Dissing My Religion

I rarely get political here, and that's not my intention today either. I suspect my readership is about evenly comprised of liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats...with a mix of Independents and Libertarians thrown in for good measure. And I like it that way.

For the record, my views no longer fit neatly into any one party platform. Liberal and conservative, depending upon the issue, I now choose candidates based on character and integrity as much or more than party affiliations or positions. I also respect every person's right to support whatever candidate(s) he or she feels inclined to support, and I have no problem agreeing to disagree on issues and policies. I enjoy and appreciate the give and take of respectful political discussion.

Sadly, respectful political discussion is increasingly hard to come by, and personal attacks have become part and parcel of every race. Recent words from Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC have left me fuming, because in an attempt to discredit Mitt Romney, this unscrupulous commentator has launched an attack on my religion. The hostile tone of O'Donnell's remarks, along with their departure from anything even approaching the truth, disturbs and offends me on every level. Even more disturbing and offensive is the complete lack of response from MSNBC, a news organization that should hold Mr. O'Donnell (and itself) responsible for dispensing vitriol and failing to vet material.

How is it that Lawrence O'Donnell has called the LDS faith, practiced by 14 million people worldwide and 5 1/2 million citizens of this country, "demented, fraudulent, and ridiculous" without repercussions to his career? And where is the justification for his latest spew on MSNBC, excerpted as follows:

"Mormonism was created by a guy in upstate New York in 1830 when he got caught having sex with the maid and explained to his wife that God told him to do it..." (It gets worse, but I don't want to give his verbal garbage additional play on my blog.)

Surely there can be no excuse for this kind of disrespect in the public arena. Not only is it patently untrue, but it's completely inappropriate in every way imaginable. I am dumbfounded that any of this nonsense would make it past the cutting room floor, and I am troubled by what I sincerely hope will not become a trend.

We, the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, deserve better. And so does our national discourse.

Vitellus

Vitellus

©2012 Susan Noyes Anderson

Protected by the

dark, we cling

to blind security.

We’re yellow at

the center

egg whites of our

eyes won’t see.

Living pecks us.

Pecks away.

Peck peck peck pecks

us free.

Imagine our

surprise: the shells

are more fragile

than we.

Sez Who?

Okay, today Jenny's Saturday Centus challenge is to use 25 words or less to create the inside text of a greeting card with this silly dog on the front. What will that woman think of next?? Here goes...

∞§∞

Who sez you look like a dog canine?

Don't caste your butterflies pearls before the swine.

Your Easter bonnet is divine!

∞§∞

The Savior's Gift to Us

I'm pretty much living and breathing Easter this week, and that feels good. We are preparing and practicing for what promises to be a wonderful program Sunday in the young single adult congregation that my husband has the good fortune of leading. This carefully orchestrated blend of words and music will be presented to themselves, by themselves (or by a big number of them, anyway), and that's why it's going to be lovely. Simply because they are.

Last night, I had the narrators over for a practice and was so touched by the way they interpreted my poetry about Christ, His atonement, and the resurrection that I couldn't stop thinking about them after they went home. These are talented, remarkable women, and I am glad to know them. After rehearsing, the two of them joined a dozen or so of their peers around our kitchen table to discuss ways to minister to the 125 active members they serve in their capacity as ward leaders. What an amazing group of people they all are. We love them.

How grateful I am for the atonement of Christ, whose love for us is beyond imagining. Because of His sacrifice...His willingness to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows...my brother-in-law (who lost his father Monday morning and will eulogize him tomorrow) can know for a surety that death is but a temporary separation before that joyful day of reunion arrives.

Surely there can be no greater gift than this, and resurrection is only a culminating event of the Savior's offering. When we open our hearts, His saving grace reaches out to every one of us...in every extremity we suffer...for there is nothing we can experience on this earth, no matter how painful, that He has not already experienced in our behalf...no suffering so personal that He cannot extend the healing comfort of His perfect love and understanding.

Having completed Stephanie Nielson's book (Heaven is Here) yesterday, I decided to read a few reviews and see if others enjoyed it as much as I did. My interest captured, I wound up pouring over considerably more than a few, and nearly every one of them expressed in one form or another the belief that Stephanie's faith is what pulled her through one of the worst trials imaginable. I agree wholeheartedly with that conclusion, and I would suggest that her remarkable faith and healing is powered by the atonement of Jesus Christ.

I would also suggest that much of His work must be carried forward by us, for we are His hands here on earth, as I'm sure Stephanie can attest. She has felt God's sustaining hand through the hands of those who know and love her...and those who do not know, but love her.

May we all embrace the Savior's incomparable gift, and may we use it to fulfill His desires for us:

"For behold, this my work and my glory––to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

Moses 1:39

The Savior's Art

©1999 by Susan Noyes Anderson, Awaken Your Spiritual Power, Karisma Press

If I accept His sacrifice divine,

Returning love for love as He has done;

If I forget myself and touch the one

Whose sorrows weigh as heavily as mine;

Then will I weave my thread in His design,

That great design the Master's hand has spun;

Wherein salvation through His blood is won,

And all are fed and nurtured on His vine.

If I reach out and calm a troubled heart,

Or let another heal the rift in me;

If, in distress, I take another's part,

As Jesus took mine at Gethsemane;

Then I embrace the Savior's loving art,

And honor Him throughout eternity.

"I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me and I in him,

the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me, ye can do nothing."

John 15:4

And isn't it wonderful?

=)

The Tale of the Easter Bunny

©2010 Susan Noyes Anderson

all rights reserved

I know a great story you may not have heard.

It really did happen. For sure. Every word.

It's all about Easter, which seems pretty right.

Cuz Easter is here. Well, almost, but not quite.

One day, Easter Bunny woke up feeling blue.

His hen friends had quit laying eggs. Yep, it’s true!

Not one single egg for three days. No, not one.

Would his Easter bunny-ing ever get done?

That gathering, dyeing, and hiding job's tough

without any eggs. None just isn't enough!

It's not even close to enough; let's get real.

This Easter egg thing is a pretty big deal.

So Bunny took notes till his brain was quite sore.

He thought thoughts that he’d never thought of before.

Had something gone wrong with the hens? Something bad?

Had someone done something to make them feel sad?

Or maybe their stomachs were feeling quite sick.

He had to find out, and it had to be quick!

He hopped to the henhouse and made his way in,

then straightened his bunny ears, stuck out his chin...

And took a deep breath. There were eggs to be laid…

fresh eggs, yolky stuff of which Easter is made.

(His whiskers were twitching; he’d heard some reports

that hens could be mean when they felt out of sorts.)

The oldest one clucked and looked up from her perch.

"We ain’t got no eggs, rabbit! Don’t even search.

You've been a good friend to us over the years,

but we’re plum fed up with them pigs and their sneers.

They look down on us cuz we can’t be ham dinners…

like Easter’s a contest, and they’re the big winners.

What’s wrong with egg salad and sweet, deviled eggs?

These swine think that they’re the best thing on four legs.

Hmph. Next thing you know, they'll be stealing our wings!

They treat us like peasants and call themselves kings.

Soon, they're gonna learn Easter's not about ham.

Most humans would be just as happy with lamb...

But Easter eggs can’t be replaced; it's a shame.

Without eggs from us, Easter won't be the same.

No colorful baskets. No Easter egg hunts.

These porkers will find out they're nothing but grunts."

“But what of the children?” the sad bunny cried.

“They’ll just have to manage. We hens have our pride,”

sniffed the bird. They can make it through one egg-less year.

We’re striking. That’s it! Chicken power is here!!

Chicken power indeed, thought the hare with a frown.

These henhouse hysterics will not keep me down.

I’ll make eggs of shiny-bright plastic to hide,

with Easter-y colors and candy inside!

These hens need to realize (just like each pig)

that they aren't the reason why Easter is BIG.

Oh, sure, ham is yummy and egg hunts are fun,

but Easter’s a symbol of new life begun.

The birds in their nests and the buds on the trees

remind us of nature and sweet mysteries…

Of birth and of death and of living again

because of our Savior, who died for all men.

He rose on the third day, that first Easter morn,

when death was defeated and hope was reborn.

(This made Bunny smile, just as all bunnies do

whenever they think of things lovely and true.)

I'm telling his tale to remind everyone

that Easter's about something more than just fun.

It’s all about Jesus, as simple as that.

(But I’ll still be wearing my cute Easter hat.)

And you can wear yours, too. How perfect is that?

=)

Happy Easter to Jeremiah, Carli, and Bryce

with lots and lots of love

from

♥ Grandma Anderson ♥

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