Monday, January 31, 2022

Good Days

Well, it's mercifully been another amazing and wonderful day. Kids and parents are all feeling healthy and well. We had violin lessons in person this week (they were online all of Jan) so that was nice to be there in person. Peter came, he had missed the train and all the fun puzzles. He used puzzles to give me a little lesson on all the modes of travel.

Things are really going so good lately, it's making me a little nervous that something bad could be coming. The whole main floor and upstairs of our house are still clean. Tonight I was done loading the dinner dishes and was wiping down the sink before we had even finished clearing off the table from another sit down dinner (mostly vegan potato bar (did have some diced ham for the kids)). I think Corey and I have both been all vegan for the past 2 weeks except for date night. Today the cleanliness jumped up two more levels cause I totally cleared out and organized my reading and scriptures desks in our bedroom...

Before above and after below -

...and I cleaned Corey's shower. I call it "Corey's shower" cause I never use it, I always take baths. I think the last time it was cleaned was in 2019 when Iveth was here. For a few months, she came over 2 or 3 times a week and helped me clean, and we did a deep clean of our bedroom and bathroom, so yeah, it's been a while. It looks so amazing now, I'm excited for Corey to notice it tomorrow! We talked to Ethan on the phone today, and Melodie was able to jump on for a few minutes. Melodie just has four more weeks until she comes home!!! Corey said "We're nervous to have you guys come home, cause things are going so good, I think we're being blessed by having all of these missionaries out serving, and we don't want it to end!" We know we need His help, and I know that even when it isn't as noticeable as it is right now, God does bless us and help us every day. I'm still kinda bracing myself for something though, cause I believe in the law of undulation and "this too shall pass" applies to the good and easy times too. I try to always be prepared for worst case scenarios, like this baby being stillborn. I have a friend who had a stillborn baby and one look at her facebook cover photo is all it takes to make me weep. I just looked it up so I could link it here and I'm crying again. The joy of expectation, then the sorrow at unrealized hopes and dreams. But happiness comes again - here they are celebrating her third birthday in heaven this past September, and they are all smiling. Joy comes again. Christ gives us hope, and through him all tears will be wiped away. When I thing of pregnancy and birth, there are just like a million things that could go wrong, it's a miracle anyone is born! If this little one does die, or if Corey or any of my kids do, I know people would come and comfort us and mourn with us. I know that we are all in God's hands. Having a child is always a risk, always an act of faith. It's out of our control, but I know in whom I have trusted. Ok, well there I've come full circle with my thoughts today: life is great, it could go horribly wrong at any moment, but it's ok cause God is in control!! I was reading CS Lewis "The Problem of Pain" at violin today, and it's pretty deep and over my comprehension, but basically from chapter 1 I think he is trying to say that pain can only exists if you believe in a higher power, otherwise there is no morality standard. I'll try to read more and share it if I understand anything. I have a clean desk now, that is my reading "intellectual" desk (the above desk with the before and after) and this one is also in our bedroom by the closet and is my "spiritual" desk (speaking of the 4 areas of the youth initiative). 

We haven't done great as a family at making goals with the children and youth program yet. But it took us a good 2 years to get going with the Come Follow Me program... I didn't do great with personal or family study in 2019 with the New Testament or 2020 with the Book of Mormon, but we did awesome last year with the D&C in 2021 and are rocking it this year so far (I am loving all the podcasts!!), so I'm being patient with myself that we'll get a handle on the Children and Youth program eventually, too. 

When I saw this print up, it reminded me of the 12 hours of the Hebrew day and the four watches of their night, so I thought I'd try to split up the goals into certain times of the day like that. I'm still working on it. I do have that pic above taped to the wall by my scripture study desk on the wall to remind me that I need to work on these goals/habits - 
Ok, time for bed, goodnight.

Sunday, January 30, 2022

Finishing December

I've still been doing awesome this past week at making vegan meals for Corey and lunches and dinners for the family. The house is also still clean!! Over 10 days!! Wow. I'm not sure who had my phone, but here's a photo from today of Daniel walking around with his pj's off his shoulders and feeling silly. 

Lily has been making origami swans and butterflies like she's creating animals for the Garden of Eden. Right now it's 5:30pm, and Corey's been over at his parents' house for 2 hours. I was going to blog, but instead I've been compiling all my years pregnancy weight notes into one spreadsheet for myself to reference. I'm trying to keep calm that I've already gained 25 lbs during this pregnancy and I'm barely over half way through (22 weeks and 160 lbs). I'm hoping I won't gain much more, but I probably will, and that is ok, I know I'll be able to get it all off. It's almost February, I have a goal to finish blogging December today, mark set go. I have three days to still do from between Dec 13-17 and two days for Dec 20-23... 

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Day at Snowbird

Last night, we decided that we'd go skiing today. Corey went and loaded up all the skis, boots, helmets, goggles, mittens, neck thingys and hats. We had the thermals, coats, snowpants, and warm socks ready in the side room. We tried to get them to go to bed so they wouldn't be tired when we woke them up early. It was a challenge cause it was Friday night/date night. But soon it was 7am - time to wake up the kiddos. We did the older kids first, and they were slow going. Around 8 I went to wake up Peter. 

Tragic to wake a sleeping child. My pretty sleepy baby.

Peter! Time to get up and get dressed to go outside in the cold! They ate cereal and did better than they have on other ski day mornings. We didn't get a reservation for parking, so hoped to get out the door in time to snag one of the free "first come first serve" parking spots. We left at 8:45, which was cutting it close. Entry 1 and entry 2 both said "lot full", so it was a nail biter, but we got lucky at entry 3, even though it meant we were parked very far from Baby Thunder. Down Chickadee to wait for Corey as he got the tickets. I took Peter down Chickadee one time, and the rest of the day he was with Corey. 

Peter has the sweetest eyes looking through the goggles. So so cute. Wesley went up the lift and hit some black diamonds. The rest of us made out way to Baby Thunder.

Toddler skiers are the cutest!!

Through the Thunder tube... Corey and Peter

I was on Daniel duty.

The first time off the lift, Daniel fell and he felt so sad. It was also pretty icy on the hill and Daniel fell a few times and was feeling discouraged. He said "This is why I don't like skiing!" and he was ready to give up. I admit, it was pretty steep getting off the lift, I think mostly cause there isn't a ton of snow right now., so we practically had to jump. Also the Baby Thunder chair is pretty fast for some reason. I told him I'd help him, but as I went to scoot myself up, I forgot to keep my tips up and my ski got stuck, and so I fell and I was holding D and down we both went. Thankfully we had a fun run down and went to get on again. It was a great trial of his faith to go on this fast lift AGAIN. I told him I was ready... I know we'll get it right! I prayed for the Lord to help us, and Daniel didn't say amen, he might not have believed, but we didn't crash that time, God heard our prayer. Then every time after that, Daniel reminded me as we got near the top of the lift "You need to pray to Jesus!" We had a good time and left for lunch at 12:15. Corey and Wes went back to the car for the food. It took them almost an hour. We waited and waited and the kids tried not to murmur. I let them know "This is why we need to go faster in the morning next time, so we can park closer!" Soon we saw our rescuers arriving through the parking lot shuttle windows. I joked that we were saved just like the pioneers at Martin's cove. "Only they really were freezing and starving. This is not hard for us." Pb&J, hot chocolate, and Pringles all around. "We're saved!" I was taking a photo of all of the kids lined up, and a nice lady saw me and said "I can take that for you! Mom hardly ever gets in the picture!" That is true! But thanks to her I made it in this one!
I went back to Baby Thunder with kids, Abi and Wes helped a little. Wes took Sophi and Lily down some black diamonds. Abi kept eyes on Natalie. I usually had one kid in front of me and one behind, trying to keep an eye on both. Corey was tired of carrying Peter around, so he took him over to Chickadee on the magic carpet. Peter could do it all by himself. He is adorable. Looking back at Corey to say cheese.
We decided to wrap things up at 3:30 and start to head out. Wes and Sophi made their way over and down harder lifts and found Corey and Peter. I gathered the kids at Baby Thunder, and we waited at a bus stop at Creekside Sports for Corey to come pick us up. We got there at 3:35, and it took forever again, and Corey, Wes, and Sophi were there to get us at 4:30. Natalie and Owen win the best kid while waiting award. They just made a snow mountain.
Abi and Lily were being super silly and throwing snow and having a snow ball and snow dust fight. It was getting to be a bit much, but I was able to work on my patience and long suffering and I endured it pretty well.
Traffic down the canyon wasn't too bad. We got home, had dinner (taco bowls) and Corey and I tagged teamed taking a hot bath to recoup. Now Corey put on the Three Amigos and it was funny to show them that 80s classic. K, now I'm ready to go get them ready for bed. It was a good ski day (huh Natalie!) 
Although that's been 5 times skiing with everyone, which is a LOT of work. (Actually let me count... Alta twice, Brighton once, and Park City twice..., then counting today that makes SIX times!) Yeah, we have definitely earned the right to go without kids next time. Hopefully it will snow!

Friday, January 28, 2022

Friday Again

Another morning, another photo of cute Peter asleep on the floor of our still clean bedroom. 

He's a cutie. It's been over a week and the house is still clean! Even with all the kids home today! Wow, it's kinda strange. Yeah, none of the kids had school today. It seems like that happens a lot. I don't mind. Here's a pic of a "book report" that Sophi did for school - making a cereal box about her book. Lily helped her with the illustrations - 

I'm always so impressed with the little characters that Lily makes! She is such a good little artist! 

I am trying to start a collection of some of her sketches and people. I think it will be fun to see how her skill improves as she grows older. Corey and I went out to eat at Bandits tonight. Good food, usually not a long wait, we like Bandits Grill. We talked about Wes and school and how to help him. Back at home, Corey, Natalie, and Sophi reading in our bedroom tonight before bed. 

Daniel showing us his teddy bear. He's also recently taken a liking to Hyrum's dog Maxwell from Brazil in 2007. 

Corey and I have been working on a minute by minute spreadsheet of a 2015 film Father David sent to us to teach us about our faith: "The Mormons: Who They Are, What They Believe".  I worked on it today, but Corey doesn't think we need to any more, cause Father D has already moved on to other accusations. I still decided to finish session 2 and started a little bit of session 3. I let Corey fill in most of the "true or false" column and the comments, I mostly was just putting the quotes in and minute markers. It's been interesting, but no point if we're not going to discuss it. I don't think Father D is searching for anything, but Corey still is willing to discuss. We both agree we'd rather he teach us about his Catholic faith rather than tell us about ours. Tearing down the sacred beliefs others have of Jesus Christ is not a way to win converts.

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Breakfast Daze

Peter was super cute at breakfast yesterday morning. He was just staring off into the distance ~

Then I got in front of him and he snapped out of his daze... and showed off his talented eyebrows. 

Then he gave me a look...

And told me to put away my phone. I guess he wasn't ready to be filmed at 8 in the morning. 

Here's a funny picture of Natalie and Owen after school yesterday. 
I got a kick out of Owen's mask. I'm not sure he was able to see the book very well through those eyeholes. I also took a pic of Natalie's desk and her little display on her wall -
I especially liked her "to do" list, which is the first paper next to the pumpkin painting: make bed, get dressed, brush hair, earrings, breakfast, get ready for school. Go to school. Practice, homework, ply, read 2 chapters, pjs, brush teeth, scriptures, take out earrings, go to sleep. The list next to that is a list of people who have broken their bedroom rules (pic #2)! It must have been by the times or days they have broken the rules, cause some of the kids are on there several times. "Rules broken by: Daniel, Wesley; Sophia, Lily, Wesley; Wesley, Daniel; Wesley; Wesley; Wesley; Lily Wesley" Pretty cute and funny. 

Also today, Corey and Wes went down to the Huntsman Cancer Institute so Wes could take a tour with a neighbor who is an architect and working on it. 
Wes really liked it. We're going to support his hopes of becoming an amazing architect and have said we're ready for him to build us an amazing home someday. Fingers crossed! 

Sophi also went to Churchill on Parade tonight. Lily was playing in the band for it, and Abi was doing a ballroom performance, so they all went together. Sophi is just in 4th grade, but she's pretty anxious about going to Churchill instead of Albion. I mentioned some time ago that I'm sick of carpool and wondered outloud why we are driving all the way out there, but Sophi has been taught by her siblings that Churchill is the best, so we'll see if I can talk her out of it or if I care. I think it's mostly the daily drive out there for Lily to go to jazz band that is killing me and leaving me wondering why we are doing that. I don't want to do it next year when I've got the baby. Maybe Corey or Wes will help out more. Sophi came home with a sign that said "Home of a Future Churchill Charger!" So I guess she knows where she wants to go. Her friend Kelsy went with her, but I don't think she's sold on it yet. Maybe they'll part ways when they start junior high? But I told Sophi we don't need to decide now, she's got another year, so I'm not committing to anything yet either way. 

One last thing for today - a few of Corey's texts to Father David today regarding their religious discussion, the topics today were mostly regarding whether or not the LDS faith has it's roots in the occult. Here's the first reply he gave on Jan 14th. I don't have Father D's assertions, but here are Corey's replies: 

When you first mentioned the “burning the bosom” I knew what you were talking about – but it’s kind of obscure and I didn’t mean rhetorically “where did you hear about that?” but I was literally curious, wondering if I had quoted it to you. It is not a common thing for missionaries to describe the confirmation of the Spirit as a burning of the bosom. Much more common is the kind of thing that my son Ethan wrote in his weekly e-mail home. He is serving in the Dominican Republic and teaching people to follow Jesus, to be baptized, and to follow Christ’s example. If one of the fruits of the Spirit is love for the people he’s serving (Galatians 5:22–23) then he has felt the Spirit of God strongly this past week. This kind of stuff is sacred to me, and I realize I’m sharing it at the risk of having it picked apart and criticized – but hope you’ll read it with understanding and compassion – with an open mind that others could be doing God’s work with a different interpretation of the Trinity.

“We met a haitian family a couple of weeks ago. They have like 4 kids, and for some reason they love me. Every time they see me in the street they all come up and hug me and then all their friends come to. I feel like a dad coming home from work haha. Their sweet mom is a saint. I love her so much. Her husband had been in Haiti for a couple of weeks, so she has been taking her four kids to church on her own every week. And it’s a bit of a walk. But she gets everyone up early and get them clean and dressed, and then walks them to church in her high heels. It’s hard for me to even write this without tearing up. She barely even speaks spanish, but she does it, because two gringo servants of the Lord Jesus Christ invited her to. And we only asked once. It wasn’t easy for my parents to get little kids ready for church on time and we lived pretty close to the church with good living conditions. This sweet family lives in a house the size of a little walk in closet. And she still get everyone ready for church without a complaint.

I hear excuses all of the time from people about why they can’t come to church. They are all lame haha. This lady actually would have a decent excuse if she wanted to use it, but doesn’t. She just comes to church anyways. 

But yea I love that family so much. We gave them a picture of Jesus and the next time we came we saw that they had taped the picture of Jesus on the wall. That really got me too.”

“The spirit was really strong this week. Our friends Soledad and Deivi got baptized. I’ve been teaching them since I got here and it was a miracle to see them get baptized. They are both so elect. I baptized Deivi and Elder Opheikens baptized Soledad. It was a really spiritual baptism. A ton of members came to support and Deivi and Soledad’s family and friends came too. They were both super nervous but after they got baptized they were both so happy. Deivi wanted to do it again. The spirit was just so strong in there! Everyone was so happy. Elder Opheikens and I couldn’t stop smiling. We talked after about how happy we felt. You had to be there to understand it, but it was amazing. Totally worth all of the work we’ve been putting in for them. 

And it was so spiritual that after the baptism, Soledad’s mom (who won’t come to church) came up to us and said that she wants her and Soledad’s friends to get baptized. Super cool! Then later in the day the spiritual high kept going and another friend of Soledad came up to us and told us that he wants to be baptized. Super crazy!”

“But the biggest miracle this week was church. We invite people to church all week, and then in the morning before church we go to peoples houses to confirm that they are coming. Yesterday morning was looking like it was gonna be a normal week since it looked like a lot of people were bailing. During the church service we were sitting by Soledad and Deivi and the spirit was super strong. They got confirmed members of the church, and both of them were blessed that they would serve full-time missions. Me and Elder Opheikens were trippin’! Then I looked around to count how many investigators had come. As I was counting, more people walked in, families at a time. Every time a new family we’re teaching would walk in, me and Elder Opheikens would freak out. It kept happening, and we ended up having 16 friends come to church! I’ve only had that many at church one other time, so it was a huge miracle. I started tearing up right there in the meeting. 

Then after the meeting I was on a spiritual high, and the kids of the haitian family that I was telling you guys about came up and they all hugged me. That was such a celestial moment for me. 

But yea, basically it was sweet.”

“Also as an apartment we watched the video about my family called “The House” the other night. I also got teared up during that and had another spiritual witness that the gospel is true. Just seeing how much it has blessed my family really hit me hard. I remembered that God does that which is good. Anything bad doesn’t come from Him.” 

“I also had a thought about Joseph Smith. Sitting in church looking around seeing all these happy people, I had another witness that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. He literally restored the gospel that brings peace, and gave up everything for it because he knew it was true.”

More from Corey - 

Just re-reading your text, and I take issue with this statement: "I showed you that there is extensive evidence of this assertion. You don't have 'time' to look into this, you said. Corey, you are presenting yourself as someone who says you want the truth, but doesn't act in a manner consistent with his words". I was not saying "I don't have time" to look into this stuff as a way to dismiss it - but that I have not had time this week to look into every thing you have sent and respond quickly....but I'm happy to continue. I've spent a lot of time and lost a lot of money already on consulting revenue (I charge by the hour) going over stuff you have sent me. I work 40-50 hours per week and have lots of kids - I'm very busy so I can't dedicate all of my time to responding to anti-Mormon attacks. I'm not dismissing it, and if you'd like access to my online spreadsheet of accusations you will see that I'm taking a lot of time to understand and respond. That said, the burden of proof should be on the accuser. Give me the best evidence you have that the Smith Family was involved in the occult - it is not enough to say that other people say so - let's get to the original sources. Please define "occult" and give a specific example of it.

You say "the evidence is overwhelming that Joseph Smith was an occultist" - please define the word and list out the specific accusation. Did he sacrifice a chicken looking for buried treasure? Did he kill somebody as part of a secret combination for power? Being brought up on criminal charges is not the same as being an occultist - and I think it was a lot more than 10 times he was charged. You had said he was convicted in the March 1826 trial - but that wasn't true. Do you admit he wasn't convicted of anything in the 1826 trial? Exactly which one of the charges against him proved he was into the occult? I feel like the burden of evidence should be on the person making the accusation. Help me out here and be a bit more specific. Is polygamy part of the occult? Is the teaching of "blood atonement" further evidence of the occult?

As for blood atonement - I accept the fact that (as the church has stated): "In the mid-19th century, when rhetorical, emotional oratory was common, some church members and leaders used strong language that included notions of people making restitution for their sins by giving up their own lives." I also accept the church's statement that "However, so-called 'blood atonement,' by which individuals would be required to shed their own blood to pay for their sins, is not a doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We believe in and teach the infinite and all-encompassing atonement of Jesus Christ, which makes forgiveness of sin and salvation possible for all people."

Is the implication that early Latter-day saints killed their enemies to satisfy some occult/religious sacrament? Is this related to the accusation that our missionaries are CIA spies? The teaching (such as it was) was meant to be a voluntary offering as part of repenting for serious crimes. This isn't taught and nobody hears about it until it is occasionally recycled by critics. Sometimes I imagine how other societies would judge us for the issues/discourses of our time. Our church is trying really hard to show love for LGBTQ people - perhaps those could be quoted after Christ returns to say that our church wasn't actually serious about sexual purity?

I've appreciated how candid you've been with the issues fracturing the Catholic church today, and yet have continued to maintain your faith in the church. With that in mind, it feels a little like straining at gnats to reference a February 1857 discourse by Brigham Young as evidence my church is Satanic. The gospel has many principles, and we encourage members to gain a testimony of each individually - the "blood atonement" isn't on that list of gospel principles.

I would encourage you to focus some of your attention on The Book of Mormon. There are a few key primary questions and an endless list of secondary questions. Primary questions are ones that really matter, that if you know the answer to them - the secondary questions are either answered or are fine to stay unresolved for now. A good primary question is whether Jesus Christ is the Son of God and sacrificed himself for the sins of mankind. If you believe that, you can usually handle some of the secondary questions that come up. For us, a big primary question is whether Joseph Smith was a true prophet. I acknowledge that there is a lot of bad things said about him - but you'd expect that of a true prophet. We need to get to the specifics to decide whether the accusation is fair. Any serious study should also look at the fruits of Joseph Smith, the primary one being The Book of Mormon.

All the said, if you are willing, we'd be happy to have you come and teach our family some time. You can give a lesson on whatever you'd like to share. My daughter Lilian was recently invited to a church activity for another religion - and before the activity they all went around the room and asked everyone to clarify their preferred gender pronouns. It would be nice to have a believer with more traditional values teach about their faith in Christ. My only concern is their attention span - more than few minutes is tough with some of the kids. Our doors are open, but my thumbs are tired - come on by and let's discuss in person!

So Father D hadn't sent us specific charges, we thought we'd look for some ourselves. I did a little  googling of "occult Joseph Smith" and found that him having a Jupiter Talisman was one of the charges, so I sent Corey this link from Fair Mormon and then he sent these messages to Father D. 

In 1974 a man named Dr. Reed Durham said Joseph: "evidently [had a Talisman] on his person when he was martyred. The talisman, originally purchased from the Emma Smith Bidamon family, fully notarized by that family to be authentic and to have belonged to Joseph Smith, can now be identified as a Jupiter talisman." He later is reported to have said: “I now wish I had presented some of my material differently… For instance, at the present time, after rechecking my data, I find no primary evidence that Joseph Smith ever possessed a Jupiter talisman. The source for my comment was a second-hand, late source. It came from Wilford Wood, who was told it by Charlie Bidamon, who was told it by his father, Lewis Bidamon, who was Emma’s second husband and a non-Mormon not too friendly to the LDS Church. So, the idea that the Prophet had such a talisman is highly questionable!”

A list of the items on Joseph’s possession at the time of his death was originally published in 1885 in Iowa by James W. Woods, Smith's lawyer, who collected the prophet's personal effects after the Martyrdom. The contents from the published 1885 printing are as follows – with no mention of a talisman mentioned:

“Received, Nauvoo, Illinois, July 2, 1844, of James W. Woods, one hundred and thirty- five dollars and fifty cents in gold and silver and receipt for shroud, one gold finger ring, one gold pen and pencil case, one penknife, one pair of tweezers, one silk and one leather purse, one small pocket wallet containing a note of John P. Green for $50, and a receipt of Heber C. Kimball for a note of hand on Ellen M. Saunders for one thousand dollars, as the property of Joseph Smith.” - Emma Smith.

Here is another potential source for the charges of the occult. A man named D. Michael Quinn was raised a Latter-day Saint and taught history BYU as a historian for about a dozen years. He resigned from BYU in 1988, around the same time his marriage ended and he came out as a homosexual. Eventually he was ex-communicated from the church. He also published a book about same-sex friendships and romances in 19th-century Mormonism. He died last year, but in 2017 he did a history of the church’s finances and said his findings were “an enormously faith-promoting story…If Latter-day Saints could see ‘the larger picture,’” they would “breathe a sigh of relief and see the church is not a profit-making business.” There were a lot of people who complained about the church building the City Creek Mall in 2012 – saying it was not good for a church to spend that money on a commercial activity.

Anyway, Quinn wrote a book called “Early Mormonism and the Magic World View” – the introduction to the book says there is “ample evidence for folk magic in nineteenth-century New England, as he does in Mormon founder Joseph Smith’s upbringing” and makes some claims including:

Claims books on magic and the occult readily available on the 19th century frontier (critics say he miscites his source, doubles the cited figure, and conflates book peddlers with all peddlers)

Claims the word "jugglers" means "conjurors" in the definition of what a “disorderly person” is. The Laws of the State of New-York, Revised and Passed at the Thirty-Sixth Session of the Legislature (Albany: Southwick, 1813) says the following with Quinn’s insertion of “[conjurors]” in this book, but not in the original: “Disorderly Persons" "all jugglers [conjurors], and all persons pretending to have skill in physiognomy, palmistry, or like crafty science, or pretending to tell fortunes, or to discover lost goods." (critics say it is clear that those referred to are those who attempt to extract money from others by deceit)

Claims Joseph gave Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball divining rods as a symbol of gratitude for their loyalty – (those checking the source says it contradicts what he says)

I haven’t gone through all the claims, but I’ve seen some rebuttals. It looks like Quinn was generally a respected/talented man who had some issues that distanced himself from the church. He is reported to have said: “I’m a seventh-generation Mormon. Nothing can take that away from me”. This is the first time the “glass-looking” charge in court make sense as “evidence” he’s into the occult. If I’m reading it right, Joseph was charged with disorderly conduct which Quinn redefines as “conjuror”.

It makes sense that a discontent, excommunicated member of the church would look for an explanation of Joseph’s Spiritual experiences. Your neighbor Jacob recently posted on Facebook that after he left the church he couldn’t explain Joseph’s revelations until he discovered hallucinogenic substances (some of his other posts suggest that he may be into those now).

Help me out here - what is the conclusive evidence…Freemasonry?

A man named Abner Cole was a contemporary of Joseph Smith and editor of the newspaper The Reflector. Cole obtained segments of the Book of Mormon (before it was published) by stealing the typeset of Grandin’s press and printed those segments of the Book of Mormon calling it "Jo Smith's Gold Bible" accompanied by his own criticisms. Joseph had obtained a copyright and confronted Cole who stopped stealing and printing segments. Cole stopped copyright infringement, but then printed satires of the Book of Mormon called "Book of Pukei”. In the Book of Pukei, Cole claimed that there was a man named “Walters the Magician” who was involved in witchcraft and money-digging – and he took Joseph Smith into the woods on nighttime money-digging excursions. According to the Book of Pukei, they drew a magic circle, sacrificed a rooster, and dug for treasure but never found anything. Walters then left and left the mantel to Joseph Smith. Cole called Joseph an ignoramus, criminal, and servant of Satan. I haven’t found evidence of historians who take the Book of Pukei seriously – only that it was satire.

Speaking of “magic circles”, our friend Quinn (previous text) claims one LDS reference supporting the use of magic circles. Here is the quote of what Lucy writes in 1845:

“Now I shall change my theme for the present. But let not my reader suppose that, because I shall pursue another topic for a season, that we stopped our labor and went at trying to win the faculty of Abrac, drawing Magic circles or sooth saying to the neglect of all kinds of business. We never during our lives suffered one important interest to swallow up every other obligation. But, whilst we worked with our hands, we endeavored to remember the service of, and the welfare of our souls.”

I would have thought Lucy Smith might have used the phrase “magic circle” alluding to Cole’s allegations. LDS historian Richard Bushman notes, "Lucy Smith's main point was that the Smiths were not lazy as the [anti-Mormon] affidavits claimed—they had not stopped their labor to practice magic." But Quinn interprets that the passage is admission that they DID practice magic circles – just that they were careful not to let it interfere with their other activities. If they did, it seems like there would have been other references to it.

So, our evidence of the occult so far includes:

Accusation Joseph had a talisman on him when he died

Books on magic were available

Joseph was charged with disorderly conduct, which Quinn interprets as being a “conjurer” though its not in the statute

Joseph may have given followers “divining rods”?

The Book of Pukei satire

A non-obvious interpretation of something Lucy Mack Smith wrote using the words “magic circles”

Considering the accusations and rebuttals, I’m not yet convinced. I guess next stop will be Freemasonry. I’m not all that familiar with Freemasonry other than knowing a lot of notables were members (Benjamin Franklin, 14 Presidents of the US including George Washington, 13 signers of the Declaration of Independence, Henry Ford, Cecil B. DeMille, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, and Beethoven). According to Wikipedia, Pope Leo XIII (was he a good one?) wrote “that his primary objection to Masonry was naturalism, his accusations were about pantheism, rationalism, and naturalism; but not about Satanism”

So, the discussion continues! We've been sharing the dialogue with our missionaries, it's fun to search other people's questions, cause I find answers, even if they don't think they are answers. Jesus has the answers and he shows them to me as I study the scriptures and the restored gospel. I love it and I feel  so edified when I study. It feels clear and sure and I know I'm standing on a firm foundation. I'll end with this thought from Brother Halverson's talk that I shared a few days ago - Start at 1:26:58 for a little comparison to a black and white photograph and it's negative, then he shares:

"I had an evangelical friend call me once, an anti mormon, but we got along well, and he said 'Halverson, just leave your Church and join mine! You know you like evangelical doctrine!' 'I do! I love how much you love Jesus. But I love him that much too. I just know a little bit more about him, premortally and American ministry, and so it's just no, I'd miss too much. I appreciate your concern for the welfare of my soul, but in the arithmetic of my deconversion it would be nothing but subtraction for me.' And he said 'I know! Because you Mormons added things you shouldn't have so you need subtraction in your life!' I'm like 'I know where you're coming from... the difference is though, If I were being honest with you, and I'm trying to be, if I left the church over issue A, B, and C, and I know they're there... they've driven some people out.... I would lose sleep every day for the rest of my life over the Book of Mormon. Cause I wouldn't be able to explain it in any way that was intellectually satisfying, not to mention spiritually satisfying. That book has a hold on my head and my heart in ways that that exclamation point would forever remain a question mark for me if I left.'"

If we ever left the church, we would lose so much knowledge, it's just not worth it. I'll stay and deal with the questions, cause I am so grateful for all the answers it give in other areas. I never want to give those up!

Monday, January 24, 2022

Passports and Mission Email

This morning we got the little boys up early to leave with us for a passport appointment at 9:00. 

It's always a shame to have to wake up sleeping children.

I scheduled for Sophi and Natalie to get their passports renewed because Corey's thinking of taking all the girls on a trip to central America, Guatemala specifically cause we got some connections there. So, he's keeping his eyes on cheap airfare and as soon as something comes up he'll probably book it. I took care of what I could on my end my scheduling passport appointments. I filled out their applications online, but then our printer wasn't working this morning, so we saved them to a thumb drive and Corey went by UPS to print them up, and I went down to the appointment with my 4 kids in tow. Masks are required, and Peter said "I want one!" and this was his first time ever wearing a face mask! 

Waiting a few minutes for Corey to arrive. 
I went in and did most of the paper work turning in, then Sophi and Natalie came back to get their pictures taken, then they went back out with Corey for a minute. He entertained them with youtube. 
Then I watched them while Corey went in to sign his name, and then we were done. Back to school for Sophi and Natalie, then it was a normal day at home. The house is still clean today! We had orange chicken and rice and sweet potatoe fries for dinner. Here's a video moment of our meal time conversation ~

Ethan sent a great email today. He was feeling down last week and didn't write anything, and we heard a little bit why today, but we were very grateful that this week was wonderful for him. It seems like that is how missions are, and life too. When you're in a down mood and a low spot, just hold on, cause there will most likely be a good week or good mood coming soon to balance it out. As CS Lewis says, it's the law of undulation and it's part of every department of human life. Just hang in there, things will work out, and all will seem right, but usually then it only means you're ready for another testing experience again! I also love this quote by President Gordon B. Hickley that we have up on the wall here at home: "I have learned that when good men and good women face challenges with optimism, things will always work out! Truly, things always work out! Despite how difficult circumstances may look at the moment, those who have faith and move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out.”

Sunday, January 23, 2022

Slow Sunday

Hello. I'm 21 weeks along today in my pregnancy. Over half way, yay. It was a good day. With church, we had sacrament meeting but the 2nd hour was at home. Not for the primary kids though, just for adult Sunday school. We were glad they were quiet enough for us to listen. We generally try to discourage the kids from getting their little bodies in our bed, but it was a lazy time after church and we found them all in our bed.

I'm not sure what they were watching. I'll hope it was family videos. We are hoping that the covid spike slows down but I do miss the days of quarantine with everyone home. Now they are off in all the corners of the world. We are excited for Mel to come home soon, just a little over 6 more weeks! Joseph sent us a photo of him fulfilling his 22 years of life duty of having breakfast at midnight. 
That's all for today. 

Saturday, January 22, 2022

Cleaning, Basketball, Talk

Three items for today - our clean home, Sophi's basketball game, and an awesome fireside talk.

1 - On Wednesday morning, I was doing a bit of scripture study, and after 20 minutes I felt myself getting drowsy, so I was about to stop and take a nap when my phone rang. It was my lovely twin sister Nicole. Then, instead of taking a nap and slowing down my day, we visited and talked about cleaning our homes and decluttering. Her two critieria: Does it have a place? Does it have a purpose? Also asking herself for the different areas of her home: What would bring me and my family joy in this space? She also mentioned how her oil light in her car has been on for over two weeks and every time she sees it, it drains a bit of her energy (silent to do list!) and so she finally took care of it today and it was 5 minutes. As she said that, I jumped up and cleaned my toilets, cause they need to be clean, and it doesn't really take long, and I'll feel better once their clean, so we kept talking and my toilets were clean within 10 minutes and then I just kept on cleaning and cleaning. My visit with Nicole stopped when Melodie called for her p-day, but my cleaning stayed on track all day and then all day Thursday too. 

The state of cleanliness in our home has been pretty darn good since Wednesday and I'm so grateful that it hasn't felt hard or all consuming. Here we are after a weekend with everyone home and the house still looks good! 

I've even still had time to practice violin some, do gospel study, and I exercised tonight too! (Although I did a few rounds of a lower body workout on Tuesday and have hardly been able to walk since I woke up Wednesday... I'm still so sore today, I have to hold the walls each time I go up or down the stairs. That's what I get for pushing myself too hard esp when I hadn't exercised my legs since October! I did upper body at the gym today and walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes, hoping the blood flow will help flush out the soreness...) Anyway, back to cleaning - it's great. I feel like things are the same as they were last year at this time, when I was in the zone and it felt great. That season passed, and things cluttered up again. This might pass too, but maybe I really am progressing and changing (repenting!) and it's maybe sticking. Sometimes it feels so easy with just 8 kids. Or if Wes is at work and there are just 7 kids sitting down to dinner, Corey and I look at each other and say "Easy!" Abi has really been a great help lately. She and Lily had online school this whole week because their school moved online to try and help keep covid numbers down. She's been anxious to earn money, and Corey said he'd pay her for work around the house. That got us going, and I've been working harder than her the past 4 days and it's great. Natalie shares a room with Abi and is following her lead and made this list of rules for their bedroom that made me laugh out loud. Cute Natalie - 

Watch out for rule #10: "If Do not follow rules - Banished"! I hope everyone is careful! Also rule #6 made me laugh.

2 - I took Sophi to her basketball game this morning at 8:30. She likes Jr. Jazz. 
They won their game 24-12. 
She's a good little athlete. :) Another Saturday on the books. Wes worked a lot. The kids all practiced their music without a fight. Natalie made a to-do list and did a good job following it. We thought Father David might be coming up for dinner, but then he didn't message so we figured it was cancelled. 

3 - He and Corey have been having a text conversation that I might share sometime. It's been really great for us to do research as he's pointed out alleged problems with our faith, but a lot of it we knew and were able to defend, not that he's convinced, but as we have studied it has a just solidified our faith. THIS TALK below by Brother Jared Halverson was so good - My scripture study group shared it, I watched it, shared it with Corey, and again we were both like "YES!" It's TRUE, and it's real. Yes, there are unanswered questions, and we're ok with that, cause we're not giving up all the answers that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ provide. It's awesome. This talk is worth your time to listen to!
It's 11:35 and the kids (WAL) are all still awake and in our room talking to Corey. I better to kick them out, but we have really fun conversations everynight as Corey shares clips with the kids about relationships, the gospel, Jim Gaffigan and proctology, Crime watch, and that was what we covered tonight. The gospel helps us navigate this big bad world, and we're doing our best to prepare our kids to face it.

Friday, January 21, 2022

Curiosity Museum and Gospel Study Links

Natalie stayed home from school most of this week with a sore throat. She really hasn't been acting sick at all though, but I was sick for like 3 weeks with the cough and sore throat, so we still didn't want to pass it along. Natalie has been telling me how bored she is though, so today I had her go to school. She masked up and everything seemed good. Abi and Lily have been all online this week, and they woke up at 11 and then wanted to go do something. But we had lost our chance, since it was early out day and I like being home when kids get home from school. I joined a Bible study zoom call at 11:30 and the kids hovered over me a bit. Finally it was 2 and the elementary kids got home. Abi decided not to go, but I was glad Lily came. We went to Thanksgiving Point and were in the jungle area first. Lily climbing around in the nets. Peter wanted me to follow him, but with my pregnant belly, I told him it's a no. Thankfully he didn't object to Lily following him. Thanks for taking the bullet for me, Lil!

I sat on a bench and listened to a church podcast, accidentally dozed off for a few minutes, and then went to find them upstairs - Lily had taken them up to Kidopolis. Daniel as the parrot in a pirate show.

Owen is a pirate who captured the princess Natalie. Peter was a eagle. His role was to just flap his arms and fly. 
With 30 minutes left, we headed over to one more venue - Waterworks. Natalie was getting a bit wild in there. It started when Lily "accidentally" put a hose over a wall and got Natalie's hair wet. And then Natalie just embraced getting wet.
She even filled up her boots and was making puddles to jump in and everything. 
They all got soaked. Soaked from the waist down atleast. 
They had fun, and we picked up Little Caesar's on the way home for date night. Corey and I went to India house. Corey was a bit late coming, cause he was replying to a text from Father David, and that's what we talked about mostly during our dinner. I love reading Corey's responses, he's really good and thorough and understanding and restating and clarifying... I think it comes with the way he thinks as a software engineer. We enjoy defending our beliefs. The part I love most is studying and learning more about our faith as I dig into accusations and then learning even more and gaining more of a conviction that it is true. It is so edifying, it makes so much sense, it is exciting! It is delicious to my soul! Corey and I love listening to Jared Halverson's podcast/youtube channel Unshaken. My Bible study group shared this fireside that Brother Halverson just gave and it is so good. I wish Father David and all the people interviewed in the "What Mormon's believe" video he sent us could listen to that talk. I think it would answer so many of their doubts. I have loved studying the Old Testament so far this year. The guests on the Follow Him podcast have been so good - I've listened to all of these and highly recommend them - go give these a listen!! If you can only get to a few of them, atleast do Part 2 with Kerry Mulestein or Part 1 with Joshua Sears:

Part 1 and part 2 with Kerry Muhlestein discussing Moses 1 and Abraham 3
Part 1 and Part 2 with Joshua Sears - on Genesis 1-3, Moses 2-3, Abraham 4-5. These were so good!! "I thought I had read these chapters before!"
Part 1 and Part 2 with Shon Hopkin. Genesis 3-4, Moses 4-5
Part 1 and Part 2 with Jenet Erickson on Genesis 5 and Moses 6

Thursday, January 20, 2022

School Pictures

Sophi, Natalie, and Owen all got their class pictures today. I haven't ordered individual pictures for years, cause I take enough pictures of them everyday that I don't feel like I need them. But I do like them having a record of the kids that were in their class with them, so we get the class photo every year. And from those photos, here are the pictures of my elementary kiddos. Sophi in 4th grade-

Natalie in 3rd -
Owen in 1st grade.
Wes is enjoying BYU online high school so far. He was working in the front room today, because he hasn't put away his laundry yet so his desk wasn't available. 
He's gone to work with Corey at the Salt Mine a few times, and also worked at Corey's parents' house. He's still finding his rhythm, but he's doing good. He signed up for 3 more classes and to graduate in 2023 he needs to finish 3 classes every 3 months, so that's the pace he is going at right now. And doing just 3 at a time to keep it a bit more simple, like instead of doing 6 classes in 6 months. I've been doing a ton of cleaning yesterday and today, but haven't done his room yet. Maybe I'll help him out later after I finish other things. Lily and Sophi's room needed the most help, and I'm happy to report that we made a dent in that today. 
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