Posts Tagged ‘ family ’

Personally, I’m not a big fan of gifts.  I neither like to give nor to receive.  I feel inept at selecting gifts, and I feel awkward about receiving them.  Gifts feel like an obligation, and also like we’re putting a value on a relationship.  I was raised by parents who were not big on gifts either.  [...]

The response to trauma is instinctual, even if our instinctual responses are wired individually. God evolved our species’ instincts to do something fast –flee, fight, or freeze — because the lethal nature of most of the dangers that killed humans throughout history is immediately perceptible and requires immediate response. Instincts don’t do as well when [...]

At the end of April, Community of Christ released to the church at large a “Draft Statement on Sexual Ethics” for public review and invited comments to be made by e-mail to the First Presidency. This Statement will be considered by the International Leaders Council (which has no strict equivalent in the LDS) in May [...]

How does knowing you’re supposed to grow up being part of the “aristocracy” affect a political candidate’s ability to connect with everyday people? In elementary school in the 1950′s, we used to be given as “enrichment” a little news magazine called the Weekly Reader tailored toward stories on current events that would appeal to children. [...]

A criticism I’ve heard about Mormonism on the internet is:  “What’s unique about it isn’t good, and what’s good about it isn’t unique.”  While it’s true that Mormon culture has some flaws, and that other religions share some of its good points, I can’t agree with this observation.  Still, I think something about this phrase [...]

OK, I started with the title “Why LDS Men Suck,” which I don’t in fact think at all, but it’s really easy to get that impression sometimes, especially in contrast to the praise heaped on the women in the church.  I have met a few rare LDS men I couldn’t stand, but on the whole, [...]

There has been a book of personal testimony making waves in Evangelical Christian circles for the past few months. Indeed, it isn’t just limited to Protestant Evangelicals; the person who recommended it to our family is a devout Catholic liberal. The book, entitled Heaven is for Real, is the real life story of Todd Burpo, [...]

In response to revelatory guidance accepted at its 2010 World Conference, the Community of Christ scheduled a US National Conference for the summer of 2012 specifically to deal with questions of sacramental marriage and priesthood ordination for GLBT members of the church. On May 25, the church announced a delay in the US National Conference [...]

Many of you will have followed the controversy surrounding the film The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham-Carter.  The Oscar-winning film is about a reluctant future king of England who speaks with a stutter, a major difficulty for someone whose main duty is speech-making.  What is unusual about this ratings controversy [...]

First, I must start with a confession.  I haven’t yet watched General Conference.  Despite living in the future here in Asia, we are living in the past in terms of General Conference which will be aired at the local church next weekend (or alternatively, live on-line now).  However, I have read some of the recaps, [...]

No doubt, Facebook has changed all our lives in making it easier to stay in touch with friends across distances and to reconnect with friends from different phases of our lives.  It has also created a subculture with its own code of behavior, social niceties and infractions. Some unforeseen benefits to Facebook that you may [...]

A recent article in Time talks about a new parenting book that has quickly risen to the top of the bestseller lists:  Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.  The book is controversial but also provides some valuable insights from the East about the way we parent in the West. Author Amy Chua is revered for [...]

In the two-story church building in Yamaguchi Japan (it’s seriously in the middle of a rice paddy), I picked up the Teachings of Harold B. Lee and read this quote: “Now the only safety we have as members of this church is to do exactly what the Lord said to the Church in that day [...]

…it’s about deal breakers in relationships, and why you may be going about them all wrong. Open and honest communication about all disagreements may not be a good idea, if you value the space between you and the other person. What would get in the way of a relationship? Should some topics be avoided? Sure, [...]

There was an interesting article in Mormon Times about the best places to raise an LDS family.  Their top 10 picks included places with similar values and lifestyles.  The entire list started with 4 Utah cites (in this order):  Provo-Orem, St. George, Logan, and Ogden-Clearfield.  The non-Utah cities listed (in this order) were:  State College [...]