Consider

“Restore Hope. Restore Curiosity. Restore Connection. Restore You.” ― Restore Gathering As you may already know, I am on the advisory board for Faith Matters. None of the advisors—many who will be speaking at the gathering—are paid. But we do enjoy the opportunity to share with one another our hopes, beliefs, and crazy ideas—despite at times, our strong differences of opinion. This, along with working together to make a positive…

“I think we need to practice creating safe spaces within our own tribes before we tackle trying to have difficult conversations with those outside our tribe” ― My paraphrase of Shelly Sawyer Jenson Shelly, Jacob Hess, and I have a weekly Zoom conversation for just a half-hour. We've known each other for about 5 years. In the beginning, Jacob was heading up the local chapters of Living Room Conversations and…

“Your great mistake is to act the drama as if you were alone” ― David Whyte David Whyte pulls us back into the wonderous reality and opportunity which await us in the simple living of our lives. The news of the world breaks our hearts. Again and again. Such headlines and images can fill us with despair and darkness. And anger and distress. But there is more awaiting us than…

“We have to belong to ourselves as much as we need to belong to others. Any belonging that asks us to betray ourselves is not true belonging.” “Nothing that celebrates the humiliation or pain of another person builds lasting connection.” ― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart “Your own experiences and the echoes of your ancestors’ experiences influence the way you think, feel, and behave. They are major determinants of…

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. It strikes me that this statement, written by Dr. King while in the Birmingham Jail April 16, 1963, correlates well with the Christian celebration of Easter. It was aimed at Christian leaders who failed…

“First thing in the morning you look after yourself, you brush your teeth and wash your face, don’t you? Well, the second thing you must do is to look after the planet.” ― Antoine De Saint-Exupery Every era has its challenges. We have the horror of Russia invading Ukraine in this moment. And while poverty, crime, illness, hunger, slavery—even war—are at historic lows, it feels unusually challenging in this moment.…

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Wilcox and the rest of us used this opportunity to listen, learn, and grow, rather than to retrench into our predictable patterns of seeking offenders for a word and then defending at all costs our friends?” ― Patrick Mason, Public Square Magazine   In the quote above, Patrick Mason was referencing a recent talk that Brother Brad Wilcox (a counselor in the Young Men's Presidency…

“Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.” ― Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.   As I was researching something to share that might be helpful to me and others regarding Black History Month, it struck me that my own faith journey along with walking with others who have also doubted, questioned, and cried over some things in our Latter-Day Saint faith that just don't feel right…

“The world’s wisdom traditions form the bedrock of humanity’s deepest values, hopes and visions of what is possible. What’s more, no single tradition can hope to express or lay claim to the totality of truth that is abundantly available to all.” ― Thomas McConkie   Many of you may know Thomas from prior encounters at Faith Again, or his Lower Light Gatherings. His insights and way of conveying them are…

“To 'proclaim peace' is to renounce all forms of violence. More than that, however, it means to actively promote communities and conditions of peace, sustained across generations, that maximize opportunities for all of God's children to flourish without fear of unjust harm and oppression.” ― Patrick Mason & David Pulsipher This is a time where many celebrate the birth of what they believe is the Prince of Peace. But how…