Quick vid
It took me a while to watch this, because I like The Cure so much, and this song of theirs, and I was worried I would judge it too harshly. I think they did a nice job with it. Good harmony on the chorus and the toy piano was a cute touch. Plus I’m always a sucker for well done accoustic guitar…
Fires in France–cover of Just Like Heaven on Youtube
A friend sent me this Youtube link, which does not have a video to watch, but it plays the audio with a static picture.
Smash–Second Hand White Baby Grand
…the tiger is also a Catholic.
We enjoyed a small presentation by our ward mission leader about the mormon.org campaign and how it will be rolling out in our area soon. We viewed sample videos and discussed statistics. Stephen Colbert caught some of the previously released material and found it quite compelling. It comes in the middle of his segment here (2:10–3:40) but I think you’ll find the entire 5 minutes enjoyable. It’s just not as relevant to our Church lesson….
Gratitude, her first Sacrament Meeting Talk
Hi, I’m Cheanna [...] And I have a few thoughts on gratitude.
There are lots of things that I’m grateful for, for example, I’m grateful for my family, my friends, my teachers, School, the gospel, Mutual, and books. Definitely books. Gratitude helps us to recognize and realize our blessings, so, Gratitude is something to be… well, grateful for.
The prophet of today says we should have an attitude of gratitude, and, you know, besides being fun to say, it’s pretty good advice. As an example, Lehi’s sons, their attitudes made a lot of difference. Nephi & Sam had attitudes of gratitude, and Laman & Lemuel had an attitude of murmuring which is definitely not an attitude of gratitude.
Different levels of Gratitude can affect your entire life, and all your surroundings, having high levels of gratitude can make things seem a lot more positive. You can choose whether you have a high level, or a low level, or no level of gratitude.
Thomas S. Monson said in his conference talk about Gratitude in October, 2010:
“To express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven.”
I love this quote because I know someone who has gratitude ever in their heart and is always nice to be around.
[His] talk on honoring womanhood
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Hello Brothers and Sisters of the [...] ward, my name is Duncan [...] and I was asked to give a talk on honoring womanhood. This may seem strange as I don’t have any experience with Womanhood but I intend to do what I can.
Womanhood is one of the tougher parts of life I think, because you develop the ability to do what anyone else can do. But because you are a Woman some may not respect your work the way that they would respect a man doing the same thing. This is wrong, but unfortunately it is more common than you might think in these times. As Women in these times in this place you have been granted your Rightful ability to have your own life and have the same rights that any man could have. But these rights are not always respected. And in some places they do not exist at all.
I want to tell you that as Women your work is just as good as anyone else’s regardless of Gender. And don’t let anyone else tell you differently, you may end up doing different work then some men, depending on what you chose to do. But it is no less important. Heavenly Father loves you equally with anyone else. And you are in every way equal to man. The Family: A Proclamation to the world says “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.” and it is the duty of anyone, No matter who they are, to respect that and appreciate what you do for yourself, your family, your ward, the church, your country, and even the world.
Something I take as a sign that Women are valued equally is that The First recorded time that Jesus identifies himself as the Messiah was to a woman, and his disciples wondered why he would waste his time talking to her, but Jesus knew that she was just as much a child of God as they were.
The fifth commandment is to honor your father and your mother. And I thought about this and decided that one meaning it could have is that if I respect my mother and father then I am more likely to listen when they try to tell me or show me something that will help me in my life. So that’s just one of the ways that my life is made easier and better when I keep the Lord’s commandments.
And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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Two points of clarification–this talk is Duncan’s and Duncan’s alone. He let us read it before he delivered it but Richard & I did not edit it, nor did we desire that power. The inspiration he received, including the clever introduction, is pure Duncan, continuing our family tradition of the children writing all of their own talks in Primary.
Second, we were very pleased with his efforts, no matter how awkward it seemed to be as a subject or how uncomfortable the audience may have been, to broach the topic of honoring womanhood from a male perspective. Many others appreciated it as well, given the numerous compliments he received that day (and others that have come to me since then).
Easter Thoughts
Lynnette over at Zelophehad’s Daughters has compiled many quotes about Easter that I found to be quite enjoyable.
Hilarity at New Cool Thang
I had a good laugh as I read this post by Kent (MC), New Sayings for Mormon Walls (and Decorative Tiles) Be sure to scroll down through the comments for additional humorous suggestions.
My friend Ajoy has one up in her kitchen, and I’m biffing it due to poor memory,
“Many people have eaten in this very kitchen and no one has died yet”
(Ajoy if you’ll leave the quote in a comment, I’ll update the post with the accurate phrasing)
In the way of full disclosure, I do have a pink heart vinyl lettered wall that hangs (or will once we finish painting) with our family photos:
All Because Two People Fell In Love”
Emma Catharine’s Primary Talk 26 July 2009
I strengthen my family by reading the scriptures. It will strengthen my family because we will learn more about the heroes and about Heavenly Father.
I strengthen my family by helping others. Because I’m helping others, I’m doing what God wants me to do. Serving together helps us have blessings from working together.
I strengthen my family by protecting them. Now I can tell my family when something bad is going to happen because the Holy Ghost will tell me, because I got baptized in February.
I strengthen my family by praying to Heavenly Father, because He is always there for me when I need Him. He will always be there to protect them too.
These are a few ways I can strengthen my family. By keeping my family together, we will be strong and eternal.
what would you say? (LDS oriented)
The Baron’s post this week over at Waters of Mormon, Block-Hour Smackdown: Sunday School vs. Auxiliary Hour, takes a good look at both sides of the popularity and practicality of post-Sacrament church meetings.
I’m curious to know what you would say, my dear reader, if you had your way.
What’s the answer?
I can tell you I’m grateful that I’m not on the 3-6pm block at our building here–yikes!
Come one and all to see the birthday girl!
by Emma Catharine
Come one and all to see the birthday girl Cheanna! Her birthday is today, June 7th. She is turning ten years old today!
I like to be her little sis a lot. And I bet she likes to be a big sis.