Last weekend, we screened Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons in Boise, Idaho. The response was MOSTLY positive, but I did have an e-mail from an audience member which indicated that all were not satisfied. Since at MM we’ve talked about whether or not to raise controversies in public settings, and how to respond to someone whose views we find — oh, what’s the word — appalling, I thought I’d give everyone some practice.

How would you respond to this (only a snippet of what I received): Read more »

Margaret Young mentioned at BCC that CES (Church Educational System) is no longer CES. A quick look at the organization’s website seems to confirm that it is now Seminaries and Institutes of Religion. As long as they’re messing with the name of the organization may I suggest a few other changes as well?
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Mother’s Day Sacrament Meetings are always filled with many interesting experiences for me.
The "Mother’s Day Massacre" was one of the most memorable for me. The term was coined by our Bishop at the time - a 50 something engineering professor who was big on getting things done, but not so warm and cuddly - his wife was a stay at home wife and a wonderful warm woman who could pick up the pieces from his can do, "damn the torpedoes" attitude. The two counselors in the Bishopric had wives who were fairly liberal - one kept her maiden name and worked as a professor at a University (she was also the Relief Society President at the time). I was HP GL and observed a lot of this from the peanut gallery (also the counselors were both my great friends).

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A good friend of mine was quite the ladies’ man in High School. During General Conference, he took a particularly, ahem, frisky, girl with him down to the Tabernacle to attend a Saturday session. After the session they went back to his truck, which was parked along first avenue just a block east of the Church Office Building. They took advantage of the warm spring day and indulged their youthful passions in an enthusiastic makeout session.

They were horizontal in the truck when they heard footsteps approaching through their rolled-down window. My friend didn’t think too much of it at first, so focused was he on the attractive young woman in the car. But the footsteps got nearer and nearer, until they finally stopped right beside the truck. My friend looked up and saw L. Tom Perry looking down at the two of them.

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I am too chicken to wear pants to church. I want to. Every Sunday I look in my closet and think– I really want to wear these nice black pants or those comfortable nice gray pants, but then I end up putting on that same A-line black skirt or some other skirt and shirt combo. Why am I so hesitant to wear a nice pair of slacks? I am mostly afraid of what others would think of me — assume I am not respectful of the Lord’s house, or that I am trying to make a political statement. I think people would assume I have radical agenda and demand the priesthood or something. Really, I just like pants. I personally think nobody serving in the nursery should have to come in anything other than sweats, but that is another post.

So, ladies, do you ever wear nice pants to church? Do you know anyone who has worn pants to church? If you do know of women who have worn pants to church, were they all “feminists” (whatever that means)?

Men, what do you think of women who wear nice slacks to church?

Has Hillary Clinton ruined the LDS perception of the pantsuit?

Should you find yourself en route to the Hill Cumorah Pageant this year, I thought I might lend you my local expertise:
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If Andy Warhol is right, everyone will have fifteen minutes of fame. This takes on various forms for different people. For some, it is a stint on MTV’s The Real World. For others, it is YouTube stardom. I’ve always wondered when my fame would come and in what form. Well, the moment has finally arrived, and I must say I’m underwhelmed. Read more »

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When I turned 18, I honest to gosh thought all my pimples would clear up magically. When I turned 21—hey, I’m a grown-up! Then I thought maybe at 30, I’d magically mature. So far, it isn’t happening. I find myself turning to much younger people all the time for advice and wisdom. Maybe some people never grow up. But I still repeat my mistakes and create wreckage in my life. Maybe 60 will be the magic age.
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We have this little pecularity in the English language when it comes to the names we use for our parents. As nouns, Mother and Father are equals and partners. Mother and Father appear to be on par with each other and, without specific information, we would assume they have similar commitments to their family roles. But look what happens when we turn these into verbs: Read more »

“A poor, humble man is a powerful tool in the hands of the Lord. A rich, humble man is an even more powerful tool in the hands of the Lord.”

True?

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There was a recent Wall Street Journal article discussing the number of friends one can have in one’s circle. Robin Dunbar, an Oxford anthropologist whose 1993 research gave rise to the magical count of 150, which was generated by observing social groups in nonhuman primates, then giving humans a multiplier for our larger cortex (brain).

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The countdown has begun: my son has one more month before entering the golden age of Nursery. I have served in the nursery before, and I want my kids to be Nursery ready. So far, my son has a few skills under his belt that will serve him well:

1–Clean-up. He is great at picking stuff up and has pretty good aim at getting it in the desired basket.
2–Sit on demand. He doesn’t always STAY seated, but he will sit when you tell him to, in basically the right area, oriented in the correct direction 80% of the time.
3–(Most importantly) Fake eating. My son has perfected fake eating wherin he brings fake or imaginary food near (but not to) his mouth and makes eating mouth motions and sounds.

He isn’t as verbal as I would like, but I think he is headed in the right direction. What are other important nursery skills you think kids need to be successful?

I guess I better gear myself up for a return to Sunday School.

I’ve spent most of my married life in two major metropolitan areas: Boston and Washington, DC. (If only NuSkin would build another tower, I might have a case for including Provo…) Living in a big city is great. I love the energy, diversity, and range of opportunity that often accompany big city life. When we began having kids, we were sure that we could make the city work for them, too. Surely they’d love all the museums, zoos, parks and other things the city has to offer.

And they did love those things, but eventually the reality began to settle in: living in the city is really not that great for kids. Read more »

I’ve been reflecting recently on the need that groups of people have to demonize those they perceive as enemies. We as LDS are not immune from this tendency.

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