Wow, can you imagine what it would be like to control sperm-flow via remote control? This technology is exciting, but scary. What if your parents or bishop got hold of your remote? Or what if your kids found it lying in the bottom of the nightstand drawer and inadvertently flipped the switch? What happens if/when reproduction (for both sexes) becomes just a matter of typing in a password to activate the necessary parts of one’s body?
Me, I’m thrilled that reproductive technology has allowed me to choose when to have my children. But there’s something still a bit too scary about a computer-controlled vasectomy.
Save the Date
2008 Rocky Mountain Retreat for LDS Women,
May 30th - June 1, 2008
Snow Mountain Ranch, YMCA of the Rockies
Featured speaker: Claudia Bushman
More details and registration info coming mid-February
An announcement for Mormon “women of good will” who’d like to spend a weekend in the Colorado Rockies, eating, talking and meeting others. Continue reading ‘Rocky Mountain Retreat’
Religion and comedy have been in the news recently, with some interesting Mormon angles to the story. A few weeks ago the Salt Lake Tribune had an article about Mormon comics that was quite funny. Alas, the article is archived, although you can still view the comments at that site and I think you can pay to see the original at the Trib archive. In today’s Deseret News is another, arising from Mike Huckabee’s joke about a family recipe that offended Catholics. The story also mentions some jokes I’ve collected on my website. Take a minute and enjoy the jokes. It’s Saturday, after all, and you deserve a smile.
For me personally, one of the most important factors in keeping the “Mormon Experience” meaningful in my life has been finding mentors. Getting to know women and men who are bright, compassionate, thoughful and still connected. I am lucky to have had Greg Prince as one of these people in my life. Our families have been friends as long as I can remember. His impact on me has been significant.
This morning I re-read pieces of his interview for the documentary on PBS. It did my heart good. Thanks again Greg.
Here are some of my favorite highlights and a link to the interview:
Continue reading ‘Interview excerpts w/ Greg Prince’
Note to our gentle readers and those who read this blog at work: this post is about sexuality and the more explicit portion is after the “continue reading” link….
As a teen I was always confused what the term “petting” and “necking” meant. I knew what “making out” was and after time came to equate making out and necking. But the petting thing was always a bit of a mystery. Some bishops gave rough definitions like “touching any part of your partner’s body that would normally be covered by a bathing suit.” But the variations of touching were mystifying–did it mean touching while clothed? or touching without clothes? And did touching mean just with a hand or did it mean touching in general (as in, if two people were kissing and rubbing the bathing-suit parts of their bodies together were they ‘petting’)?
I suspect the actual definition of petting varied according to the bishop using the term. What he meant might be totally different from what another bishop meant (as an aside–do they still use this same ‘petting’ terminology with teens or is there some more current lingo?). Continue reading ‘Is it worse?’
When I was about 8 years old, I remember wondering why my Mom was always so exhausted and wishing that she could relax and have some fun. At the time there was a commercial on TV for a particular perfume that featured an energetic woman doing sporty activities. The details are fuzzy now, but I just remember wishing that my Mom could feel that way. So I went to the drugstore with all of my saved up allowance and bought her a bottle of that perfume for her birthday.
I remember seeing the bottle sitting on the back of the toilet in her bathroom for a few years after that, unused. Sometimes I would go in and sniff the perfume and wonder why it didn’t make my Mom feel pretty and energetic. After a few years went by I felt pretty silly about the gift–Mom wasn’t a perfume kind of person to begin with.
Reflecting on that incident now makes me think about my kids and my relationship with them. Do they see me as someone who is happy and fulfilled? Or do they see me as exhausted and careworn? A non-LDS friend attending sacrament meeting with me awhile ago pointed out how tired all of the women looked. I suppose we are a hard-working group of people–especially us women.
I like to be busy and I probably take on too many responsibilities at times. But I hope the vibe I send my kids is that I am happy with my life, and not that I am too weary. They know I like to giggle, and hear their silly stories, and sing along with the radio too loudly. They see me pursuing my hobbies and working hard to achieve my goals. Though I do have my moments of exhaustion, I’d like to think that my bursts of uninhibited joy are more common. I don’t want my kids to think that motherhood or womanhood is self-sacrificing drudgery. I want them to understand that it’s enlivening even if it’s work-intensive.
What about you, what was your perspective on your mother’s life when you were little? And has that changed as you’ve grown up yourself?
An incident at a recent Stake Conference upset me, probably more than it should have. I was upset enough that I left the meeting midway. The episode brought to the forefront something I have known for a long time, even since before I lost my faith: my thinking is not aligned with mainstream Mormon thought. Continue reading ‘Out of Step’
After a year and a half, my wife has become accustomed to the idea that I am essentially an unbelieving Mormon. Along the way we’ve had some conversations that can only be called unpleasant, but these days I am less frustrated, she is less defensive, and we can talk freely about the Church without anybody crying, cursing, or feeling guilty.
Perhaps the most crucial conversation we had came several months ago. Two days previous, my wife had firmly requested that I stop wearing garments unless I planned to return to the temple. “If you’re wearing them just to appease me,” she said, “I wish you wouldn’t.”
Continue reading ‘A trip to the Jockey outlet’
In sacrament meeting two weeks ago, a speaker asked, “What are you willing to give up to be closer to your Father in Heaven? A computer game? A TV show?” She suggested that the time gained by sacrificing this leisure pursuit was to be spent reading the scriptures. Ugh.
I know, I know. It’s good for you. So are brussels sprouts. It is a measure of my spiritual sterility that I would rather play solitaire on my computer (I lost $1000 in pretend money last night during a bout with insomnia) than read the scriptures. I don’t know HOW to read the scriptures. Randomly? Meditatively? Make a plan? Set a date? In the bathtub? Could you, would you, with a fox?
I don’t much like Brussels sprouts, but I like broccoli, and I like cauliflower. I’m not opposed to cruciferous vegetables in principle. Maybe I just need a different approach. I have a KJV and an RSV. I prefer the RSV. Would a different version help? A good study guide? A concordance?
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