True to Myself

     True to Myself

If I state my opinion I'm close-minded.
If I question those in power I'm defiant.
If I think old fashioned ways are good I'm a prude.
If I'm an advocate for unborn babies I'm against women's rights.
If I believe marriage is between a man and a woman I'm anti-gay.
If I feel that all people should work for what they get I'm right-wing radical.
If I say Jesus is the Way I'm narrow-minded.
If I don't do these things I'm not being true to myself.

Women of the Scriptures - Martha

Women of the Scriptures - Martha

Favorite pastime:  Preparing meals for friends who visit.

Favorite place to eat:  My own home, where I can make my guests feel comfortable.

Favorite food:  I like simple foods like warm bread and homemade soup.

Education:  My sister and I were both educated by our parents and elders in the village.

Favorite thing about where I live:  I share a home with my sister Mary and brother Lazarus.

Favorite thing to do with my family:  I love serving my family, keeping the house clean and preparing meals for us to all sit down and eat together.

Children:  I am not married and have no children, but sometimes I feel like the mother of my sister and brother.  Perhaps Heavenly Father is just giving me practice for later in my life when I am blessed with a family.

Where did you grow up:  Bethany, just a few miles outside of Jerusalem.

Hobbies:  Since Jesus’ first visit I have been trying to relax a little more and listen to his wonderful stories when he comes through Bethany.  I love that he stays in our home while he is here.  (Luke 10:38-42)

Anything else interesting about you:  My brother, Lazarus, died of a terrible sickness recently.  He lay in the grave for four days before Jesus came and raised him from the dead and brought him back to us.  (John 11)

Women of the Scriptures - Abish

    Women of the Scriptures - Abish

This is not really a picture of Abish but a picture of what I think she might have looked like

Favorite pastime:  Listening to Ammon tell stories from the Scriptures.  (Alma18:36)

Favorite place to eat:  Being a servant of the Queen I am sometimes asked to escort her to the great feasts of King Lamoni’s Father who is King over all the land.  (Alma18:9)

Favorite food:  We eat a lot of meat, I am partial to mutton.

Education:  I was mainly educated by my Father.

Favorite thing about where I live:  The land is bountiful with much grazing land and water for our animals.  The Waters of Sebus are truly beautiful. 

Favorite thing to do with my family:  When I was young I used to sit at my Father’s feet while he told of the remarkable vision he had that converted our family to the Gospel of the Lord.  (Alma19:16)

Children:  I am a dedicated servant to the Queen and have no time for a family.

Where did you grow up:  I have been a resident of the land of Ishmael all of my life.

Hobbies:  Watching the sons of the king race the horses and chariots and serving my Queen.

Anything else interesting about you:  Before Ammon came, the people I lived amongst were very wicked.  They worshipped idols, which my Father told me was wrong.  After Ammon came and the King and Queen were touched by the Spirit of the Lord and fell to the ground I ran to tell the others what had happened in hopes of spreading the Good News.  Some of the Lamanites had evil intentions but the Lord struck them down and I was able to revive my mistress, the Queen, by taking her hand.  She then awoke her husband, the King, and he rebuked the people and taught them the words of Ammon.  Since that time the people of King Lamoni have become a righteous people and have established a Church.  We now live in peace.  (Alma19:14 – 36)

Women of the Scriptures - Eve

Women of the Scriptures - Eve

Favorite pastime:   Do mothers have pastimes?

Favorite place to eat: The Garden of Eden (everything was free!)

Favorite food: Fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Although it was a tough decision I wouldn’t give up my children for anything.  I realized that ‘it is better to pass through sorrow that we may know the good from the evil’. (Moses 5:11)

Education:  I had the privilege of being taught directly by Heavenly Father during my time in the Garden of Eden.  After being driven out of the Garden, Adam and I had to learn for ourselves the good from the evil.

Favorite thing about where I live:  Well, after eating the fruit we were cast out of the garden and had to grow our own food and make our own shelter and clothing.  The blessing of having children and raising a large family has made it all worth it though.

Favorite thing to do with my family:  Bless the name of God and teach my children of his goodness (Moses 5:12).

Children:  Cain and Abel were my first two boys but after a terrible tragedy where I lost both of them the Lord blessed me with my son Seth and many other children after. (Gen. 4:1-16)

Where did you grow up:  I have the unique history of not actually growing up, I was formed from Adam’s rib and we spent many years learning and ‘growing’ in the Garden of Eden.

Hobbies:  Gardening, teaching my children, following the Gospel principles.

Anything else interesting about you:  I am the Mother of all living and my name in Hebrew means ‘life’. (Gen 3:20)



Dressing Modestly

"Women, scantily clad, who blame men for their reactions remind me of the antelope flaunting itself in front of the lion and then complaining about being eaten." - unknown

Lest you misunderstand, I am not saying here that all men are wild, ferocious beasts that can't control their manly urges. What I am saying is that it is not worth tempting the opposite sex just to show a little skin. Women dress immodestly to command attention, then they complain when they get it. The whole concept makes no sense to me.


The real reason for dressing modestly is not to protect women from the attention of men but to show reverence and respect to our bodies. Our bodies are Temples in which the Holy Spirit may dwell. The Holy Spirit will not and can not live in an unclean Temple and so we need to keep our bodies clean and show them respect. We respect our bodies by keeping them covered, dressing modestly and tastefully. We also respect our bodies by not putting dangerous substances in to them such as drugs and alcohol. Another way we respect our bodies is by not marking them up with tatoos (body graffiti) or piercing them with more than a single pair of earrings. Keeping our bodies pure and protected allows the Holy Spirit to reside within us and be our help and comfort in times of trial.


In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Paul says, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." Our bodies ultimately belong to God because we were created by Him. Our bodies are 'on loan' to us from our Heavenly Father and He expects and desires that we will take care of them while they are in our possession.

The Epistle of Christ

The Epistle of Christ

Paul puts forth a beautiful metaphor in his second letter to Corinth when he states that the people are Christ's epistle or letter.  Those who live as Christ would have them live and do as Christ would have them do are a testament to the rest of the world showing by example what Jesus would do.  We are better missionaries in our actions than in our words.

2 Corinthians 3:2-3
Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

Nothing and Yet Everything

My 16 year old step-son was asked "How do we reconcile the ideas from the Bible that we are nothing in this world and yet everything to our Heavenly Father?"  This was his answer:

"In our hearts there is good and bad.  Whether we act on the good or bad intentions is our own decision.  When we act on the good and pure intentions, God sees us as His children and the worldly man sees us as nothing.  When we act on the bad and evil intentions God sees us as nothing because we are moving away from him and closer to Satan.  When we sin the worldly man accepts us and sees us as important."

In the great scheme of things, when we consider the vast universe, we are nothing.  One of my favorite quotes is from the movie Tombstone when Wyatt Earp's brother Morgan says, "Look at all the stars.  You look up and you think, God made all this and He remembered to make a little speck like me."  But to Heavenly Father each one of us is important.  He knows us 'from our Mother's womb' and has counted the hairs on our head.  We are each a part of His intricate plan.

We are nothing...
Genesis 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, tiill thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

And yet Everything to Him.
Matthew 10:29-31  Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.