Tuesdays with Muerte

In the  April 2013 LDS General Conference , church leaders emphasized the need for members to  hasten the work . It's taken some time, but I have begun to think about what it means to "hasten the work," and what I can do, personally, to hasten the hastening. Angel Moroni by Karen What Does It Mean to "Hasten the Work?" The work  refers to the work of salvation or four-fold mission of the Church: to proclaim the gospel, to perfect the saints, to redeem the dead, and to care for the needy. While the work  refers to all four of these emphases, special emphasis has recently been placed upon the gathering of Israel.  In the 2013 special mission presidents' training broadcast,  Elder L. Tom Perry proclaimed, "the need and opportunity to share the gospel has never been greater." It is projected that the Church will have 100,000 full-time missionaries serving by December 2013; almost a 100% increase from the previous year.  (Incident...

Finding Roommate Harmony As we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas, I want to give a shout out to my terrific roommates.  I love the current make up of our house.  My roommates are incredible individuals. However, I think the harmony I feel has less to do with the behavior of others, and more about my own perception of them.  In other words, as I started to change the way I looked at things, the things I looked at changed. I've learned a lot about how to be a good roommate over my past 17 years.  Most of the turmoil I have endured in that time has been caused by my expectations not being met.  (E.g., not doing dishes, breaking the honor code, blasting music at all hours of the night, etc.)  While I'm still far from being a pro at developing positive roommate relationships, here's my observation into my current feeling of success—it's simple: roommates bother me less as I become more loving and accepting of them as people.  Accept that we are dif...

Tired of being in a bad mood? I've got the perfect fix for you. I dare you to not smile throughout this entire YouTube playlist of kids being adorable. (I'm telling you now, you won't be able to do it.)  My Guaranteed to Cheer You Up  playlist works for me every time. I typically break after the first one. All challengers welcome.