(Note from Daryl: As a follow-up to last month’s column (February 2012), “To Be a Mary or a Martha? An Answer to an Age-old Question,” please see an impressive photo and interesting website information at the end of this column.)
Early in the 1980s, our three youngest children and I had the distinct pleasure of accompanying my husband, Hank, to a businessconvention in Florida. We extended the trip to include a couple of days in Orlando to enjoy the theme parks and EPCOT Center (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), now simply known as EPCOT. Disney World with all its animation and rides was tons of fun, but it was EPCOT with its “Future World” exhibit that made the trip for me.
There, the “House of Tomorrow” with its state of the art computers, and other amazing electronic devices, took my breath away. There has never been at time when I wasnot fascinated by clever, innovative devices and gadgets-especially ones that made housework lighter and more efficient, and family living more enjoyable and meaningful. This exhibit took them to a level almost beyond belief.
I was particularly excited about a small figure in the form of a person (about eight inches tall), surrounded by light, standing on a table. This figure was conducting a two-way conversation with everyone in the room. My first thoughts were of the AngelMoroni and how he appeared to Joseph Smith, encompassed in light. Was what I was seeing at EPCOT some rudimentary form of what could ultimately become interplanetary communication? At the very least, it represented a way we could communicate with people across long distances. I immediately saw application in keeping families in touch across the world. I wondered if I would live long enough, or if technology could advance fast enough, to see this work for me and our family.
Now, thirty years later that “House of Tomorrow” is my “home of today”. It even includes the figure standing on the table, surrounded by light, talking back and forth with others. We call it SKYPE or FaceTime. With just the touch of a few buttons we can activate the program and instantly engage in an exciting, virtual visit with great grandchildren, wherever they may live, whether it is North Carolina or Singapore. It’s a miracle to feel so close to loved ones who are actually thousands of miles away.
I am grateful that the Lord has allowed me to live in a world where such great blessings are available to all of us. I look forward to other new technologies that will help our family and bring us even closer together.
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A follow-up to last month’s column (February 2012), “To Be a Mary or a Martha?An Answer to an Age-old Question.”
40″ bronze sculpture by Annette Everett, artist
Duet, Mary & Martha
I was called as Red Cliffs Stake Relief Society president in 2006. I went to training in Salt Lake City, and as I sat taking notes, the picture came into my mind of the two women [Mary and Martha] back to back, one looking up with scriptures which is one way we sit at the feet of the Savior today, and the other focused down to this Earth and her chores. Both look content and happy. One focused on the Lord, one on serving family and friends, but tied together in movement and inseparable. How could we separate them? We cannot. We are both. I flipped my notebook to the back, drew the picture, and went back to training. It was a gift.
In my sculpture, Mary’s gaze is directed upward toward heaven, representing her spiritual and creative intent. One foot is elevated, ascending. Her hair is a crown. There is a feather etched into her skirts, meant to show her elevated attention. The book she holds represents her personal communication with her Father in heaven. Martha’s gaze is directed down, earthward, her arms full of chores that must be done, her offerings of nourishment to the people she cares about. There is a leaf etched into her skirts, showing her earthly intent. She has a pleasant look on her face because there is satisfaction and comfort in accomplishing our daily chores and seeing to the comfort of loved ones.
The sculpture is about the Mary and the Martha in each of us. Every woman is both Mary and Martha. Our life is a balance. Our dual concerns may demonstrate “an opposition” in all things, giving us the opportunity to make daily choices. If we neglect either part of ourselves, we are incomplete and unhappy. Both qualities are necessary and both are noble-caring for our loved ones, as well as our spiritual and creative selves. The two figures are tied together with their flowing skirts. Together they form a single whole, graceful and dancing. I hope that this piece will speak to everyone viewing it and that each person will come away with his or her own understanding.
Annette Everett, St. George, Utah
Please follow this link to additional photos and more information about “Duet, Mary and Martha
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Daryl Hoole, mother of eight, has been a best-selling author and popular lecturer on home management and family living. Now retired, she enjoys free lance writing. She is answering questions from readers who contact her at [email protected]“>[email protected]. Her “At Home” column appears on the second Monday of each month on Meridian. This information is also available on her personal website
