…as a child, the idea of the Easter Bunny showing up to leave me a colorful basket full of green plastic “grass” with hidden candies and hard-boiled eggs, was almost as exciting as waiting for Santa Claus on Christmas morning. Halloween was OK, but a lot of work.

When it came to where the sandal hits the road, he was the one who showed compassion, probably because he knew what it felt like to be walked around.

Rex Goode ponders about a talk by President Boyd K. Packer at the October 2010 Semiannual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The talk, “Cleansing the Inner Vessel”, stirred a lot of controversy in its remarks about same-sex attraction. Rex Goode’s review speaks of civility and tolerance for all sides of the question of dealing with same-sex attraction and spirituality.

Picture it! Fast and testimony meeting May 2010 in my ward. I direct the music each week, so I’m sitting on the stand. I tell myself I’m not bearing my testimony again. I do it each month it seems. I’m just sitting back. My knee hurts from a fall I took earlier in the week, […]

Last Sunday, I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting. I tend not to speak from notes. when I have a talk written out, I tend to bow my head to read from the page rather than speaking to the congregation. That leads to droning rather than speaking and I feel my message gets lost. So, […]

I was reading today in the Book of Mormon Nephi says: Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul (2 Nephi 4:28). 1 person likes this post. Like Unlike

An analysis of Psalms 32 regarding the value of confession and how it helps to overcome shame. When we speak of confession, we tend to think of it in its narrowest sense, which is that of laying out our sins before church authorities or before God. I believe that the principle of confession speaks of […]

Why I am grateful for the struggles I’ve had. Same-sex attraction was hell when all the feelings and emotions I experienced were wrapped up in a desire for intimacy with men and when every word that proceeds from God’s chosen servants told me I must not indulge those feelings. Be the first to like. Like […]

The scriptures often give us a picture of mankind as being essentially evil. When the brother of Jared prayed to the Lord to touch the sixteen stones for light, he said: O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with […]

If good intentions were building materials, I would like to inhabit a mighty fortress of my own making. I would be perfect, for such is my desire. I am filled with many righteous desires and plans, but they rarely become more than simple optimism. My good intentions frequently become sins of commission or sins of […]

In 1980, while working at a warehouse job, I was out at the dock doing receving. A case of cash register tape was being delivered. The dock was built to accommodate large semis. This package was being delivered by a small delivery type truck. Be the first to like. Like Unlike

I finally went to college in my forties and graduated at fifty. It’s an accomplishment that I claim some pride in, since I’m the first generation in all of my lineage to get a college degree. It felt good and it has been of great value to me. Be the first to like. Like Unlike

It’s the quintessential smalltalk question. “What do you think of this weather?” In Oregon, where I live, the weather lately has been pretty interesting. It’s mid-June and we’re still having temperatures like February. It’s certainly not uncommon for June in Oregon to be rainy, but it’s definitely strange for it to also be cold. Be […]

Written in 1995 I have been truly blessed this week to have the opportunity to teach Seminary. Our Seminary teacher moved away suddenly leaving us without an instructor. I was asked to substitute for two weeks while the bishopric found someone permanent. Be the first to like. Like Unlike

One Saturday evening after a long day taking the family to a museum and the zoo, I was exhausted and wanted just to think about someone else’s problems. After a nap, I settled down on the sofa to watch a movie the children had started. My wife wanted to give the boys haircuts before Church […]