My cousin Garth told me this week that his youngest daughter-in-law is in the U.S. illegally. I knew Maria was from Mexico, but Garth’s news surprised me. “You know, I’ve had strong feelings about this kind of thing for a long time,” he said. “But, since knowing Maria, I’m changing my mind. She’s a good [...]
Last week, I received two books from Amazon, Peter Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard and Alan Watts’ The Wisdom of Insecurity. When I went to place these books in the Buddhist section of my “to read” shelf, I discovered I already had copies. I obviously need to spend less time buying and more time reading. Naturally, [...]
This winter I’ve enjoyed two exciting armchair cruises First, The Sea and the Jungle, a nearly forgotten book by H.M. Tomlinson, published in 1912. In 1909 Tomlinson, a British journalist, took a job as purser on a freighter carrying equipment to the navigable limits of the Amazon River and its tributary. Tomlinson’s prose is haunting. [...]
At lunch yesterday, my friend Susa said, “I asked my sister why she has no non-LDS friends. Do you know what she said? ‘I have nothing in common with them.’” Susa’s sister made the same statement about non-Mormons that I make about women in my ward, “I have nothing in common with them.” And it’s [...]
Last week my ESL volunteer assignment was changed to a group class, “Empowering Parents,” held at a Salt Lake City elementary school. My students are Spanish-speaking women who have little contact with English-speaking Americans. Those with babies and preschoolers bring their children, of course. Lupe’s 3-year-old son got bored during class, so I handed him [...]
Young Mormon feminists, frustrated with the limited role of women in the Church today, should be grateful they missed the rhetoric of an earlier generation. I was married in the ‘60s when the evils of birth control were preached loudly from the pulpit and “working mothers” was uttered with the same tone used for the [...]
Mitt Romney has been criticized as unauthentic by many pundits. Most recently, David Brooks called him, “other-directed.” Mormons should not be surprised that one of our own is reluctant to express his own thoughts. We are trained in Church meetings to say what is acceptable to the group. We are “nice.” We have good manners. [...]
Our home teacher threw a dinner party Saturday night for the families he home teaches. George and I enjoyed getting together with ward members with whom we are not well-acquainted—thanks to our sporadic church attendance. It was an especially good night for Gerald and Joanne who live several blocks away. He suffers dementia, but enjoyed [...]
A popular Mormon hymn, More Holiness Give Me, begins each of 30 phrases with the word, “more.” Granted, most of the requests are for spiritual gifts such as more faith, patience, gratitude, and purity. Each desire correlates with Joseph Smith’s definition of the word “mormon” as meaning “more good.”* The Doctrine of More is very [...]
