Being Thankful

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for:

1. My family. I love them all and am grateful for their love, guidance, and support.
2. My husband. He's my rock, and loves me for who I am, flaws and all, just the way I love him.
3. His family. They have welcomed me with open arms and loving hearts.
4. My friends. I'm happy that they choose to continue their friendship with me, despite my eccentricities. ^_^
5. My life in the Gospel. I love knowing who I am (a daughter of God) and what I can become.
6. My Heavenly Parents. They love me more than I will ever know, and I hope to become the person they desire me to be.
7. My Savior Jesus Christ. His death and resurrection to bring us closer to God is the most loving thing a person has ever done for me.
8. The presence of the Holy Ghost in my life. He has guided me in making good decisions, helped me to know what is true, and comforted me in my times of need.
9. The temple. I'm privileged to be sealed to my family for eternity, and thankful that my husband and I can truly be together forever.
10. The scriptures. They contain great knowledge and have helped me as I try to become a better person.
11. A place to live, clothes to wear, and food to eat. I am guarded against the elements, and hope that I can help others to achieve their needs.
12. My job. I have come to know some of the choicest children, and love watching them grow and learn.

The list goes on and on, but those are the blessings foremost in my mind. If I missed anything, I'll be sure to post more later.

Sad news...

President James E. Faust, 2nd counselor in the General Presidency, passed away this morning. He will be greatly missed.

We're in the news!

Well, LDS news, at any rate. Meridian Magazine recently wrote two articles about our stake's celebration of the tenth anniversary of the St. Louis temple dedication. One is about the celebration itself, the other about the "Turning the Hearts" program we did in March. Both articles have pictures; the second article didn't have pictures of the part of the program I was in, but did of some of the other parts.

Friday and Saturday are the official celebration days. Here's to the next ten years!

Just in time for General Conference

Some anti group has recently released a DVD once again trying to spread untruths about our religion. It doesn't surprise me that it's come out the week before we hear from our beloved prophet and others called of God to give us counsel. (I guess it's not enough to stand outside the conference center in Utah and mock what we call sacred.)

FAIR has released a response to the DVD, refuting all the inconsistencies and sometimes outright lies that the "Concerned Christians" try to pass off as what we really believe.

I would hope that my friends would ask me any questions they have about the church. What better way to learn about something than to ask somebody who adheres to it?

A success!

Our program was a success last night! All the performers did a great job, especially in the group I was in (not that I'm partial or anything ^_^). It was a wonderful night that I hope will always stick with those who visited and participated.

Any relation?

The new missionary in our ward is going to hear that phrase a lot. He's probably heard it a lot in the almost year he's been out and will probably be bombarded with it the rest of his mission.

We had the missionaries over for dinner the other night. When my husband caught sight of the new elder's nametag, he asked why it sounded familiar, so I told him. And the inevitable ensued.

"Any relation?"

"Yeah, he's my brother."

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

Our new missionary is the brother of a pretty famous movie director. I'm not sure whether mentioning the name is a good idea, just in case. But if you can guess who, then I might let you in on it. ^_^

St. Louis Missouri Temple Ten Year Anniversary

This year, we're celebrating the ten year anniversary of the dedication of the St. Louis Missouri temple. As a part of the celebration, our stake is doing a family history program this Saturday evening, which includes a "trip around the world", to places such as the UK, South America, and more, and a program afterwards. It's sure to be fun!

The Visiting Teaching Movie

No, it's not a film by one of the prominent LDS directors out there, nor is it a sequel to "The Home Teachers". It can actually be found on You Tube. From the website: "Tucker Dansie's short film created for the Murray 33rd Ward Visiting Teaching Conference." Any of these scenarios look familiar?

Oh dear...

I read today that Mitt Romney has announced that he's going to run for president.

I'm not sure how I feel about this, but I do know two things: If it comes down to him as Republican candidate, I'm not going to vote for him just because he shares my religion. I also know that I really know nothing about him, so I'll have to read more about him, just as I will with the other candidates, then make my decision from there.

This subject has come up in various LDS blogs and message boards, and the general concensus seems to be that it might bring up negative press about the church. A recent opinion poll (recent being within the past couple months) states that a majority of people would not vote for an LDS president. Because of all this, I seriously doubt he'll get very far in the race for US President, but I do wish him luck, just as I do with all the candidates.

New look!

The church website has been redesigned and looks really good. Check it out!