Exponent II's Blog, page 277

Mercia Second Ward

During the time of the Great Apostasy, faithful followers of Christ tried to keep doctrines and practices in accordance with their knowledge of the Gospel.  We know that many truths were lost and distorted over time, but we also know that many disciples of Christ tried their utmost to live the Gospel.  Recently a remarkable cache of documents has been discovered that shows just how much medieval saints resembled modern day wards!  Every ward has been asked to keep a ward history, and Mercia Second Ward was no different.  Beautifully illustrated, this priceless document shows the inner workings of a regular ol’ ward in the Dark Ages.

[image error]Sister Aelfgifu believed that best gift she could give patrons of the Ward Library was a smile and a good attitude.  Sometimes she had to grit her pointy teeth when Brother Egbert showed up out of breath asking for a video to teach his class for him again but she did her best. Sister Godgifu had no such compunctions.  She knew Brother Wealdmaer wouldn’t return that chalk.  He never did.  The moment her back was turned some breezy teacher would waltz in to make a few copies, ignoring the “library demons only” sign on the scriptorium  and wouldn’t you know it, the parchment would get stuck or start unravelling uncontrollably.  Oh look, there it goes again.  “This is so typical,” she thought as she heaved a giant tome of “church illustrations volume 7” onto the checkout desk.  “At least I get to miss Sunday school and talk with my friend.”  Despite its drawbacks, the Ward Librarian was a plum job even back then.

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The annual Youth Costume Ball is a privilege and, as usual, those rotten teens from Wessex Eighth Ward ruined everything, after we put so much work into our neat sideways alphabet wall hangings!  Sister Mersnake had worked for months perfecting her costume so she could show that she was a “fun” and “hip” chaperone, so those girls would finally see her as a friend.  The modgepodge work that went into her crown alone! Then of course, Osmund and Hilda had to show up as Adam and Eve, which they claimed was an expression of religious devotion but was obviously a taunt because of an unmentionable mishap from Sister Mersnake’s standards night fireside.  Well.  Those little brats forgot their dance cards, and you know what that means.  You’d better buckle up for a little refresher on the rules before we let you in.  “No slam dancing.  No mosh pits.  No nudity.  Oops, that’s you. And you’d better stay this far from her when you dance.”  Osmund never showed up underdressed with a beard and shaggy hair again.  He certainly learned his lesson.  Sometimes you need to take a firm line with these rebellious youths for their own good.

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The problem with Relief Society activities is that someone always hovers on the periphery hoping for some juicy gossip.  Sister Baldethiva and Sister Goldeburga were working hard on their Super Saturday Spindle Holiday Hearth Ornament.  It was looking perfect — pointy, stringy and festive.  It was the ideal opportunity for Sister Baldethiva to open up about her husband’s struggle with lewd illuminated manuscripts.  But of course, right on cue, there was Sister Maerwynn, leering and lurking, trying to act innocent but obviously tuned in for all the titillating details.  There’s a place for everyone in Relief Society, but nobody likes it when their private struggles find their way, thinly veiled, into the “Tattler” column of the Ward Newsletter.  It has to be admitted her craft station is very on trend though — giant arrows are in, and go with everything.

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What are you supposed to say when someone hands you their limbless gremlin and asks “isn’t she the cutest?!” when, quite frankly the answer is “not really, no”?  These were the thoughts that crossed Sister Oslafa’s mind when presented with the newest baby in the ward.  “But,” she thought philosophically, “I’m not totally nailing it in the neck/shoulder department either.  Everyone is a child of God.”  So she said, with all honesty “your baby is precious.  Congratulations.”

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While the children’s fathers smiled beatifically from the stand, presiding their hearts out, the wives of the Bishopric heroically wrestled what felt like upwards of two dozen children.  Naturally the deacon offered the bread tray to the toddler, who proceeded to help himself to snacks.  All of Sister Beorngyth’s six children insisted on sitting next to her, which necessitated a complex stacking arrangement.  Sister Aelflaede offered Osred some crackers in a bag, but meanwhile the twins had disrobed and climbed into the yawning mouth of the pew dragons.  Welcome, welcome Sabbath morning, now we rest from every care.

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Sister Bebba couldn’t wait to put in her Christmas letter that little Alfred got his Eagle Scout at 12 “all by himself.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

These historical documents are opening new vistas for church historians who previously thought so many plain and precious truths were entirely lost during the Apostasy.  Not so!  What a blessed time to be alive, with new treasures coming to light!

Relief Society Lesson: The Sabbath is a day to remember what God has done for us

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Today we’re going to talk about a few of the grand, mighty, magnificent events that the scriptures tell us God associates with the sabbath. Let’s start, as I often like to, in the beginning.

The first of the two creation narratives that open the Old Testament outlines the story of creation in days.

Please note that I have modified the pronouns to reflect our understanding that we have a Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father.

Genesis 1

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness [they] called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Where there was nothing, our Heavenly Parents brought light.

Next, they created a planet, then land, and then plants, seasons, fish and fowl, cattle and creeping things, and last of all they created male and female in their own image and blessed them and taught them and saw that it was very good.

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Genesis 2

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

2 And on the seventh day God ended [their] work which [they] had made; and [they] rested on the seventh day from all [their] work which [they] had made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it [they] had rested from all [their] work which God created and made.

If it makes sense for your class, keep track of some responses on the board. Make sure to keep the discussion inclusive and welcoming. The goal of these questions is absolutely not to be judgemental, but to create individual reflection, and (if possible) to give people a chance to discuss what is difficult about the sabbath, and come to a place of peace and acceptance with how sabbath day worship works for them.

What clues does this give us about what a sabbath means or what God intends its purpose to be? Is every sabbath a day to remember the creation story? Why would we need to think about that every week?

We tend to think of the “days” listed in this creation story as being periods of time. They’re not bound by the earth rotating around the sun, but by specific goals or tasks. God decided when the day was done, and was good. Do you think our Heavenly Parents intend us to have one sabbath every literal week? Why or why not?

Eden is not really a community – it’s barely an ecosystem, everything is in a kind of stasis until Eve discovers the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and sees that it is good. In this kind of existence, every day can be a kind of sabbath. Nothing needs to get done as a matter of urgency. There is no death, so there is no need to sustain life.

That’s very different from the world that we live in now. We need hospitals and police every day. We need restaurants and hotels and petrol stations. Does that mean that it makes no sense to have a sabbath? Does it maybe mean that our sabbath doesn’t have to be on a Sunday?

But if our sabbath isn’t necessarily the same as everyone else’s, how do we know who’s being wicked? Or, more seriously, how do we know who needs support?

And when we’re in middle of supporting life on Sundays (and every day), is the sabbath not really supposed to be a part of our lives – or at least, not the resting part of it? Adam and Eve didn’t have to get themselves and their children dressed and ready for church. Curling irons didn’t even exist. Are we breaking the sabbath by bringing our families to church?

What is the value in coming to the same building together every Sunday? What can we do if we’re not finding that value? How can we help others find that value?

If your class hasn’t already, talk about how taking the sacrament reminds us of our baptismal ordinances.

Just like the purpose of the earth being created was not for it to stay pristine and unmarred, but to support life, our baptism wasn’t designed to be the beginning of us never making mistakes again. And especially not by shutting ourselves off from the risk of failure. We can take time on the sabbath, and particularly during the sacrament, to remember that our Heavenly Parents designed everything for us to experience joy. Isn’t that kind of amazing? Appreciating their works and committing to live a like of joy is a way to worship on the sabbath – and doing what we can to bring joy to others allows us to be more like our Heavenly Parents.

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Something like 26 generations later, Moses (with no small help from his mother Jochebed, his sister Miriam, his brother Aaron, his adopted mother Bithiah, and of course divine intervention) brings the Israelites out of captivity to wander in the desert for 40 years. They weren’t super grateful, and they needed a lot of reminding that God was looking out for them.

When they didn’t have any source of food, God provided manna from the heavens. If a class member recalls the details, have them explain that everyone could gather just enough each day for their household’s needs, except on the day before the sabbath. Those who tried to gather extra on other days found their manna full of worms, but the manna saved for the sabbath stayed whole and fresh, and no more manna appeared on the seventh day. You may choose to read parts of Exodus 16:14-27 with the class.

Let’s just take a second to imagine from our Heavenly Parents’ point of view here. The commandment to rest is so important that God changed the laws of nature to allow these people to take a day off from their normal schedules. That seems kind of like a mighty work to me.

How much is it appreciated by the Israelites? Why should they appreciate it more? Does it in some ways make their lives more difficult?

Later, when they come to the land of their inheritance, God specifically connects their sabbath observance to this experience.

Deuteronomy 5

15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

Why? How is the sabbath day related to the exodus? Is it any deeper than “I fed you to show it’s important to me, please observe the sabbath”? Does God care if we do or don’t connect these events today? Could it make our sabbath more meaningful, or is this ancient history?

If the class doesn’t draw a connection, point out the parallels between the Israelites escaping servitude and coming to the promised land and our Heavenly Parents forgiving us, and the freedom from sin/bondage available to us through the atonement and grace of Christ.

Let’s fast forward just a little bit.

[image error]John 20

1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

What’s happening in this scripture?

If the class doesn’t, use your own words to describe the crucifixion and burial of the Saviour, and explain that Mary was the first witness of the Resurrection. Read together or describe what happens in verses 3-23.

This is Easter. This is basically the holiest series of events in our religion. This is why we observe our sabbath when we do – because Jesus rose on Sunday. We connect Easter with the sabbath by singing hymns about the atonement before we partake of the sacrament. We are pretty good at applying the atonement to our own lives – normalising it, making it an intimate part of our lives. We practice that a lot, and it is important.

Why might it be useful or important to kind of do the reverse of that, and treat the atonement and resurrection as a mighty work of God, like the creation or exodus? Are these events connected?

How can that emotional space of worship or adoration help us observe the sabbath? What might be different in our lives by spending time thinking about the greatness of God and feeling awe towards our Saviour and Heavenly Parents?

Do we experience these kinds of grand, mighty, magnificent works in our own lives, or is this more of a once-in-2000-years thing that becomes part of our culture and religion because its scope is so large? Is it presumptuous of us to hope for these things? Is it faith-building to look for and keep records of them?

In your own words, encourage your class to do more of the things that they know are successful ways for them to observe the sabbath day, and maybe to try something new and see how that works out for them. Express appreciation for their comments. Bear your testimony of God’s love for us, and the potential for sabbath day observance to bring us closer to our Heavenly Parents and who they want us to become.

The Pre-teen Girl’s Guide to being in Public

On the heels of #metoo and watching my oldest grow up, I’ve been trying to figure out how to help my daughter to have the tools for growing up and becoming a woman in public. I want her to grow into a smart adult who can navigate the world and I’m trying to give her those opportunities, but I also want to protect her from the harassment she’ll inevitably encounter.

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Photo by Alper Çuğun, used under the CC BY 2.0 license, no changes made.

This past year we let her take the bus on her own for the first time. I was there at the bus stop where she got on and my husband was at the bus stop where she got off, but she did the ride on her own. She’s also walked to the store with her friends and run errands. She bikes to and from school on her own, or with her brother. I’ve looked for guides or listicles online for helping pre-teens be safe while they travel through the world on their own, but couldn’t find any. I received one suggestion from someone to read Protecting the Gift by Gavin de Becker and while somewhat helpful, still wasn’t quite what I was looking for. But taking ideas from there and my own experience, here’s a listicle for you.

Travel in groups when you can. A kid in a group is less likely to singled out for unwanted remarks or attention.
On the bus, sit near the driver. I know it’s fun to sit in the back, but if you’re on your own, sit where more eyes can see you. If you are worried about missing your stop, let the driver know where you want to get off so if you forget to pull the “stop requested” cable, you’ll still get to where you need to be.
Except for #2 above, don’t tell people where you are headed. Don’t accept offers for rides home. It is ok to ask for directions- you can ask a bus driver if their bus route goes where you are headed.
If you need directions or assistance, statistically the best person to talk to is a woman.
Know how to read a transit map and timetable. Where we live, the BART is the main commuter train and the map is posted in all the stations and in all the trains.
If someone shouts at you to get your attention, you don’t have to give it to them. You don’t have to talk to anyone you don’t want to. You don’t have to sit next to anyone you don’t want to. You can get up and change seats and don’t worry about upsetting them. You can also say, “Don’t talk to me” directly. If they don’t respect that, get away, it is a bad sign.
If someone touches you, be direct with, “Don’t touch me.” Find a bus driver, or a family, or a woman to help you report it.
Know what bus line will get you home if you get off the train at the wrong station. We practice, “If you get off at the 12th St staton, which bus route will get you home?” “What if you get off at MacArthur?” When we are biking around I also ask, “What street are we on? Which bus route is closest to getting you home from here?” “If you weren’t on a bike, how would you get home?”
“No” is a complete sentence.
If a man shows you his penis, tell the bus driver. If you are on BART and the driver isn’t in the same car as you, shout loudly, “This man has his penis out!” and walk to another train car or find a family to be near. Men do this because they expect people around to be quiet. Don’t be quiet.
Listen to your gut. If you feel like you need to get off a bus or get away from someone, do it. You don’t have to apologize.

This isn’t the conversation I want to have with my daughter, but it is the conversation I need to have. This is not inclusive at all. If you have additions you’d like to make, please add them in the comments.

If you’re interested in the book, Protecting the Gift, it is highly recommended from so many people I know. It’s a hard read and there are descriptions of child abuse and other harm to children, so be kind to yourself when deciding to read this. You can get it here:

Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (and Parents Sane)

Relief Society Lesson Plan “Be Ye Therefore Perfect — Eventually” by Jeffrey Holland

First off, let me say that this is an important topic and a great talk.

Elder Holland begins by saying that sometimes, for some people, the Lord’s commandment to “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father … in heaven is perfect,” can be intimidating or even paralyzing.

Around the Church I hear many who struggle with this issue: “I am just not good enough.” “I fall so far short.” “I will never measure up.” I hear this from teenagers. I hear it from missionaries. I hear it from new converts. I hear it from lifelong members. One insightful Latter-day Saint, Sister Darla Isackson, has observed that Satan has somehow managed to make covenants and commandments seem like curses and condemnations. For some he has turned the ideals and inspiration of the gospel into self-loathing and misery-making.

Have any of you experienced this feeling of not measuring up, not being enough or have known other LDS people who have? Raise your hands if you’re familiar with these feelings.

I’ll never forget my husband telling me once about a couple in our ward. The man, Jim, was teaching Elders Quorum and mentioned that his good kind wife Julie felt like she just wasn’t going to make it to the Celestial Kingdom. Jim was baffled — he himself was confident he would make it — after all, he did his home teaching nearly every month. When my husband told me this story — especially the part about the home teaching –we chuckled. The confidence!The irony!  While Jim was, I’m sure, a good enough guy and a serious rule-stickler, Julie had the reputation of being an absolute saint, always ready to reach out and help wherever it was needed. We both wished that we could somehow assure Julie that she was terrific, awesome, and seriously, she had nothing to worry about. From a distance,, we could see how wonderful Julie was. But Julie herself felt like she wasn’t measuring up.

Elder Holland connects these feelings particularly to scriptural injunctions to be perfect. Can you think of other reasons why people (often women, in my experience) feel like they just aren’t good enough?

How have you (or they) dealt with these feelings? What words of advice would you give your younger self, or perhaps a beloved friend, dealing with feelings of not being good enough? 

 

Elder Holland has advice for those who suffer and stress over not being good enough, saying “I would hope we could pursue personal improvement in a way that doesn’t include getting ulcers or anorexia, feeling depressed or demolishing our self-esteem. That is not what the Lord wants for Primary children or anyone else who honestly sings, ‘I’m trying to be like Jesus.’”

Elder Holland recommends keeping in mind that:

a) perfection is not something that can be achieved in this world. (This is a good point. But if that’s the case, What type of perfection should you be seeking in this life? what kind of perfection ought you to be beholding yourself to?)

b) we can only find perfection through Christ’s grace — which we can never earn. It’s a gift. He says, “Our only hope for true perfection is in receiving it as a gift from heaven—we can’t “earn” it. Thus, the grace of Christ offers us not only salvation from sorrow and sin and death but also salvation from our own persistent self-criticism.”

To illustrate this point, Holland recounted a parable of Christ about a servant whose king forgave him a debt of 10,000 talents (an astronomical, almost unimaginable sum). This same servant turned around and would not forgive the debt of a fellow servant who owed him 100 pence. The king was upset that the servant had not treated another with compassion over this small debt, when he himself had forgiven the servant a fortune.

Holland’s punchline:

Jesus uses an unfathomable measurement here because His Atonement is an unfathomable gift given at an incomprehensible cost. That, it seems to me, is at least part of the meaning behind Jesus’s charge to be perfect. We may not be able to demonstrate yet the 10,000-talent perfection the Father and the Son have achieved, but it is not too much for Them to ask us to be a little more godlike in little things, that we speak and act, love and forgive, repent and improve at least at the 100-pence level of perfection, which it is clearly within our ability to do.

In other words, Holland advises us to be compassionate with ourselves. Yes, try to improve, try to be kind, try to forgive and repent, but God doesn’t expect the kind of perfection that God and Christ embody. Don’t have unrealistic expectations for ourselves and others. If you’re honestly trying to walk a good and righteous path, then that is enough. He says, “If we persevere, then somewhere in eternity our refinement will be finished and complete—which is the New Testament meaning of perfection.” 

Do any of you have any anecdotes from your own life about falling short and coming to terms with that? About learning perspective, patience, and compassion toward yourself or others who are not perfect?

I’ve personally had to learn self-compassion and patience towards myself. About 8 years ago I had the epiphany that I needed to become a vegetarian. It wasn’t a welcome realization, but it was the strongest moment in my life where I felt that I needed to utterly change my life. In religious language, I felt it was a moment where God was clearly calling me to change. It was awful and depressing. The first time I went to Whole Foods and came back with almond milk and fake bacon I cried as I carried the groceries in.  Those first 5 years I fell off the wagon many times and even abandoned the wagon for a couple of years in there. But two years ago I buckled down and have made great strides. I still eat fish so I’m not a true vegetarian, and every 3 or 4 months I take a bite of chicken, but that’s still a major stride forward. I’ve learned to be patient with myself and not beat myself up too much for not being 100%. I tell people I’m on the 20 year plan toward vegetarianism (or if I shoot for the moon, veganism), and honestly, I think God must be seriously impressed with me. Rather than being disappointed when I fall short on this, I figure my Heavenly Parents are pretty pleased and astounded that I have done this well.

What do you think God’s attitude or feeling is to you when you make mistakes? Angry? Disappointed? Philosophical?

For me, the idea of God as loving, patient parents is helpful to me. I doubt my Heavenly Parents are expecting perfection at this stage, just as I don’t expect perfection from my kids. Sometimes my kids make pretty big mistakes, but as long as they learn from them, say they are sorry, pick themselves up and try to be more kind, it’s ok.  I figure that’s God’s attitude toward us.

How do we strike the right balance between not berating ourselves for messing up sometimes and also holding ourselves to a high standard? What are realistic standards for yourself or others? What are the overriding principles/attributes you hope to cultivate in yourselves? Why do you think those ones are so important? 

My overriding principles are concern, compassion, and justice. If I can do a decent job of living up to those principles, I’ll be pretty happy with myself at the end of my life. I think those are the qualities I associate most with Jesus.

Last thoughts: I like to think of Jesus’s words to us in the New Testament. “Love others as you love yourself.” In that short phrase I see an injunction to love myself. I am to love myself as I love others. Part of that, I think, is to not beat myself up for my shortcomings and failures. It’s to not get down on myself because I’m not ______ enough. Part of loving myself is to have patience with myself and realize that I’m in process.  I’m experiencing things, I’m messing up, but I’m learning. And that’s the point.

As always, the inimitable Chieko Okazaki has wise words for us on this topic. She, I think, makes great points about the importance of doing, acting, moving forward, even if that forward movement inevitably leads to missteps. After all, good and important things can arise out of  messiness and failure.

Let me remind you of another great kitchen proverb: “You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.” To me, that proverb gives us permission to take a chance, to risk a little, to make a mistake. Sometimes we want so badly to do everything just right that our desire for perfection paralyzes us. Well, if we’re not moving, we can’t get closer to our goal. I don’t think that the Lord is hovering over us just waiting to pounce on us if we make a mistake. Instead, I think he’s behind us, giving us a gentle nudge and saying, “Take one step. That’s good. Now take another.”

 

 

 

 

Three Sisters, by Dieter F. Uchtdorf

This is one of my favorite talks. I always enjoy Elder Uchtdorf’s talks the most, because he can unravel complex things in a way that’s simple and makes sense. It’s very helpful that he always uses a story to apply the lesson to the audience.

Elder Uchtdorf gives the story of the three sisters. The three sisters represent all of us. We all have some of each emotion in us (sad, mad, glad), and we can improve ourselves and become more like the glad sister. I’ve organized this lesson plan in a way that encourages discussion among members. I’ve provided quotes, discussion questions, and a few examples from the scriptures.

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Retrieved from lds.org

Discussion in groups

Divide the class into three groups. Give each group a quote about one of the sisters to read and discuss together. After the discussion, have a spokesperson from each group present the findings to the class.

Group 1: Sad sister- the victim

Quote 1:

“The first sister saw herself as a victim—as someone who was acted upon.1 It seemed like one thing after another kept happening to her that made her miserable. With this approach to life, she was giving others control over how she felt and behaved. When we do this, we are driven about by every wind of opinion—and in this day of ever-present social media, those winds blow at hurricane intensity.”

Discussion questions:

How did her sadness affect her outlook on life?

Why did she consider herself a victim?

How did she give others control over how she felt and acted?

Quote 2:

“What is the opposite of hope? Despair, of course, but despair comes when we feel powerless to influence events and when the sources of meaning in our life disappear. Despair is a kind of disorientation so profound that we lose contact with the sources of life itself.  To choose hope is to choose life. To choose hope is to choose love.”

-Chieko Okazaki (“Raised in Hope,” October 1996 General Conference)

What can the sad sister do to find hope?

Group 2: Mad sister- the hater

Ideas of things to discuss:

Why does the mad sister blame others?

How does her anger affect her outlook?

Have you ever felt like you weren’t enough? How does comparing yourself to others affect you?

What can we do to stop comparing ourselves to others? How can we better accept ourselves the way we are?

There is plenty that can be discussed in the part about the mad sister, but I decided to focus on intentions and assumptions.

Quote 1:

“She didn’t think of herself as a mean person. To the contrary, she felt that she was only sticking up for herself. Everyone else, she believed, was motivated by selfishness, pettiness, and hate. She, on the other hand, was motivated by good intentions—justice, integrity, and love.”

Example:

“Unfortunately, the mad sister’s line of thinking is all too common. This was noted in a recent study that explored conflict between rival groups. As part of the study, researchers interviewed Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East, and Republicans and Democrats in the United States. They discovered that “each side felt their own group [was] motivated by love more than hate, but when asked why their rival group [was] involved in the conflict, [they] pointed to hate as [the other] group’s motivating factor.”

“When someone opposes or disagrees with us, it’s tempting to assume that there must be something wrong with them. And from there it’s a small step to attach the worst of motives to their words and actions.”

Discussion question:

How do we keep ourselves from assuming other people’s motivations, especially those who disagree with us?

Quote 2:

“Yes, you have a choice. The Lord has given you control of your life by giving you a choice. Let me repeat that. The Lord has given you control of your life. I’m not saying that nothing bad will ever happen to you. You will not always be able to control what others may say or do, but you can control how you will react to them. Temptation, illness, accidents, and tragedy are part of this life. There will be some tough days in your lives—very tough days. But when you follow God’s plan, you can know what to do, and that’s when you are in control. You can decide whether or not you are going to be happy by making choices that will lead you close to your Heavenly Father and away from Satan. You can decide what you will say and do.”

–Michaelene P. Grassli, Primary General President “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me,” October 1988 General Conference

What can the mad sister do to find happiness?

Group 3: Glad sister- the disciple

Quote 1:

“Then there was the third sister. Unlike her sad and mad sisters, she was—well, glad. And it wasn’t because she was smarter or more beautiful or more capable than her sisters. No, people sometimes avoided or ignored her too. They sometimes made fun of what she was wearing or the things she was saying. They sometimes said mean things about her. But she did not allow any of that to bother her too much.”

“She lived joyfully not because her circumstances were joyful but because she was joyful.”

Discussion questions:

How can we be happy despite our circumstances? Do you think that those who have better circumstances are always happier? Why or why not?

Quote 2:

“It will not be easy. It will require the very best that you have—all your intelligence, creativity, faith, integrity, strength, determination, and love.”

“There may be many things about life that are beyond your control. But in the end, you have the power to choose both your destination and many of your experiences along the way. It is not so much your abilities but your choices that make the difference in life.”

Question:

How do you maintain happiness when things are out of your control?

Examples

I recommend using examples from our present day, but if not, you can use examples of women from the scriptures, such as Sariah or Ruth.

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Retrieved from lds.org

Sariah

“Sariah, the wife of Lehi, had the wrenching experience of leaving their home and their possessions to travel in the wilderness. We are not told of the trials she may have experienced; but going on foot, living in tents, and cooking over an open fire could have been devastating after their comfortable life in Jerusalem. We do read of her anguished waiting when she feared her beloved sons had perished in their return to obtain the plates. (See 1 Ne. 5:2.) But in spite of troubles, she did love and serve her family. With the return of her sons, she knew of a certainty that the Lord had commanded her husband to flee into the wilderness, and in their safe return she found the assurance that the Lord was with them. (See 1 Ne. 5:8.) Their circumstances did not change; they still slept in tents. But she had joy and comfort in the knowledge that the Lord was guiding them. In that light she could carry on and meet further difficulties as they came.”

-Barbara B. Smith “Application of Welfare Principles in the Home: A Key to Many Family Problems”

Ruth

“Ruth was compassionate, even though the circumstances of her life were bitter. Bitter experiences come into the lives of all of us. Without the bitter, we cannot know the sweet…

“Ruth knew this opposition. She was just a young woman when her husband died and left her alone without child. It was a bitter time, and yet there was the sweetness of her relationship with her mother-in-law and the strength of her faith in the God of Israel. Both had come into her life because of her marriage.

“Ruth gleaned from the fields to sustain herself and Naomi. But more than what she gleaned from the fields were the experiences that came as she worked to thresh out the wheat from the chaff. At the end of her day she had great blessings because of her effort. This is the challenge we all face in our own lives. We too must glean from life’s circumstances and experiences that which will give us growth and faith and peace of mind.”

Barbara B. Smith “ The Bond of Charity ”

Discussion Question:

All of us feel sad, angry, or happy at times. What’s the difference between just feeling sad/mad or being the sad/mad sister?

Quote:

“Are we expected to be cheerful as we do our daily work? Well, maybe not every minute of every day. Certainly we are sad and even angry at times. But we can make a decision to refrain from wallowing in our sadness or anger.”

Virginia H. Pearce, First Counselor, Young Women General Presidency

“ Keep Walking, and Give Time a Chance ,” April 1997 General Conference

 

 

Additional quotes:

If there is more time, you can have someone read one or more of the following quotes and then discuss it as a group.

“God’s plan is a plan of ultimate joy for each of us. His principles suffice in any situation. But each one of us, young and old, must rise to her challenges in her own way. Each one of us must reach for her own joy.”

Elaine A. Cannon, “ Reach for Joy ,”

“…Difficulties have the potential to bleach the bones of faith and exhaust the strength of individuals and families. One of the Lord’s purposes in organizing the sisters into a discipleship was to provide relief that would lift them above ‘all that hinders the joy and progress of woman.’ ”

Julie B. Beck, “ What I Hope My Granddaughters (and Grandsons) Understand about Relief Society ,”

“It does not take much living to find out that life almost never turns out the way you planned it. Adversity and affliction come to everyone. Do you know anyone who would not like to change something about themselves or their circumstances? And yet I am sure you know many who go forward with faith. You are drawn to those people, inspired by them, and even strengthened by their examples.”

Mary Ellen Smoot, “ Developing Inner Strength ”

 

Abiding in God and Repairing the Breach By Neill F. Marriott Lesson Plan

On LDS.org, the lesson prompt for Sister Marriott’s talk, Abiding in God and Repairing the Breach states,

“This message can help members who may feel separated from Heavenly Father or from those around them. What would help those you teach understand what a breach is? Maybe you could bring pictures of different kinds of breaches. How does Sister Marriott define breach? What can cause breaches in our relationships with God and others? Invite members to search Sister Marriott’s message for suggestions about what we can do to repair breaches in our lives. Give members time to write down what the Spirit prompts them to do to draw closer to God and others.”

For this lesson, I’m going to pull out quotes from the talk that I really liked and connect them with a scripture story or church leader quote with some questions.

Lasting Matters

“Sisters, what matters to you? What is lasting to you? A matter of lasting value to the Father is that we learn of Him, humble ourselves, and grow in obedience to Him through earthly experiences. He wants us to change our selfishness into service, our fears into faith. These lasting matters can test us to our core.”

This quote reminds me of the story of the rich young man in Mar

k 10:

Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

In this story, the young rich man is asked to “turn his selfishness into service” and his “fears into faith” but he cannot. Have there been times in which you’ve had to use faith over fear? Serve over selfishness? 

Personal Agendas

Sacrifice of our personal agendas is required to make room for the eternal plans of God. The Savior, who speaks for the Father, pleads with us, “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you.”

I think one of the prime scriptural examples of this is Saul, who became Paul by forsaking his previous agenda of discouraging people from following Christ to being a missionary for the gospel. Another wonderful example is that of Mary, who probably had no plans to become of the mother of the savior, but accepts the plan that God has for her.

What personal agendas do we have that get in the way of God’s plans? How do we become humble enough to put those aside?

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Photo by Lawrence OP. Used according to the CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

 

Healing Relationships

Near the end of her talk Sister Marriott shares a story about repairing a relationship that had been broken over political differences. I recommend reading it all with the class, but to save space, I’ll quote only the end here,

Over time the gap between us sweetly closed. But even if she had not accepted my changed heart, I had learned that Heavenly Father will help us love even those we may think are unlovable, if we plead for His aid.

I wanted to pick this quote out because it reminded me of a time when I went to apologize and repair a relationship with a family member. After my apology, I was met with the comment, “It’s about time.” It hurt to feel like my humility was returned with bitterness, but that is also not something I could control. Sometimes we need to apologize even if we won’t receive forgiveness.

As far as a scripture-based story, the story of Joseph being sold into Egypt by his brothers and then many years later helping his family to get through a famine.

Related, earlier in her talk, Sister Marriott asks,

It is now, with our mortal limitations, that the Father asks us to love when loving is most difficult, to serve when serving is inconvenient, to forgive when forgiving is soul stretching. How? How will we do it?

I know with our eternal families and belief in an afterlife it can seem like we have all of eternity to work on our relationships, and in some ways we do, but that does not negate the effort we need to put in now.

How have you worked toward repairing a relationship in your life?

Sister Aileen Clyde Curtis stated in the April 1995 General Conference,

The love Christ commands requires a mighty change and great humility. It requires us to forsake pride and to be stripped of envy. It requires that we neither mock our sisters and brothers nor persecute anyone. Christ knew that for us to find any of those characteristics in ourselves would be onerous and would demand our great effort just to look. He said, “If thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee” (Matt. 18:8). He was not suggesting our mutilation, but rather showing his awareness of how painful clearing ourselves of such offenses could be. When we have made the changes that only we can make, then, by the atoning blood of Christ, we may receive the forgiveness that only he can bring.

Other Lesson Plans about building and repairing relationships and humility:

March YW Lesson: How Can Repentance Help Me Every Day?
Relief Society Lesson 10 Nurturing the Eternal Partnership of Marriage
Lesson 24: Following the Example of Christ

It’s Time to Subscribe to Exponent II!

[image error]The following is the letter from the editor for the Winter 2018 issue of Exponent II. This issue was our annual writing contest and the contest theme was spiritual foremothers. If you would like to receive a paper copy of this issue (and you really do–the artwork in this issue is jaw-dropping), you need to subscribe here by January 20. The cover art is “Divine Feminine” by Aerin Collett. 

Whoever develops the algorithms for internet advertising knows that I am a total sucker for anything that will teach my daughter about the powerful, smart, creative, brave women who went before her. Show me anything that teaches about Marie Curie, Sojourner Truth, Frida Kahlo, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg and I will basically beg you to take my money. At my daughter’s last birthday, as she opened Exponent II’s Illuminating Ladies coloring book (available at www.exponentii.org/shop), Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, and a pack of Ashley Mae Hoiland’s We Brave Women cards, my father-in-law laughed, “Looks like Margaret picked out the presents this year.” Yep. The truth is, I feel almost a frantic need for my daughter to know about these women.

Exponent II subscribes to the idea that knowing history and keeping a record of women is crucial. It’s a big part of the reason that we continue to publish a magazine in print: we want there to be a lasting record of what Mormon women were thinking and experiencing during these times. We also look back to the authors and editors of The Woman’s Exponent for guidance and inspiration as we write and publish. Through the magazine and the retreat, women connect to the Exponent II founding mothers. Our organization has a strong sense of the importance of history and legacy.

It was that sense of legacy and inheritance that brought Pandora and me to the idea of doing our annual essay competition on the theme of spiritual foremothers. While we all heirs to the work and words of the women who have gone before us, too often those women’s stories go untold. They are marginalized to the sidebars of history textbooks, thought of as peripheral to the narrative, or reduced to caricatures of a stereotyped female: the mother, the starlet, the wife, possibly the altruist. We wanted to bring those ignored or reduced women into the spotlight, showing off their complexity and strength through telling the stories of how they have affected women today. We wanted to hear about spiritual foremothers who came in the form of family members, mentors, women from scripture, fictional characters, or history. We asked the question: How have these women changed your life?

The pages of this issue hold the stories of a professor, a mother, an accused witch, a poet, a midwife, a grandmother, a cartoon character, an awakening feminist and more. Just as importantly, they hold the stories of how those women affected the women writing today. “Irene” weaves together the story of a Mormon midwife who perished on the Titanic with a modern-day miscarriage; “What It Is to Be a Witch” tells of how a woman who was killed in the Salem witch trials inspired her ninth great-granddaughter to live a life of courage. In “The Things We Have Not Said,” Kayla Roundy looks at a painful family relationship and how the conversations that do not happen can be just as influential as those that do. We feature the art of Megan Knobloch Geilman, who has reimagined famous works of art as women from Mormon history and scripture. Her series “Works of Translation” reminds us that telling the stories of our foremothers allows them to live again in a new way. The winner of this year’s essay contest, Rachel Rueckert, writes in “Wonder Women” about how a simple costume helped get her through one of the hardest times of her life, and how a graphic novel character exposes our yearnings for the feminine divine.

This issue’s cover, Divine Feminine by Aerin Collett, reminds us of the powerful women from history and of the women we can become. The rooster on her shoulder is a symbol of honesty, fidelity, and bossiness (an adjective that seems to be uniquely applied to commanding women). The swan is a token of grace and beauty. And the dragon wrapped around the woman stands for power, strength, and luck for those who are worthy. The goddess seems ready to partake from the tree of knowledge, but she also is that tree–both good and evil, a complex and nuanced woman who is capable of greatness.   

We all stand on the shoulders of women who have gone before us. Some of them have been forgotten by history. Some are just beginning to be recognized for the labor they have done. If we want our children to benefit from the work and wisdom of our foremothers, we need to tell their stories. We need to search for traces of them in our own lives, to track what we have inherited and give credit where it is due. Without that work, we quickly begin to take for granted what was once hard-won. We return to the beginning of discussions and issues again and again, unaware of the conversations that have already happened. And we lose the gift of anchoring our lives to those who stand ready to stand as guideposts as we navigate the questions, doubts, and problems that face us.

May our hearts be turned to the mothers.

To subscribe to Exponent II, go here. 

“…one of the most inevitable aspects of our lives here upon the earth, and that is change.” -Thomas S. Monson

[image error]Today as we remember President Thomas S. Monson with gratitude, I reflect on his 2008 talk about the inevitability of change:

Finding Joy in the Journey

Especially these words:

“Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.”

The Living Bread Which Came Down From Heaven by D. Todd Christofferson Lesson Plan

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Photo by Jeff Sheldon on Unsplash

Elder Christofferson begins his talk by referencing the story of Christ feeding of the 5,000 with loaves and fishes that’s found in John 6.  He begins with,

The day after Jesus miraculously fed the 5,000 in Galilee with only “five barley loaves, and two small fishes,” He spoke to the people again in Capernaum. The Savior perceived that many were not so much interested in His teachings as they were in being fed again. Accordingly, He tried to convince them of the immensely greater value of “that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you.”

Despite Christ’s repeated insistence that the bread and meat he had given them was not only literal, but symbolic of the teachings and Atonement he would soon complete, his followers still didn’t understand and/or embrace the metaphor. Elder Christofferson then advises,

To eat His flesh and drink His blood is a striking way of expressing how completely we must bring the Savior in our life – into our very being – that we may be one… To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ means to pursue holiness. God commands, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

What is holiness?  Ask the class members what they think holiness means in this context.  Is it keeping the commandments? Embracing the teachings of Christ? Cleanliness of mind and spirit?  What does it mean to be holy?

Chieko Okazaki offers an interesting take on holiness.  In her book, “Aloha!”, she writes,

Se-i, the Japanese word meaning “holy” or “saintly,” is written with three characters derived from the Chinese pictographs, one the word for ear, one the word for mouth, and one the word from king.  So a holy person is someone who has her ear near the mouth of the king, so she can hear his voice easily and clearly.  Isn’t that a lovely way to think about holiness?

If Christ is our king, how do we have our ear near his mouth?  Do we feel like we can hear Christ’s voice easily and clearly?

Sister Carol F. McConkie gave a beautiful address called “The Beauty of Holiness” in the April 2017 General Conference that’s worth reading as a resource to this lesson.  In it, she says the following,

I see the beauty of holiness in sisters whose hearts are centered on all that is good, who want to become more like the Savior. They offer their whole soul, heart, might, mind, and strength to the Lord in the way that they live every day. Holiness is in the striving and the struggle to keep the commandments and to honor the covenants we have made with God. Holiness is making the choices that will keep the Holy Ghost as our guide. Holiness is setting aside our natural tendencies and becoming “a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.” “Every moment of [our lives] must be holiness to the Lord.

I admit that this sounds intimidating and overwhelming to me.  Offering my whole soul, heart, might, mind, and strength to the Lord feels difficult when I’m driving kids to/from school, working long hours, studying late into the night, preparing meals, mowing the lawn, cleaning bathrooms, and countless other tasks that feel menial but are necessary to a functioning home and family.  Sister Chieko Okazaki recognizes this struggle, and talks a lot about in chapter 11 of her book, “Being Enough.”  She writes,

Our job is to be holy and to find holiness in what happens on Monday and Tuesday as well as what happens on Sunday.

She talks about how, if we want to be holy women, we need to have confidence in ourselves and trust in the Lord.  She goes on to say,

I want to suggest that if knowledge is power – and as an educator, I truly believe that it is – then one of the most important pieces of knowledge we can have is self-knowledge.  Yet there are powerful forces that work against self-knowledge. We are flooded with experience. We are busy from morning tonight. But what does our experience mean? What significance to our choices have? Can we see them connecting us to the sacred?

She continues to tell a story of a man who came to see Carl Jung, the famous psychologist.  Jung instructed the man to cut back his laborious work schedule and spend the evenings in his study, quiet and all alone.  So the man tried, and spent time in his study reading philosophy and listening to classical music.  After reporting no change, Jung said, “But you didn’t understand.  I didn’t want you to be with Hesse or Mozart or Mann or Chopin. I wanted you to be all alone with yourself.”  The man responded, “I can’t think of any worse company!”

Sister Okazaki continues,

Jung’s patient was drugging himself with overwork to avoid facing himself. Many of us are doing exactly the same thing, plus abusing prescription drugs, plus indulging in other self-abusive and addictive behaviors because we really don’t like ourselves very much. Please don’t misunderstand. I am certainly not claiming that no one should ever need therapy or take anti-depressants if they have the gospel… This is the real world, and we have to deal with real problems. Nobody is ever rich enough or smart enough or spiritual enough to never have any problems. What we do have – what the gospel promises us – is that we do not have to be alone and we don’t have to be fakes.

How do we develop this kind of self-knowledge and self-compassion?  She mentions five suggestions for liking ourselves better (each bullet point is a quote from her chapter, and would be easy to hand out for reading in class):

“Lighten up! Ease off! Back up! Lots of us would call the SPCA if someone were to treat the family dog the way we treat ourselves. Instead of making a job list as long as your leg, lower your expectations. Make a lit that contains only half of what you think needs to be done every day. That way, if you finish everything on the list, you can feel pleased. And if you have time to do more, you can really pat yourself on the back.”
“Enjoy each job. Even routine jobs have pleasant parts to them. Don’t wipe down the counter while you’re mentally making a list of the three phone calls you need to make next.  Really enjoy how clean the counter looks and how tidily you brushed all of those crumbs into your hand.”
“If you have a job where you don’t need to be talking or thinking about it, sing while you work. If we’re supposed to hum a hymn to crowd a temptation out of our thoughts, then why not try the same thing when you’re trying to bring more sunshine into your life?”
“Reward yourself for every job you get done. Remember in Genesis when God was creating the heavens and the earth? From the Book of Moses, we know that God the Father, Jehovah, Michael, and others were involved in this great creative effort, the culmination of a long process that had begun with spiritual creation.  And after every step, what did these creators do? Did they say, ‘Good grief, the creation of the butterflies took ten minutes longer than we had planned. Put a burst of speed on the whales. And you’re grounded tonight until you’re sure that those sunflowers are all going to turn their heads to follow the sun.’ No, they didn’t beat themselves or each other up. And they didn’t instantly plunge into the next task. They enjoyed the accomplishment. ‘And God saw that it was good.’ When we have accomplished something worthwhile, we need to savor that accomplishment.”
“Have some priorities that distinguish between ‘nice,’ ‘important,’ and ‘essential.’ Some things are important but they’re not essential… I refer to the laundry, for instance.  Nobody would write down on their list of goals when they graduate from high school that in five years they want to do the laundry. It’s important, but it’s not essential. What’s essential are the principles of cleanliness, helpfulness, and self-reliance.

Why is this self-compassion and self-knowledge so critical to holiness? Why does it matter to know ourselves if we desire to be holy?  Sister Okazaki concludes,

I’ve really stressed this point about being happy with yourself, making time for yourself, and enjoying being with yourself.  I’ve done it because I think that we don’t have strength unless we have the strength from within of knowing ourselves and liking ourselves. A weak person does not feel peaceful. A week person does not feel holy. That doesn’t mean that we should ignore our faults and shortcomings, and it doesn’t mean that we should have low standards. But it does mean that we need to be the kind of person we like to spend time with. This is the peace that comes from our strength within.

You may think that you’re important because of what you do for people – that you’re important to the world because you take care of your children or your grandchildren, or  teach lessons or volunteer at the shelter or take the Boy Scouts on hikes. You may think you count because of the salary you earn and because you provide for your family. Certainly those things are important. But those are jobs, chores, functions. They are things that someone else could do. What’s essential about you is who you are.

How does our knowledge of our divine nature as daughters of God instill a sense of holiness?

With this framework of self-compassion and self-knowledge in mind, how do we seek after holiness?  Elder Christofferson talks about how Zechariah prophesied that in the Lord’s millennial reign, “even the bells of horses would bear the inscription ‘Holiness unto the Lord.‘” How can we imprint the message of “holiness unto the Lord” on our hearts, and show it in our daily lives?

When I think about serving with holiness, I think of Heather’s experience when she was asked to help clean an apartment in her ward.  Needless to say, the apartment was filthy and required much more than Heather was prepared to take on.  She is at the brink of quitting, and says,

I try to come up with a single good reason to stay and finish cleaning. No one deserved to pay for this inhospitality. I want to be a good person. I do. But I need a way to justify this. And then it hits me. I’m cleaning for Jesus. “I’m…cleaning for…Jesus,” I say it out loud, trying on this bizarre worldview that allows me to be covered in a stranger’s piss, cleaning for a woman I don’t like, and somehow still be okay with it. I’m feeling rather pentecostal but oddly at peace as I pick up the toilet brush and say again, “I’m cleaning for Jesus” and get the last of the ring off the bowl. I spray the mirror with Windex and chant, “I’m cleaning for Jesus” with each wipe. “I’M CLEANIN‘ FOR JESUS!” I shout this mantra as I dust and and tidy, thankful that the only person within earshot is deaf. My voice is hoarse by the time I leave.

How does our seeking for holiness affect our experience with partaking of the Sacrament?  When we partake of the Sacrament, we take the name of Christ upon us.  We try to act as Jesus would act, to serve as Jesus would have served, and speak as Jesus would have spoken.  Elder Christofferson says,

Figuratively eating His flesh and drinking His blood has a further meaning, and that is to internalize the qualities and character of Christ, putting off the natural man and becoming Saints ‘through the atonement of Christ the Lord.’ As we partake of the sacramental bread and water each week, we would do well to consider how fully and completely we must incorporate His character and the pattern of His sinless life into our life and being.

In keeping with the theme of self-knowledge and self-compassion, this also means that we need to treat ourselves as Christ would treat us.  When we get discouraged, how do we talk to ourselves or think about ourselves?  Would we say the same thing to a dear friend?  Would Christ say the same thing to us?  How does internalizing the character of Christ affect how we deal with all around us, including ourselves?

I would close with a reminder of the Japanese word for holy, meaning that a holy woman is someone who has her ear near the mouth of the king.  Remind the sisters to keep their ear attuned to the voice of Christ, to imbue our actions and our attitudes with holiness, and to develop a strength of self that is rooted in the teachings of Christ and in keeping with our identities as daughters of God.

2017 Year in Review

Phew! 2017 is almost over. From reading other Year in Review posts around the web, it seems that 2017 has been rough on a lot of people. And that’s the same here, it’s been rough, but we’ve also had some great moments.

The most difficult part of the year for us was when we discovered misappropriation of our Exponent funds. However, the community has been supportive as we have been working to correct this wrong.

New for the Exponent II:

Illuminating Ladies, a coloring book of Mormon women. Here is the announcement of its arrival. And you can buy it here!

Speaking of new items in our store, you can buy stickers!

2017 is also the year that The Religious Feminism podcast has entered the scene. Show notes are under the “Religious Feminism” tag here at the blog. Check it out on iTunes and leave us a review so that others can find the podcast, too!

On the blog, we are very close to finishing all the lessons plans for the YW lessons.

Also, we dug out the Gospel Principles plans from the archive and aggregated them under the “Lessons” tab in our banner up there so they are easier to find.

We will continue to work on the RS plans for the upcoming year. With the new format, we’ll be publishing as many lesson plans on as many conference talks as we can early in the year. They’ll show up in the Relief Society Lesson section of the Lessons Tab as soon as possible.

We got 6 new bloggers this year! They are Courtney, Dani, Wendy, Becca, Chiaroscuro, and Aly. Click on their names to find their posts.

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This image is from one of Wendy’s guest posts. To see more images of Mormon women at the Women’s Marches, click here.

Top Posts of 2017

5. Guest Post: Temple Recommend, by Anonymous

4. Becca’s Songs of a Fat Mormon Woman

3. Virginal Sex, a guest post by Anonymous

2. Liz’s My Ninety-Five Theses for Today’s Mormon Church

1. Facing the Racism in Mormonism, a guest post by Molly Hogan

Most Commented on Posts

5. Guest Post: Guardians of the First Veil

4. Em’s Don’t Tell Me I Don’t Understand the Priesthood

3. April Young Bennett’s Q&A: Why aren’t Mormon feminists thrilled with the new LDS temple baptistry policy?

2. Liz’s My Ninety-Five Theses for Today’s Mormon Church

1. Violadiva’s Temple Doctrine and church culture: It’s bad but it’s {not?} getting better.

Top Search Terms

One of these is a bit …. hmmm… We might be getting traffic we don’t normally cater to!

5. relief society lesson helps

4. the exponent

3. amazon

2. mother’s day hymns, hymns for mother’s day, mothers day hymns, hymns for mothers day

1. Virgin sex, sex virgin

 

As always, we welcome guest posts – in fact, guest posts are up there as some of the most viewed and commented on. And don’t forget to submit articles or artwork to the magazine. Remember that we are only the Internet-facing aspect of the Exponent II. We are here to support the magazine- go renew or buy a subscription!