We recently laid my mother to rest after she passed peacefully in a care facility in the presence of family. My mother had her funeral planned in advance, but COVID threw many traditions out the window and we ended up hosting a Zoom funeral in a totally different way. This article shares some ideas if you find yourself in the sad situation of planning a virtual funeral, like so many during this difficult time. Funerals are so very important, and I hope this helps you to properly honor a life.
Before getting into the details, I do want to say that we were blessed with the opportunity to be with my mother before she passed. We had the gift of taking shifts round-the-clock vigil while holding her hand, and all seven of her children were together with her at one point. …
The late management guru Stephen R. Covey made the words seven habits almost a brand name with the success of his bestselling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
But what of the seven habits of the highly unsuccessful, those who launch high-profile businesses only to have their dreams crash and burn, sometimes taking others’ personal savings with them? What are their recurring habits that lead to self-destruction and business failure?
Some would ask, “Why would we want to know these habits?” I believe knowing the habits of the highly unsuccessful might be just as practical as learning the habits of the successful. At least one would know what to avoid!
Here’s my list of the seven habits of the highly unsuccessful:
Get an office in a high-rent district. Many start-up owners, especially if they come from large companies, feel they need to put forth a great image …
The following is excerpted from the Church News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
Just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, a Church News Viewpoint posed a hypothetical question: “What would we give to live Sept. 10, 2001, again?”
For most Latter-day Saints living in the United States, that forgettable Sept. 10th was a Monday filled with Monday’s rituals: the beginning of a new work week, family home evening, and maybe an hour or two watching the football game.
“Who knew,” the Viewpoint author asked, “that Monday would be the day before a new generation would suffer its own day of infamy.”
The ongoing COVID-19 tragedy did not arrive with 9/11’s noise and suddenness. Outside of China, where the virus was beginning to claim headlines, most began 2020 with little association with pandemics outside of a few doomsday flicks and perhaps …
Relationships require selfless service to survive. Although there are multiple reasons people cite for their relationship dysfunctions, from infidelity to arguments, relationship problems usually all have two things in common: dishonesty and selfishness.
According to The Institute For Family Studies, the leading causes of divorce are: infidelity, incompatibility, drinking or drug use, growing apart, a lack of commitment, and too much arguing.
In my own studies of families who are working to overcome dysfunctional family relationships and fractured family bonds through Teaching Self-Government parenting services, I’ve noticed that the main causes of broken or damaged family bonds can be grouped into a handful of reasons. These reasons include: lack of communication, laziness, not valuing family, arguing and fights, lies and manipulations, excuses for bad behavior, disrespect for parental authority and position of the child, losing common values, and only being concerned with one’s own feelings and wants.
Some years ago, my husband and I were living in Florida looking for a home to buy. A friend in the ward let us know about a home in her neighborhood that soon would be available for purchase. We bought the property, and we moved in. We enjoyed the spacious corner, but the entire property only had one medium-sized tree, and that oak tree was in the wrong place. We felt troubled because our only tree sat just three feet from our bathroom window. We recognized that as the tree grew into fuller maturity, its roots would invade the piping underneath the bathroom part of the house and cause serious damage.
It appeared that the tree would need to be destroyed. We mourned the idea of losing the only tree we had, but we also knew we needed to be good stewards in protecting and preserving our home against future …
In its 43rd year, the annual Festival of Lights at the Washington, DC Temple grounds and adjacent Visitors’ Center offered a unique drive-through edition this December due to COVID-19 safety recommendations. The driving route gave visitors a special, close-up view of the iconic Washington, D.C. Temple since it closed for renovations in March of 2018. A landmark used for traffic reports, the Washington, D.C. Temple sits atop a hill close to the Capital Beltway and is viewed daily by thousands driving on one of the busiest freeways in the United States. This brief video beautifully captures how tens of thousands of attendees enjoyed this beloved community tradition celebrating Jesus Christ’s birth with stunning views of over 400,000 colorful lights and two life-sized nativities.
“The Festival of Lights has brought people from all over the region together in joy and peace for decades. While 2020 has modified the Christmas plans for …
In my own family we have a spectrum of political opinions. When I’ve suggested we all leave politics at the door, one of our grown kids actually argues with that.
How can we turn off the contention and restore peace? Let me start with an idea I heard years ago: “The secret to peace isn’t war; it’s travel.” This is a wonderful reminder that when we get to know someone—really know them—we grow to love them. We’d never declare war on them.
So the first step is to really get to know the other person. Instead of sizing them up as unreasonable or close-minded, let’s be reasonable and open-minded. Let’s ask questions and actually listen.
Say someone has made a statement you disagree with—in fact, you know they’re dead wrong and you want to set them straight. But how often does that work? Have you ever been in a quarrel …
The following first appeared in Imprimis.It was contributed by Larry P. Arnn.
I taught a course this fall semester on totalitarian novels. We read four of them: George Orwell’s 1984, Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength.
The totalitarian novel is a relatively new genre. In fact, the word “totalitarian” did not exist before the 20th century. The older word for the worst possible form of government is “tyranny”—a word Aristotle defined as the rule of one person, or of a small group of people, in their own interests and according to their will. Totalitarianism was unknown to Aristotle, because it is a form of government that only became possible after the emergence of modern science and technology.
The old word “science” comes from a Latin word meaning “to know.” The new word “technology” comes …
This simple but important message is taught right there in the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants: “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself”. Jesus Christ doesn’t make excuses, there’s a lesson in that for us.
Listen as we explore more about this concept in the video below:
It’s hard to leave our intense Book of Mormon studies behind, but we are now given the immense privilege of studying the Doctrine and Covenants and the early history of the Church and the Restoration of God’s Kingdom here upon the earth in our day. What could be more exciting?
Hasn’t this been a glorious year in carefully studying the Book of Mormon as individuals and families? Did you notice time and time again that the lesson for that week was just the answer you needed for yourself, your family or for the current situation in the world? Have you found that you have drawn closer to Christ in this past year of study? It’s hard to leave our intense Book of Mormon studies behind, but we are now given the immense …
