Gift from the LDS Church Helps in the Construction of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia

Check out these articles that highlight the Church's donation to aid in the construction of Philadelphia's American Revolution Museum! 

The museum is scheduled to open at the end of 2016.

Rendering of the Museum

LDS Newsroom Article

Museum of the American Revolution Press Release

Deseret News

What's this about wearing pants to church?

Maybe you've seen something on your social media networks about this call to wear pants to church tomorrow.

I caught wind of it on Twitter and decided to do some reading, to get me some "edumacation."

Mormon Women Declare “Wear Pants to Church Day” December 16
"A new Mormon feminist organization called “All Enlisted” has declared Sunday, December 16 “Wear Pants to Church Day”—an event conceived as an expression of Mormon feminist visibility and solidarity and a gentle challenge to traditional gender inequalities in Mormonism."

Ask a Feminist: What do you feel is unequal in the church?
"I recognize that some of these issues are church wide, some local, and some unchangeable. Some of them are simple and some of them are deeply ingrained. All of them, nevertheless, make me feel unequal and are worth talking about." See article for full list.

The Worst Thing Is Pants
The Worst Thing Is Pants, Part II
"It's about our hearts. It's not about the pants."

Wearing Pants
"What I am doing is listening to other women’s stories about how they feel at church, and telling my own. It means that I’m participating in discussions and thought experiments that analyze cultural and institutional problems and explore possibilities to change things for the better."

Mormon women plan 'Wear Pants to Church Day’, Salt Lake Tribune

Mormon women wearing pants love the gospel, Washington Post

Poll: Pants in church? Who cares?, Utah Daily Herald

Hmm, food for thought. Hope you were able to see several points of view, before making a judgement.

In my view:
It's not really about pants vs. dresses, is it.

It's about inclusion..."I see you." "I hear you."

It's about opening our eyes, asking questions, having conversations.

It's about breaking down cultural traditions that make others feel unequal. Whether or not you are bothered by the inequities in our Mormon culture, some are. Those inequities do exist, more or less, in our wards and stakes.

It's not about choosing sides. It's about making church life better for all women.

It's influence and persuasion to make things better, to improve a lay church with lay leaders, to seek for a broader view and more awareness.

It's about having a voice and being heard, or maybe just listening and supporting those that do speak up.

It's about caring for the welfare of our souls. (Words of wisdom. Thanks A.!)

It's about lifting all.

A rising tide lifts all boats.

e

New Mormon Website About Same Sex Attraction

http://www.mormonsandgays.org/

"Few topics are as emotionally charged or require more sensitivity than same-sex attraction. This complex matter touches on the things we care about most: our basic humanity, our relationship to family, our identity and potential as children of God, how we treat each other, and what it means to be disciples of Christ."

New Church website on same sex attraction offers understanding, love and hope, news article

"As a church, nobody should be more loving and compassionate,” Elder Cook said. “Let us be at the forefront in terms of expressing love, compassion, and outreach. " 

Faces of Faith on CNN, see interview with a church member from one of the site videos

"This is a big step for the church."

Salt Lake Tribune, New Mormon website has softer tones on gays

"...it also urges gay Mormons to stick with the faith."

Slate.com

"...at least there is some movement, and in a more compassionate direction."

e

YW "Walk to the Temple" Is in Newspaper

Check it out...Girls walk to site of planned Mormon Temple

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to walk to where a temple is going to be. We’ve waited a long time for a temple in Philadelphia,” Elle Thorneloe, eighth grade student at Perkiomen Valley Middle School East says of why she woke early Saturday, Sept. 8.

Abby Clark, a 17-year-old senior from Collegeville said, “We’ve been praying and waiting for a temple for so long and doing this walk is my way to show I’m grateful. I’m here because it’s really important for me to go to the temple. It’s really good to do this as a representation of going to the temple because this is the temple I’m going to get married in when I’m older.” 

Our Young Women rock!

LDS Church on Facebook

Did you know the Church is on Facebook? Check it out.

Official Church Facebook pages include the following:

• LDS Church—http://www.facebook.com/LDS
• Mormon.org—http://www.facebook.com/Mormon
• LDS Newsroom—http://www.facebook.com/LDSNewsroom
• Mormon Messages—http://www.facebook.com/LDS
• Mormon Channel—http://www.facebook.com/mormonchannel
• Ensign Magazine—http://www.facebook.com/ensign.magazine
• New Era Magazine—http://www.facebook.com/newera.magazine
• Friend Magazine—http://www.facebook.com/friend.magazine
• Liahona Magazine—http://www.facebook.com/liahona.magazine
• Church History Museum—http://www.facebook.com/churchhistorymuseum
• Church History Library—http://www.facebook.com/pages/Family-History-Library/169173515997?v=wall
• FamilySearch Indexing—http://www.facebook.com/familysearchindexing
• LDS Seminary—http://www.facebook.com/ldsseminary
• LDS Institute—http://www.facebook.com/ldsinstitute

e

Mormon Blog Buttons

Looking for a button for your website or blog. These are designed by Lyndsay Johnson, a graphic designer, for the church to promote Mormon.org. Lots of cute choices. And, she even offers custom wording!

Ellen

Breaking Ground for Philadelphia Temple

The Temple Groundbreaking Ceremony was held yesterday, and it was wonderful!  What an exciting time for us all!  If you didn't get a chance to attend, here is the depiction of what the new temple is going to look like along with the site plan.

The Local News was there covering the groundbreaking, along with several Newspapers and other media outlets.  Here are a few links and clips from around the web.

ABC News Coverage and Local ABC News Video

Philadelphia Inquirer Article

Church Newsroom Article along with additional photos

Also, here is a short video from the LDS Newsroom interviewing members who attended the ceremony, including some of our very own Stake and Ward members...watch for some familiar faces!


Philadelphia Temple Groundbreaking

Devon

Learn, Share, Create

Do you have talents in taking photographs, making videos, or creating other types of media?

This site will help you share your media with the Church and other members.

The new section of LDS.org is designed to help members access gospel-oriented media such as videos, audio files, and still images in one trusted location, and members can help achieve that goal by submitting their own work.

Your submission will go through an acceptance, editing, and tagging process and are then placed in the LDS Media Library for general Church membership to use in teaching in the home and performing their callings.

Media Library materials may also be used for personal blogs, websites, and other places where members would like to share gospel messages.

It's wholesome. It will be free.

But first we must Create and Contribute.

Learn more at LDSTech.org.
Go straight to Create.LDS.org.
See a list of current photo needs and video needs.
Learn how to submit.

For now it's a call for photography and videos. Eventually you'll be able to submit music, writing, scripts, even blog templates.

Get busy.

e

Mormons Are Square, Mormons Share

A variety of recent news about Mormons. Could be a great topic of conversation with your friends, family, neighbors.

They're here, they're square, get used to it!, The Economist

I like Mormons, as it happens, and here are some of the reasons why:

• Mormonism is the only major world religion that originated in the United States, and the religion reflects some of America's flagship virtues as well as some of the country's notorious flaws. Mormonism has an entrepreneurial ethos, a willingness to break with tradition, a restless tendency to travel and a focus on the world outside of America's borders, a healthy dose of hucksterism and audacity, and an anti-authoritarian stance to government that is sometimes obscured by its paternalism at the family level. I'll leave it to the commenters to sort out which are the virtues and which are the flaws.

• Most Mormons are unusually upstanding citizens and, correspondingly, you rarely catch a Mormon doing something horrible. Except for Ted Bundy, a convert, the worst person on this list of "infamous Mormons" is Butch Cassidy.

• They are, as a group, really nice.

 Mormon NYC Ad Campaign 'Very Savvy Branding', ABC News

Now splashed across an electronic billboard in the middle of Times Square, the ad includes photographs of individuals from different walks of life, all under a headline that reads "I'm a Mormon."

The campaign, which has also rolled out taxi toppers and subway advertisements, inserted the billboard blocks from the theater showing the Tony Award-winning musical "The Book of Mormon," which takes a satirical look at two Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints missionaries as they travel through Uganda.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Flash Mob [video], LDSLiving.com

Yesterday at Williamsburg, choir members throughout the crowd of tourists, burst into song and then asked everyone to sing along with Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Who are the missionaries, Mormon.org

Has a reference form to fill out and explains what the Missionaries will do when they come to your house.

Sharing the gospel through Social Media, MormonTimes.com

I think one of the major appeals to these social networking sites is that they are short, simple and straight to the point. It really just requires you to sign up, find some people who share common interests and start a discussion.

e

Several Links Re: Online Safety

 

Facebook is always pushing the boundaries. Regularly you have to check your FB settings. When FB releases new features they usually default them to on or the loosest setting.

Here are a couple of recent articles that tell you about Face Recognition tagging and how to turn them off.

How to Block Facebook's Face Recognition and Tighten Other Privacy Settings, by Wired.
Facebook Turns on Facial Recognition for by Default, by Mashable.

If you don’t want Facebook to suggest you when your friends go to tag everyone in that picture from last week’s naked mud-wrestling pool party, here’s how you disable the feature:

1. Go to your privacy settings.
2. Click “Customize settings.”
3. Scroll down to “Things others share.”
4. Find “Suggest photos of me to friends.”
5. Edit accordingly.

How To Talk to Children About Online Safety, by Mashable
If parents don’t teach online safety, children may not recognize imprudent online actions or realize consequences.

e

Photo credit

Joseph Smith Film Now Online

I think I've seen this film, maybe once, maybe twice. Glad to see it's getting more exposure online.

David Nielson, managing director of the Church’s Media Services Department, said he is thrilled that the movie will now be available online.

“The beauty of having the new Joseph film available on the Internet is that you can see it at home at a time that is convenient for you,” Nielson said. “Even if you have seen the previous version, don’t miss the opportunity to see the new one. It will help enhance your understanding of the life and mission of Joseph Smith.”

“This is a version that can be easily shared by Church members with their friends not of our faith.” 

The full-length version of Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration can be seen on MormonChannel.org/Joseph and YouTube. It can also be seen in the Legacy Theater at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City and at some Church visitors' centers.

e

What's with the Book of Mormon Musical?

I've seen a lot of articles flying around about the irreverent Broadway musical "The Book of Momon".

Some love it, some hate it.

I understand that the f-word is used in abundance and that the stereotypes are out of control.

Sometimes I try to post some provocative ideas just to keep us grounded. But I post these just in case it's a topic of conversation at work or at home or on the playground. You can join the conversation and have an opinion.

Here's a variety. [Disclaimer: No accounting for these opinions]

The Aetheiest Mormon-Trashing Musical, Townhall.com
Frodo and Mormon Share Stage, ReligionDispatches.com
"The Book of Mormon" Opens to Controversy, CBSnew.com
Coffee Cups in He11, New York Times
The Right and "The Book of Mormon", The Atlantic
Zany musical 'The Book of Mormon' will convert you, BostonHerald.com
The Book of Mormon, a review, Guardian.co.uk

e

A Few New Online Resources

Great new Seminary website from the Church
This is chocked full of good information. Find downloadable seminary music, online scripture mastery activities, access to seminary materials, and more. I love the "Your point of view" where a teen answers a gospel question. Makes it real.

These are just a few of the categories

Check out MormonNeighbor.org, An LDS Perspective
You'll want to bookmark this for future reference. It's a nice clean aggregator pulling together LDS content from across the web. Mostly official LDS stuff.

Mormonshare.com
Magnify your calling, prepare your lesson, plan your next activity. A wealth of ideas collected over the years for great lessons, handouts, sharing times etc. Their goal is to share lesson helps, from the best sources, easily found and even let you share your ideas too. "We consider it to be part of the building up of Zion on the internet -- isn't that really what Zion is -- The Ultimate Open Source Society?"

Enjoy!

e

P.S. I'll add this links to our Church websites tab at the top of the blog for easy reference.

10 Commandments for Kids Online: Keep Them Safe!

Found this great "contract" you should consider signing with your kids...read it carefully because it will help you know what you should be monitoring and to what extent.

My manager the other day was telling a story about an e-mail his 13 yo daughter had received. My coworkers were appalled that he and his wife read her e-mail...coworkers who did not have children and are not aware of the sometimes heavy responsibility it is to raise children in this digital age.

My bottom line to you...be present in your children's lives, know what they are doing online!

Kim Komando's 10 Commandments for Kids Online 

Example:

#10: I give my parents’ permission to look on the computer and my phone to see where I have gone on the Internet, the e-mail and text messages I have sent and received, the things I downloaded or what I do. If my parents installed programs that track what I do on the computer or limit where I go online or on my cell phone, I promise not to turn those programs off.

e

Why are Mormon homemakers so creative?

From One Eternal Round, found on Patheous:

Why are Mormon homemakers so creative? 

...Creatively producing things is good for our sense of self worth....

You probably saw the article on Salon.com a couple of weeks ago about the feminist who can’t stop reading Mormon housewife blogs. The author marvels at the creativity displayed on these blogs – beautiful homes, beautiful baked goods, beautiful photography. A lot of Mormon homemakers are extremely creative and productive. ...

...Blogging, baking, photography, and handicrafts are all things that can be done from home and can be self-taught, so perhaps that is why Mormon SAHMs specialize in them. But regardless of the form their creativity takes, they doing as President Uchtdorf said, and “[taking] the normal opportunities of … daily life and [creating] something of beauty and helpfulness.”

That’s a wonderful thing.

Don't you let anyone tell you otherwise!

e

A Response

Remember this from last week: On Salon this week, in “Why I Can't Stop Reading Mormon Housewife Blogs," Emily Matchar admires the presentation of domesticity on popular “Mormon mommy blogs.”

Here is how the reaction and conversation is going. Thought you'd like a balanced view.

So, you say you like us Mormons, Eh Salon? 
What is happening here? Are we all so unhappy these days that a bunch of upbeat blogs portraying the positives of domesticity are such a freak show? Is it true what Emily said about most mommy blogs, that they "make parenthood seem like a vale of judgment and anxiety, full of words like 'guilt' and 'chaos' and 'BPA-free' and 'episiotomy?'" Are we seeing the backlash of the unhappiness-as-sophistication model?

Mormon, Muslim, Methodist ... spreading the word online

To many viewers, the LDS Church’s “I’m a Mormon” ad blitz seemed hip, refreshing and original.

The campaign, launched last year in nine U.S. cities, generated a lot of national buzz. Its short videos featured regular folks talking about their lives as doctors, skateboarders, tax attorneys, environmentalists, surfers or former felons before announcing that they are Mormons. Nary an Osmond to be seen.

It helped burst stereotypes of the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by showing individual and diverse members expressing their spirituality.

Turns out, lots of other faiths take a similar tack.

Why I don't keep a mommy blog

While I love writing about lots of other things on this earth and beyond, and while I enjoy peeping at the crafty doings of other moms, I don’t blog about my domestic pursuits because in a world that’s at once as impersonal and voyeuristic as ours, I want the things I do at home to be just for the people I see and touch daily. I don’t want my home life to have a comments button, or ads in the sidebars. 

e

Introducing Two New Church Websites

This just in from the LDS Media Talk...

Below is a comparison of the functionalities of the two websites:
Personal Progress website (PersonalProgress.lds.org)
Young women can:

• Read the Personal Progress booklet online.
• Track their value experiences and projects.
• Keep an online journal.
• Add photographs.
• Print their personalized Personal Progress book.

Parents and young women leaders can:

• Track and sign off requirements completed by their young women.
• Create and view Personal Progress tracking information for all the young women in their family, ward, or stake.

Duty to God website (DutytoGod.lds.org)
Young men can:

• Read the Duty to God booklet online.
• See videos related to Duty to God.
• Make online journal entries, but no ability to print them.

There are no options for parents and young men leaders to sign off requirements or track the progress of the young men.

e

"Why I can't stop reading Mormon housewife blogs"

Emily Flinders found  a great article about non-members who love reading blogs written by Mormon housewifes.  It may be interesting to all you bloggers!  Check it out here.

The Digital Story of the Nativity

Okay, this is just for fun...



Clever. Made you smile, right?!

e

Have a Smart Phone? Get Apps

LDS Scripture Citation Index

After Amanda's inspiring Daily Scripture Study lesson I recommitted myself to more diligent study. Just reading the scriptures straight wasn't cutting it for me. I needed some food for pondering.

So I went look for an App for my iPhone. Free!

We have indexed the scriptures cited by speakers in LDS General Conference between 1942 and the present, and those cited by speakers recorded in the Journal of Discourses between 1839 and 1886.  The citations in Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith come from the special edition, Scriptural Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, edited by Richard C. Galbraith.

When you tap on a citation to view a talk, the app communicates with scriptures.byu.edu to download the talk you requested. If you tap on a scripture link while viewing a talk, the app tries to display the scripture using the Gospel Library app, which we recommend you also install.

You can find it for the Android too.

BUT it's also online! You can find it here at BYU Scripture Citation Index.

I've had such an eye-opening week of scripture study reading what the prophets have said about a particular scripture in Daniel and Esther. It's a great way to tie ancient scripture to modern-day prophecy!

Other Apps for the iPhone

Here are few other church apps that I use:

Gospel Library - Gospel Library is an official application of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Download and study the scriptures, general conference talks, and the many other gospel instruction materials (Gospel Principles, Hymns, Preach My Gospel, curriculum resources, and so on) published by the Church. Free.

Mormon Channel -  The Mormon Channel is the official radio station of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It offers great programming on parenting, self-reliance, improving marriage, and many other topics. You can also hear great music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, including their weekly broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word. The app also offers uplifting on-demand content, including addresses from Church leaders, as well as audio recordings from magazines the scriptures. Free.

LDS Tools -  LDS Tools is an official application of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that allows you to download Ward and Stake directory information to your iPhone. It also displays events from the Church's new calendaring system which will be rolled out during the second half of 2010. I like that it separates the spouses for separate contact information. Free.

I've used this to replace iWard which was available before the official app came. They do essentially the same thing. $4.99.

LDS Hymns -  The LDS Hymns application features PDF versions of the LDS hymns. The application is designed to be simple, organized, and easy to use. You can search hymns by name, number or full text, access hymns by category, and select your favorite hymns for quick access later! Due to copyrights some hymns may not have the music and/or words.

LDS Hymns now includes English, Spanish and now Portuguese hymns with the ability to quickly switch between languages.

LDS News - Read the latest news as well as numerous other current stories, blogs, and messages of inspiration, all from official Church and Church-owned sources. Watch the Church's The World Report videos. Listen to the talks and music from the latest General Conference.

Currently with 23 different services from which to choose and you never have to leave the app!

The services currently being offered are:
• General Conference streaming audio -- talks and music. Can play in the background on iOS 4 devices while you do other things on your iPhone or iPod.

• The World Report streaming video podcasts.

• 6 Church news feeds:
- LDSChurchNews.com
- News Around the Church
- LDS.org Home Page
- Newsroom
- Newsroom Blog
- LDS Tech

• 6 Mormon Times daily news feeds:
- Main page
- Today in the Bloggernacle
- Arts & Entertainment
- Mormon Living
- Studies & Doctrine
- Mormon Voices

• 5 Gems:
- Daily
- Family
- Young Single Adult
- Youth
- Church History

• 4 Deseret News feeds:
- Utah stories
- BYU Sports
- U of U Sports
- Utah State Sports

So those are just few apps that I have. What is your favorite app and why?

e