A Prayer of Faith

I have to say that I am one of those people who absolutely dislikes summer.  I honestly have a hard time finding anything good about the summer heat.  I don’t like to go out, don’t like to go to family reunions, and get sick most of the time.  My husband laughs at me because I can tell him when the temperature hits 80 degrees.  You would think after all these years of living in a place with hot summers that I would be used to it. There is one thing I do look forward to when summer comes–BYU Education week.  When I can go, I go. Read the rest of this entry »

I am not a gifted storyteller. I can’t take you on the painful and overwhelming journey of discovering and admitting there was something “wrong” with my son. He wouldn’t talk and was socially withdrawn. A possible autistic spectrum diagnosis would go through the mind of anyone who knew enough about it, but language was our primary concern. Over the years he has changed and developed and perhaps the most accurate diagnosis is Specific Language Impairment. Read the rest of this entry »

I have often compared my testimony to a bucket being filled a drop at a time. I have never really had a once-in-a-lifetime “I know it is true” epiphany — yet, I know with an unshakable assurance that the gospel is true. Drops are added to my bucket with every experience I have with the Spirit. Most of those experiences are simple: A talk or a lesson touches me; I’m moved by a hymn; I gain a new insight while reading my scriptures. Nearly thirty years of such experiences have left me with a testimony that is my most prized possession.

When I was young, however, I was bothered at times that I had no special, one-time experience that I thought I needed to be able to say I really knew the Church is true. I think I was especially bothered that I had gone through the “steps” of “Moroni’s promise” (read, ponder, and pray) and not “received an answer” (as if, perhaps, it was something to accomplish, some concrete event to check off my list). After all, some people did have such experiences — and, I confess, I envied them. (I confess that sometimes I still do!) Read the rest of this entry »

By JKS

Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid….”

There is a poem by Minnie Louise Haskins, made famous in 1939 when the King of England, George VI, quoted part of it in his Christmas radio broadcast, which was heard throughout the Empire.

George VI had a speech impediment and was never comfortable speaking in public, but on that December 25th, during the first year of World War II, his words were compelling.

My Grandma, who had always loved literature, recalled these lines a few years later in 1945 in a time of fear and uncertainty. She was divorced, was alone with her daughter, with no place to live, no job, almost no money and no family willing to help. Read the rest of this entry »

We are happy to announce that our sister ‘JKS’ (whom you have likely seen commenting here and on various other LDS sites) will be a guest writer here at Roxcy for the next couple of weeks. You will see her first article tomorrow in our “Every Word” feature. We’re all looking forward to hearing from her!

Welcome, JKS!

If you are interested in being a guest writer at Roxcy, you can find more information here.

What comes to your mind when you think about Mary and Martha, the New Testament sisters? I suspect most of you would probably respond with the story most commonly reflected in a Del Parson painting that often adorns the walls of Relief Society rooms. (In fact, it is usually the only story that comes to my mind, even though there are three stories in the New Testament about these sisters.)

Some of us have probably found ourselves thinking about the story in Luke 10 and trying to determine if we are more like Mary or more like Martha. Perhaps we compare the two, or maybe even feel that one “type” is better than the other. Martha was busily doing necessary service and work. However, the Savior praised Mary, did He not?

Unfortunately, sometimes the phrase of praise that erroneously comes to mind is that “Mary chose the better part.” Read the rest of this entry »

My response to Laura Hamblin’s collection, The Eyes of a Flounder, has been varied and downright disparate. I cannot review this collection of poems as a whole, for each is a standalone work. Some made me want to sing. Others made me scoff, or roll my eyes. A few, I would stand by themselves in a corner and surround with pylons and warning signs. For all that she writes about the Mormon experience, I found neither inspiration nor useful social commentary in her more culturally-charged pieces.

In the most personal of experience, we often find universal truths revealed, and in many of Hamblin’s poems, I feel the pull to such a connection, but not being of her universe, much of her work fell flat for me. She gives powerful and toothy voice to an aspect of LDS womanhood to which I can not relate, such as her repeated portrayals of “The Next Weird Sister.” They were not only alien, but even unpalatable to me. Read the rest of this entry »

My husband recently had a discussion with a friend (I’ll call him Jerry) who is a bishop in a young single adult ward. Trying to make conversation, my hubby asked Jerry about his calling. Imagine my spouse’s shock when Jerry told him that, at any given time, there are about 50 to 75 young adults in his ward who have committed serious sexual sins. Suppose the ward has about 200 members and…well, you do the math. Jerry has delegated everything possible to his counselors so he can dedicate his time to counseling — to try help these young people deal with the fallout of their choices and avoid such pitfalls in the future. Read the rest of this entry »

This will be the last article we will have from Téa for a while, as she has decided it is time for a sabbatical. We will miss, you Téa! Thank you for your contributions!

Saturday morning, 5 April 1997, began like any other morning in my pregnancy–I woke up, stretched slowly, nibbled on crackers and did my best not to vomit.

When my nausea abated, I continued my morning routine and we headed down to the parking garage. We’d accepted an invitation to spend the day watching General Conference with my husband’s brother and family who lived south of Salt Lake City.

As my husband drove our little Mazda truck north on I-15, the engine vibrations and occasional bumps sent my stomach churning again. I found it harder than normal to hear to the radio between the crackling speakers and my queasiness. We were listening to the already underway morning session of the conference—late again, I thought as I looked out at traffic. Read the rest of this entry »

According to my dictionary the definition for “Child” is:

“A young human being below the age of full physical development, or below the legal age of majority. -A son or daughter of any age. -An immature or irresponsible person. -A person who has little or no experience in a particular area.”

With that definition in mind Matthew 18:3-4 becomes a little confusing: Read the rest of this entry »