Rough Stone Rolling

“The Jewish ritual of Tahara, the preparation of the dead for burial, is emotionally demanding. The Chevra Kadisha, the “holy society” of those who take on the task, enters the room — men to prepare a man, women for a woman — and, addressing the body by its Hebrew name, asks its pardon for any [...]

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On the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850′s, a company of men pursued a rampaging pack of Apaches. The mission was two-fold: To stop their murderous campaign and to obtain their scalps for which the market was thriving. By fires of highland driftwood pale as bone, they crouched in silence while the flames yawed in the [...]

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As a big fan of a) movies, b) “smart” goofy humor and c) Jack Black, i am so looking forward to seeing “Be Kind, Rewind.” Unfortunately, I’m the only one in my family who feels this way, and since movie-going time is such a precious commodity for us these days, it’ll take some effort to [...]

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The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life just released their “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey” gauging the condition of Christian faith in America, including each faiths’ demographic breakdowns. Real interesting stuff: Nearly half of all Americans leave their faith for another, or no religious affiliation at all. Of all Christian faiths, Mormons have the largest [...]

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Coincidences are the heavens toying with us, or so it sometimes seems. Right after I posted my last entry, my wife and I went to the temple for ward temple day. When it came time to hook up with the others at the end of the session, I learned one of my high priests– an [...]

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A friend recently posted in his own blog a press release the Church put out about President Hinckley’s funeral, and Mormon funerals in general. It talked about how hopeful and celebratory our services were, not at all dark, somber or mournful as other funerals tend to be. I’ve been to two LDS funerals so far, [...]

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First off, if you grew up a fan of the “Andy Griffith Show,” you have to check out Sweeney Floyd (special thanks to twisted friend Mike): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk4i7OKWSJw The following is a parable written by Orson Scott Card. I thought, since we all were probably on the receiving or giving end of a situation like this [...]

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Back in the days of “Night of the Living Dead” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” there was another slasher/horror movie that created a ripple called “Last House on the Left” (you were one lucky sucker if your local drive-in was playing them all as a triple feature). When “Last House” first came out, they had [...]

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The family trip was great: Lots of sun (no rain), non-stop pampering by the staff, good food, snorkeling, laying by the pool, whale watching, swimming with turtles and no sunburn. I also managed to write a book review for a romantic comedy, Beginner’s Greek (which I highly recommend to fans of stories like Philadelphia Story [...]

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  It’s weird how music can put you in a certain mood. Right now Electric Light Orchestra is doing its work. My wife woke me up at 5 this morning when she bounced into bed, giggling. “I couldn’t sleep,” she said, “So I read your blog. I hope I didn’t make too much noise laughing.” This is high praise coming [...]

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Once or twice a month a SuperLotto pool is held in my office where around a hundred of us throw in our dollars in hopes of getting in on the big money. Not that I expect to win; this is more insurance money in case we do win and I won’t be left out of [...]

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  President Ezra Taft Benson posed this inquiry to the Saints during the October, 1988 General Conference: “Do we periodically participate in all of the temple ordinances and thus receive the full blessings of vicarious work for our ancestors? Do we return to the temple often to receive the personal blessings that come from regular [...]

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  I’ve been corresponding this past week with my best friend, volleying emails back and forth, planning a road trip this April. His name is Steve. I call him Bear. I don’t have a lot of friends. Let me clarify: I have “friends” wherever I go– people I profess to be friends and who call [...]

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This is worth watching. Glenn Beck on CNN’s Headline News says a few words about President Hinckley:  http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/200/5127/

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