Giving Thanks - More than a Holiday

Missionary Work - Sharing The Plan of Happiness

“We are simply asking all members to pray, knowing that if every member, young and old, will reach out to just ‘one’ between now and Christmas, millions will feel the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a wonderful gift to the Savior.” –M Russell Ballard, “Put Your Trust in the Lord”

Missionary Work: How It’s Done at a Provo Taco Shop  http://www.jamesthemormon.com/

12 Nov 2013

            Today was one of those days where you want to curl up in a ball and die.
            Where you want to rip off all your clothes,  start screaming, all while kicking large objects around the room with my hind legs like an crazed hyena.
            It’s not one particular thing that’s driving me to this madness, but instead a combination of insanities that are causing me to have high blood pressure.
            Also I'm pretty sure I became 50% more bald today, and for about 10 minutes I think I either blacked out or went deaf and blind at the same time. Still not sure.
            On top of the "zoo" of chaos going on at work, I am getting married in 5 weeks and having 2 receptions. I'm taking the GMAT in 3 weeks. And yeah . . . let’s just say I'm going through some intense family drama.
            I've had better days.
            Halfway through my day, I couldn't handle the lunacy anymore, and I decided to take a walk and get a breath of fresh air.

            Midway through my walk down University Avenue . . . I got hungry. I looked to my right and I saw Diego’s a delicious taco joint in Provo, UT.

            As I walked in the first smile I had all day came across my face as I saw the Book of Mormon available for reading sitting on top of Provo's Classifieds aka "Thrifty Nickel".

            As I sat waiting for my order, sinking back in to my stressed state of mind, remembering what awaited me back at work, the most touching conversation began. It went something like this.

Diego - "That’s a beautiful ring, are you engaged?"
Girl ordering - "Yes were getting married in January"
Diego - "Oh wow are you getting married in the temple?"
Girl ordering - "Oh . . . No"
Diego - "Really? Why not?"
Girl ordering - "Oh . . . that's just not our thing right now."
Diego - "I see . . . well I can tell you getting married in the temple has greatly blessed my life. What’s keeping you from getting married in the temple?"
Girl ordering - "It’s just a big lifestyle change"
Diego -"Well do you love him?"
Girl ordering - "Yes. More than anything"
Diego - "Well if you can make some small changes you'll not only be blessed now, but you'll also be able to keep your marriage going forever. Isn't that what you want?"
Girl ordering - "Well ... yes."

            I just sat there in awe of what was happening. I asked myself how long it had been since I had a real missionary experience while Diego here was creating one out of thin air. It was apparent to me that Diego wasn't just in the business of turning a profit, but in the business of doing the Lord's work. What a ROCK STAR! But shouldn't we all be like that? Shouldn't our lives be have an even balance of temporal and spiritual? Isn’t  ". . . the greatest and most important duty  . . to preach the Gospel.”

            I walked into Diego’s with a bad attitude expecting to leave with a bag of tacos. Instead I left with a bag of spiritual inspiration and a new appreciation for the purpose of life.

            What’s in your bag?

 

 

Congratulations, Nami & Jesse

Mr & Mrs Mudrick - Day #1

Plan of Salvation in Chalk

Insightful View of Lord's Church

The Mormonizing of America
by Stephen Mansfield

There are nearly seven million Mormons in America. This is the number the Mormons themselves use. It's not huge. Seven million is barely 2 percent of the country's population. It is the number of people who subscribe to Better Homes and Gardens magazine. London boasts seven million people. So does San Francisco. It's a million more people than live in the state of Washington; a million less than in the state of Virginia. It's so few, it's the same number as were watching the January 24, 2012, Republican debate.
In fact, worldwide, there are only about fourteen million Mormons. That's fourteen million among a global population just reaching seven billion. Fourteen million is the population of Cairo or Mali or Guatemala. It's approximately the number of people who tune in for the latest hit show on network television every week. Fourteen million Americans ate Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant in 2011. That's how few fourteen million is.
Yet in the first decade or so of the new millennium, some members of the American media discovered the Mormons and began covering them as though the Latter-day Saints had just landed from Mars. It was as though Utah was about to invade the rest of the country. It was all because of politics and pop culture, of course. Mitt Romney and John Huntsman were in pursuit of the White House. Glenn Beck was among the nation's most controversial news commentators. Stephenie Meyer had written the astonishingly popular Twilight series about vampires. Matt Stone and Trey Parker had created the edgy South Park cartoon series--which included a much- discussed episode about Mormons--and then went on to create the blatantly blasphemous and Saint-bashing Broadway play The Book of Mormon. It has become one of the most successful productions in American theater history.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen Mormons sat in the US Congress, among them Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader. Mormons led JetBlue, American Express, Marriott, Novell, Deloitte and Touche, Diebold, and Eastman Kodak. Management guru Stephen Covey made millions telling them how to lead even better. There were Mormons commanding battalions of US troops and Mormons running major US universities. There were so many famous Mormons, in fact, that huge websites were launched just to keep up with it all. Notables ranged from movie stars like Katherine Heigl to professional athletes to country music stars like Gary Allan to reality television contestants and even to serial killers like Glenn Helzer, whose attorney argued that the Saints made him the monster he was. The media graciously reminded the public that Mormon criminals were nothing new, though: Butch Cassidy of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid fame was also a Mormon, they reported.
Most media coverage treated this "Mormon Moment" as though it was just that: the surprising and unrelated appearance of dozens of Mormons on the national stage--for a moment. More than a few commentators predicted it would all pass quickly. This new Mormon visibility would lead to new scrutiny, they said, and once the nation got reacquainted with tales of "holy underwear" and multiple wives and Jewish Indians and demonized African Americans and a book printed on gold plates buried in upstate New York, it would all go quiet again and stay that way for a generation. In the meantime, reruns of HBO's Big Love and The Learning Channel's Sister Wives would make sure Mormon themes didn't die out completely.
What most commentators did not understand was that their "Mormon Moment" was more than a moment, more than an accident, and more than a matter of pop culture and fame alone. The reality was--and is--that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has reached critical mass. It is not simply that a startling number of Mormons have found their way onto America's flat-screen TVs and so brought visibility to their religion. It is that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints has reached sufficient numbers--and has so permeated every level of American society on the strength of its religious value--that prominent politicians, authors, athletes, actors, newscasters, and even murderers are the natural result, in some cases even the intended result. Visible, influential Mormons aren't outliers or exceptions. They are fruit of the organic growth of their religion.
In 1950, there were just over a million Mormons in the world. Most of these were located in the Intermountain West of the United States, a region of almost lunar landscape between the Rocky Mountains to the East and the Cascades and Sierra Nevada Mountains to the West. The religion was still thought of as odd by most Americans. There had been famous Mormons like the occasional US Senator or war hero, but these were few and far between. There had even been a 1940 Hollywood movie entitled Brigham Young that told the story of the Saints' mid-1800s trek from Illinois to the region of the Great Salt Lake. Its producers worked hard to strain out nearly every possible religious theme, a nod to the increasingly secular American public. Though it starred heavyweights like Vincent Price and Tyrone Power, the movie failed miserably, even in Utah. Especially in Utah.
Then, in 1951, a man named David O. McKay became the "First President" of the Latter-day Saints and inaugurated a new era. He was the Colonel Harlan Sanders of Mormonism. He often wore white suits, had an infectious laugh, and under- stood the need to appeal to the world outside the Church. It was refreshing. Most LDS presidents had either been polygamist oddballs or stodgy old men in the eyes of the American public. McKay was more savvy, more media aware. He became so popular that film legend Cecil B. DeMille asked him to consult on the now classic movie The Ten Commandments.
Empowered by his personal popularity and by his sense that an opportune moment had come, McKay began refashioning the Church's image. He also began sharpening its focus. His famous challenge to his followers was, "Every Member a Missionary!" And the faithful got busy. It only helped that Ezra Taft Benson, a future Church president, was serving as the nation's secretary of agriculture under President Eisehower. This brought respectability. It also helped that George Romney was the revered CEO of American Motors Corporation and that he would go on to be the governor of Michigan, a candidate for president of the United States, and finally a member of Richard Nixon's cabinet. This hinted at increasing power. The 1950s were good for Mormons.
Then came the 1960s. Like most religions, the LDS took a beating from the counterculture movement, but by the 1970s they were again on the rise. There was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, a symbol of Americana when Americana was under siege. There was Mormon Donny Osmond's smile and Mormon Marie Osmond's everything and the three-year run of network television's Donny and Marie in the late 1970s that made words like family, clean, talented, patriotic, and even cute outshine some of the less-endearing labels laid upon the Saints through the years. New labels joined new symbols. A massive, otherworldly, 160,000-square-foot Temple just north of Washington, DC, was dedicated in the 1970s, a symbol of LDS power and permanence for the nation to behold. Always there was the "Every Member a Missionary!" vision beating in each Saintly heart.
By 1984, the dynamics of LDS growth were so fine-tuned that influential sociologist Rodney Stark made the mind- blowing prediction that the Latter-day Saints would have no fewer than 64 million members and perhaps as many as 267 million by 2080.3 It must have seemed possible in those days. In the following ten years, LDS membership exploded from 4.4 million to 11 million. This may be why in 1998 the Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in Salt Lake City. The Mormons--a misguided cult in the view of most traditional Christians, most Baptists in particular--had to be stopped.
They weren't. Four years after the Baptists besieged Temple Square, the Winter Olympic Games came to Salt Lake City. This was in 2002 and it is hard to exaggerate what this meant to the Latter-day Saints. A gifted Mormon leader, Mitt Romney, rescued the games after a disastrous bidding scandal. A sparkling Mormon city hosted the games. Happy, handsome all-American Mormons attended each event, waving constantly to the cameras and appearing to be--in the word repeatedly used by the press at the time--"normal."
The LDS Church capitalized on it all. It sent volunteers, missionaries, and publicists scurrying to every venue. It hosted grand events for the world press. It made sure that every visitor received a brochure offering an LDS guided tour of the city. Visitors from around the world read these words: "No other place in America has a story to tell like that of Salt Lake City--a sanctuary founded by religious refugees from within the United States' own borders. And none can tell that story better than the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
Largely unchallenged, the Mormon narrative prevailed.
What followed was the decade of the new millennium we have already surveyed. Mormons seemed to be everywhere, seemed to be exceptional in nearly every arena, seemed to have moved beyond acceptance by American culture to domination of American culture. At least this was what some feared at the time.
But Mormons did not dominate the country. Far from it. Remember that they were not even 2 percent of the nation's population as of 2012. True, they were visible and successful, well educated and well spoken, patriotic and ever willing to serve. Yet what they had achieved was not domination. It was not a conspiracy either, as some alleged. It was not anything approaching a takeover or even the hope for a takeover
Few observers seemed to be able to explain how this new level of LDS prominence in American society came about. They reached for the usual answers trotted out to account for such occurrences: birth rates, Ronald Reagan's deification of traditional values, the economic boom of the late twentieth century, a more liberal and broadminded society, even the dumbing down of America through television and failing schools. Each of these explanations was found wanting.

The Mormon Machine

The truth lay within Mormonism itself. What the Saints had achieved in the United States was what Mormonism, unfettered and well led, will nearly always produce. This was the real story behind the much-touted "Mormon Moment." The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had risen to unexpected heights in American society because the Mormon religion creates what can benevolently be called a Mormon Machine-- a system of individual empowerment, family investment, local church (ward and stake level) leadership, priesthood government, prophetic enduement, Temple sacraments, and sacrificial financial endowment of the holy Mormon cause.
Plant Mormonism in any country on earth and pretty much the same results will occur. If successful, it will produce deeply moral individuals who serve a religious vision centered upon achievement in this life. They will aggressively pursue the most advanced education possible, understand their lives in terms of overcoming obstacles, and eagerly serve the surrounding society. The family will be of supernatural importance to them, as will planning and investing for future generations. They will be devoted to community, store and save as a hedge against future hardship, and they will esteem work as a religious calling. They will submit to civil government and hope to take positions within it. They will have advantages in this. Their beliefs and their lives in all-encompassing community will condition them to thrive in administrative systems and hierarchies--a critical key to success in the modern world. Ever oriented to a corporate life and destiny, they will prize belonging and unity over individuality and conflict every time.
These hallmark values and behaviors--the habits that distinguish Mormons in the minds of millions of Americans-- grow naturally from Mormon doctrine. They are also the values and behaviors of successful people. Observers who think of the religion as a cult--in the Jim Jones sense that a single, dynamic leader controls a larger body of devotees through fear, lies, and manipulation--usually fail to see this. Mormon doctrine is inviting, the community it produces enveloping and elevating, the lifestyle it encourages empowering in nearly every sense. Success, visibility, prosperity, and influence follow. This is the engine of the Mormon ascent. It is what has attracted so many millions, and it is the mechanism of the Latter-day Saints' impact upon American society and the world.
Mormons make achievement through organizational management a religious virtue. It leads to prosperity, visibility, and power. It should come as no surprise, then, that an American can turn on the evening news after a day of work and find one report about two Mormon presidential candidates, another story about a Mormon finalist on American Idol, an examination of the controversial views of a leading Mormon news commentator, a sports story about what a Mormon lineman does with his "Temple garments" in the NFL, and a celebration of how Mormons respond to crises like Katrina and the BP oil spill, all by a "Where Are They Now?" segment about Gladys Knight, minus the Pips, who has become--of course--a Mormon.
Mormons rise in this life because it is what their religion calls for. Achieving. Progressing. Learning. Forward, upward motion. This is the lifeblood of earthly Mormonism. Management, leadership, and organizing are the essential skills of the faith. It is no wonder that Mormons have grown so rapidly and reached such stellar heights in American culture. And there is much more to come.
THE MORMONIZING OF AMERICA by Stephen Mansfield, © 2012. Published by Worthy Publishing, a division of Worthy Media, Inc., Brentwood, TN.

Missionary Tool

“Catholic Roots Mormon Harvest” by Eric Shuster

Editorial Review from Amazon.com

            Unique among books released by Mormon publishing houses, Eric Shuster's "Catholic Roots Mormon Harvest," will appeal to Catholics as much as it will interest members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The book's very design is to highlight the similarities and differences between Mormonism and Catholicism, and consequently much of the book will be review from a reader familiar with either. The decades he spent as a non-Mormon give Shuster a distinctive vernacular, though, that gives even the most well-known doctrines a fresh makeover. Throughout the 261 pages, Shuster makes clear his love for both faiths. As he writes on page 83, "...I wasn't giving up anything in becoming a Latter-day Saint and was in fact gaining so much more in reaping the harvest." --Molly Farmer, Mormon Times

About the Author

            Eric Shuster is the fifth of 6 children born to George and Patricia Shuster. He is graduate of Saint Lawrence Catholic College Preparatory School and earned Bachelor of Science degree from San Jose State University and Masters of Science degree from University of Phoenix. He is a veteran of the information technology industry and the President and CEO of IntelliClear Inc., a Colorado-based market research firm. Eric is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Foundation for Christian Studies, a non-profit organization dedicated to the study, teaching, and practice of Christianity. Eric was born into the Catholic faith and was an active member for 27 years. During this time, he served in a variety of lay leadership roles relating to music, youth ministry, and young adult ministry. Eric’s wife, Marilyn, is third of 8 children born to Bruce and Bettie Williams. She is graduate of Nathan Hale High School and earned Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Saint Thomas (magna cum laude). Like Eric, she was born into Catholic faith and was active member for 34 years. During this time, she served in a variety of lay leadership roles, including certified Catholic youth minister, and Franciscan nun. In 1989 Marilyn and Eric converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have been active Latter-day Saints ever since. They have served in many ward and stake leadership roles. The Shuster’s have 3 children and make their home in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Mountains to Climb

Earthly Father, Heavenly Father

Christmas 2012: JOY TO THE WORLD

Congratulations! So Happy for YOU!

We met Benita at Princeton Institute classes.
Near the end of our mission, she was accepted at BYU-I.
Benita met Kase at BYU-I. They married 18 Dec 2012!

Malorie & Jeff attended Wednesday night Princeton Institute
classes while we served there. They will be married 22 Dec 2012!

For God So Loved the World

Mormon Helping Hands--Rockaways, New York

Click on this link for video feed: http://vimeo.com/joshuabrown/hurricanesandy

    Thousands of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continue to volunteer to assist in the recovery efforts within these communities. On Sunday, November 11th, thousands of Mormons cancelled their church services and arrived by air, bus and train from all across the country to help.

    Please share this video with any friends and family that might be able to help the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. Not only at the Rockaways, but Staten Island, Long Island, and New Jersey. The church is coordinating the efforts, but anyone (both Mormon and non Mormon) is welcome to come and help.
    For more information about this and other ongoing efforts please visit:
facebook.com/groups/mormonhelpinghandsnyc/
lds.org/topics/humanitarian-service/helping-hands
mormon.org

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS 11/14/12: Mormon Helping Hands Mobilizes for Storm-Ravaged Rockaways and Broad Channel-1,000s of Mormon Volunteers Pump Water Out of Basements and Gut Drywall Before Mold Grows

   Mormons, better known in New York City for clean-cut young missionaries in pressed white shirts, are now doing God’s work by getting their hands dirty.
   Members of Mormon Helping Hands have won rave reviews from Rockaway and Broad Channel residents whose homes were battered by floodwaters.
   About 6,000 volunteers from all over the Northeast have helped pump water out of deluged basements and gut homes. The group is affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
   “We take the sheetrock out ... because the basements are now going to get mold,” said Kevin Calderwood, who is coordinating the group’s work in Queens. “In a weekend, we can do hundreds and hundreds of work orders.”
   About 200 Mormon missionaries stationed in Queens take work orders from beleaguered homeowners during the week, he said. On weekends, the volunteers come down to do the work.
Educator Randy Nelson, 57, of Belle Harbor, whose basement and first floor were wiped out by the flooding, said the group tore all the sheetrock out of her basement and garage.
   “They came in with droves and droves of people,” she said of the team that finished in two afternoons what would have taken her weeks to do on her own. “They were really incredible.”
Retired Con Edison worker Jim O’Connor, 58, of Belle Harbor, called Mormon Helping Hands “extraordinary.”
   “It boggles my mind that there are still good people left like that in the world,” he said of the volunteers who showed up unexpectedly offering to help.
   Other groups, such as Team Rubicon, a disaster response organization of military veterans and medical professionals, are doing similar work on the peninsula.
   “We’re emptying out basements of water. ... We’re tearing down sheetrock,” said Stephanie Rudat, a Rubicon advisory board member. “We are helping get people back into their homes.”
   Hundreds of Rubicon volunteers from across the U.S. do labor-intensive work in the Rockaways in the day and sleep on cots in a Brooklyn warehouse.
   Community Board 14 District Manager Jonathan Gaska said volunteers have been vital to the recovery of the Rockaways.
   “They’re out here 10, 12 hours a day and they’re here for all the right reasons,” he said. “The volunteers got food and supplies out to the people quicker than the government did.”

MORMON NEWSROOM 11/14/12: Mormon Volunteers Give More than 80,000 Hours Service to Hurricane Sandy Victims

Salt Lake City —

   Volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are continuing efforts to help East Coast residents recover from Hurricane Sandy. Local leaders cancelled or abbreviated worship services to give members more time to serve.
   More than 7,700 Church members and missionaries have devoted over 80,000 hours since Hurricane Sandy hit to help residents along the storm’s path. The Church has provided 300,000 pounds of relief supplies including: food, water, blankets, hygiene kits, generators, pumps, tarps, cleaning supplies and fuel.
   Local Church leaders from all across the East Coast are helping to organize the Church’s relief projects. The efforts are centrally coordinated through a Church building in New Jersey, and donations and supplies are gathered there to be shipped out to the areas most affected by the storm.
   This past weekend, one group of Church volunteers from the New York area focused its efforts on first responders’ damaged homes in the Rockaways, an area on the southwest side of Long Island. The volunteers have spent much of the past week cleaning out basements in the area: clearing flood-damaged furniture, ripping out ruined sheetrock and removing dirt, sand, mold and trash.
   In first responder John Carbone’s home, volunteers helped strip damaged sheetrock from most of the basement. Carbone said he appreciated the group’s willingness to help anyone in need. “Everybody’s being helped by you people,” he said. “It’s not just, ‘Hey, you’re a Catholic, so I’m going to help you; you’re Pentecostal, I’m going to help you.’ No, you’re a human being. You’re going to help them all.”
   Church members also helped residents in Staten Island. Resident Patricia Varvaro said the volunteers helped her with cleanup, but also helped to lift her spirits. She said they helped her believe that “there’s humanity left in this world; there’s still good people. It’s giving you a feeling of hope in a moment of despair.”
   The yellow-vested volunteers in Long Island have gone house-to-house helping residents needing assistance removing trees or pumping water from basements.
   About 200 missionaries from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut joined 200 other Church members from Connecticut to work in storm-damaged towns along the Connecticut coast on Sunday, including Fairfield, Milford, Bridgeport, Madison and Killingworth.
   The Church has also helped to transport supplies to affected areas. Church members in Oakton, Virginia, helped fill six semi-trucks full of coats, blankets and clothing. They were delivered to the Rockaway and Lynbrook areas of Queens last week.
   Church leaders continue to partner and coordinate relief efforts with local authorities, the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and other relief organizations. Church members will continue major cleanup efforts for the next several weeks. “The devastation left by the storm is heart-wrenching. So many people have lost so much, and we will do everything we can to provide their families with relief and help rebuild our communities,” said Jeffery E. Olson, a Church leader organizing the local disaster response.

If I Were the Devil (Paul Harvey Predicts in 1965)

Election 2012: Who Will Best Preserve Our Freedoms?

 ONE MINUTE EVERY NIGHT This is the most uncertain election we as Christians have ever faced, and from the looks of the polls, the Christians aren't voting Christian values. We all need to be on our knees. Do you believe we can take God at His word? Call upon His name, then stand back and watch His wonders unfold? This scriptures gives us, as Christians, stewardship of this land and the ability to call upon God to heal it. We have never been more desperate than now for God to heal our land. 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." During WWII there was an adviser to Churchill, who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every night at a prescribed hour for one minute, to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace. This had an amazing effect, as bombing stopped. There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. The United States of America, and our citizens, need prayer more than ever! If you would like to participate, each evening at 9 PM Eastern Time (8 PM Central, 7 PM Mountain, 6 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, for peace in the world, the upcoming election, that the Bible will remain the basis for the laws governing our land and that Christianity will strengthen in the United States. Someone said if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be humbled. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have.

Congratulations!

Learned this news on FB this morning: Jeff & Malorie are engaged! We're so happy for them!

After Mission Adjustment

"RMs: Instead of being in the middle of God's work, you have to bring God into your work."

Wendy Ulrich, Ph.D., M.B.A., was a psychologist in private practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan for almost fifteen years before moving with her husband to Montreal (where he presided over the Canada Montreal Mission), then Alpine, Utah. She founded Sixteen Stones Center for Growth, which offers seminar-retreats for LDS women (sixteenstones.net). She is a mother and grandmother, a columnist for Deseret News, a former president of the Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapist, and a business consultant with The RBL Group. Her books include Forgiving Ourselves, Weakness Is Not Sin, and national best seller The Why of Work, co-authored with her husband, Dave Ulrich.

Homecoming Talks Completed

And we're officially officially released! :)

Yesterday was our mission "homecoming" talks. Didn't notice anyone dozing off so that felt good!

Did our EBYSAs feel their "ears burning" Sunday afternoon around 3:40 - 4:00 p.m. cuz' we were singing your praises! :)

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!

A Good Read

I enjoyed "Letters in the Jade Dragon Box" by Gale Sears on so many levels. It taught me things about China under Mao Tse-tung's suffocating control. It also taught me about the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hong Kong. I highly recommend this book. It might be the best book I've read in years! I couldn't put it down!

Personages in the Godhead

Yesterday we invested in "Answers to Gospel Questions" by Joseph Fielding Smith for our Gospel library. First Q&A in Volume 1 regarded "Personages in the Godhead." President Smith's two scripture references in John 17:3, 5, 11, 22 and John 20:17 clearly point to Father and Son.

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent....And now Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was....And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are....And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are." John 17:3, 5, 11, 22

Then there are the words to Mary at the tomb, so distinctly declaring the separate Personages of Father and Son: "Jesus said unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."  John 20:17

D&C 20:27-29 declares the three Personages in the Godhead are separate yet united in purpose: "As well as those who should come after, who should believe in the gifts and callings of God by the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son. Which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal, without end. Amen. And we know that all men must repent and believe on the name of Jesus Christ, and worship the Father in his name, and endure in faith on his name to the end, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God."

7 a.m. Stake High Council Mission Report

Early Sunday morning we joined
our Stake High Council members and Stake Presidency
to give our shorten version of our mission homecoming talk.

Sister S outnumbered!

Our Stake President gave us our mission release certificate
filled out by our awesome NJMM Mission Pres Jeppson.

PS Received this picture of Sister Mendez & Hermana Mendez
several days ago and just remembered to include...
two IMPRESSIVE (real-life) sisters serving in Virginia!
One English-speaking missionary and one Spanish-speaking missionary.

What Happened Today?

Thanks, former Laurel advisor, Liz!



Honorable Discharge!

Stake President Bowden with Sister & Elder S....er, Sister and Brother S

4 Days, 12 States, 2500 Miles

Last Supper

New Jersey Multi-Stake YSA Potluck & Fireside

EB YSA Branch President Eck presents us with journal
for our next adventure signed by our YSA!

Today was our last EB YSA Branch block meetings. And this evening was our last EB YSA Branch "break-the-fast" potluck.

Our last multi-stake YSA fireside featured Elder Anderson's thoughtful presentation on laws.

In Tune with the Music of Faith



"Clearly, a dividing line between those who hear the music of faith and those who are tone-deaf or off-key is the active study of the scriptures." -Elder Quentin L Cook

"I find that when I get casual in my relationships with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I immerse myself in the scriptures the distance narrows and the spiritualiy returns. -Spencer W Kimball, 12th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Last All Mission Conference

Senior missionaries distribute NJMM t-shirts at start of day.

Brother Chester Elton, who has 6 books on NY Times
best seller list, was motivational speaker.
Really, REALLY fun guy!

Of course our mission president's wife had plenty
of grub ready for all the missionaries!

Each Zone performed a skit
followed by afternoon Book of Mormon battles.

This young missionary is from our home ward. Since she
serves in the north part of the mission and we serve in the
south, this was our first meeting. (Her family moved into
our Ward about the time we left on our mission.)

Last Class

love, Love, LOVE these kids!

Thanks for the FUN times, Eatontown YSA!

Happy Birthday, Brother Bean!

New Jersey Morristown CES senior missionaries
gather to celebrate our leader's birthday!

Which Team Are You Playing For?

Succeed Gloriously

Trust

Interesting Idea

"Don't confuse His PERFECTION with our WORTHINESS." 
-David Bean, Institute Director

Happy Father's Day

"Daddy's Homecoming" is a popular Church Primary song and I can't think of a better commentary on how important a dad is in a child's life.

I am grateful for the exemplary fathers in my life: grandfathers, father, husband, son and sons-in-law!

Thank you for your strength and for being there! :)

Why Would a Jew Become a Mormon?

Having just completed a school year studying the Old Testament, I found this news article highly interesting.

Why would a Jew become a Mormon? Ask Marlena

5 June 2012

The proverbial “third rail” issue for a Christian blogger on a Jewish website is Jewish conversion to Christianity. It is one of the few issues that unites practically all Jews, and well-funded organizations (e.g., Jews for Judaism) have been set up to keep Jews from converting. Although many Jews who know me well have asked why a Jew would become a Mormon, I have declined to blog on the subject because I considered it too sensitive.

Until now. After more than two years blogging for the Jewish Journal, I’m pretty confident that readers know that my purpose in writing this column is not to convert Jews. A few weeks ago a prominent Jewish leader asked me why Jews decide to become Mormons. I decided to pose a series of questions to my friend Marlena Tanya Muchnick, a well-known Jew-turned-Mormon speaker, author, and researcher. Marlena travels around the country making presentations on Jews and Mormons. I am grateful to her for taking time out from her Baltic cruise to compose her answers. She and her wonderful husband Daniel live in the Seattle area.

Q: How old were you when you converted to the LDS Church?

A: I often contemplated the gifts promised the human family in the Tree of Life mentioned in Genesis 2. The Hebrew life giving tree motif I found in a copy of Kabbalah (esoteric Judaic writings). It stirred in me a deep curiosity about the mysterious connections of all things in earth and heaven. I read of covenants, oaths, the patterns and behaviors of men –blessings received, curses endured. Always the connection of God to His children was tested and tried. The Hebrew people have always been engaged in a love story (often also a tryst!) with their Father/Lord.   So, in a fashion, I was being spiritually prepared for my transformation at age 47 – from Orthodox/Conservative Jewess to a temple-attending Latter-day Saint.

Q: Jews believe the Abrahamic covenant still applies to them. Mormons also believe that the Abrahamic covenant is applicable today. Why is there a need for a Jew to become a Mormon if the Abrahamic covenant is still alive and well?

A: Being raised an observant Jewess, I trusted that the everlasting Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12, 15, 17, and 28) was the blueprint for every life. An agreement between mankind and God, it is unconditional in its nature to bless the tribes of Israel (see Genesis 12:2-3). Nations and kings were to descend from that patriarch who would become father of a “great nation”, receiving special blessings for their faithfulness, including the Mashiach’s (Messiah’s) return into their midst. Many Jews believe in these future events but have little idea of the profound meanings implicit in them. Spiritual truth often lies in mystery, but to ignore that tantalizing search is to remain dead to the potential for life that waits hopefully within each soul.

Fortunately for me, through the teachings of the missionaries, I discovered that Mormons understand covenants better than anyone, because they realize the importance and urgency of gathering members of the house of Israel through the restored, latter-day Gospel teachings as reintroduced through the Prophet Joseph Smith; his translation of the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the restoration of the temples of God to the earth.

[According to LDS belief] Jews are the “chosen” people according to God’s covenant with Abraham. [Mormons believe that] Abraham wanted to regain the true priesthood and gospel principles that had been lost through apostasy. But neither the Jews nor anyone else can be automatically saved. The Latter-day Saints have been charged with finding those who are lost and teaching them the essential news of the restoration of ancient priesthood powers which God has covenanted to them unconditionally on His part. But individual faithfulness and action are required to bring fulfillment. [I believe that] Judaism is the foundation of Christianity, not the final product.

Q: What was it that attracted you to Mormonism?

A: How does a proper Jewess cross the seemingly uncrossable line to Christianity, then venture further to the hallowed country of the Gentilic, gentle Saints? For me, it was the hardest work my rebellious soul has EVER done! I was 14 and just confirmed from Hebrew school when I realized something was missing from my synagogue experiences. My parents thought me mad. I was told to get over it. It was 1954.

Arriving at age 40 I found myself alone and poor, a victim of many abuses as a child and teen. During my growing years as a female in a traditionally male cultural setting, I sought in the synagogues for a deeper and especially a personal solace. Synagogue prayers are praises to God and petitions for Israel - our traditional way of approaching Deity. But I needed a personal witness. Finally, pleading with God before the opened Torah scrolls, I challenged Him to bring me what He knew I needed; then I determined to find it myself, if it took this lifetime to do so. It took several years longer.

My only sibling, a younger brother, eventually accepted the Gospel more or less against his will. Mark had married a Tongan whose father translated the Book of Mormon into Tongan for the country’s royalty. Mark’s wife and family were, of course, devoted Mormons. In 1975, he brought me a Book of Mormon, to share the joy in the Gospel that he had found. I immediately rejected it. “I have Torah. Why would I need another book? No, thanks. I prefer to remain a Jew. Is this what our people have fought to become? I think not.” I put the book in my bookcase and left it there for years. Many years later, in 1985, I moved to Oregon from L.A. to assist with care for my now widowed brother’s children. Senior Mormon missionaries lived next door!

I was quite disturbed by this new and sudden interest of these Christian people in my background and my beliefs as a Jew. Having been taught by my parents that non-Jews (Gentiles) were off limits to me, I’d never learned Christian ways or beliefs. They couldn’t pronounce the guttural ch. They didn’t like Jewish food, they didn’t know Hebrew history or celebrate any Jewish holidays. But I was attracted to them in ways that stirred my soul.

1. I found those Mormons I met and who befriended me to be genuinely caring about each and every person and were gentle and forgiving folk. They were genuinely kind to me and they related all their life experiences to faith and love of God and Christ. What impressed me so much was their close relationship with God. That gave them satisfaction I had only dreamt of finding. They listened to my denials of Christ, asked me about Judaism, and were genuinely interested in comparing religions through scripture and through their own understanding. And then there was the “look” in their eyes. Was it joy? True happiness? Their constant relationship with the mysterious Holy Spirit? I wanted it!

2. They patiently spoke of New Testament gospel writers, pointing out that most were Jewish men, including the apostles of Christ. I had never thought that important. I confess that at first I only allowed them to entertain me with these things because my brother had earlier brought me that book which claimed our ancient Jewish ancestors truly came from Israel to these American continents and – would you believe – accepted Jesus as the Christ? They told me that Jesus came to fulfill the Law of Moses (Matt 5:17) and create a new covenant between God and his people, that he visited the American continents (Book of Mormon, 3Nephi 11-28). The Book of Mormon is a sign that the gathering of Israel and the fulfillment of his covenants with them was beginning.

3. These apostles learned there was a higher law than the Aaronic/Levitical priesthood: the higher or Melchizedek priesthood. This man, Melchizedek (Heb 7:2) was a notable prophet and leader who lived about 2000 BC. He was the first individual to be given the title of Kohen (priest) in Torah. Father Abraham paid tithes to him. Melchizedek is mentioned in many places in Torah and in latter-day scripture. Mormons claim that these two priesthoods have been restored in our day, along with prophets, temples, baptism and other ordinances by priesthood authority, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost and other blessings, and proxy work for the dead. I was finding a unity between our two faiths; that we are connected by many things. Mormons have more in common with Judaism than any other religion because Judaism laid the foundation for Christianity and through the LDS church the fullness of many covenants God made with the nation of Israel will be realized. These include the Abrahamic (Gen 12:1-3, 15), Edenic (Gen 3:16-19), Palestinian (Deut 30:1-10), Davidic (2Sam 7:8-16, Luke 1:32-34), and the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34).

4. I was attracted to the notion that prophets and seers were once again on the earth. In Torah many prophets are mentioned, some true, some false. The greater ones were usually disbelieved and hated for their unpopular messages. Some met with an untimely death. The last Hebrew prophet, Malachi, lived at the end of the 70-year Babylonian exile. Judaism today does not recognize anyone as having the voice to speak for them. But the Mormons claim Joseph Smith was a prophet and seer and that these chosen men of God will never again be taken from the earth. Thomas S. Monson is regarded as the current seer and prophetic voice among the Saints and he has two counselors. Together they form the First Presidency of the church. Their writings, in my mind, equal and often surpass those of many scholarly Talmudic sages.

5. The Mormon view of the afterlife attracted me greatly. Jews believe there is an Olam Haba – the world to come after death. Torah [the 5 books of Moses] emphasizes immediate, concrete, physical rewards and punishments rather than abstract future ones. See, for example, Lev. 26:3-9 and Deut. 11:13-15. However, there is clear evidence in Torah of belief in existence after death. Indicated in several places the righteous with their loved ones will be reunited after death, while the wicked will be excluded. Ideas about resurrection and reincarnation are accepted, but there is much room for personal opinion, because Torah does not mention this subject directly, though the early temples practiced cleansing and vivifying rites. I was very concerned with what hope there was for mine and my family’s death. Mormons have revealed knowledge through prophets that explains and clarifies much about the spirit world before and after mortal life, and I found it reassuring.

6. The missionaries read with me the Book of Mormon, enlightening my understanding of the Abrahamic Covenant.

Q: According to one of your websites, you engaged in five months of “secluded studying” of Hebrew and LDS scriptures before converting. What did you learn from this experience?

A: I learned, in essence, through totally independent study and prayer that the Gospel as taught in the LDS church is completely correct. I found my personal answers to the questions: Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going?

There is room here for several specific examples.

1. I learned about the priesthood of God, its purposes, duties and ministrations. See Exodus 40, a detailed account of Aaron and his sons receiving the Aaronic priesthood. After the fall of Herod’s Temple in 70 AD, that and the greater priesthood were lost, the Jewish nation scattered. In these latter days that most precious gift has been restored to the earth and all of us are blessed through the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood of God in these latter days.

2. Exodus 34 gives the story of Moses (Moshe) receiving God’s commandments. Moses asks the Lord to pardon the iniquity of his people, to which the Lord replies in part (v.14) that the Jews shall have no other god but the Lord, “…whose name is Jealous…” All others are said to be false, and to Jews, that includes Jesus. But the New Testament history of Jesus and his times is compelling. He converted thousands of Jewish followers. This is not mentioned in Torah or Talmud. Why not?

3. When the missionaries told me that Joseph Smith received his visitation from our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in April of 1820 and that the LDS church was established in April of 1830, I discovered these dates coincided with the Jewish Passover. Joseph’s visit by the angel, Moroni, and additionally when he visited the place the golden plates were buried and retrieved them four years later - these occurrences came during the annual Feast of Sukkot in September, 1823 and the Jewish New Year of 1827. Coincidences? These and numerous other occasions in LDS history helped to convince me that the history of Jews and Mormons was intertwined in the mind and heart of God and an important clue to my understanding of how God works with mankind.

4. I learned through the Book of Mormon that God spoke directly to the descendants of the Jewish people in America, introducing them to Jesus Christ, His only Begotten Son. Since I do believe that God is in charge and can do as He wishes, I understood and accepted that the history of the Jews in the lands of America included the visitation and teachings of Christ in the Americas. In the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 29:31-33, I read that Heavenly Father’s works are without end. This made sense to me.

5. I learned that both religions honor their ancestors and place them in high esteem. Both believe in the principle of fasting and both have a set of dietary laws that are sensible and spiritually conceived by Deity. Both religions honor God and His commandments. Both revere and celebrate the Sabbath and believe in keeping it holy. There are many similarities between Jewish and LDS beliefs and religious observances, but much has been lost of ancient truths through time.

6. Ezekiel 37 in part refers to the prophecy of combining the “two sticks”, that of Joseph, by which is meant the Book of Mormon, with the stick (record)of Judah – meaning the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible –. The LDS “quad” contains those scriptures in one volume that also includes more scripture, much of it dictated by Jesus Christ to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I learned that this is a further evidence of the message for unity between Mormons and Jews.

7. The Book of Mormon opened my eyes to profound teachings, truths about the history of my Hebrew ancestors in the Americas, the true nature of the spirit of mankind, Jesus in America. It is testimony to how the Holy Ghost works in our lives, the divinity of Jesus Christ and presents undeniable evidence that the book was translated by the gift and power of God. It is truly a second witness of Jesus Christ and contains the fullness of the Gospel that Jesus tried to teach the Jews in Israel millennia ago. I could not deny its truthfulness. The Holy Ghost testified of these things to me in an undeniable way, even to the extent of giving me a vision, words from an angelic source, and a transformation of spirit.

8. Importantly, I discovered the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of scriptures containing revelations from the Lord Jesus Christ to the Prophet Joseph Smith. This book amazed me. It is not a translation but claims to be a witness of Jesus Christ. Indeed, as I read the first section, dictated to Joseph by the Lord Himself, I was amazed that I had not known of this book. I now had the problem of believing or denying that Jesus was indeed the Messiah of the world! The book proclaims that the heavens are open again. It contains revelations for LDS church governance and the essential beliefs of the organization of the Saints. While reading it I realized the voice of Jesus was the same voice I read and felt in Torah. Now it became impossible to deny that Jesus was the one who made the Exodus from Egypt possible.

9. The Pearl of Great Price is another enlightening collection of scripture that is invaluable in understanding the way Heavenly Father works with humanity. The Joseph Smith history is also undeniably true, and from it I learned of the First Vision. The book of Moses and book of Abraham teach the doctrine of plurality of gods. I read about the doctrine of exaltation and learned of its significance to us. Jewish canon does not include any of the information found in the Pearl… This is a vast treasure trove of information that really opened my eyes to the mysteries of God.

10. The most important thing I discovered in my reading, pondering and praying was that God is in charge. Consistently, in all scripture, He tells us that. He does what He wants in His time. He is not subject to human rules or traditions, whims, requests, threats, pleadings, etc.
Q: You’ve said that personal revelation has inspired you to facilitate mutual understanding between Jews and Mormons. In what ways do you do this?

A: My mission, bestowed upon me in 1989 under a priesthood calling, was to “be as an Esther to my people” by bringing the Jews to God’s true church, mainly through the tribe of Ephraim – the preponderance of members of the LDS church are of that tribal affiliation. I am to teach them about the genesis of their religion and how to fellowship and understand their Jewish neighbors, thereby to “help them come to the salvation of their souls through their Mashiach, Jeshua, even Jesus their Christ.”

To this end I have embarked upon a mission: writing books for the Mormon reading public: about my conversion to the church, about the Jewish people - their history, beliefs, culture and language. I also have published fiction that highlights their plight in America and in Eastern Europe. I give firesides, lectures and classes to LDS congregations on these subjects, as well as maintaining several blog and websites featuring many useful articles on Jewish life. I point out the many similarities and connections (see listing) between the two religions and cultures. I tell my audiences to reach out to their Jewish neighbors, embracing their culture and making as many connections as possible with them in various settings.

Q: Has the Jewish community been receptive to your work? How do Mormons react to your presentations?

A: The work that I do is strictly for the LDS population. Jews do not want me to speak to their congregations because I have embraced Christianity, though many Jews are fond of Mormons. Having a Jew convert to “the other side” of the Jewish world and, in effect, become a “Gentile” (a non-Jew) is anathema to a Jew. My conversion makes them very uncomfortable.

Happily, those to whom I have spoken and written are very pleased with my books, blogs and presentations. Many Mormons are genuinely interested in their Jewish neighbors and have lots of questions I help them to answer. I tell them I am only a messenger. They must do the real work of investigating and understanding to make the connections.

Q: You’ve written “A Mormon’s Guide to Judaism. “What is one thing that every Mormon should know about Judaism? What should every Jew know about Mormonism?

A: Through the years I have asked many fellow Jews why they do not wish to believe in Christ. Their responses span their range of involvement in religious worship. By far, their responses included an avowed devotion to Judaism alone - showing little or no interest in any other religion. I have also noticed that relatively few Mormons have any more than a surface understanding of other religions and do not investigate the similarities and differences between their religion. This puts them in the same category with most Jews.

So, in my view, it is essential that Latter-day Saints become aware of the underpinnings of their belief system; Jesus was a Jew. The original Gospel evolved through Mosaic Law. Judaism is the language and belief system that propelled Christianity into being, though it was soon and continually corrupted by many factors. A knowledge of Jewish prayers, group and individual worship, holidays, culture, language, dietary laws and other elements of their sub-civilization should be sought after by the LDS population. This will increase Mormon understanding and appreciation of their own religious life.

As for my first people, I would advise them of the many similarities of the Hebrew religion and current Jewish congregations to LDS ways of life and urge them to investigate these. The Jews are increasingly positive about the LDS church and generally believe Mormons to be helpful, accepting, loyal, supporting and who accept their Israelite progenitors as brethren without prejudice or anti-Semitism. That is especially helpful in the present dangerous political situation in Israel and elsewhere in the world. I would ask them to consider learning of Christ with an inquiring and searching spirit, rather than to be forever satisfied with their centuries-long traditions. I think that the Jewish people in the main resist Christianity because of centuries of persecution, forced conversions and ostracism.

It is important for the Jewish people to understand that the ancient tribal identities and relationships have been restored; that those who are descendants of the Hebrews enslaved in Egypt, Babylon, etc. , and now scattered throughout the earth – are in the process of being gathered again, according to ancient prophecy (Isa 54:7, Ezek 11:17, Jer 50:4 and others). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pursues the literal gathering of Israel throughout the world and the restoration of all the tribes (families) of Jacob prior to the coming of the Mashiach. The fullness of the early Gospel taught by our first prophets is here upon the earth today and available to each of us. Without the birthright tribe (holding the priesthood keys through Christ and his church) of Ephraim, the lineage of Judah (protector of the temples and the people) is as a sword of undirected energy.

Q: You speak often on the symbolic connections between Mormon and Jewish worship. What is the most important connection?

A: That is an easy answer. It would be our holy temples, those that once stood in Jerusalem and those built by the Latter-day Saints. It was and is now Beit YHVH or YHWH, the house of the Lord. The history of the temple in Jerusalem begins in 957 BC with King Solomon’s construction. It was destroyed and rebuilt twice more. It was the center of Jewish civilization and all things in life revolved around that holy shrine built to God. In the temple, offerings were made, blessings and benedictions pronounced, ritual cleansings performed. Isaiah spoke of the importance of prayer in the Temple, calling it God’s “holy mountain”. The loss of the temple in a.d. 70 brought on the Diaspora of the Jews which has lasted to this day. Jews believe they no longer have a temple in which to worship, but that is no longer the case.

The first temple structure built by the Mormon people was in Kirtland, Ohio. It was dedicated in March 1836 and the Lord accepted it. As of May 2012 there are 137 operating, 15 under construction, 14 announced temples. See http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/temples/.  

These houses of the Lord are clear and direct links between Judaism and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They provide a place set apart for eternal covenants, a place that is sacred and suitable for the performing of holy ordinances that bind on earth and heaven. They provide ordinances for living and dead that assures the possession and association of families, worlds without end and exaltation for ourselves and our families in the kingdom of God. They contain emblems of ancient Judaic worship. When I first saw these, my heart jumped and I knew I had finally “come home”. LDS temples are based on the fact of the atonement of Jesus Christ, without whom all mankind would be irretrievably lost. In ancient and modern times, the “work” done in Mormon temples is binding, the “glory and honour” referred to in Psalm 8:3:

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? …For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour” .

[At the suggestion of Jewish Journal editors, a few edits have been made to Marlena’s interview in order to clarify Judaism’s beliefs]

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Mark Paredes is a member of the Jewish Relations Committee of the LDS Church's Southern California Public Affairs Council.