Another first - LDS on President's Faith Advisory Board

Read the article here. I guess we're a legitimate religion now, even in politics.

"Elder Steven E. Snow of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been appointed to the President's Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, according to a press release issued Thursday by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah."

According to the White House, the advisory council is charged with: indentifying best practices for delivering social services, improving the implementation of public policies related to faith-based groups, and recommending changes to polices, programs and practices to the president. (Sojourners God's Politics Blog)

It's for my health!

Sometimes, they say, the body knows what it needs for good health and craves it. OK, I say that with a little bit of chocolate-covered tongue-in-cheek... You can read the whole story if you have access to Medscape Nurses News but you'll probably see it elsewhere too. Basically:

ZURICH (Reuters) Jul 17 - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has ruled that cocoa powder and dark chocolate can help people improve blood circulation - a claim made by Barry Callebaut, the world's largest maker of chocolate products.

The Swiss group, which supplies food companies such as Nestle and Hershey with cocoa and chocolate products, said on Tuesday it had provided evidence to EFSA that eating 10 grams of dark chocolate or its equivalent in cocoa that were high in flavanols helped blood flow.

If the European Commission signs off on the EFSA ruling, the company and its customers would have the right to use the health claim on packaging for products such as chocolate drinks, cereal bars and biscuits, the company said.

"As the first company receiving such a health claim, we see new market potential both for us and for our customers," Chief Executive Juergen Steinemann said in a statement.

For the clinical studies it conducted to back up the claim, Barry Callebaut said it used a special process to make cocoa products that maintains the flavanols, which are usually mostly destroyed during conventional chocolate-making.

In an opinion posted on the EFSA website, a scientific panel concluded that a cause and effect relationship had been established between the consumption of cocoa flavanols and the maintenance of normal vasodilation.

Helaman and his 2,000 Stripling Warriors

2,000 Stripling Warriors - represented by the youth of Bountiful in the Bountiful Handcart Days Parade on 7/20/12. The Book of Mormon account tells of 2,060 who were all preserved. They were valiant young men who said they did not doubt - their mothers knew. This parade entry was amazing. I am so happy I was there. It was a moving experience. Book of Mormon, Alma 57: 19-27

19 And now behold, as they never had hitherto been a disadvantage to the Nephites, they became now at this period of time also a great support; for they took their weapons of war, and they would that Helaman should be their leader.

20 And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.

21 Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him.

22 And now it came to pass that Helaman did march at the head of his two thousand stripling soldiers, to the support of the people in the borders of the land on the south by the west sea. (Alma 53:19-22)

25 And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand and sixty, who had fainted because of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.

26 And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe—that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power.

27 Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually. (Alma 57: 25-27)

And Captain Moroni's Title of Liberty made an appearance...

12 And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it— In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.

13 And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land— (Alma 46:12-13)

This was one of the highlights of my life. I am so privileged to have been a witness to this march. I feel confident about the youth who defend our faith.

:(

8 U.S. Religious Wonders Worth Seeing

Check them out here on CNN. I have seen two of these: St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and of course, the Salt Lake Temple (cool that it made this prestigious list). I may just have to put the others on my list of dream destinations. That means Illinois, California, Michigan, Florida, West Virginia, and back to New York. Yes!

Somebody That I Used to Know

"The spiritual part of us and the emotional part of us are so closely linked that it is possible to mistake an emotional impulse for something spiritual."  Boyd K. Packer

And they say Fox News doesn't tell it like it is...

 Brent Bozell, President
Media Research Center

     The three television broadcast networks completely ignored tens of thousands of Americans who participated in more than 160 coordinated noontime rallies in support of religious freedom across the United States this past Friday, according to a new Media Research Center analysis. The networks didn’t commit a single second of coverage on either their morning or evening broadcasts to the widespread dissent against the anti-religious freedom Health and Human Services mandate.
     By comparison, CBS News dedicated four separate on-air segments between May 30 and June 1 to the supporters of a group of left-leaning Catholic nuns. CBS correspondent Wyatt Andrews boasted that, "hundreds of Catholics have rallied behind the sisters," and that "protests in support of the nuns have been held in almost 50 cities,” a fraction of the size and scope of the rallies held in opposition to the Obamacare mandate created to restrict religious liberty.
This disgraceful decision by the networks to deliberately ignore this national demonstration in support of religious freedom comes only weeks after these same networks deliberately and shamefully ignored the largest legal action ever taken against the government by the Catholic Church in the history of this Republic. CBS committed only 19 seconds of a single nightly newscast to those lawsuits while NBC and ABC gave the story ZERO coverage. This is a pointed and deliberate message from the liberal media directed at the millions of Americans who believe in our constitutionally protected freedom of religion.
     Let there be no mistake. These so-called 'news' networks only cover stories that are helpful to Barack Obama and will not broadcast anything that hurts his chances of re-election this November. The networks have shown their hand, and they are not on the side of freedom.

Other side of the Anti-Mormon coin...

Things that make you go hmmmmn the night...  Read this discussion reported by Joseph Walker in the Deseret News:

Mormonism is different, but is it too Christian?

 

Mormon bashing - acceptable prejudice?

Good article by a non-LDS Christian academic, Thomas C. Terry is found here in Inside Higher Ed.  It's worth reading.  He does a brilliant job defending the church without being untrue to his own.  He asserts:

Many of the academics consider themselves liberal, socially responsible, and broad-minded individuals, the repository of the best in America. They’re proud of themselves for voting for Barack Obama (a bit too smug maybe?). They would splutter and bluster and be generally outraged to be considered prejudiced. None would consider saying anything similar about African-Americans, Muslims, Jews, Native Americans . . . well, you get the idea. But anti-Mormonism is part of the same continuum that contains discrimination against any group. Why, then, is it allowable publicly express bias against Mormons?

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/05/29/essay-about-prejudice-academe-against-mormons#ixzz1weHpPOkO

Memorial Day

Defining the LDS Church

 Speaking of reporters who don't bother to do the real homework for their reporting of LDS beliefs and doctrine... while crediting some with fair and balanced reporting, Richard Eyre writes:

     "But unfortunately, there are many, many others who really seem to think “the Mormons are fair game” and who seem to feel that their reporting will be more sensational if they focus on sources “with an edge,” which often means sourcing our critics, our splinter groups and those who have completely or partly broken with the church for various reasons.
     And we let them get away with it. Maybe we are a little too nice and a little too forgiving. If media wrote or reported the same kinds of things (or used the same flawed sources) about other religions, they would instantly be branded at best as politically incorrect and at worst as bigots."

"If more journalists and commentators would take the time to really do their homework, to talk not only to the “official” church but to a few of its regular, everyday faithful members, they would portray us as less weird and more exceptional."

My feelings exactly.   Please go to the source.  What has happened to journalism, and being objective, avoiding bias?  What about "abundance mentality".  There is enough to go around.  Why do some insist on tearing us down.  Does it really make someone else look better?  What it really does is makes the reporter look lazy and, yes, biased.

Mom's Day - that's me!

All the local kids threw me a picnic at the park for Mother's Day.  Missing:  The Japanese family and Jon's kids who were with their mom.  Missing mom from the photos:  Jenn - she was behind the camera, but she was there.

Heather & Jon

Justin, Steve, Aubrey, Adam, Natalie, Max and me, Krista

Max and me

Max, me and Suki

Max said to his mom, "Suki drinks water.  And Suki likes to eat her yucky chocolate chips."   I hope he knows they're yucky because that's what we've always told him to stop him from playing with and/or trying to eat her dog food.  I want to believe he didn't actually find out for himself about that....

Josh and his mom, Aubrey

Justin, Krista, Aubrey (with Olivia in the background)

Aubrey, Me, Max and Josh

Fred with the boys.  Everyone wants a dad like that.

More photos on Grandma's Brag Blog (invitation)

Shots from the Play

Adam's homeschool Shakespeare class (SDLA) performed Much Ado About Nothing.   This is Adam's second year in Shakespeare and he has made great strides in his stage performance.  He has more confidence and is really enjoying himself.  That's him being captured.

Jennifer was very involved with every aspect of the play, from sets and scenery to costumes (she designed) to make-up to rehearsals.  Emma got to be in this scene (below) as an extra at the wedding.

Emma here in front - dark hair, red flowered kimono

Jenn designed and I sewed many of the costumes

Jenn researched making "armor" on the internet - very effective!

Adam on the right

Adam

Natalie sewed the gold costume

Dads helped with carpentry, including this footbridge.  Jenn found the bamboo and lanterns, as well as many other treasures.

Ken built a little shrine for the show.  It was beautiful.  I'm hoping to find a picture of it.  This was truly a whole family event.

Behind the scenes

Much work happens around the stage.  Little geishas Kess and Emma with Olivia at the souvenir table.

Jon took cast photos for display.

Emma loved the make-up.  Her mom was involved in every aspect of the show.

Geishas Kess, Emma and Kaycia

Itty bitty blossoms...

Adam's checking out the stage sets - dads were carpenters

Emma loved being involved, even as an "extra"

David, staying to the bitter end cleaning up the Green Room (costumes and make-up here)

Emma's 5 minutes of fame

Many hours of sewing

A few of the costumes

Adam as a model - he was a good sport

Fred - we'll take a model wherever we can get one

More costumes finished

 The making of a cherry tree...

Noah and Adam

Noah

 

The Main Set

Everybody worked very hard for a fine production.  I'll post more of the play later.