-
Sabbath Devotional :: The Influence of the Restoration
This year is the 200th anniversary of the First Vision; it’s been 200 years since a young teen asked God which church was true. I stand all amazed at what has transpired since that day. I’ve been pondering what the Restoration has meant in my life. When the missionaries rang our doorbell 38 years ago, I was a young mother with two young daughters. A year and a half later, my husband, our two little girls and I knelt around the altar in the new Atlanta Temple to be sealed as a family. Faithful members in our little branch nurtured, served and loved us. Since then, we have served in…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Preserve the Relationship
I had the privilege to grow up in a lovely ward filled with sincerely good people. Two of them were Marjorie and Gordon Hinckley. Because they were people of great humility and good sense, and probably because my parents were too, to me they just blended in. Sister Hinckley stands out in my childhood memory not as someone I knew to be important, but simply as someone I remember as being fun, warm, and very kind. It is perhaps because of these qualities that six of her words, spoken in a sacrament meeting, have stayed with me for decades. They were simply this: “Above all else, preserve the relationship.” The…
-
Black History Month :: 12 Book Recommendations from MWEG Members
Looking for book recommendations to read during Black History Month (and beyond)? Our MWEG members weighed in, and we have a mile-long list of books and authors to help you celebrate black excellence. We’re sharing a sampling of the most recommended books here.
-
Awareness Wednesday :: Black History Month — Not-So-Fair Housing
Homeownership is the main way most American families build wealth. As they pay off a mortgage and appreciation builds equity, family wealth is increased. With this wealth, homeowners send their children to college, take care of aging parents, and have the means to take care of themselves when they are elderly. Any equity left over is passed on to their children. According to the 2016 US Census Bureau data, 72% of white people own their homes but only 42% of African-American people own their homes. This gap is the result of issues created when the U.S. government mandated segregation in housing beginning in 1933. Soon after the end of the…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Conflict, Contention, and Courage
Today’s Sabbath Devotional muses on “Conflict, Contention and Courage” — peppered with quotes from Birthday Boy Abe Lincoln and others. On February 12, Abraham Lincoln would have been 211 years old. Happy birthday, Abe! This remarkable man knew a lot about conflict, division, and the difficulties and rigors of unity. These are topics we MWEG women confront and wrestle with regularly. Here are samples of his wisdom: “You must remember that some things legally right are not morally right.” “It is a sin to be silent when it is your duty to protest.” “A statesman is he who thinks in the future generations, and a politician is he who thinks…
-
Awareness Wednesday :: Black History Month — Are You Aware of Labor?
“For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.” Psalm 128:2 America was founded on slavery. Most people in North America prior to 1776 labored and did not reap the benefits. The vast majority of the people in the colonies were African slaves. The economy of the British colonies was dependent on the labor of slaves. In fact, in the Americas there were five times as many Africans as white Europeans. About one million Europeans settled in the Western Hemisphere between 1492 and 1776; 5.5 million Africans were brought here. During the colonial period, the most important crop was…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Of Bricks and Mortar
In much of the world, Latter-day Saint houses of worship are traditionally constructed of brick and mortar. I believe those two things are a wonderful metaphor for how we serve in our wards. The bricks we use to build Zion are our callings — the defined jobs we are assigned that allow the gospel to function while simultaneously giving each member purpose and growth. What, then, is the mortar? I believe it is the many small acts of service that individuals perform, often unseen and unbidden, that secure the bricks together. In short, love fills in the cracks and binds us together. We are all familiar with the bricks/callings that…
-
To Whom Will We Show Our Greatest Allegiance?
Almost 50 years ago, at the time of our nation’s bicentennial, President Spencer W. Kimball wrote a powerful sermon about idolatry and its pull on otherwise committed Christians. His concern was not unique to that period; our human tendency to put complete faith in material possessions and raw power has been ever with us and takes many forms. President Kimball described many idols but spoke most specifically about the militaristic tendencies of his flock, saying: “We are a warlike people… When enemies rise up, we commit vast resources to the fabrication of gods of stone and steel… and depend on them for protection and deliverance. When threatened, we become antienemy…
-
Awareness Wednesday :: It’s Black History Month
Many of the lies they told still follow us and continue to shape the lives and deaths of black people in America. I am a white woman. It is Black History Month. It is time to get uncomfortable. It is time to listen.
-
Sabbath Devotional :: The Power of Intervention
My 12-year-old son, Palmer, was leading a family discussion, and he asked us to comment on the following passage: And it came to pass that they were angry with me again, and sought to lay hands upon me; but behold, one of the daughters of Ishmael, yea, and also her mother, and one of the sons of Ishmael, did plead with my brethren, insomuch that they did soften their hearts; and they did cease striving to take away my life. And it came to pass that they were sorrowful, because of their wickedness, insomuch that they did bow down before me, and did plead with me that I would forgive…
