March 12 may seem like a small and insignificant day. But in 1894 it was the first day that Coca-Cola was sold in glass bottles. Additionally, in 2003 it was the day Elizabeth Smart was rescued. As I researched this day for this article, Elizabeth Smart’s rescue stood out to me as the most significant. I remember the day she was kidnapped. I live in Utah, and it was all over the news. Her heartbroken family was pleading for her... Read more
Today in the news they announced the final autopsy results for both Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa. Betsy died about a week before Gene of the Hantavirus, and then Gene passed away from advanced Alzheimers followed by a heart attack. Gene was 95 and Betsy was 65. Although the news of their passing is very sad, it’s a little bit sweet that they got to pass so close together. They are together again in eternity. After a 35-year... Read more
Every Sunday we have a Sacrament Meeting. It’s a vital time of reflection, repentance, and renewal of our baptismal covenants. Did you know you are committing yourself to support your neighbors in that sacred ordinance? I want to discuss the blessings and commitments we make every Sunday during the ordinance of the Sacrament. Before we get into the details, I’d like to share the prayers said over the Sacrament. There is one for the bread and one for the water.... Read more
We recently had our Ward conference. That is when all the Stake leaders (leaders over many congregations) come to our congregation and share uplifting messages. This time, their message was to prepare for the Second Coming. It inspired me so much that I needed to tell you all about it. Our Stake president told us he had recently attended a five-hour training meeting with 250 other stake presidents in the Salt Lake Valley. Their topic was preparing the saints for... Read more
Editors Note: This article is written in conjunction with RootsTech’s “World’s Largest Family Discovery Event,” which will be held March 6-8. Learn more about it here. Family Search, which is sponsoring the event, invites anyone who is interested in researching their family history to participate in free online sessions. I’ve been a member of the church my whole life. As I was growing up, my ancestors were just stories. But then a few years ago we moved to Utah for my husband’s job,... Read more
I was asked recently what my favorite scriptures are that guide my home life. Wow! That is deep. Well, the first thing that came to my mind are the 10 commandments. My sarcastic side remembers how often I wanted to kill my family growing up. But clearly, that is laid out in the top 10 instructions from God- ‘thou shalt not kill’. And teenage me was constantly chanting that to myself when dealing with my 3 teenage, stinky brothers. Love... Read more
Prayer Brings Blessings I have recently been praying for the world more than usual. And in my personal study I came across a Conference talk that triggered a memory that I want to share about the power of prayer, and the blessings it brings in my life. Not only that, but the blessings prayer will bring to your life. The talk was given by Elder Jeffery R Holland in 1999. And it’s called “An High Priest of Good Things to... Read more
I have been looking forward to Inside Out 2 for weeks! My family loved Inside Out so much that my son had us watching it daily until I memorized large portions of it. I can still sing the Bing Bong song at the drop of a hat. And in the preview, when Anxiety asks where to put her things and holds up all that baggage? I laughed my head off because my anxiety comes with SO much baggage! But when... Read more
April 25th is National Take Your Kids To Work Day. When I was a kid, I got to go to work with my Dad a few times. He was a research food chemist before he retired. His education was in the food sciences. He worked at NutraSweet at the time. I loved seeing all the cool machines, and the labs. They had a sample food processing plant where they tested things before taking them to the full processing plant. They... Read more
When I was a young mother, I was physically exhausted. I was sure that parenting would get easier as my son got older. But nobody told me that teens are way harder than babies to parent. You go from physically exhausted to emotionally exhausted. And there is so much drama! One kid is trying to make another look bad to make them look good. And as a parent, there is nothing you can do about the mess except try to... Read more
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