by paulah | Aug 31, 2013 | About Mormons
Like many people, I have a bucket list of places I’d like to visit before I die. I also have a list of places I like to visit now. Some places on my list are unique to me and my personality. I can connect at least eight of them to my heritage or my life as a Mormon woman. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often inadvertently called the Mormon Church). These eight places are loved at least in part because the gospel of Jesus Christ has helped me learn to love them. Jesus often used the everyday, common objects and occurrences of life to teach his parables. My favorite eight places are listed (but not ranked) below.
Fabric Stores. Sewing is in my blood. My maternal great-grandmother, Karen, learned the dressmaking and men’s tailoring trades from her father when she was raised in Denmark. She taught her daughter Elsie (my grandmother) to sew. My grandmother, who was mother to nine daughters and four sons, made clothes for each of her children. My mother also learned to sew and taught me basic skills as I grew up. She required me to take a sewing class in high school. I loved to explore the stacks of fabric that she stored in one of her bedroom closets. She regularly let me pick fabric from her stash to make clothes for my dolls or myself. I also loved sifting through her large tin of buttons. (more…)
by janm | Dec 26, 2012 | About Mormons
Grief is an individual thing. It must have its deep days; it will not be short-changed and it cannot be designed by another. It takes up residence and is resistant to leave.
Letting go is the hardest part. How do you let go of that last goodbye or unrealized dreams of the future?
How do you return to normal when nothing will ever feel normal again?
When someone you love dies unexpectedly, you wonder why the sun is shining. How dare the world move on when it has come to a halt for you? (more…)
by brady | Feb 13, 2012 | About Mormons, Mormon Beliefs: Christian Values
By Jan Mayer, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . As a “Mormon woman,” Jan is a graduate of BYU and mother of five children. She has written for numerous publications, including The Denver Post, The Villager and NorthStar.
It must have been strange to see me–a 10- year old girl– kneeling on a lawn next to a busy street. It was on the long walk home from school that I wondered if I could talk to Heavenly Father at any time, like my Sunday School Teacher said. Although I had prayed many times at home and at meetings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it had never felt this personal before.
On that day, I told Heavenly Father that I was embarrassed to kneel out in the open, that I wasn’t sure what to say. Then, seeking for some purpose, I prayed to get home safely…feeling dumb because of course, I would get home safely…it was only a few blocks and I’d been safe every other day. (more…)
by | Nov 29, 2011 | About Mormons, Mormon Beliefs: Christian Values
By Eric Kotter, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormon“). A student at BYU-Idaho studying communications, and freelance writer.
When Jesus Christ was on the earth He gave bread and wine to His twelve apostles and said, “This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:19-20).
Holy Communion: A Symbol of Jesus Christ’s Atoning Sacrifice
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”) I participate each week during worship services in an ordinance called the sacrament. The sacrament is similar to Holy Communion which many other faiths participate in. One difference between the Holy Communion that Mormons participate in, and Catholic Communion, is that we do not believe in the doctrine of transubstantiation, which is a belief that the bread and wine literally turn into the blood and body of Jesus Christ as the person partakes. We believe that Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament, the bread and wine, to represent His body and blood, which were given to us as a sacrifice to lift the burden and judgments of our sins, trials and weaknesses as we follow Him. We partake of the sacrament as symbols of what He did for us. Partaking of the sacrament is a blessing Jesus Christ gave to His followers so they can renew their baptismal covenants to follow Him that they might become clean from their sins.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of modern revelation given by God, the Lord gave us the purpose of the sacrament. The Lord said, “And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:9). (more…)
