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Happy America 250!

I don’t know about the rest of the country, but here in Utah we managed to have a fun Independence Day yesterday without turning the occasion into a petty political football.

At the city parade, we were next to a family of a dozen or so people who all had water guns (the far-shooting machine-gun kind, along with five-gallon buckets of water to refill them) and shot at everyone in the parade. It was 90 degrees F and we were near the end of the parade route, so while a few participants flinched away from the water, most were more than happy to get a little wet. A lot of them waved their arms around and yelled, “Shoot me!” Some came closer and spun in a circle while the kids blasted them from all sides, and two or three even asked if they could dunk their hats, or their whole heads, in the water buckets. The local grocery store gave away ice cream, the marchers threw candy to the kids, Paul Revere rode by on a white horse, and George Washington crossed the Delaware in a boat on a float. It was the most fun I’ve had at the city parade in years.

#America 250 #Independence Day

From the “About the Hynns” section of the Gospel Library app:

“The author of ‘Oh, How Great Is Our Joy,’ Andres C. Gonzales, was among the first native Mexicans to serve a full-time mission in Mexico. Elder Gonzalez had a fine singing voice, and one day in 1910, while preaching on a street corner in Mexico City, he and his companion decided to sing a hymn to draw more listeners. They chose ‘In the Sweet By and By,” a well-known Christian hymn about returning to our beautiful heavenly home. But instead of attracting people who were interested in hearing their message, Elder Gonzalez and his companion soon found themselves surrounded by a group of angry people who demanded that they stop singing. These people felt that the hymn belonged to them and that the missionaries shouldn’t be singing it. They brought the police, who threw the missionaries in jail.

“Not knowing when he would see his wife and family again, Elder Gonzalez pleaded with the Lord for protection and deliverance. During the dark night, he felt inspired to write new lyrics for the hymn, expressing the joy of sharing the Lord’s love and light as missionaries. After they were released, Elder Gonzalez and his companion returned to the same street corner. When the angry people came back, they found the missionaries singing the familiar tune with completely different words. This hymn has appeared in the Church’s Spanish-language hymnal since 1912.”

Now it’s in the new English-language hymnal, and we sang it last week in church for the first time. It’s always nice to know the story behind a hymn!

#Gospel music #The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints #Youtube

”Remember always that miracles do not provide knowledge. They are an evidence of something we already know.”

—Martin P. Fernandez at a stake conference, 6/14/26

Even many people who witnessed the miracles of Jesus weren’t convinced by them. That’s why the Savior said “signs shall follow them that believe” (Mark 16:17) and not the other way around.

“The time will come when no man or woman will be able to endure on borrowed light.”

—Heber C. Kimball

Waiting for someone else to “prove it to you” will have you waiting forever, in other words.

#the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints #Quotes

From the sculpture display at Ashton Gardens, Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah. A bronze statue of the risen Christ, cleverly designed to appear floating above the ground. The title plaque attached to a nearby rock reads “‘Mary’—John 20:11-18.”

#One of my favorites #The Living Christ #The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Favorite scriptures #1: Isaiah 53:3-5

…or, as quoted in the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 14: 3-5:

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

Isaiah is my favorite Old Testament book, and his quotations are some of my favorite Book of Mormon chapters. I love how he uses Hebrew poetry to say true things in a beautiful way, especially about the Savior.

#Scriptures #Book of Isaiah #Book of Mormon #The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

”As covenant-keeping Latter-day Saint women, the truth about us seems to be in short supply.”

(Reminds me of a quote from the American humorist Josh Billings [d. 1885]: “As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.”)

Also: “Seek truth where it can be found—in the temple, the scriptures, the teachings of prophets, and the whisperings of the Spirit.”

#Youtube #The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints #Sheri Dew #I’ve been listening to her talks for 27 years now

From the newest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

#The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints #Videos #Gerald Causse #Youtube

Favorite quote: “When we consider the character of the Savior, we tend to focus immediately on His attributes, such virtue, integrity, humility, compassion, and courage, but we should also consider, What is it in Jesus that gives rise to such character traits? I believe they are the natural fruit of the thoughts, desires, and intents of His heart. Christlike character grows out of a Christlike heart. Thus, if we are to succeed in developing a Christlike character, we must possess His motivations—His thoughts, desires, and intents of the heart. For us, it will require what the scriptures call a mighty change of heart.”

#General Conference #D. Todd Christofferson #Youtube

This being Fast (and Testimony) Sunday—i.e., the first Sunday of the month—I’ll just leave this here: I love God and His Gospel, and the scriptures that teach about it, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ that manifests it. Which I say in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

#There’s more to it but this will do for now #Testimony

One of the most re-listenable talks from the October 4, 2025 session. He’s just so earnest!

Best quotes:

“We are agents, and agents are responsible for something. In this case, we are responsible for the choices we make based on the knowledge we have and gifts we are given. We cannot make a choice without being responsible for the consequences. Why do we have agency? To choose good. To choose Christ. To choose eternal life—again and again.”

“A testimony should not have an expiration date. It should not weaken or diminish because something in my life has changed or something in the world has changed. It should get stronger because, like the servant’s talents in the parable of the talents [Matthew 25:14-30], my personal testimony is a gift to be multiplied, not buried.”

“It is worth every effort to pursue this path to testimony. Who or what will you allow to take that away?”

#General Conference #October 2025 #Videos #Edited to add the actual video…#Youtube

There are clips and highlights and then there’s the whole thing. This is the whole thing.

#Handel’s Messiah #Easter music #Tabernacle choir #Youtube

My favorite hymn from the Easter section of the (current) hymnbook.

#Easter music #Tabernacle Choir #A little late but life happened #Youtube

Easter Music

Easter may not have a much music written for it as Christmas (I plan to truly go nuts with the music when Christmas gets close, say around early November), but I will post links to some of the best Easter music as the day gets closer. The post before this one is from a whole Tabernacle Choir Messiah playlist on YouTube; Handel’s Messiah is unusually accessible because it is sung in English, and if the Bible texts are unfamiliar, it’s easy enough to find them online in as many translations as you want.

#Easter music #Easter

I've read about ancient Roman religion, which was very mechanistic--almost scientific, in that it guaranteed a certain result if the ritual (or input) was done correctly. We laugh at the idea today, but I think many people want nothing more than that from a religion--easy, guaranteed output from a certain input. Almost like an app.

The religion I follow, on the other hand, offers not an app, but a relationship with a living Being. More work, for sure, but an infinitely greater return.

#Religion #In general I guess

I’ll keep this simple to start with, because I haven’t blogged like this before. I’m what it says up there in the title, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As such, I believe (and have read, both of them multiple times) the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and most of all in Jesus Christ.

#Testimony #A basic one

“Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the ‘high priest of good things to come’ (Hebrews 9:11).” —Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, January 2010

#Elder Jeffrey R. Holland #I see I need to set up some standard tagging system…

“Our part is to follow the Christ… The blessings are within reach. The promises are in place. The door is wide open. It is our choice to enter and begin.” —Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October 2025

#General Conference quotes #Dieter F. Uchtdorf

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