Watch a Movie on BYU TV

I got a postcard in the mail that The Errand of Angels, a recent movie about Sister missionaries will be shown Thanksgiving weekend on BYU TV. You can tune in on Thanksgiving at 6pm (mountain time) or Friday at 9pm (mountain time). This movie was advertised heavily in Utah this summer but didn't make it here for even a day that I saw. I've been wanting to see it and, around here, I would be surprised if I was able to rent it anywhere. Although, Hollywood Video will often carry the LDS movies but they're pretty inconsistent.

So, set the DVR and enjoy! Hopefully it's just not the female version of The Best Two Years.

I *heart* Missionaries

Mark and I went to an open house for our mission. The mission offices are in our building so we didn't have far to go. Leaders from across the whole mission were invited to that event and the hosts and hostesses were the missionaries.

There was a brief presentation and part of it was a group of Elders singing a hymn a capella. As the mother of sons, it brings tears to my eyes to see a group of handsome young elders sing like that - and actually ENJOY IT! They all grinned all the way through.

Between the ages of 19 and 21, there are so many things a young man COULD be doing. Yet, so many young men in our church chose to take those first "adult" years and serve the Lord.

Anyone who faults the LDS church for anything needs to get to know our missionaries. They are amazing young men {and women} . Yes, that can do bone-head things at times but they have such power and strength of spirit when they teach the gospel. They are truly unique in this world. And, they will be so much farther ahead on the maturity scale than other young men {and women} their age when they return home.

My nephew just recently left for his mission in Utah. The first letters home have caused us all to wonder if he was mysteriously replaced with an alien because they don't sound like him. He's doing foreign things like STUDYING {and enjoying it} and saying he LOVES his parents. We think someone is writing his letters FOR HIM. But, we're all thrilled. He's been out only a few weeks and already, the boy is turning into a man! We can't wait to see his growth in 2 years.

Having him out is a great blessing out our family as we get the opportunity to help support him. Our boys get to hear about his mission and that will help them be excited about their own someday.

In some ways, I can't WAIT for my boys to serve, {some days I wish they sent tweens} but I know that I'll be blubbering with the best of them when I watch them walk through the door at the MTC. But for now, we're teaching them that they need to make the decision to serve now and not let anything stand in their way {like girls}.

One thing that has been important in our home is for Mark to share his mission stories, photos and journals with the boys. Mark served in Denmark and when the boys are a little older, we have a plan to take them there. We want them to see where their dad served and get excited about their own mission. We gave my nephew a mission journal before he left and told him to keep a good journal because someday, he'll want to share those important experiences with his own children to encourage them to make the right choice themselves when they are of age to do so.

Now she's packing heat...

Remember our Harley-ridin' RS Pres? Now she's packing "heat". Yes, she's armed and {not so} dangerous. I'll never miss another Presidency Meeting and I told Mark to make sure to take care of the RS calling requests FIRST. :-)

It's Tithing Settlement time...

We'll miss him...

Tithing settlement means that we don't see Mark until about mid-December. It really messes with our schedules. We can't plan anything Tues-Thurs nights and Sunday evenings for the next month.

My advice is to sign up as soon as you can. The entire Bishopric including the executive secretary and the ward financial clerk are tied up with this until it's done. There are half a dozen families on hold through a busy and festive time of year. As it was, I made Mark cancel everything on Wednesday night so we can take our family to see The Forgotten Carols here in town.

I'm not complaining, I'm just doing a PSA for Bishops - go early and fill in the holes so their time is used efficiently.

I asked Mark how the church expects Bishops to get everything done that is asked of them and he said, "I think they only call Bishops for 5-6 years because they know they will literally wear them out in that time. You work as hard as you can during that time knowing you'll never get it all done no matter what you do. In the meantime, you age about 10 years just with the trying."

I think the time table is also based on the fact that a woman can be patient for only so long... :-)

Those who protest are ignorant of our history...

I'm shocked but not surprised at the protests against the passing of Prop 8 that are specifically directed against the LDS church. First of all, Mormons make up only 2% of the total California population. We didn't pass this alone. We are, just as in most things, just very organized. That organization alone has made us a target.

Someone on a TV show said today that the will of the majority being forced on a minority was unconstitutional. She said that the Constitution was there to protect minorities. REALLY? I thought it was "equal protection under the law" and that it was for ALL Americans. And, yes, in a democracy where we get to vote, the minority doesn't often rule. That's as it should be. We have a right as Americans to collectively define American culture. Apparently, marriage between one man and one woman is one of those things we clearly stand together on. That doesn't mean we are bigots, it just means we are preserving traditional values. This wasn't a vote against homosexuals, it was a vote FOR MARRIAGE as it stands today. In my opinion, this isn't a civil rights issue. We HAVE equal rights. I can't marry a woman either. Everyone has the right to marry a person of the opposite sex regardless of race, religion or even orientation. It's equal.

Those that are protesting don't understand that the LDS church was in a similar spot in 1890. We had practiced plural marriage - a form of marriage as old as time itself and still practiced today in many countries. Well, the opinion of the majority of Americans was that it was wrong. So, without even a VOTE on it, the U.S. government imposed their will on a tiny minority of Americans in the form of the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act. Then that was followed up by the ever popular Edmunds-Tucker Act. Both were specifically formulated laws against the LDS church. How many would tolerate a law specifically AGAINST ANY minority group today? Yet, it happened to us many, many times. They said, "If you want to become a state, you give up the practice of plural marriage." And, guess what we did? We quietly gave up the practice of plural marriage. We didn't stage protests. We didn't shoot out church windows or burn sacred books or call people names. We just complied - and continue to comply (although I often tell my husband I could really use a good wife... :-)

Yet, interestingly, I have heard some (not in our church) say that if you allow marriage between two men or two women, then the next logical step is to legalize PLURAL marriage. If "anything goes" in the definition of marriage, then that makes sense. But, I've heard homosexuals decry that form of marriage as "unnatural" and that they will NEVER support it. Why not? Why not marriage between two first cousins? It's extremely common in most parts of the world yet illegal in all but about 2 states in this country. Again, "no way - that's sick!" What makes THEIR position any more "right" than than the position of those of us supporting traditional marriage or those who want to have more than one wife or those (like a couple in our neighborhood) who fell in love with their first cousin? It's a slippery slope into a bottom-less pit.

Anyway, I expect this fight will come to my state in the very near future. I just wish that those who protest against the LDS church understood our history. We've been where you are and we handled it very differently. The will of the majority in this country is what shapes the country. Sometimes we need to just accept and move on rather than letting our lives be consumed with hatred towards others.

It's Party Time

Once again it's time for Mark's Holiday party at work. It's always a bit of a dilemma for us because frankly, Mark and I are sort of viewed as the "kill-joys" of the group. The upper management and their spouses always do something during December. Because it's a mix of Christians and Jews, they always go sort of holiday neutral - which is fine. But, it often seems to be tricky for us.

Two years ago they chose to go to a local dinner theater show. It was on a weeknight which was a problem for us since it would be a late night and therefore hard to get a babysitter. But, the other dilemma was that this show was somewhere between PG-13 and R-rated in the humor. So, after really not much discussion between us, Mark told his boss that we wouldn't be attending. It was sort of awkward because the tickets were purchased before anyone was even told where we would be going. But, we just didn't feel good spending the evening watching essentially "bawdy" vaudeville circus acts.

Last year, they chose something different. We went to a very nice restaurant downtown. That was a lovely evening and I have no problem sitting around with people having a glass of wine with dinner. But, some of them drank, and drank, and drank, and drank to the point where it was embarrassing. BECAUSE of the alcohol which we all knew would flow freely, they took us to the restaurant in a "party bus" which was an old transit bus with most of the seats removed for a dance floor and disco lights flashing. The ride down was nice, but the ride back was, well, a little, ummmm, "interesting". Pretty much everyone had at least a buzz and some were just sloppy drunk. We survived, though, and appreciated the night out.

This year, they chose another really upscale restaurant. But the only night they could get reservations was on Sunday. So, once again, we said, "Have fun!" (and we really mean that) and will bow out again.

Of course, there is a lot of "we'll make it up to you" going on. Honestly, while I appreciate that sentiment, we really don't care. We don't need to have an equal share of holiday festivities. I hope they have a great evening.

The challenge is that when you do something like this, you're never really sure if it sort of becomes a "black mark" against you at work. I know that some at work don't "get" where Mark's coming from. He doesn't drink and he will often ask people to not swear in his presence. And, that's not the culture at his place of employment.

But, you hope that you are blessed for standing for your convictions and that your example will have an impact on others. It's not easy to stand up for what you believe at times. Sometimes it's downright uncomfortable. But it's important. I think Latter-Day Saints will be required to stand up and be strong more and more as the days move forward. Look what's happening California and now Utah. Will you be willing to stand up and be counted or will you shrink to the back of the crowd and hang-out with them but be silent about your convictions?

I thought I escaped the drama...

My mom was one of those women who, in a fit of anger, would yell, "I HOPE YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER JUST LIKE YOU SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT I'VE GONE THROUGH!!!!!!!!!!" (only she used *ahem* "stronger" language than that at times)

So, what did I do? I didn't have any daughters. SO THERE! Mom.

The weird thing is that I don't remember being THAT BAD! Maybe my memory has dimmed with age, but aside from wishing my brother was dead for being his eternal victim for whatever rotten thing he wanted to do to me, I don't remember having a tumultuous relationship with my mother or slamming doors or being over-the-top ridiculous with the theatrics.

But, I still received a portion of THE CURSE as I call it. I have an 11 year old son who is more than making up for any lack of a daughter.

He is the DRAMA KING.

He waffles in between telling all his 5th grad friends that they will LOVE Middle School and sitting at the breakfast table with his head on it crying that, "I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HATE IT! HATE IT! HAAAAAAATE ITTTTTT!!!!!!"

I assume that some of it is hormones that are starting to kick up. But, most of it is just him. Add to that his extreme lack of organizational skills and his impression that the universe doesn't have a clock by which anyone has to operate and I sometimes wonder if he'll be living with us until he dies.

He's a great kid, but he's really, really stubborn and when things don't go his way, he pops a cork. We just continually try to channel that stubbornness for good and not for drama.

This parenthood stuff is hard. We should warn the others.

No kidding....

It's amazing to me that society thinks that nothing's true unless there's a study done somewhere. Common sense doesn't seem to be that common anymore.

Consider this news story: LINK. Imagine that, teenage girls watching Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City are MORE LIKELY to do things that cause them to end up pregnant! Shocking... who would have EVER made that connection???!!!! It's a good thing they did a study to point that out to us!

I remember seeing an interview with Sarah Jessica Parker a few years ago when Sex and the City was at the top of it's game. She said she would be out walking around NYC and young girls would come up to her and say, "Ohhh, I LOVE Sex and the City!!!!" She said she always wanted to slap the parents. It was definitely not a show that teen-aged girls should be watching.

How many years have leaders of our church been telling us to be careful about what we let into our homes and careful about what we watch in theaters? Now we have "proof" of what we already know.

What's next? A study on violent video games and violence among young men? Nahhhh.... oh wait, it's been proven but no one wants to listen.

I need an appointment to see the Bishop...

A friend sent me this - I laughed so hard. I always threaten Mark that I'm going to set up an appointment with his executive secretary so I can see him. I never miss tithing settlement, it's our 15 minute date for the month of December.

On the Sunday before New Year's Day, a new Bishop told the congregation that when he had been made Bishop, he had set a goal of visiting every family in the ward before the year ended.

Apologizing that he had not met this goal, he asked anyone to raise their hand if they had been missed and really needed a visit before the end of the year.

Only one person raised her hand---the Bishop's wife.