Consider

US Written in response to the “us vs the virus,” “us vs God,” and “us vs others” narratives I have been hearing.”  This is not about us. It is about US This virus doesn’t see you— not the real you. We are just one more place to hang out. A possible host offering hospitality. It is not our enemy nor our friend. It has no heart no capacity for …

So that we can hear Him Written in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, the seminal event leading to the creation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. And in response to the call of the current prophet of this church, in honor and reflection of that event, to consider how we hear Jesus Christ. (See link above for a new detailed page …

What you need to know about COVID-19 Below is one of the clearest and most powerful explanations of the risks of COVID-19. It was posted on March 16th, by Debra Oaks Coe, on her Facebook site. Debra is a very reputable source. The information is written by Julie K. Silver, MD, a nationally recognized doctor in physical medicine and rehabilitation, is medical director of Spaulding-Framingham Rehabilitation Center in Massachusetts, …

Lockdown Thanks to Kristen Iverson for this lovely poem by Friar Richard Hendrick. He is a Capuchin Franciscan priest-friar, living and working in Ireland (mostly). Currently he is the Guardian of Ards Friary in Donegal which includes a large residential retreat centre. (More at www.ardsfriary.ie) Richard also teaches Christian meditation and mindfulness and work with the Sanctuary Spirituality Centre in inner city Dublin. www.sanctuary.ie. The photo is one I …

Connecting the dots between Bernie Sanders, The Giver, and Jordan Peterson. We are in a presidential election with some large personalities. Because of this, it can be hard to get past those personalities to see the ideas being promoted behind them. Hitler rose to power because people were hurting and angry so few really looked behind the personality at the ideology, policies, and consequences that Hitler was proposing. I …

A recent series of essays exploring why we should embrace the difficult It’s easy to get frustrated, angry and/or discouraged when the very meaningful and important things in life go awry. And if you’re like me, even when the mundane and unimportant things don’t go smoothly. Here’s a sample from Nathaniel’s first essay: “The blessings of modernity—running water, electricity, medicine, ready access to vast stores of information and art—are …

1. Utah, We Need to Talk: Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and the Community   Presentation of CourtWatch Provo findings, Q&A with experts, and community conversation around domestic violence and sexual assault. Thu, January 23, 2020 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm The Startup Building Event Space 111 West 600 South Provo, UT 84601 1 in 3 women in Utah will experience intimate partner violence and 1 in 3 women have …

His analysis, based on years of research, will likely surprise you.   The second week of January my wife and I were invited by a long time close friend of Mike Quinn’s to attend a discussion about this topic. That evening he said to this group much of what he said in the Salt Lake Tribune Mormon Land Podcast but had time to give more detail and take questions. …

Resolve to do micro goals instead. I’ve not done New Year’s resolutions for years. Repeated massive failures cured me of that. And I’m not great at goal making and keeping either. This post is as much for me to consider as anyone else. I came across this article by Lois Collins and it made sense about why we fail at resolutions and how we can do it better. Check …

Finding Jesus again after 9 years of looking. I heard songwriter Michael McLean talk about his experience in more detail—especially in coming to fully accept his gay son—at an Affirmation Conference several years ago. It was powerful. His video account in the link below is much more brief—just under 6 minutes. As an aside, this December’s Faith Again presenter, John Gustav-Wrathall was Executive Director of Affirmation until recently. Like …