by megan | May 7, 2013 | Mormon Reflections
How to Pray
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently referred to as the “Mormon Church”), the doctrine of prayer is not new for me. Since I was born and raised in the Church, my parents taught me how to pray when I was very young. The steps they taught me were to:
- First, address God as Heavenly Father;
- Second, give thanks for His blessings;
- Third, ask for blessings or favors;
- Finally, close in the name of Jesus Christ.
They also taught me that prayers should be sincere, offered with real desire and belief that God was listening. We prayed all the time; as a family in the morning and again at night, blessings on the food, and invocations and benedictions for church meetings. However, it wasn’t until I was in college that I really started to have the meaningful conversations with Heavenly Father that personal prayers are supposed to be, and started to understand why we should pray. (more…)
by Lisa M. | Apr 16, 2013 | Through a Mormon's Eyes
Loss, grief and the process of moving forward are intensely personal and different for each person. Alissa Parker started a blog to chronicle her family’s journey through their grieving process. Alissa and her husband Robbie lost their 6-year-old daughter Emilie in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012. She named her blog “The Parker Five” because “we will always be together as a family,” she wrote.
“Writing is a tool for us to process and articulate our thoughts during this painful and confusing time,” the introduction to her blog begins.
“I felt like there were things that I needed to process and there were things that I needed to articulate,” she said in a Deseret News article titled “Blog helps Utah family deal with loss of daughter in Newton shooting.” “I enjoy photography a lot and I needed a medium that kind of would help me to express myself and I needed to be able to have time to kind of think and process what I was actually feeling and what I was going through.”
“She doesn’t allow comments on her blog for a reason. It’s about her process and about the things she is going through,” the article said.
Alissa said she descended into “a very dark place on the day of the shooting,” according to the article. “This was the deepest hole I had ever been in. I tried to look up and see a way out, but I could barely see any light. I felt this enormous pain inside as I realized a piece of me had been taken away forever, all by one person’s evil act.” (more…)
by byustudent | Apr 9, 2013 | Mormon Reflections
BYU Students Share Letters & Reflections on Scripture
BYU (Brigham Young University) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” As part of their undergraduate coursework, BYU students take multiple semesters of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.
In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures. (more…)
by byustudent | Mar 25, 2013 | About Mormons
G
od is truly our blacksmith. He takes us in His hands and puts us in the fire. This softens us and helps us to be molded, shaped and refined into something we could have never become on our own. This is just like with life. God gives us humbling experiences or trials and “turns the heat up” in order for us to be softened. We are brought to the depths of humility and, once we have turned to Him and put our life in His hands, He can mold, refine and shape us into all that He wants and needs us to be.
I know without a doubt that God lives. I know that He loves us and that these humbling experiences “shall be but a small moment and shall be for our good, and if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high” (Doctrine & Covenants 121:7-8). I am preparing to serve a full-time mission in Lisbon, Portugal, and I know that this will be the hardest thing I have done in my life thus far. This will be one of my “refiner fires” that will help me to be shaped into all God needs and wants me to be as His daughter and an instrument in His hands. (more…)
by byustudent | Mar 25, 2013 | Mormon Reflections
BYU (Brigham Young University) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” As part of their undergraduate coursework, BYU students take multiple semesters of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.
In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures. (more…)
