News and Media

What I love about Mormonism

If you know me personally
or have been reading my blog
for any given amount of time
you are right to guess
that this is going to be a long post.
There are so many reasons
I love my church.



I love The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.
There are so many reasons why,
but the main reason is that is makes so much sense.
Intellectually, I have not found another religion that answers my questions
about the universe as well as mine does.

Another reason I love my church is
I believe it to be exactly what it claims:
The Church
of
Jesus Christ.

My 18 months as a full-time missionary
teaching people about the gospel of Jesus Christ
harbor some of my fondest memories.

Lately, the Mormons have been receiving a lot of national attention
due to Pastor Jeffress’
claims that we are an Un-Christian cult.
(btw – this is not a new mindset.
Many people agree with Jeffress)

I thank the First Baptist Church of Mayview
for their disagreement
in church sign form.
You know how I love the church sign.


Here is another Baptist church sign.
It’s not as supportive.
Yet it’s funny.


I was recently impressed with this news story in Knoxville.
Thank you to WATE and my favorite reporter Josh Ault
for reporting the Mormon side of the issue.
Normally in the Bible belt,
Mormons aren’t given much of a voice,
so this story was emotional to me.

All kinds of people have stepped up
to stand with the Mormons
in our claim that we are Christian.


Some of my favorites have been
and
a Catholic reporter from Florida
who claims to not have attended church in 45 years,
but says 
even though he could never 
give up coffee and alcohol to become a Mormon
if in need of spiritual guidance
he would
go to our own
spiritual giant
over some judgemental
and closed minded Baptist preacher any day.
(his own words)
[SMILING]

Each of these stories were touching to me.
You see, I lived in Knoxville TN
for the past 8 years of my life.
And every day I had to defend my claim
to be a true Christian.

It’s not the first time that politics have brought attention to the church.
I recently heard JFK’s address from
way back when at
the Mormon tabernacle in Salt Lake City
and fell even more in love with the man.






A while back I sent an e-mail to a friend about my beliefs.
I kept feeling God nudging me to do so. 
It didn’t turn out so well.
She got upset with me and I felt really bad.
I don’t go through my days trying to offend people,
but I do try to follow the voice of God on a daily basis.


After her e-mails condemning me and my church
I took comfort in the verse of the Bible that talks about
how Christ was persecuted so why should we not be persecuted for His sake?


I can honestly say that I don’t know of any church out there
that  today receives more persecution than mine?
It’s funny because in a way that is an even greater testimony builder for me.


I know I open a can of worms here,
and I know that I lose readers on my blog
because I talk openly about my faith,
but I choose to lose readers
because when this life is over
and God asks me about my blog,
I want to look at him with a clear conscience
when I say that I tried to make every aspect
of my life a testament to Him.


Here are some of the doctrines I love the most about my faith, straight from The Holy Bible.


1 Peter 5:22(Mine is the only church that I know of that no one receives any money for filling a ministry) aFeed the bflock of God which is among you, taking thecoversight thereof, not by constraint, but dwillingly; not for efilthyflucre, but of a ready mind

John 20:17 (Jesus and His Father are seperate) Jesus saith unto her, aTouch me not; for I am not yetbascended to my cFather: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my dFather, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

John 17  (Why would Jesus pray to His father if they weren’t distinct individuals?) The Intercessory Prayer

Amos 3:7 (God designed a pattern of dealing with his children on earth by calling prophets if he is the same forever why would he change that?) Surely the Lord God will do nothing, abut he brevealeth hiscsecret unto his servants the dprophets.

1 Corinthians 15:29 (baptism for the dead – do you know any other church who practices it)  Else what shall they do which are abaptized bfor the dead, if the dead crise not at all? why are they then baptized for the ddead?

1 Corinthians 15:40-41 (three degrees of glory compared to the sun moon and stars – any other church you know of talk about this) aThere are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the bcelestial is one, and the glory of the cterrestrial is another. There is one glory of the asun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the bstars: for one star cdiffereth fromanother star in dglory.

Hebrews 5:5-6 (Do you know any other church that has the lesser priesthood Aaronic and the higher priesthood Melchizedek?)And no man taketh this ahonour unto himself, but he that isbcalled of God, as was cAaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my aSon, to day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a apriest bfor ever after the order of cMelchisedec.
Malachi 4 (this talks about the prohet Elijah appearing to open the work of sealing – the hearts of the children turned to their fathers – sealings can only be performed in God’s temple – do you belong to a church with a temple? What if I told you that Elijah already appeared and that this work was already happening preparing the way for the Second Coming? You wouldn’t believe it because it is just way too spectacular, right?) Behold, I will asend you bElijah the prophet cbefore the coming of the dgreat and dreadful eday of the Lord:And he shall aturn the bheart of the cfathers to the dchildren, and the heart of the echildren to their fathers, lest I come and fsmitethe gearth with a hcurse.

Here is another little ditty that has been in my filing cabinet for years.
If it doesn’t get you thinking, I don’t know what will.


The true church must have the same organization as Christ’s Church (Ephesians 4:11-14)
The true church must have a foundation of Apostles and Prophets (Ephesians 2:19-20)
The true church must claim divine authority (Hebrews 5:4)
The true church must baptize by immersion (Matthew 3:13-16)
The true church must bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands (Acts 8:14-17)
The true church must practice divine healing (Mark 3:14-15)
The true church must be a missionary church (Matthew 28:19-20)
By their fruits ye shall know them. (Matthew 7:20)
The fruits:
I don’t know of any other church that has grown as fast. From 1 to 12 million members in 200 years.
I don’t know of any other church that gives as much community service or humanitarian service.
I don’t know any other church that has teenage kids that go to Bible study at 6 am on school days worldwide.
I don’t know of any other church with 10’s of thousands of missionaries serving throughout the world at any given time.
I know a whole lot of really good people (the best) who are members of my church.
I don’t know of any other church that is completely run by unpaid volunteers.
I don’t know of any other church that teaches self-reliance and emergency preparedness like mine.
Our church welfare system is a-maz-ing. Heads of states and countries look to it as an ideal.
Mormons are known for their focus on family and the strength of their families.
How about that Mormon Tabernacle choir?

Anyhow, that is probably enough for today. I could go on and on about all the great things about my church. I could sit here for weeks and talk scripture and philosophy, but if I know one thing it is that when it comes to God, nothing can teach a person better than the Holy Ghost. He testifies of all truth. So I will leave you with the testimony that I have gained through the power of The Holy Ghost. I have prayed, fasted, and studied diligently to receive answers from God, ever since I was a kid. My testimony is a culmination of my life’s efforts and with this I will leave you.


My testimony is this
I do belong to The Church of Jesus Christ
I believe that Christ’s original church was lost in apostasy
when Christ himself was crucified and all of his original apostles were murdered.


I believe that this same Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind,
appeared to a 14 year old boy named Joseph Smith
in a grove of trees in upstate New York in 1820.
Jesus Christ told Joseph Smith to join no existing church
because as prophesied they all draw close with their hearts but not with their hearts.
Christ then called Joseph Smith to be a modern day prophet
and modern day prophets have been on the earth ever since then.
I listen intently to the words of these living prophets and apostles every 6 months
and try to change my actions according to the counsel that they give.
They are truly inspired leaders and testify of Christ in word and deed.


I get mocked for these beliefs,
but I could never deny them
because my religion is true.
The Holy Ghost testifies this to me repeatedly.


We are nicknamed Mormons because we have The Book of Mormon,
The Book of Mormon is a second witness of Jesus Christ
and takes nothing from the Bible but adds to it.
It is through the teachings of both the Bible and The Book of Mormon
that I have tried to build my life on the rock, who is Christ.
One of the scriptures in The Book of Mormon prophesies of a day
when people would say, “Bible Bible, we’ve got a bible”, as an argument
against The Book of Mormon,
but to me all one needs to do is consider that 
The New Testament built on the Old Testament
and think about the hundreds of sects that 
all believe differently from that same Bible
to know that additional revelation is needed for clarification.


I believe that one of the greatest blessings I have
as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ,
besides eternal salvation through Christ,
is that my family has been sealed together
for time and all eternity
in the temple of the Lord.
I can’t imagine living a day
without this knowledge.
It buoys me up
and has helped so many
stand strong in faith
after they’ve lost a loved one.


Most of all, I believe in Christ.
He is my King. He is my Jesus.
He lives. He is my best friend.
He has given me a flawless example
of how to live my life
and he atoned for my sins
by giving His own life.
He thought of me and my struggles
and worries while he bled from every pore
in the Garden of Gethsemane.
He suffered so I don’t have to.
I have witnessed Jesus Christ work miracles in my life
and the lives of many others
and I would be lost without Him,
in this mortal life and in the immortal life to come.


Book Review – Lunch Wars

This was a paid review for BlogHer BookClub but the opinions expressed are my own.


Read to the bottom for a chance to win this book.


Lunch Wars: How to Start a School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children’s HealthLunch Wars: How to Start a School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children’s Health by Amy Kalafa

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I went into the book LunchWars with a bad attitude. I was flogging myself for my stupidity in willingly volunteering to review a book on nutrition. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that nutrition is not at the high end of my priority list. I grudgingly slogged through the first two thirds of the book and then something inside me changed. It’s not that I am on the same page as the self-proclaimed granola-head author Amy Kafala, but somewhere in the pages of the book I realized that I had been taught some important morsels of nutrition principles that I should be using with my own family. I don’t want to go on all day and I also don’t want to worry my hubby with the idea of going all-organic (would never do that to my grocery budget) but let’s just say there are three things that I am going to try and do better: avoid corn syrup and lessen sugar intake, introduce even more whole grains, and try to incorporate more locally grown fruit and veggies.

That being said, I don’t agree with this LunchWar revolution in the least. I have taken major slack on the BlogHer discussion boards, but I don’t care. It’s not that I want kids to starve or to continue to eat bad foods, it’s just that my political views are conservative. I don’t think that we have an obligation to feed our school children the highest quality of foods at the tax payer’s expense. A lot was said in this book about how it is financially easier to make changes in the schools where the majority of kids are on free school lunches and it made me cringe. No matter what changes are made, someone is going to have to eat the cost difference in these menu changes: the government will do so for the needy and those who aren’t free or reduced lunch qualified will eat the difference for themselves and the government.

I normally have my kids take lunches the majority of the time, but when it doesn’t happen because we are too rushed or the household is in real need of groceries, I appreciate having a relatively inexpensive option for my kids. I don’t care if their pizza is processed or their fruit is canned. I don’t need the highest quality for my own kids ALL of the time, and I most definitely don’t need it for other people’s children. It comes down to the bottom dollar for me. The reason my kids take lunch in the first place is because it’s cheaper.

I need a book club forum to get out all of my opinions about LunchWars, but I will spare you all the details. I could talk all day about school gardens, food culture, how health-fanatical people think they are superior (including the author who boasts of her kids not needing medications like her unhealthy counterparts), schools serving three meals a day, depletion of US soil and farming, nature deficit disorder, and the fact that we should only eat beef or milk from cows who only graze on grass or chicken and eggs from cage-free standards. Instead, let’s just leave it at this: I find the main premise of this book hypocritical. The author complains that our schools have turned our students into customers in the lunch room and then turns around and justifies making customers out of them in the name of financing the organic changes she sees as absolutely vital for all.

Amy Kafala is a Democrat. I am a Republican. She didn’t say so, but I guarantee you that she is as blue as they come. [What is so bad about Ronald Reagan’s idea of using ketchup and relish as a veggie counterpart to save the tax payers 6 billion a year? It’s ingenious!] Amy Kafala thinks that our kids should not have birthday cupcakes. I resent that the government has regulated the crap out of our schools. It’s their regulations that got the cafeterias all screwed up with their single servings in the first place. I long for the more simple days when kids got to help the lunch ladies cook and scoop out the servings for their peers. Amy Kafala is making a profit with this revolution. I am just a mom trying to find the right balance between cost effective and nutritious for my family of six.

Oh, and I hated my fifth grade teacher Mrs. Maclvein (I can’t even remember how to spell her name, I disliked her that bad.) All she would allow us to eat for our school parties were Triscuits, veggies, and juice. I am not saying that it’s a bad thing to eat nutritiously. I am just saying lighten up granola-heads. I don’t know how people live like that 100% of the time, and where they get off telling everyone else that we need to be like them too?

Last word: go ahead and drink the chocolate milk kids. It’s milk. It’s chocolate. It’s perfection. And you aren’t going to get it at home.

View all my reviews

I will be giving this book away to a lucky commenter. Leave me a comment on this post with your best nutritional tip and I will enter you to win. One winner will be chosen on Halloween…just in time for you to eat all the candy guilt-free before the book arrives.

I hated that neighbor who gave away apples at Halloween every year.

Please, Not A Jack Mormon for President

I have been working on this post for some time,

and had to get it up after 
reading this article about
Jon Huntsman this morning.
I am here to tell you that any Mormon who says
that his religious tenets “are tough to define”
Jack Mormons are people 
who are Mormon in name only.
They don’t believe
or aren’t interested
in living all the tenants of the faith.
A Jack anything is a disgrace.
Get in or get out,
but don’t be a fence sitter.
Don’t say I am a mother
but then turn around and neglect your kids.
Also, any Mormon who backs gay marriage is a Jack Mormon.
I take offense when Mormons publicly support gay marriage,
while simultaneously tooting their Mormon horn.
It’s not offensive because I am a homophobe
because it is quite the contrary,
but because I have had a very personal inner struggle
to define my own beliefs.
I have a cousin who is gay.
I have a really good friend
who has struggled his whole life
with homosexuality.
My cousin left the church,
as well as some of his family members
because they knew that his desire
to claim his homosexuality
would never be approved by the church.
He was right.
Not in leaving the church
but in the fact that
it is never going to be approved.
I have struggled for years about
where I should stand on the issue.
I don’t want to be on the wrong side of a civil debate
and I don’t want to come across as a hater,
so I have wanted to cross the line.
I have wanted to say,
“I stand with you gay, lesbian, bisexual community.”
I want to do that because I do believe in equal rights
and I do believe that all people should be loved.
But, when it comes down to it,
loving a person doesn’t mean
you have to agree with what them.
I cannot in the same breathe say,
“I love my God”
and then
“Sure, you and I can act however we want.”
It just doesn’t work.
No matter how much I wish it would.
If I say I believe in God
then I better know what it is
that God requires of me.

And I sacrifice every day
to love my God the best that I know how
in doing what He has required of me.
I get criticized, mocked,
and even called unChristian
because I believe the way I do.
So, you can understand how hard it is for me
when someone wants to use Mormonism
for the good parts
but throw it by the wayside
when it comes to any personal pain.
I was appalled when I found out that
Romney will not be backed by Evangelicals.
It’s a story that I am familiar
with as I lived in the South
for the past eight years.
You know that South,
where Mormons aren’t Christian.
During 2008, I backed Romney.
My post about him was even linked
on the most popular political blog Instapundit.
It was a proud moment for me.
And a jealous moment for some.
Wide grin.
Romney is a good and smart guy.
He is the right guy for our struggling economy.
He was definitely the right guy in 2008.
When I think of how people
have suffered in the past 3 years,
including us,
it makes me crazy.
But, since 2008
I have become totally leery of politicians.
Sure, you look like a good guy,
but you are a politician.
And you are running for President.
Therefore,
I know you have made under the table agreements.
You are bought with a price.
It’s the only way to win nowadays.
And I think it is a disgrace to Americans.
So I have balked out of politics all together.
Call me unpatriotic,
but until I think there is something
that I can do that will actually change things
I choose to butt out
and keep my sanity.
Religious beliefs are funny.
While recently attending my high school reunion,
I got a few minutes to catch up
with a good friend of mine
and Christian preacher Matt Tague.
I questioned him about Mormons
being excluded from his definition of Christian.
I have a deep testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ and believe that “He is the only way, the truth, and the life.”
My total trust and dependence on my Savior is what draws me to The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, but this book of scripture (I am always surprised how people will put the book down without ever reading it) and my other belief in a living Prophet as a mouthpiece for God on the earth, are the very things that exclude me.
I am shocked that while I am excluded,
Methodists who allow homosexuality,
Lutherans with women called to the Priesthood,
Baptists who all have different interpretations of the Bible,
and even Catholics who believe in a Pope are in.
Why, I asked?
“Because they are willing to come to my congregation and say that I am saved; if you would come to my congregation and say I know I am saved through Jesus Christ, then you would be in too.”
Well, I could do that.
No problem.
“Well, you would also have to denounce
The Book of Mormon and your prophet.”
Oh, I see how this goes.
It should be of no surprise to me that mainstream America 
would even entertain the idea of electing a Jack Mormon. 
I think a lot of religious people have turned Jack, if you will.
They take what works for them and leave everything else behind.
I hate to be the one to break it to you all,
but God doesn’t work that way.
There is a scripture that says
“eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.”
It’s not a commandment how we should live
but how we shouldn’t.
I am also a little hopeful in Americans
as Romney is way ahead of Huntsman in the polls.
Maybe it is also important to other people that
people have integrity?
The following video jokes about Hunstman and Romney.
Cobert can be pretty funny.
This is what he had to say about the issue:

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Yahweh or No Way? – Mormons & God’s Poll Numbers
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

I was told recently by a friend
that I have victim mentality when it comes to my faith.
Ironically she told me this after mocking my religion.

Here are some other recent mockeries that have bothered me:

Hey Mormon who plays the organ.

Mocked in Memphis.

Mockeries to my faith happen often.
They started with the church’s inception.
The founder Joseph Smith was martyred.
Hundreds of the earliest Mormons were murdered in cold blood.

Of course I think it is a crying shame.
I also think it goes with the territory.
If one is to decide where God is
solely by the amount of mockery His followers receive,
I think you would be right to investigate my faith.

Once in a while though they get it right.
Thank you to CNN for reporting with dignity.

Thank you also to Catholics for being nice.

Above Colbert talked about the I’m a Mormon campaign.
In case you are interested here is my profile on Mormon.org.

Oh, and if you aren’t going to vote for someone
because of their religious beliefs,
then don’t vote for Romney
because he deserves a non-vote more than Huntsman.
Since Huntsman claims 10 religions.

Or vote for Huntsman for being the better man
because he jumped in the race as a favor to Romney
to allow Romney’s faithful dedication shine.

added a few hours after original post:


My brother Adam just messaged me congratulating me for hitting the maximum amount of sensitive subjects in one post. Why not get them over with all at once?


And, Adam, thanks for reading my blog.

Your Klout on Social Media

Recently I found myself writing up a ditty for a blog service.
The question was how can your readers connect with you?

I answered
Comment on my blog at  imsofunny.blogspot
Find me on my facebook  page, imsofunnyblog.
They can get me on my pinterest, imsofunny.
On my neglected twitter, imsofunnyblog,
On my blogfrog community, funny.
Are you following the funny theme?

Or they can e-mail me at alice.w.gold@gmail.com.
I thought I really should get an e-mail with the word funny in the address.
Oh well. Maybe later.

I got thinking about how much I use social media.

If I was honest with myself about how much time I spend on the computer connecting with others it may almost be embarrassing. Almost. Because I also connect with people in real life too. If I was only connecting online that would be embarrassing, but I am still good at regular face to face communication. Or at least I think so. phew.

Have you all heard of the new social media popularity contest? It’s called klout.
My score has been remaining strong between 50 – 60. Pretty good if you ask me.

Do you know what’s even more impressive?
I am now influential about three topics.
These topics are generated by klout and klout alone.
They analyze all my material on social media and determine my influence.
My first two spheres of influence: blogging and family.
Cool.

My third: heaven.
Breathtaking.

Heaven?
Heaven!

So, all you Mormon haters.
If you want to get to heaven, you better start listening to me.
Klout doesn’t lie.
And I am in- flu- en-tial.
In other words, I have an in.
An in with heaven.

What could be more cool than that?

Movie Review: The Help
The book The Help by Kathryn Stockett was life changing for me. 
The movie was a great review for why it was life changing.
I am not usually one to compare the movies to the books.
I like to read books first because I then get to imagine them unfolding 
untainted by another’s interpretation.
I then like to take in the movie as a whole different experience.
However open-minded I tried to go into this movie experience, 
I have to say that The Help was more like what I imagined 
while reading than any other book/movie experience.
My hat is off to the producers, directors, and actors.
You nailed it.
Head on.
Bravo.

I busted a get. Especially when it came to the terrible awful.
I cried a bucket. The complexities of humanity are so emotional.
I jumped in victory when Skeeter’s mama finally figured things out.
I revered and honored Milly and Abileen in that little black church.
I searched myself once again. 
Wow, I have such great ambitions yet fall so short.
I want to be the best mama.
I want to be the best writer.
I want to stand for something important.
I want to love and be loved.
Go see this movie. 
If my hubby and I both laugh and cry, you know it won’t disappoint.
And just a sidenote: When I first moved to Knoxville I had the horrifying experience of listening to four born and raised Southern whites embarrass themselves as humans. They were so racist and were proud of it. At that dinner, there was even a comment about how the blacks had brought all the troubles on themselves. I was appalled. I stood my ground. I told them they were absolutely wrong. Seven years later, one of these racists had become my best friend. I saw her befriend her first black. People can change. If they haven’t, they should. Not because I told them so, but because it’s the right thing to do to love our neighbors. I was proud to take a stand against racism and to be a part of making the world a better place. A place where everyone is loved and appreciated. Call me Skeeter.

Funny Dads are best

Check out the dad who dressed up every day of school last year to wave his son off.

He has entertained his son, all the kids on the bus, his neighbors, and a whole lot more via the world wide web.

I am so grateful his wife recorded every single outfit.

This is my kind of guy. Thanks to whoever you are that turned me on to the local Utah County phenomenon by sharing this news article on their facebook.

I looked and laughed at every single picture.

I wish I had ideas as good.

I wish more people in this world could turn away from the wicked stuff and just go back to having a good old time.

My Tennessee influence has to claim this get up the winner of all.

But now that I am in Utah again,
this is a very close second.
I wonder if they played missionary tag that day at school 
in honor of the ultimate funny dad?

PS22

Do you remember this old post from January 2010?

I introduced you to PS22. A public school choir in New Jersey. Mr. B is their amazing teacher.

Well, guess what I just found out?

This choir sang at the Oscars.

I was so ahead of my time.

I love it when that happens.

And I love Mr. B.

What an inspiration.

Here is another one of my favorites.