Prelude: Still Thinking and Writing

Welcome to my new blog--Thinking at 74. I can't describe the process of getting to 74, but here I am. I still enjoy writing about where my thinking takes me. Please come with me and share you thinking too.

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The Formula, Command, and Miracle of James Chapter One Verse Five

In his fifteenth year, Joseph Smith desired to join the right church. His mind “was greatly excited” on the subject of religion. “The cry and tumult were… great and incessant.” He said it was “impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong” (JS-History 1:8-10).  Then everything changed. “While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (JS-History 1:11). Thank heaven for these words. Everything changed for Joseph and for every person who has lived on Earth. The formula  These words can still change lives. They are a formula, which I thank my husband for pointing out to me. The formula is:...
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A couple of months ago, I wrote about   how the prophet Moroni worked through depression . His firsthand account, documented in the Book of Mormon, is a template for survivorship. The prophet Alma, son of Alma, was also well acquainted with adversity and grief. Like Moroni, Alma recorded his emotional low points, tribulations, and patterns of healing in the Book of Mormon. A study of Alma’s trials shows the extent of his suffering. •      He experienced psychological abuse.  He and his mission companion, Amulek, were brought out of prison “to the place of martyrdom, that they might witness the destruction of those who were consumed by fire” (Alma 14:9). Believing women and children, perhaps including Amulek’s wife and children, were “cast into the fire” (Alma 14:8). Can you imagine the sights, smells, and sounds, let alone the excruciating reality? The persecutors also burned personal records and scriptures. Insult to injury. (Destroying personal histories ...
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It’s Fine to Have Problems

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