In an article I am working on with the hopes of eventual submission to Sunstone for publication, I will explore the decision processes used by today’s young men and women as they decide whether or not to serve a full-time mission. For some, this decision is a simple one. For others, it may require a [...]

Growing up in a family of all girls, I never knew much about boy scouts, other than knowing it wasn’t a group that concerned me. It wasn’t until just recently I even realized what the Boy Scout motto entailed. We received an invitation for an Eagle Scout ceremony in the mail that included the Boy [...]

The greatest gift my mother gave me as a child was the nurturing of my natural curiosity. I feel a twinge of sadness when I see busy mothers respond to a child’s question of “why” with a quick “just because” or something equally as trite. Even as a child who probably used the word “why” [...]

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
-Traditional Pascha Greeting
Do you remember the first time it hit you that you are going to die? Maybe it was a sudden blow as a child, or maybe it didn’t really set in until you had your first child. I have not yet lost anyone close to me to [...]

A family member and friend shared with me today the way her prayers and fasting were answered - literally overnight - through the healing of her son. Skeptical as I am, I still find such simple faith beautiful and intriguing. I’m not sure whether I believe it or not, though I lean toward not. I [...]

I like reading Oprah Magazine better than I like reading the scriptures.
There, I said it. I find a lot of inspiration, motivation and truth in…..Oprah Magazine. My husband makes fun of me for it (lovingly, of course) and I’m sometimes a bit embarrassed at the confession of being a die-hard Oprah fan, but I guess [...]

In the current issue of Sunstone, Jody England Hansen describes faith as “…knowing that anything is possible in life. And that what I do makes a difference.” She describes the first condition for creating this kind of faith as choice. She had a powerful learning experience when a leader pointed out that there are three [...]

Faith Seeking Understanding.
That phrase encompasses a lot. According to Sunstone’s history, it includes the spiritual, intellectual, social, artistic, historical, contemporary, and pro-active passions that many of us have:
“Under the motto, “Faith Seeking Understanding,” we examine and express the rich spiritual, intellectual, social and artistic qualities of Mormon history and contemporary life. We encourage humanitarian service, [...]

Our Orange County Mormon Studies Group got together on Wednesday and discussed our views and experiences about the sacrament. We talked a bit about doctrines and read 1 Corinthians 11:24-34. We also talked about the culture of the LDS sacrament. Kids who are so loud that their parents (and pew neighbors) miss the entire event; [...]