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Slow to Offense

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It was a beautiful Relief Society lesson. Despite being pressed to fill in at the last minute, the teacher had obviously prepared, and spoke from the heart. The Spirit was strong. One sister raised her hand to comment on the underlying message given. A second and third sister shared similar testimonies. I felt sure that the Lord was prompting us as a class to grow together, that this message was one we needed to hear. And then it happened. Another sister went back to the surface issue being discussed. It was as if we were discussing the underlying ramifications of … Continue reading →

The Parent Precipice

My period was a day late this month. I know that shouldn’t be a big deal at all, but I’m prone to worrying about the littlest things, so yeah, even though the rational part of my brain knew I was overreacting – it was only a day – I couldn’t help but fret. I’d sort of asked for it; a small part in the back of my brain wanted something to go wrong with my pills, so the decision of whether or not to have kids yet would be taken out of my hands. In the first two years or … Continue reading →

Guard What You Share With Others

This past week I was able to attend a group for women at my church. Our pastor’s wife did a teaching on marriage that was very inspiring. At the end you participated in a table discussion with the ladies you were sitting with. There was a list of questions that were designed to get you thinking positively about your spouse. However one woman in particular seemed insistent on dominating the conversation and it wasn’t very positive. She was going on and on about all the wrong things her husband was doing. Now it’s not that I don’t have sympathy for … Continue reading →

Gospel Doctrine: Pure Religion

The lesson this week was taken from the book of James in the Bible and is focused on the topic of pure religion as defined in James 1:27: Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. When we read the part about visiting the fatherless and the widows, this of course brings to mind the qualities of charity and compassion. This is pure religion indeed, to be the hands of the Lord on earth, to serve them as He would … Continue reading →

Spanking: Sparing the Rod and Spoiling the Child

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This is one of the most controversial topics out there and by request I’ve decided to brave it. I would like to first make note that I do not believe any good parent intends to place their child in harm’s way with discipline. I am not here to condone or condemn spanking, rather to share what I’ve come to learn based on what the Bible has to say on it. One of the arguments I’ve heard against spanking is in reference to Proverbs 13:24: “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.” … Continue reading →

Relief Society Presidents: An Introduction

In celebration of the upcoming Relief Society birthday, I’d like to take the first three days of the next few weeks to introduce readers to some of the wonderful Relief Society presidents this organization has had at its head. From Nauvoo to Salt Lake, from suffragette to grandmother, the presidents of the Relief Society have been women of faith and testimony, women of action, women to hold in high respect. As I’ve worked on compiling these biographies, I’ve been amazed. I thought I had a decent grasp on church history, but as I’ve studied the lives of these women, I … Continue reading →

RS/EQ: Forbearance

Similar to forgiveness comes the word forbear. If you check the footnotes for Matthew 18:21-22, you will find a suggestion to check the Topical Guide for this intriguing word. I have to confess that, despite being well-read, I had only a tentative grasp on the word. With that in mind, I checked the dictionary, where I found several definitions of the word. The one that seemed to best suit our discussion was “to be tolerant or patient in the face of provocation.” As I went through the TG, I found that most of the scriptures related well to forgiveness, at … Continue reading →

RS/EQ: Quick to Forgive

The Relief Society and Elder’s Quorum lesson for the fourth Sunday of the month comes from the most recent General Conference issue of the Ensign. Each ward and branch, of course, will be different. On top of that, Miriam generally handles the summaries of the General Conference address. I, of course, don’t want to step on her toes and attempt to resummarize. Instead, I will be seeking out specific doctrinal issues that pertain to the talks and researching them in the scriptures. Although you may not be specifically studying that talk at this time, I hope that the thoughts and … Continue reading →