmed with such gratitude for all the wonderful women and men I have “met”…
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-1- In case you missed it I had a guest post this week over at Chocolate on My Cranium for the celebration on “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” I so appreciate Cocoa for giving me the opportunity to put into words some of the thoughts that have been jumbling around in my head!…
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In “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” it states, “By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers…
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When I was little I heard my parents talk about how they remembered exactly where they were and what they were doing when they found out the news that the US president, John F. Kennedy, had been shot. At the time I didn’t understand how news could be so life changing that the very moment…
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-1- For my scripture study the last few months I’ve been using the “Preach My Gospel” manual as a study guide. It has been really helpful, especially because lately I’ve been feeling like I need a “quick and easy, hold my hand and tell me what to study” guide to the scriptures– which is what…
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“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”– Ecclesiastes 3:11 It is canning season in my neck of the woods and now that I’ve finished my pickles and peaches it is almost time to move onto the apples and the pears! I am feeling especially blessed to…
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“Lamoni and Wife” by James H. Fullmer (Image Source) Alma 18:43 Alma 19 Background: Abt 90 BC After Ammon defended King Lamoni’s flocks by cutting off the arms of the attackers (Alma 17) he was afraid of him and thought he was the Great Spirit. Ammon reassured the King that he wasn’t and then taught…
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-1- Pickles and Peaches! That is what I am up to my elbows in this week. My uncle’s garden has been producing cucumbers like crazy and so I’ve been busy making pickles. I made some for the first time last year and now I am totally spoiled. Homemade ones are so much better!My cousin and…
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The original Barbie doll, introduced in 1959 (Image Source) I was a HUGE fan of Barbie when I was younger. I easily had two dozen Barbies who between them all owned enough dresses, shoes, and accessories to clothe a small city. My friends and I played Barbies well into Jr. High and then, when it…
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-1- Some of you may have noticed but my “Five Things for Friday” is a shameless imitation of the “7 Quick Takes Friday” that Conversion Diary hosts each Friday. Several months ago I was struggling with knowing what direction to take this blog. I was discovering that it is difficult to write a blog that…
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My husband reading scriptures with our two-year-old For the last few months my husband and I have really been struggling with family scripture study. We don’t have a problem remembering to do it. Our problem is how to keep it from degenerating into total chaos and mayhem which ends with someone throwing a tantrum in…
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“Hosea and Gomer“ by Cody F. Miller Hosea 1: 2-9 Hosea 2 Hosea 3: 1-3 Background: About 730 BC Hosea, or Hoshea, was a prophet at the time of King Jeroboam II. He preached during a time when the house of Israel was in a state of great wickedness and decline. His primary message was…
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-1- My husband and I went out on a rare date night and saw the movie “17 Miracles” which is about the Martin and Willie handcart companies, a group of Mormon English immigrants who got caught in the snow during their trip to the Salt Lake Valley and suffered unbelievable hardships. I’ve been taught about…
DetailsSeveral months ago one of my readers sent me this article and I thought it was so enlightening. I was going to link to it but the link where it was posted no longer works. Since this one is too good to miss I am re-posting it in its entirety here. “Women in the Image of…
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When we were first married my husband and I spent a summer living in Amman, Jordan. I was doing research for school and he got to tag along. I’d always considered myself to be a modest dresser–I don’t wear sleeveless shirts, short shorts, low-cut tops, bikinis or things that reveal my middle– and in the…
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-1- Anyone want any zucchini? I am drowning in it. I didn’t even plant any zucchini plants this year but because my family knows I LOVE it I’ve been getting tons of it… and I am sure that I will just get more and more as the summer goes by. But right now I have…
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When I contacted The Nashville Tribute Band about giving away a copy of their CD “Joseph: A Tribute to the Prophet” for Emma Smith’s birthday celebration they asked if I’d be interested in reviewing their newest CD “The Work: A Nashville Tribute to the Missionaries” and give away some copies on my blog. I was…
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-1- Two weeks ago I was in so much pain that I could hardly walk. I had shooting pains down the insides of my legs and excruciating hip and pubic bone pain. I’ve had back pain before when pregnant but this was awful. I honestly felt like I was splitting in half. I talked with…
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Maybe it is because I’m pregnant (23 weeks!) and this little baby is starting to kick me pretty ferociously, but this post I wrote back in 2008 has been on mind. I thought I’d share it again since it was one of my first posts. “The Road to Bethlehem” by Joseph Brickley Image Source Our…
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“Discipleship” by Elspeth Young. Image Source Acts 9: 36-42 Background: 1 Century AD Not long after Saul’s (Paul) miraculous conversion to the Christian church, and his acceptance into the fold by the Apostles, the church experienced a period of great growth and prosperity (Acts 9: 1-31). Peter, the prophet of the church, “passed throughout all…
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-1- I just wanted to announce that the winner of the CD “Joseph: A Nashville Tribute to the Prophet” is Becca from My Soul Delighteth. Congrats Becca! This is a great CD and I hope you enjoy it. -2- Thank you everyone for all your kind comments and love you gave me in my miscarriage…
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Image Source Last week would have been the due date of the baby I miscarried in December. I’d heard from other women who’d had miscarriages that passing the lost baby’s due date was hard, but I didn’t realize quite how hard. I thought that because I already had a new little life growing, thriving, and…
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I know I’ve been sort of the giveaway queen lately but we are excited to announce that November 1, 2011 is the official release date (baring unseen circumstances) for our book “The Gift of Giving Life: Rediscovering the Divine Nature of Pregnancy and Birth” by Felice Austin, Lani Axman, Heather Farrell and Robyn Allgood.(The real…
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Thank you to everyone who participated in Emma Smith’s birthday gift this week! I loved reading your testimonies and am so grateful you shared them. If you didn’t get a chance to share yours on Emma’s birthday find a chance to sometime before her next one! To finish off Emma Smith’s birthday celebration I have…
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Today is Emma Hale Smith’s 207th birthday! I really appreciate everyone who has participated in her birthday celebration this week. It has been a really wonderful experience. I mentioned before that I’d like to give Emma a birthday present this year and that as I pondered on what she’d appreciate most I felt like she…
DetailsAs I was getting ready for Emma Smith’s birthday celebration I stumbled onto the story of Kimberly Jo Smith, a great- great granddaughter of Joseph an Emma Smith, and her conversion to the LDS church. I was so incredibly touched by what she wrote, especially when she wrote of seeing the portraits of Joseph and…
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Today’s post for Emma Smith’s Birthday celebration is the second half of Shantel Gardner’s posts on the life of Emma Smith. If you missed the first half make sure you go back and read it. I am so grateful that she was willing to share her expertise with us. Also don’t forget about the present…
DetailsThis is the best vignette on Emma Smith I’ve EVER seen. Take a moment to watch it, you won’t regret it, but just make sure you have a tissue nearby. What an incredible woman. Don’t forget about the present for Emma this Sunday, July 1oth!
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I am pleased to have Shantel Gardner, a descendant of Emma and Joseph Smith, share today’s post for Emma Smith’s Birthday celebration. Shantel has spent years studying Emma and I’ve loved reading her insights into Emma’s life. She shares so many little tidbits about Emma that I’ve never heard before. Hope you enjoy it and…
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This Sunday, July 10th, is Emma Smith’s, the wife of the prophet Joseph Smith, 207th birthday. Since she is one of the only women mentioned in the scriptures whose birthday we know I thought that it would be nice to have a birthday celebration for her the next few days on my blog. Before and…
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-1- I’ve discovered two really wonderful things. The first one is The General Conference Book Club hosted over at Diapers and Divinity. The idea is that each week the “book club” reads a talk from General Conference and then discusses it together online. What a great idea! I am going to try to join up…
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Image Source Last week in Sunday School we talked about the Abrahamic covenant, the promises that God makes to Abraham about his posterity in Genesis 17. We know that God does not just make covenants with men but that he also makes them with women and as we talked I couldn’t help but wonder where…
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A few years ago I was transcribing my grandmother’s journal (she passed away when I was 13) and I found this cartoon stuck in it. I’m not a huge Star Wars fan but for some reason I love this cartoon. I think it is because it just seems to sum up my Grandpa so well–…
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About two months ago I received an email from one of my readers asking me this question and I thought that since Father’s Day is coming up now would be a good time to answer it. She said, “What makes a great feminist husband? What I mean by this, is that I see so…
DetailsSo we are getting exciting close to getting the first draft of our book “The Gift of Giving Life: Rediscovering the Divine Nature of Pregnancy and Birth” completed! It has been two years in the making and it is so exciting to see it coming together. We are aiming to have the book out before…
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Brought to you by my Rosie We are really excited about this new baby coming! Yet no one is really more excited about this baby than Rose. She and this baby have a special connection. Several months ago, before I even knew I was pregnant, at dinner she got a big smile on her face,…
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When I was younger I was a bit discouraged by the fact that most of the important women in the scriptures are always described as being very physically attractive. For example, in his vision of Mary, the Mother of Christ Nephi describes her as “exceedingly fair” (1 Nephi 11:13), Rachel is described as being “beautiful…
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The random number generator selected Chelsey Merkley as the winner of the free admission to the LDS Holistic Living Conference! Congrats! I really wish I could every one of you who wanted it free admission but alas, I can not. Just as a reminder here is the information about the conference The Holistic LDS Living…
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Originally posted December 3, 2009 I took Advanced Placement (A.P.) Physics when I was in High School. The first semester there were about 15 girls in the class,but by the second semester there were only four of us left. It was a hard class. To this day I’m not quite sure what compelled me to…
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“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden…” (Genesis 2:8) My garden is beginning to pop up and, like always, it brings me so much joy to see these little plants spring into existence. Even though I’ve been planting things since I was a little girl I can never quite get over the…
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Last week I was contacted by Rebecca Price one of the organizers of the LDS Holistic Living Conference being held next month in South Jordan, Utah. She asked if I would be interested in attending the conference and if I’d like to give away a free admission to the conference to one of my readers!…
DetailsSo I am in a bit of a blogging slump… I feel totally unmotivated to write or to think of good things to write about. So, I’ve decided to write about myself 🙂 I am going to make an “About Me” page for my blog so that new readers will have a better idea about…
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This week I taught a mini-class for our weekday Relief Society Meeting on how to improve your personal scripture study. The class went really well and I thought I’d share what I taught with all you wonderful people. Also I would love to hear any more ideas you have about improving your scripture study. I…
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“Mary and Baby” by Liz Lemon Swindle Please understand this is my story. It comes from my heart. It isn’t meant to make anyone feel bad or to influence anyone’s decisions. It is just my story, my experience, and how the Lord has softened and changed my heart. I am only sharing this because I…
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We are gearing up for flood season in my neighborhood. Granted we aren’t any where close to the type of flooding they are having in Mississippi… but the rivers around us are already really high and the spring melt off hasn’t even really begun in earnest yet. Sandbags have become the newest lawn decoration…
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Damsel Matthew 26: 69-70 Mark 14:66- 68 Luke 22: 56 John 18: 15-17Maid Matthew 26: 71-72 Mark 14: 69- 70 John 18: 25-27 Background: After holding the Passover meal Christ and several of his apostles retired to the Garden of Gethsemane where Christ completed the atonement. As Christ and his apostles were leaving the garden…
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Today I am over at Empowering LDS Women for their series this week about finding balance in motherhood. Here is just a snippet of the start of my article so that you will go over and read the whole thing. I’d love some feedback on this one! When I was 17 years-old one of my…
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Wow, it has really been a long time since I’ve done my 5 things for Friday! Sorry Friday just always sneaks up on me so fast! -1- I thought I had linked to this but I realized a few weeks ago that I completely forgot to. Way back in February I wrote a guest post…
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Thank you again to everyone who participated in the “This is What Family Home Evening Looks Like at My House” series. It really turned out wonderful. If you haven’t gotten a chance to read the posts from the people who linked up to the blog hop make sure you do. They are really great! And…
DetailsThis post was originally posted on April 15, 2009 I’ve often wondered why Christ chose to appear to women first after His resurrection. Was there something special about the women? Was there something symbolic about it? This Easter I poured over all the scriptures in the Gospels that talked about the resurrection. As I was…
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If you would like a copy of this program you can find it here. Last year when I wrote my script for the Reenactment of the First Relief Society I actually also wrote a script highlighting each one of the 15 women who have held the position of “General Relief Society President.” My intent was to…
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Thank you so much for everyone who has participated in the “This is What Family Home Evening Looks Like at My House” series this week! It has really been wonderful… but we aren’t over yet because at the end of this post is a linky tool for you to link up your own post about…
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I’m excited to introduce Christina from “Hands Full and Loving It (mostly)” for today’s “This is What Family Home Evening Looks Like at My House”. I love her perspective on Family Home Evening because you can tell in everything she does that she has a testimony of family. I hope you enjoy her as much…
DetailsToday’s “This is What Family Home Evening Looks Like at My House” comes from Jocelyn at “We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ.” If you haven’t seen her ideas for creating Christ centered Easter traditions you need to skip on over to her blog. Like always… she is inspiring. Let’s face it, there is…
DetailsToday’s “This is What Family Home Evening Looks Like at My House” post is from one of my blogging buddies Ailihn. She blogs at Memoirs of Mrs. Harris and I am always so impressed with how she manages her two little ones with her husband being a way so often. She is an inspiration to…
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Today’s “This is What Family Home Evening Looks Like at My House” post is by Kelsey from Empowering LDS Women. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know her and hope that you do to! When Heather generously invited me to contribute to this series I was flattered, and then attempted to kindly decline. Rude right? But…
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I am excited to start off my week long series on “This is What Family Home Evening Looks Like at My House” today by introducing you to my husband’s aunt, Annette. I was thrilled when she said she’d participate in this series because she is one of the women I look up to SO much…
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In the LDS church members around the world hold “Family Home Evening” (FHE) every Monday night (usually, unless circumstances dictate otherwise) which is a time dedicated for families to enjoy being together and to learn gospel principles. On the LDS website it says that, In 1915 President Joseph F. Smith and his counselors in the…
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints just held its bi-annual General Conference this last weekend. These two days of broadcasts were a chance for Later-day Saints to hear from the prophet and the apostles and to gain added guidance and direction in our lives. It was wonderful. It is funny how when I…
DetailsCongratulations to Chocolate on My Cranium who is the winner of of the free copy of “Forgotten Women of God” by Diana Webb! Thank you to everyone who took the quiz (which you can still take just because it is fun) and entered the give away. I wish I could send you all a copy…
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Egyptians harvesting flax from which linen is made (Image Source) Helaman 6:13 Background: Abt 30 BC The prophets Nephi and Lehi left positions in the Nephite government and dedicated themselves to preaching the word of God. They traveled throughout all the lands of the Nephites and they “did teach with great power” (Helaman 5:17). They…
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“Stand” by James H. Fullmer Feminism and I have had a long and tenuous relationship. I started struggling with “women’s issues” when I was really young, around 11 or 12. I had lots of hard questions about why men’s and women’s roles and places in society were so different. For most of my pre-teen and…
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Purim, a Jewish Holiday celebrating Esther’s liberation of the Jews, was last Saturday and Sunday. I’ve always wanted to celebrate Purim. I mean really, a woman in the scriptures with her very OWN holiday, what isn’t there to celebrate about that! Jews often call Purim the “children’s holiday” because many of the activities revolve around…
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After my interview with Diana Webb, the author of “Forgotten Women of God” she was so good to offer to give away a copy of her book to one of my lucky readers! If you missed my interview with her make sure you go back and read it. She has beautiful insights into women in…
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For the last few weeks I have the opportunity to be in correspondence with Diana Webb the author of “Forgotten Women of God.” I first picked up Diana’s book at the library about a year ago and loved it. There have been several times in the last year that I found myself wishing I had…
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-1-So remember that post I wrote a few weeks ago about how My Worth as a Woman is Not Dependent upon How my Children Behave in Church. Well, two Sundays ago I needed a HUGE dose of my own medicine because after a really hard day at church I ended up bawling… okay sobbing… on…
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My friend taught me how to knit a few months ago and since then I’ve been knitting in the evenings while my kids fall asleep. The work is repetitive, soothing and gives me lots of time for reflection. My mind wanders but mostly I’ve been thinking about my ancestors and how performing repetitive daily tasks,…
DetailsIn the last several days I’ve heard at least 5 people make the statement ” There just aren’t very many women in the scriptures.” Every time it has made me want to jump up and down and yell at the top of my lungs “YES THERE ARE YOU JUST AREN’T LOOKING FOR THEM!”…
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“She Worketh Willingly With Her Hands” by Elspeth Young Image Source Acts 16: 14-15, 40 Background: During Paul’s third journey he and Silas are in Troas when Paul has a vision. In his vision Paul sees a man from Macedonia who pleads with Paul, “Come over to Macedonia, and help us.” (vs. 9). Immediately after…
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1. My husband noticed yesterday that my blog button wasn’t working. I fixed it yesterday and now it works. If you happened to put the button on your blog you might want to click on it to make sure it links you back here. If it is the wrong one it will take you to…
DetailsSo I just found out that I have been nominated as one of the “Best LDS Female Solo Bloggers of 2010” at Mormon Momma. I’m speechless… which for me is rare. I appreciate the readers who nominated me and consider it a great honor to be listed with many of the women on the list.…
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My three-year-old has been having a tough week. Yesterday was our first day back to church after a week and a half of being sick. I guess a straight week of movies, sore throats, coughs, and grumpy parents took a big toll on him because church yesterday was a roller coaster. Both of my children…
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Image source On the first Sunday of the month there is no an assigned lesson topic for Relief Society. Instead it is up to the prayerful discretion of the Relief Society Presidency to choose a message their sisters need to hear. This month it was my turn to teach (I am the first counselor in…
DetailsSo after my post about my Very Simple Quiet Book one of my friends from college, Mommy D, emailed me with the perfect solution to my crafting handicap. She suggested that I host a “Quiet Book Swap”. The idea behind this is to break up the massive work that the average quiet book requires. Instead…
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Bilhah and Zilpah were the handmaidens (servants) of the patriarch Jacob’s wives, Leah and Rachel. Rachel, who was Jacob’s favorite wife, had not been blessed with children. While Leah, Rachel’s older sister, had given birth to four sons. Genesis 30 records that, “…when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister;…
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1. I thought I’d alert you to the fact that Elspeth Young’s 2011 calender “Women in the New Testament “is now discounted online for only $4.00! Granted we are already two months into the new year but if you haven’t got a calender for the year this would be a good idea! Even if you…
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To echo the words that Marjorie Pay Hinckley once said to her husband, “You have always given me wings to fly and I have loved you for it.” Nothing better sums up how I feel. I love you sir.
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I didn’t have a single pimple until I was senior in High School. All those years of Jr. High and High School I counted my lucky stars and inwardly gloated at all the other adolescents whose faces broke out like patches of raspberries. I guess I got punished for my teenage cockiness because I…
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When I was young my mother made my siblings and I these fantastic quiet books full of fun simple activities like lacing up a football, putting earings on a lamb, hanging clothes on a tiny clothesline, matching shapes, putting cherries in a bucket and writing notes on miniature note pad. They were handmade, beautiful, and…
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This post is the second half of my Archetypes Instead of Stereotypes post. It will be beneficial for you if you have read that post first before this one. I wanted to continue my conversation about archetypes by discussing how understanding and recognizing female archetypes in the scriptures and in the world around us can…
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“In Her Image” by Amber Eldridge Not long ago I heard a group of women talking about the “stereotypical woman”. Some women in the group were adamantly stating that they weren’t her and didn’t want to be her, others said that they felt pressure to be her, while several women said they’d been spending most…
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1. For all you Utahans out there I just wanted to bring your attention to two “Yoga for Congo Women” events that will be held this month. These events are to help raise money and bring awareness to the situation of women in Congo. Salt Lake City, UT: February 26, 2011 (Event Details) Logan, UT:…
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I discovered this narrative written by one of the older women at my church. She has given me permission to share it with you. I can’t tell you how moved I am by her depiction of Eve. Marilyn has brought Eve to life in a beautiful way and reading this makes me even more eager…
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This post was originally posted on my personal blog back in January 2010. I thought I would share it on this blog because once again– almost exactly a year later– my husband and I just spent the afternoon butchering chickens. All the same emotions I had the first time we butchered a chicken came flooding…
DetailsLast night my husband and I started watching the movie “Young Victoria”. I’d heard such wonderful things about this movie and was so excited to see it. I drilled several of my friends who’d seen it about if it was clean… really, clean. They know that my husband and I have really strong standards about…
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Nehemiah 3:12 Background: 444-445 BC Nehemiah, who was King Artaxerxes’s (the same king who is in Esther’s story) cupbearer, was feeling much sorrow over the scattered condition of the Jews and prayed to God on their behalf. One day the King noticed that Nehemiah was distressed and asked him what was wrong. Nehemiah then told…
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1. For the last year I’ve been dancing with a Modern Dance group and this year I get to perform with them! We have our first performance tomorrow and I am really excited– and nervous– about it. Each dancer got to choreograph her own movement and I am really proud of mine. It has been…
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A few months ago I got an email from a reader who asked, “I’d like to know if you have a scripture reading system. I ask a lot of people and I’m always so excited to hear what works for them. Do you have a method to your study, or do you just read and…
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It has been really sweet that my rough and tumble, cars and trains, mud and dirt little boy has been very interested in baby dolls lately. We’ve spent the last few mornings dressing babies, changing their diapers, being “daddies”, taking them to the park, feeding them, playing “Christmas” and snuggling them. Here he is putting…
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I’ve been debating about how much of my “real life” I want to post on this blog. I know that I don’t like it when you read a blog and feel like you don’t get to “know” the author, but I also want the focus of this blog to be on understanding women’s roles and…
DetailsA few weeks ago I finished writing the family planning section for the book I am working on. In preparation for it I did a lot of research on the LDS church’s teachings on birth control and family planning. I rounded up dozens and dozens of quotes from church leaders throughout the years. It was…
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Acts 16:1 2 Timothy 1:5 Background: 1 Century AD Paul went to preach the gospel in Lystra after persecution drove him from Iconium(Acts 14:2-7). There he performed many miracles, such as healing a lame man and surviving a stoning (Acts 14:8, 19). It is likely that Lystra was the first time in Paul’s missionary work…
DetailsLast year at this time I issued my “Women in the Scriptures Challenge.” I’ve decided I am going to re- issue the challenge again this year. In fact I think it will be ongoing challenge always on this blog. So if you haven’t completed it yet– don’t give up– you have another year, or another…
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I don’t really like making New Year resolutions. Unless they are something I’ve already been working on I never remember to do them. They just don’t work for me. Instead my husband and I write down New Year miracles. Each New Year we write down three or four things that we’d like to see happen…
DetailsMy little boy turned three this week. Time has gone by so quickly. I remember that a few weeks before he was born I spent the afternoon dipping chocolates with my Grandma. As we cooked she she shared with me her thoughts about my own father’s birth who was born just a few days before…
DetailsI have a confession to make. It has been a long time since I’ve fasted. I actually have a really strong testimony of fasting but over the last three and half years there has been a grand total of two months when I was either not pregnant or not breastfeeding. I know that there are…
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Mormon’s Farewell by Arnold Frieberg Moroni 9: 7- 20 Background: Around 400 AD The Lamanites and Nephites were in the midst of a long and violent battle. Wickedness and cruelty was rampant on both sides of the lines. Mormon was leading the Nephite armies but knew that because of their wickedness the situation was hopeless.…
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I just went down to my pantry to get something for lunch and a quick count revealed that I currently have: 6 quarts of grape juice 8 quarts of grape jelly 25 quarts of apple sauce 10 quarts and 5 pints of green beans 10 quarts and 8 pints of salsa 4 quarts of tomato…
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Isaiah 8:3 2 Nephi 18:3 Background: 8th century BC Isaiah’s ministry was during the time when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were divided. He began his ministry during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah and continued through three more, Jothan, Ahaz and Hezekiah. At the time that these scriptures were given Judah was…
Details“… if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice…if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day…
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Every morning my husband gets our family together for scripture study. Our children are still really young so it is hard to get them interested, but lately we’ve started singing the song “Scripture Power” before we start and it has really made a huge difference. Each of the kids has their own little set of…
DetailsOne of the most frequently misunderstood terms in the bible is the term “help meet” in the book of Genesis. In Genesis 2:18 it says, “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” The common way in which the…
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Image source Lately my little three year old has been obsessed with “bad guys” and has been fascinated with violence. Example #1: A few days ago we were watching the movie “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” and he wanted to watch the battle scene at the end (you know the one where the armor comes to life…
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My sister-in-law climbing and my husband on belay at the bottom On Friday my husband and I broke out our rock climbing equipment and took my sister-in-law rock climbing up the canyon by our house. It had been several years since I’d been rock climbing (I’ve been pregnant for the last few summers) and it…
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One of the stories that impressed me the most about Emma was her interactions with the gold plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. In September of 1826, Joseph went for a meeting with the angel Moroni on the Hill Cumorah not far from his house. When he had met with the…
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I’ve had a few people ask me for good book recommendations lately and so I’ve put a widget on the sidebar of my blog that has some of my favorite books on women in the scriptures and LDS church history. I will keep adding to it from time to time and if I ever mention…
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“For This Child I Prayed” by Elspeth Young Most of us are familiar with Hannah’s story in 1 Samuel 1-2, Hannah is barren, she goes to the tabernacle and prays earnestly for a child, she promises the Lord that if He will bless her with a child she will consecrate him to the Lord, she is…
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Every six months Later-day Saints have a worldwide General Conference in which we get direction and inspiration from our church leaders. This year Julie B. Beck, the president of the Relief Society, gave a talk that made my little blogger heart rejoice. She talked about how her “…presidency has prayed, fasted, pondered, and counseled with…
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I have a conundrum for you all and would like your help in solving it. Here it is: Why is it that when I watch my own children, clean my own house, make dinner for my own family, or teach my own children the people don’t consider me to have a “real job” or…
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This post originally started as a response to some of the comments I got on my “When is it Art? When is it Pornography?” post but then it got too long and I figured it needed to be a post all of its own. I’ve had a bit of a change of mind since I…
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Before I announce the winners of the giveaway I wanted to share the results of my question “Who is your favorite woman in the scriptures.” I LOVED reading your responses. Here are the women who made the list and the number of women who listed her as their favorite: Mary, mother of Christ– 14Eve- 6Sariah-…
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Three years ago, when I was pregnant with our first baby, my husband and I decided to memorize “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”. We decided to have a race and whoever memorized the whole thing first—word perfect– would be treated to the restaurant of their choice. It wasn’t such an easy task, the…
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Can you guess who this baby is? I’ll give you a hint. Germany World War II Funny black mustache It is Adolf Hitler as a baby. The first time I saw this picture I was astonished. He looks cute, really cute. In fact at this point in his life he could have been just like…
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Tomorrow is the second anniversary of the day I started this blog. I remember how excited and nervous I was when I posted my first post about the Widow of Zarephath and how giddy it made me to get comments on it. I guess things haven’t changed too much since then because I still get…
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I think this is the most horrible story in the entire Bible but I feel that it is really important to talk about this woman and all the women like her in the world today. Please be forewarned that this post contains some graphic material and is not appropriate for young readers. Judges 19 by…
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Awhile ago I received this email, she asked: I am currently a working mother of two little ones, 3 and 4. And as such I often struggle with the concept that “fathers are … responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families … [and] mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture…
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“We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed.” – from The Family: A Proclamation to the World Me after the birth of my daughter, little over a year ago. I used to struggle with my body image. For most of my teenage years and early adult life loving and…
DetailsA few days ago I read this post and was very inspired by this mother’s morning routine for personal prayer and scripture study. I’ve also been reading several journals and autobiographies of early LDS women and have been impressed that many of them all tried to wake up earlier than their families in order to…
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I don’t know who you are yet, and seeing as our children are still under the age of three (yours might not even be born yet), it may seem pre-mature to start thinking about you. Still, the last few months I haven’t been able to get you off my mind. You could be anyone one,…
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I had an incredible experience yesterday. I got to meet Sister Julie Beck. It was amazing. She is one of the most incredible women I’ve ever met. She just radiates love from her… pure and genuine. For those of you who aren’t LDS Julie Beck is the General President of the Relief Society, the women’s…
DetailsI’m sorry I have been missing in action the last few weeks. It has been a busy summer and since I’ve procrastinated doing all the projects I told myself I would do this summer till the very end… I’ve been really busy. You think I would learn:) So, lately I’ve been thinking that I would…
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“Episcopa Theodora“, 9th century mosaic in the St. Zeno Chapel of the Church of St. Praxedis in Rome. Image source 2 John Background: The LDS Bible Dictionary says this about the three epistles of John: ” In none of these three epistles does the writer mention himself by name; but tradition assigns them to John,…
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I just got back from an amazing trip. It was so wonderful in so many ways. We went to Bandon, a little coastal town in Southern Oregon, for a family reunion. I’d never been to the coast and it completely stole my heart. I am insanely jealous of all of you who get to live…
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I just love this quote by Spencer W. Kimball and if you get a chance you should read the whole talk. It is called “The Role of Righteous Women”. “Even though the eternal roles of men and women differ…this leaves much to be done by way of parallel personal development—for both men and women. In…
DetailsSince I’m in mode of asking for stories I thought I’d make one more request of all my wonderful readers. I’ve mentioned before that I am working on a book with some other LDS women called, “The Gift of Giving Life: Rediscovering the Divine Nature of Pregnancy and Birth.” There are lots of books on…
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Amanda sent me her story and I was so touched by it. Her perspective on life and on eternity is beautiful and I love how studying the scriptures has impacted her life is such a profound way. Here is what she wrote: Rebekah’s story is very close to my heart. My husband and I struggled…
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Abi, who is serving a temple mission for the LDS church, just barley started taking the women in the scripture challenge and has started to record her thoughts on her own blog. She has written some beautiful thoughts about Sariah. Here is what she sent me about what she has learned, already, from reading the…
DetailsRamona left this as a comment on my call for guest posters but I thought it was so wonderful I wanted to make sure you all read it. Here is what she said. My name is Ramona and I have been reading your blog for about a month. I am a new member to the…
DetailsIn honor of the six month anniversary of the women in the scriptures challenge Karin, a life long member of the LDS faith in Denmark, sent me this about how learning about the women in the scriptures has impacted her. Thanks Karin! I’m still accepting post for those of you who are thinking about it.…
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In our family scripture study we just stated re-reading the Book of Mormon again. A few days ago we read the story of when Lehi commands his son’s to go back to Jerusalem and get the brass plates (1 Nephi 3). Laman and Lemuel, the older brothers, murmur about going and the whole trip wanted…
DetailsSo it has been almost six months since I issued my “Women in the Scriptures Challenge” and I’m curious to know how it is going. In July I’d like to host some post written by some of my readers who are taking the Women in Scriptures Challenge and how it has affected them. I don’t…
DetailsAwhile back a good friend gave me a beautiful book called “Great Women of the Bible in Art and Literature” by Dorothee Soelle and Joe H. Kirchberger. It is a beautiful collection of insights on about a dozen women from the Bible complete with paintings of how these women have been portrayed in art throughout…
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1 Samuel 4: 19-22 Phineas and his brother Hophni were the sons of Eli the High Priest over Israel. They served as priests in the temple but were cursed by God because they were abusing their responsibilities and were engaging in illicit behavior, such as appropriating the best portion of sacrifices for themselves and having…
DetailsAwhile ago our church had a talent show and, in a moment of craziness, I signed my family up to be in it. I had no idea what we were going to do because we really aren’t all that talented. I tried to convince my husband that he should play his nose flute… but he…
DetailsI didn’t get to go to Women’s Conference at BYU this year but Shantel gave a review about the talk Sister Julie Beck, the President of the Relief Society, gave at the opening meeting and her post got me interested in what was said… so I found a copy of the talk online.I think I…
DetailsIn church on Sunday we talked about the story Ruth and Boaz and about half way through the discussion I found myself laughing softly to my friend who was sitting next to me. We had just read the part in the story when, after washing and dressing herself as her mother-in-law instructed her to, Ruth…
DetailsElisabeth, the wife of Zacharias, became the mother of John the Baptist who was born only six months before his cousin, Jesus. Before he was even born it was prophesied by his father that John would “go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways.” (Luke 1: 76) John’s ministry among the children…
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If you would like a copy of this program you can find it here. Every year in March LDS women around the world commemorate the birthday of the Relief Society which was organized by the prophet Joseph Smith on March 17, 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois. In the past our local Relief Society has just had…
DetailsI realize that while a significant portion of my readers belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints (aka. LDS or Mormon) that there are many of you who read this blog who are from other faiths. I think this is SO wonderful. It is always good to be able to share religious…
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I really love Sarah’s birth story. We don’t actually get to hear how she physically gave birth to Issac, which is too bad because personally I would love to hear how a woman who was almost 100 years old handled childbirth, but we do get to hear a lot about her journey towards becoming a…
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I’ve been making felt pieces as a fun way to teach my toddler scripture stories and gospel principles. As I was pondering on what stories I should teach him I realized that there is NO more important story for him to understand, and understand well, than the story of Adam and Eve. My little boy…
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Recently I have been in contact with Heather B. Moore, the author of the Out of Jerusalem series and the recently published book, Women of the Book of Mormon: Insights and Inspirations. She sent me a copy of her book to review and I was so excited to receive take a look at it. I…
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There were 9 (at least) amazing women who traveled for over 8 years in the wilderness with Lehi and his family– Sariah, Nephi’s sisters (2 Nephi 5:6 ), Ishmael’s wife, and her five daughters who married Zoram, Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi. Nephi tells us that these women “…suffered all things, save it were death”…
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Do you remember that part in Gone With the Wind when Scarlet has just had her baby and is upset because Mammy can only get her corset laced up to 21 inches instead of her pre-pregnancy 19 inches ? Mammy tells her, “Honey child, you done had a baby. You ain’t never gun a be…
DetailsFor my Easter gift to all of you I want to share this video. It is Mary’s perspective of the crucifixion and resurrection of her son. If you don’t have a calm five minutes to watch it right now, come back when you do. It is really beautiful and if you are like me it…
DetailsThe Offer of Manoah by Rembrandt Judges 13 The mother of Sampson, the wife of the Danite Manoah, was another woman who struggled with the trial of infertility. We don’t know how long she was barren but in Judges 13:3 we read that an angel of the Lord appeared to her and told her that…
Details“Birth of Jacob and Esau” by Benjamin West (1738-1820) Genesis 25: 2o-26 Mother of Esau and Jacob Rebekah’s birth story is unique because she is the first women we know of who sought out God and asked him for direct revelation concerning her pregnancy. For almost twenty years she struggled with bareness and finally at…
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Before I begin my series on birth stories from the scriptures I feel like I need to address the topic of infertility. Most of the stories about birth in the scriptures revolve around women’s inability to have children. In fact I’d say that the trial of infertility is one that God has given to some…
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Dr. Ellis Shipp and her “sister-wives” Image Source Did you know that the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, midwifery was a spiritual calling? A woman was called to be a midwife by priesthood authority, often after having been nominated by the Relief Society, and set apart by the laying…
DetailsSo, the topic of birth has been on my brain a lot lately and it isn’t just because I am a doula or because of my post on the importance of birth. A few months ago I started working on a project with some other LDS women to collect stories from LDS women about their…
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Exodus 6:23 Leviticus 10:14 Numbers 18:11, 19 Background: Abt. 1490 BC During their first year of wandering the children of Israel were commanded to build a tabernacle for the Lord. Aaron, the prophet Moses’ spokesman and brother, and his four sons were washed, anointed, clothed, and consecrated to be priests in the tabernacle (Leviticus 8).…
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I’ve been working on a project for our church’s Relief Society Birthday Party next month and in my research I stumbled across this quote from Belle Spafford (pictured below), the 9th General President of the Relief Society. It has really intrigued me and I’m curious to know your thoughts on it. This is what she…
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My husband is taking a class on Isaiah and the other day he came home excited to share something his teacher had shared in class. In Isaiah 3 it talks about leadership and my husband’s teacher pointed out that it is important in order to have effective leadership in the home, in church, in society…
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Esther 2- 10 Background: 486- 465 BC After King Ahasuerus (also known as Xerxes) the King of Persia, demoted his wife Vashti for disobedience, his servants sought throughout all the providences of his kingdom for “fair young virgins” in order to find a new queen (Esther 2:2-3). The chosen young women were taken to the…
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My love of the women in the scriptures began with a simple composition notebook. Motivated by a desire to prove that women weren’t left out of the scriptures I read through the scriptures and wrote down any scripture that mentioned women– women with names, women with no names, groups of women, parables about women, symbolism…
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One of the things I’ve noticed as I’ve studied the scriptures is that birth is an over arching theme in the stories of the women in the scriptures. A good portion of the stories about women in the scriptures center around women’s ability to bear, or inability to bear, children. Personally, the births of my…
DetailsTonight I am singing a solo at our church Christmas dinner for the adults. I am terrified. I’ve never sung by myself… ever. I think I’d rather speak in front of a million people than sing in front of 50, but I need to sing this song. The woman in charge of the program called…
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I took Advanced Placement (A.P.) Physics when I was in High School. The first semester there were about 15 girls in the class,but by the second semester there were only four of us left. It was a hard class. To this day I’m not quite sure what compelled me to stick it out, but I…
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Camille Fronk Olsen was the professor I took a course on “Women in the Scriptures” from at BYU. The semester I was in her class she was just starting her research for a book on women in the scriptures. She recruited us, her students, to help her do research on different women. I chose to…
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Genesis 6: 18 Genesis 7: 7, 13 Genesis 8: 16, 18 Moses 8:12 Background: Only nine generations after Adam’s death the world had become “corrupt before God” and it was filled with violence (Genesis 6:11). It was so wicked that the Lord “repented… that he had made man on the earth” and vowed to “…destroy……
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Did you hear that BYU is closing the Women’s Research Institute (WRI)? This makes me want to cry. The WRI was my haven at BYU and I owe much of the peace I feel now about being an active LDS woman and a mother to the women and experiences I had there. I wrote more…
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Last Sunday we blessed our daughter. Ever since she was born my mind and heart have been filled with worries about this little girl’s future. The world is getting increasingly darker and and it scares me to send my perfect, pure and beautiful daughter out into a world that will hurt her. I know how…
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Every General Conference I pray that God will answer certain questions of my heart and this conference I was praying that He would teach me something new about women in the scriptures or about God’s relationship with women. I was hoping that someone would give a whole talk based off a woman in the scriptures…
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Last weekend was General Conference. It was wonderful… as usual… how could it not be considering you get to hear a prophet of God speak? Conference always gives me a spiritual infusion and helps me re-evaluate my life and my relationship with God. I am so grateful for it. I am also grateful that this…
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The 138th chapter of the Doctrine and Covenants documents a vision given to the Prophet Joseph F. Smith in 1918. In his vision the Prophet saw Christ’s visit to the spirit world and His ministry among the faithful and noble spirits. Verses 38-49 relate some of the spirits he saw waiting for the arrival of…
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I just wanted to announce that I am now the mother of a most beautiful and precious little girl! She was born last week at home (we were planning a home birth) and came so quickly that she was born before the midwife could make it! Delivering our own baby was an INCREDIBLE experience for…
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“Birth is not an emergency. It is an emergence.” – Unknown The night before Rose was born I was sitting at our computer finishing writing a blog post when I turned to Jon, who was sitting on the couch doing homework, and said, “Man, it feels like this little girl is trying to push her…
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“Choose You This Day” by Elspeth Young Exodus 1: 15-22 Background: 13 Century BC Not long after the children of Israel settled in the land of Egypt there arose a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph of Egypt and who was concerned that the Hebrews were “…fruitful… and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was…
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I really appreciated the story by Carolynn R. Spencer entitled “Was I Living The Gospel Fully?” in the July edition of the Ensign magazine. Spencer talks about how, after a day of taking care of a house full of sick children, she felt guilty when she read the scripture in Jacob 2: 19 which talks…
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On Sunday I taught a lesson on Women in the Scriptures at our church. My goal with the lesson was to help the women learn how to recognize and relate to the women that are mentioned in the scriptures. Often times all we get is a name or a brief mention of a wife or…
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One of the biggest complaints I hear is that there very few women mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Some women feel frustrated or offended that in what Joseph Smith called ” the most correct of any book on earth,“ God would have neglected to mention women. It is true that there aren’t very many…
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“I Arose a Mother in Israel” By Elspeth Young Judges 4–5 Background: 12 Century BC Because of their wickedness the children of Israel had suffered continuous wars with the peoples that surrounded them and were in bondage in the land of Moab (Judges 3). The Lord sent a man named Ehud, who was left handed…
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I love the story of Adam and Eve because within it there are SO many eternal truths about the role and purpose of women and interactions between the men and women. Yet, it saddens me that this beautiful story has also been the justification for so much of history’s oppression and discrimination against women. One…
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Job 1: 2, 4-5, 13-15 Job 42:13-15 Background: Job was a very rich and influential man living in the land of Uz, who “was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” (Job 1:1) The Lord allowed Satan to try and tempt Job above all other men (Job 1: 5-12). Job suffered…
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There are 21 stories about people receiving revelatory dreams in the Bible, but only one of these stories is about a woman– the wife of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Her story is important for several reasons, one being that knowing that there is a woman in the scriptures who received revelation from…
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Personally really LOVE Mother’s Day. I love it that at least once a year we get the opportunity to express our appreciation for all the women who sacrifice so much to bring children into this world and to raise them. Yet, I also know MANY women that struggle with Mother’s Day because they haven’t had…
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Alma 53:7 Background: 63 BC Captain Moroni, Teancum and Lehi lured the Lamanites out of the city of Mulek and surround them outside the city of Bountiful (Alma 52:19-31). There was a fierce battle between them and many Lamanties and Nephites died. In the end, the Lamanites finally surrendered and many of them were taken…
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When I was younger I really struggled with why women couldn’t hold the priesthood. In fact, for a little while my testimony was really shaken because I thought God was being unfair and demeaning to women. Yet throughout the last few years, as I’ve really prayed and searched for understanding, God has given me little…
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I’ve often wondered why Christ chose to appear to women first after His resurrection. Was there something special about the women? Was there something symbolic about it? This Easter I really poured over the scriptures in the gospels talking about the resurrection and as I was reading I realized something I hadn’t thought of before–…
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“What is to Be Done for Thee” By Elspeth Young 2 Kings 4: 8-37; 8:1-6 Background: 9th Century BC Elijah passes the mantle of prophet on to Elisha, who then works mighty miracles among the children of Israel such as dividing the water of Jordan and healing the waters of Jericho (2 Kings 2). Also…
DetailsI simply adore Sister Beck, the president of the Relief Society, and love to hear her talk. She just radiates light and power from her when she bears testimony, and every time I hear her speak I walk away so proud and excited to be a woman in this dispensation. Today I heard her talk…
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Isaiah 3:16-26 2 Nephi 13: 16-26 These passages have always interested me because of the long list of women’s clothing and adornments listed. I’ve often wondered what a “wimple” or a “caul” was and what the women Isaiah is referring to must have looked like. As I did a little research I found that scholars…
Details“Death of Sapphira” by Musée du Louvre, 1652 Acts 5:1-11 Background: After the death of Christ the Apostles began to boldly teach the gospel and perform miracles in Jerusalem. The rulers in Jerusalem conspired against them but were unable to stop their work. After the miracle of the Pentecost many were converted and were filled…
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1 Nephi 7: 6, 19 1 Nephi 16:7, 27, 35-36 1 Nephi 17:1-2, 20 1 Nephi 18:6, 19 Background: Abt. 592 BC Lehi was commanded by the Lord to take his family and leave Jerusalem before it was destroyed. His family departed into the wilderness but his sons made several trips back to Jerusalem. The…
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Sorry, no Wednesday Woman today but instead I want to share with you what my cousin gave me for Christmas. It was this poster entitled “Daughters in the Wilderness” from the “Real Heroes” collection which has posters depicting various Book of Mormon heroes like Nephi, Ammon, Captain Moroni, Samuel the Lamanite, Mormon, etc… I think…
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Luke 2: 36- 38 Background: Forty days after the birth of Jesus, and at the end of her time of purification under the Mosaic law, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (Luke 2:22-23) and to offer a sacrifice to make her purification complete (Luke 2:24).…
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Acts 17:34 Background: abt 55 AD After being persecuted and chased out of Thessalonica (Acts 17: 1-9) Paul and Silas went to Berea and had much success among the Greeks there, men and women (Acts 17: 10-13). But when the Jews of Thessalonica heard that Paul was in Berea they came and made trouble for…
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2 Kings 5: 2-4 Background: 9 Century BC Naaman was the captain of the host of Syria, and he had recently returned victorious in war against Israel. Upon his return he brought back many Israelite riches and captives, including a little maid whom he gave to his wife. Naaman was a “mighty man of valor”…
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2 Kings 8:18, 26 2 Kings 11:1-3, 13-16 2 Chronicles 21:6 2 Chronicles 22:2-4, 10-12 2 Chronicles 23:12-15,21 2 Chronicles 24:7 Background: Around 842 – 837 BC Jehosaphat, king of Judah, worked most of his life to make peace between the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab the king of…
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Facimile #1 from the Book of Abraham. Click here for an explanation of the figures. Abraham 1:11- 12 Background: 20th century BC In the the land of Chaldeans (see map at bottom) the people had been turned from righteousness to idolatry because of the false teachings of the Egyptians. Many of the people had begun…
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There are some women who are going to require multiple posts because there is just so much to say about them, Mary is one of these women. This post is about the first of the many sacrifices Mary made throughout the life of her divine son, when she took her lamb as a sacrifice to…
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Hello again. I hope you all had a great Christmas, mine turned out to be wonderful– if you want to read more about it click here. It was nice to spend so much time with family. Also, I think I did a good job at making Christmas more Christ centered this year. One thing that…
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I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed by Christmas this year. Maybe it is because we are kind of poor this year and in an effort to save money I am trying to make most of our presents– which takes MUCH more time than buying them at the store! Also, this is our first Christmas in…
DetailsActs 12: 13-15Background: Herod had “stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church” (Acts 12: 1). He killed James the brother of John with the sword (12:2) and put Peter in prison during the passover. He put 16 soldiers to guard him and intended to kill him after Easter. The church prayed “without…
DetailsJust as a caveat to this post. My understanding of homosexuality has come a long way since I wrote this post. I have appreciated these conversations about it and feel that this statement from the LDS church, explains my belief best: The experience of same-sex attraction is a complex reality for many people. The attraction…
DetailsEzra Thanks God for His Help Ezra 2: 61-63 Nehemiah 7:63 Background: abt 537 BC Cyrus, king of Persia declared that God had commanded him to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-2). He commanded the Jews, who had been taken into captivity 70 years before, to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (Ezra…
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Our lesson in church today was on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. As my husband and I were walking home after church we got into a discussion about if the prophet will know when Christ is going to come again. He mentioned the scripture in Mark 13: 32 that says, “But of that day…
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1 Kings 3:1; 7:8; 9:16, 24; 11:1 2 Chronicles 8:11 Background: around 945 BC King David died and Solomon, his son by Bath-sheba, inherited the kingdom. Solomon was the third and last king to rule over both Israel and Judah. He walked in the in the ways of the Lord and built a temple to…
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“Christ healing the mother of Simon Peter” by John Bridges Matthew 8: 14-15 Mark 1:30-31 Luke 4: 38-39 Background: Her story happens early in the ministry of Jesus. He had just healed a leper (Matt. 8: 2-4), and the servant of a centurion (Matt. 8: 4-13). He was traveling in Capernaum, which was a wealthy…
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“Vashti Deposed” by Ernest Normand, 1890 Esther 1:9-19 Background: 20 BC King Ahasuerus, the King of Persia held a feast for all the princes and servants of Persia and Media in order to show off his great riches. The feast lasted 180 days. After this feast he held a feast for all the people in…
Details1 Chronicles 25:5-6 Background: around 953 BC King David wanted to build a temple to the Lord but was told that he should not. Instead he turned the task over to his son Solomon. Solomon assigned families of the Levities, who were one of the 12 tribes and who had been set apart by God…
DetailsI changed my mind, I think that I will keep doing one woman a week. I decided that I will just have to write a couple of entires before hand, so that on weeks when I get stressed I won’t have worry about it. Yep, that is what I will do. So keep checking back…
DetailsSo, I’ve decided to only post a new woman every other Wednesday. I underestimated the amount of work that goes into researching and studying out a woman’s life. I initially thought that perhaps on weeks when I didn’t have time to do a good study, I could just post a “smaller, insignificant woman”; someone who…
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Farewell My Stripling Warrior, Del Parson, 1999 Alma 56:47- 48; 57:21-27 Background: abt. 76-63 BC The sons of Mosiah taught and converted the father of King Lamoni who then taught the gospel to his people. All of the Lamanties in the cities of Ishmael, Middoni, Nephi, Shilom, Shemlon. Lemuel, and Shimnilom accepted the gospel and…
DetailsSister Beck gave an amazing talk on Saturday about the purpose of Relief Society. If you missed it or don’t remember what she said I highly recommend reading it. One thing she said really stood out to me, and I thought that it would be an appropriate discussion for this blog. She said… Since its…
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II Timothy 1:5 Background: 1 Century AD Paul went to preach the gospel in Lystra after persecution drove him from Iconium (Acts 14:2-7). There he performed many miracles, such as healing a lame man and surviving a stoning (Acts 14:8, 19). It is likely that Lystra was the first time in Paul’s missionary work that…
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1 Kings 17: 9- 24 Luke 4:25-26 Background: 10 Century BC Ahab and Jezebel were ruling the Kingdom of Israel in wickedness. Not only were they worshiping false Gods, but Jezebel had also commanded all the prophets in the land to be killed. Because of the great iniquity of the people, the Lord caused that…
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. On the night before Asher was born my Dad, brother, and two sisters were visiting us in SLC. They were headed back to Idaho the next morning, because my little sister was going to the Christmas Ball, and had been hoping the baby would be born while they were in town– no such luck.…
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