Dr. Russell M. Nelson performing heart surgery, 1951
As evidenced through the violence, wars, famine, destructive forces of nature, financial crises, personal tragedy and general devastation reported by the media each day, we are surely living in the time of great confusion prophesied by the Lord when he said, Continue reading
To say I do a lot of reading would be an understatement. Books, magazines, newspapers, blog posts, articles, commentary…online and offline…you name it, I can be found turning, flipping, scanning and scrolling down. Often during these ‘word feasts’ I come across a quote that sticks in my brain, and then churns around and around until it’s soft, and warm, and smooth as homemade butter taffy. Continue reading
“God has given again in these Latter-days the truth about where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going. Much of the confusion we experience in this life comes from simply not understanding who we are.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf Continue reading
In the final moments of last week’s LDS General Conference, President Thomas S. Monson, 16th President and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave some profound instruction: Continue reading
What are the fundamentals of a prophet? How and Why do we follow? One of the most powerful lessons ever taught on this subject was by President Ezra Taft Benson. Please watch this video, and share. Continue reading
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ” – Plato
Never give up, never give in! You were born to win!
It’s time for “making the list” and “checking it twice”. And, no, we’re not talking about the big guy in the red suit [that was LAST week, try to keep up]. I’m talking about YOUR list. Or, more accurately, YOURS, MINE and OURS. The infamous ”New Year Resolutions List“. And, if you’re like me, you’re quietly pulling out last year’s list and quickly dusting it off….”Voila! All done!”
Ever feel you need a little helpful advice? Perhaps Albert Einstein has the answer:
Einstein
“The definition of insanity
is doing the same thing over and over again
and expecting different results.”
- Albert Einstein
I chuckled when I came across Einstein’s quip. Then, I thought about it a little longer. OK. How many insane people do you know? By that, I don’t mean the people-who-aren’t-taking-their-medication kind of insane. 
Rather, these are all the people you know, who, by Einstein’s definition are constantly complaining about problems and frustrations, but they never actually change their behavior. Instead, they continue to do the same things over and over again [or NOT do something, over and over again], just expecting things to magically improve.
Einstein’s quote is nothing short of brilliant. [but, of course it is! This is Einstein we're talking about]. What makes it double brilliant is that it works well in reverse [in essence]:
“Expecting the same results when doing the same things over and over again, is the hallmark of a sound mind!”
Or, perhaps we could break it down into these two “take-aways”:
“Bad Habits Create Bad Results”
“Good Habits Create Good Results”
Therefore, I have decided Einstein’s astute observation makes the perfect motivational quote for my refrigerator as I re-vamp my “2009 2010-New-Year-Resolutions-List”! It applies so well to just about everything:
1. 
Expect to lose some weight and become more physically fit by working out routinely? = genius!
2. Expect to gain a deeper relationship with God by setting aside daily devotional time? = genius!
3. Expect to have a closer relationship with my spouse by increasing the frequency of our “date night’s”? = genius!
4. Expect to have less financial stress by putting aside a little money into a savings account each pay day? = genius!
Now it’s your turn! Ready for a good ‘ole ”self-eval”? Are your actions taking you closer toward or father away from your goal? What reasonable adjustments could you make to create a positive change / improvement (i.e. this is something you can MAINTAIN doing over and over on a regular basis)?
Think of this as a chance to “custom design” your year. Ponder the things you do or don’t do over and over again, and fill in the blanks. Just remember, anything is possible, if you put your mind to it!
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” – 2 Timothy 1:7
And, if all else fails, keep a good sense of humor!
This month ‘Mormon Soprano’ turned 2 years old! It’s hard to believe our little baby has grown into a full-fledged toddler. It seems like just yesterday she was too small for search engine recognition. Now, her posts often make the top ten on a Google Search, and other bloggers ping and track-back. She has even been recognized by professional news feeds, including a spotlight in the Mormon Times.
As many of you have experienced, every day with a two-year-old is definitely a new adventure! According to “experts”, here is some advice for raising the toddler blog:
“As your blog continues to grow, you will notice new and exciting abilities that develop.” - Bloggerting Magazine
This is definitely true. When baby Mo was born, she didn’t know the difference between a bar code and an HTML code! Slowly but surely she learned how to create an account, upload, insert, save, edit and post. There was first-time-parental panic when the site went down, and we endured the painstaking process of healing and rebuilding with another server. But, the satisfaction of watching an idea develop on the screen, and the opportunity to experience spiritual, as well as intellectual growth made it all worthwhile. We enjoyed the thrill of success when a photo or quote would finally attach, and celebrated when her stat tracker finally got in synch.
“Speech development is very exciting for parents as they watch their blog become social beings that can interact with others.” – Early Blog Development, PENNultimate State
Who could ever forget the excitement of receiving that very first comment? The social aspect of raising a blog has been amazing. Baby Mo’s Stat Tracker shows that since her birth she has received visits from every continent on the globe. Currently she has made over 150 faithful subscribing friends located in the USA, Canada, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia!
“Speech at this age is becoming clearer and the blog begins to form sentences.” – Better Blog Care
Although it is a little embarrasing, it is also entertaining to read posts from her early days. There has definitely been some maturation. We still have a long way to go. One can only hope that Mo’s mastery of syntax and clarity will continue to improve.
“Two-year-olds like to be independent! Favorite words are “Mine” and “No” and “I do it!” A great deal of time is spent exploring, pushing, pulling and touching.” - Dr. Blogjay Goodpost
Yes, I admit. Baby Mo has had her share of extreme emotions as she has explored her life and the world around her. She is very possessive of her family, she refuses to allow mean spirited comments, she enjoys her independence and she is never shy to express what’s on her mind!
Much of parenting a 2-year-old involves the principle of “foreseeing the evil” and avoiding it (Proverbs 22:3). – Blog Guidepost
Just like Joey’s Parable, it is critical for Mo to understand that we can choose our actions, but we cannot choose the consequences. Mo is learning to choose her words and subjects wisely. It takes patience and effort to blog responsibly.
Two-year-olds want to do as much as they can and more. They get upset when they find they don’t have the skills to do things, or the words to say what they want. Some bloggers call this period the terrible twos. But when you take the time to learn about and understand blogs this age, you’ll see that they are really the terrific twos! – Early Blog Gazette
Mo has recently discovered Movie Maker and she has her own MoSop YouTube channel. She loves experimenting with images and music. However, she still gets frustrated that she does not know enough yet, and the end product does not turn out as she imagined. But, with practice, the learning curve will get easier to navigate, and the quality should improve. We anticipate there will be many more media creations in her future. Additionally, she is picking up more HTML words and phrases. She is even thinking of attending ‘computer kindergarten’ classes. There are always new and exciting things to learn and discover. When she was born, Twitter didn’t even exist! Now, she not only Tweets, but is also learning to cellular text post, and has fun connecting on her Facebook . Baby Mo is living in an exciting digital world. Her future will involve continual change, improvement, and limitless possibilities.
A big THANK YOU to everyone who has visited and supported Mormon Soprano through her formative development! Your friendship is priceless, and your comments are always treasured. There are exciting things in store for Toddler Mo! However, her growth and continued survival cannot happen without your help. Because, as we all know, “it takes a village to raise a blog“.
F. Enzio Busche
F. Enzio Busche was born in Dortmund, Germany. He led an idyllic life in the country for a few short years. In 1939 – when Enzio was just nine years old – the first English bomb fell on Dortmund, and his childhood ended. Years of devastating war, family turmoil, and despair began. Enzio was conscripted into Hitler’s army at the tender age of 14, and taken as a prisoner of war just months later. He endured fear, hunger and countless trials. After the war, in his early twenties, Enzio faced a new battle when he contracted a debilitating liver disease. As he lay dying in his hospital bed, he experienced a personal conversion to Jesus Christ, and a miraculous healing. Afterwards, he and his wife Jutta searched for God’s will in their life. They sought answers to their many religious questions.
“I told the Lord we wanted to find his church,” Busche recalls. “I knew that the earlier followers of Christ had been persecuted, so I told the Lord that it didn’t matter if his was an obscure church, even a ridiculed church.”
After that prayer, the overwhelming peace Enzio had felt in the hospital returned. Several weeks later, two Latter-day Saint missionaries stood on the Busches’ doorstep offering a spiritual message. Enzio and Jutta listened to the missionaries, studied the church, and were baptised two years later. They became humble and faithful members, serving in leadership capacities all of their lives. Elder Busche was often invited to speak. His theme centered on peace and happiness:
“Many are starving spiritually. We must feed the spiritual part of our being by learning to distinguish and search for the Spirit in all matters of our daily lives. Life is not meant to be easy, but when we are filled with the Spirit that Heavenly Father gives us as we live according to our covenants, we will be full of joy no matter what happens.”
When Elder F. Enzio Busche spoke to the student-body at Brigham Young University, the title of his talk was ”Unleashing The Dormant Spirit“. In this illustrated video, we hear Enzio’s wise instruction on how to keep a joyful soul, no matter what.
