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The Three Levels of Christmas

I can't remember where I learned this, but it is not my idea; however, it is one that has changed the way I view and act during the holiday season: There are three levels of Christmas observance, all of them with their own characteristics, activities, and results. None are bad, and all of them make this time of year something different and special....

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The Trademaster

In Lois Lowry’s Giver quartet the world has been splintered by some unnamed apocalypse and people now live in separate, disconnected, and often brutal societies. However, in one of these individual societies, the inhabitants have been able to create a utopia of sorts where people are loving, the community thrives, and everyone is welcome. One day a new character appears in the town calling himself...

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Bury Your Weapons...

In the Book of Mormon, a small family of Nephite missionaries was able to teach and inspire conversion among a group of previously warmongering Lamanites. Despite years of hatred towards the Nephites, these Lamanites were so sincere in their conversion that they not only “became a righteous people” but they also “did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not...

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Church Policy - Some Questions to Consider...

When we first moved into our current neighborhood our boys immediately took to the alleyway on their bikes. Because cars use the alley to reach main streets, I warned the boys about playing in the alley. Of course they were so wrapped up in the novelty and fun of the moment that they ignored me and kept biking around. As I looked down...

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Give Brother Joseph a Break

I heard a story once of a man who was dissatisfied with his wife cutting the ends off of the ham every time she put it in the oven to cook: “Why do you do that?” he asked. “It makes it taste better,” she replied. Frustrated with the folksy-seeming answer, he asked, “Where did you learn that?” “From my mom,” she answered. So...

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Your Life is Not Your Own

My wife has a simple lesson she likes to teach me. Whenever I am swamped by the wants and needs of three young children and wish, either with language or body language, to simply  have some time alone to do what I want she often tenderly reminds, “Your life is not your own.” As applicable as this phrase is to a beleaguered parent,...

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How to say “I know” without saying “I know”

Perhaps the most repeated beginning to a sentence in the Church is “I know that…” Those who hear this testimony should understand that the testimony bearer is not claiming to have empirically proven the Church true but rather has had a spiritual witness confirming the veracity and utility of the gospel in his life. For so many, this gospel as taught through scriptures,...

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Crabs and Fleas

I once heard someone explain how to catch and contain crabs and fleas. For crabs, putting a crab in a bucket with other crabs will ensure that it cannot climb out. As soon as the crab tries to escape, another crab underneath will reach up, pinch the climbing crab, and pull it back down into the bucket so that another crab can climb...

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Escaping God

How many things wrong can you find with the following picture?  Now, try the same exercise with a story from the Bible. Genesis 6 through 9 recounts the story of Noah and the flood, and Genesis 10 contains perhaps the best, most condensed list of biblical baby names possible. At the beginning of chapter 11 is the story, often overlooked in Christian studies,...

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Who Are You Listening To?

How well can you recognize a voice? If you heard only a 5-second clip of, say, Yoda from Star Wars ("Do, or do not, there is not try") or Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry ("Well, do ya, punk?") or Mater from Cars ("I swear, tractors is so dumb") would you be able to recognize them? How long would it take you to recognize...

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The Who and Why of Creation

When it comes to disagreements between science and religion, creation often seems to be the battlefield. Whether it be the discrepancy between what some believe to be the Biblical timeline and what others believe to be the scientific one, or the argument over the genesis of man himself, fairly few today have gone without some exposure to sometimes ugly exchanges. Recently I listened...

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The Power of Knowing Who You Are

I am a sufferer of mysophonia (a reduced ability to tune out sensory input; it means I get really bugged when people chew loudly), I am constantly bothered by having to buy specialty shoes to accommodate two different foot sizes and arch heights, and I am able to flex my right nostril independent of my left. Two of those statements are true; one...

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The Real Plan of Salvation

If someone were to ask you, "You Mormons always talk about a plan of salvation; well, what is it?" would you be able to answer? What would you say? Would you be able to remember all of the details you've learned over the years about the exact location of the Spirit World and how long a spirit stays in spirit prison? Would you...

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