I remember going to the hospital to see my mother-in-law, Ruth, who had just passed away. She looked impossibly small. All of the life which had animated and somehow magnified her body was simply gone. Darin and his partner, Steve, were both present, both in tears, and Daren was ready for the next step. Even though he is no longer a practicing Mormon, he was the one to whom Ruth had given her final instructions. She had told him where... Read more
I have not seen Christopher Nolan’s film about J. Robert Oppenheimer yet, but my husband and I are listening to American Prometheus , which inspired the film. It’s the story of a brilliant and often bullied man, J. Robert Oppenheimer, who discovered how atomic elements could work together to blow up whole cities. “Little Man” and “Fat Boy” and the destructions wrought on Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened because of Oppenheimer’s brilliant calculations. In other words, his brain was exploited to... Read more
In the summer of 1998, I went to a conference for teachers of LDS seminaries and institutes. I was one of those teachers, and my classes were in Spanish. Therefore, whatever I got at the conference would ultimately be translated into Spanish if I chose to use it. I was given a binder of supplementary material provided by religion professors, including RB. (I will not name RB, though the Washington Post article and the church response both name him. I... Read more
The new kids on the block (those born after 2000) have no sense of why June 8th, 1978 launched one of the biggest news stories of the last century and changed the world. They will never know what it was like to be in a church–the LDS Church–which restricted its priesthood and temple privileges from those “of African descent.” Such a stance would be even more problematic today, since DNA tests reveal that ALL of us are “of African... Read more
I remember the events of 1969 well. I have written about them here. 1969 was a year of initiation for me. At age fourteen, I encountered racism from my seminary (religious classes for Latter-day Saint youth) teacher and consequently dropped out of seminary–after talking with him about it directly and being directly and publicly rebuked. I remember hearing false prophecies spouted about masses of armed black men who would come into Salt Lake City, invade the LDS temple, and rape... Read more
As missionaries, my husband and I taught a Congolese man, Gedeon, from a distant village. The chief of his village was concerned that Gedeon was investigating a church which worshipped “the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” The chief told him that their tribe worshipped and placated “the ancestors.” (Apparently, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were not included in “the ancestors.”) Gedeon explained to us that “the ancestors” had terrifying power–which he had witnessed. They could torment or even kill living... Read more
The story of Joseph in Egypt has long been my favorite Bible story, but only recently did I become aware of modern people who imprisoned their siblings. One of these cases was in the DR-Congo, where I work with our organization. A brother, eager to claim property belonging to his sister, had her (Yvonne) jailed on trumped up charges. A jailer later confessed to Yvonne that he had been paid to kill her, but that he could not do it.... Read more
Mike Lyon died last week. I have been hit with so many emotions. We grew up in the same area of Provo, Utah, though he was a few years older than I and lived a few streets away. We dated. I suppose we would call it dating, but it was more of a sweet friendship . He didn’t drive and I was terrified of driving. There is so much power in that gas pedal! We went to something in Salt... Read more
Songs are my friends. I have seven hymns in Tshiluba with French translations. I have hard copies and also recordings of the songs. Daily, I practice some of the songs. Music helps our brains retain information, which is why most of us remember nursery rhymes. I gave a prayer in Tshiluba at church–to the surprise of the members there. They didn’t know I had been working on it. I had sent myself the words to review on my phone, and... Read more
The first step in learning anything is love. A parent coos to the child, sings to the child, calls the child by name. This is love, and it’s the fertile ground for language learning. Must we be born again, you may ask (like Nicodemus). No. But we must love again. Not everyone will have the ability to learn a language with the equal fluency, but success will be directly attached to love. By that I mean that you must want... Read more
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