A to Z of Melody McDonald: “H” is for Haunted House #AtoZBloggingChallenge

In reference to Melody and her explorations, perhaps one of the most compelling was the one where she and her friend Steve went to explore the Acacia Street haunted house.

One day, walking home from school, Steve said to Melody, “I found a haunted house; wanna come see it?” Did she want to go see it? What a question! Of course she wanted to see it! She tore into the house, put on her play clothes, tore back out the door and caught up with Steve before he reached the corner: it was a two house walk. She did shout out to Honey that she was going to Steve’s house, so at least Honey knew what to name the cyclone that whipped through her living room.

Steve was already wearing jeans, but he also had his books with him, so they dropped them off on the way to the haunted house on Acacia St. And then, they were off. Acacia St. was just around the next corner after Steve’s house.

When they arrived at the haunted “house” (it was really a trailer) Melody knew as soon as she got there that it really was haunted, even if it wasn’t really a house. The door was hanging on one hinge and it was screeching as the wind blew it back and forth. It looked like a house from a typical cowboy movie ghost town.  With a miniscule bit of trepidation – the atmosphere really was eerie, even in the bright sun – but, tiptoeing quietly, they edged their way to the creaking door. Steve, ever the gentleman, let Melody go in first. She carefully turned her head around the corner and shrieked. Steve bumped into a paralyzed Melody in his hurry to see what their exploration adventure had brought them to. The drops on the blood on the floor stopped him for a moment, too, but then their intrepidity returned and they entered the house and started following the trail of blood. The fabric on the furniture in the house was torn and tufts of filling were strewn across the creaky, rain-sodden floor of the trailer. Melody jumped back when she saw something moving ghostlike from the corner of her eye; she landed on Steve’s foot, causing him to shout in pain. Melody turned and glared at him and he shrugged his shoulders. They avoided the ants and flies crawling around on the floor, but Steve just couldn’t resist picking up the shed snake sin lying on the floor.

And then, Melody froze as they reached the door into the kitchen. Steve also looked into the room; the look of was horror that appeared on his face mirrored the one on Melody’s. The blood on the kitchen floor, almost black from the presence of flies and ants, seemed much fresher than the tiny drops dotting the other floors, but it was the giant blood-stained knife lying in the center of the floor that inspired their terror. The slamming door was too much for them: they turned around and skedaddled out of the trailer as fast as their legs would carry them. They didn’t stop running until just before they reached Steve’s house.

Right then and then, even before they could properly breathe, they vowed to each other that they would never, ever tell another soul about what they had seen. Who could they tell, anyway? Melody’s parents would shoot her if they knew she had been on Acacia Street; she was only supposed to go as far as Steve’s house. And, who would believe them? Melody’s imagination was well-known, and Steve was just as imaginative as Melody. Or almost, anyway. Nah, it was better to just leave things the way they were; now, if they could just convince their imagination to leave it alone…

The above story is true. I thought I had told Honey, but I guess I kept my word. When I was talking to her last night, I said, “Who could we have told?” She suggested, “Your parents, maybe?” And I said, “Right, and risk being grounded? Are you nuts?”

There you have it folks. Have you ever explored a haunted house in your lifetime? I mean, other than the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland/ Disney World. I’d love to hear about it.

 

Copyright© Mary Purpari. April 4, 2016. All Rights Reserved.

 

The A-Z of Melody McDonald: “A” is for Animals

 

Melody loved (she still does) animals of every kind. She made no distinctions. Believe it or not, she even loved rats; that was before she met sewer rats, though. In fact, her love for rats waned a little when her male, Big Stuff, ate the female, Spot. That action did not endear him to her. She still likes mice, though, as long as they help pay the rent.

She did have a few animals that she liked best, though. They weren’t necessarily any particular type over another unless, of course, they were horses. Horses were the animals that populated her dreams. She dreamed of riding Pegasus high above the world, just like Bellerophon. However, she loved her pets, such as Pink Ears, Missy and Butterscotch, as much as she loved horses. The first two were her pet bunny and her beloved best buddy, a sweet Sheltie (dogs are also a girl’s best friend, despite the song about girls and diamonds). Butterscotch was another four-legged friend: a bedraggled, drenched orange kitten that came to live with Melody during the time covered in book two.

There are a million tales that could be told about Melody’s love for animals, but I’ll just quickly share a couple of the most unusual (Unusual, that is, for most people; they were just run-of-the-mill for Melody).

Melody and the baby snake

Baby Diamond Back rattlesnake

One year, during the family’s Labor Day picnic at Big Bear Lake, she saw a very small snake slithering toward their picnic table. Delighted, and wanting to show that she was not only great at catching lizards but also at catching snakes, she snuck up behind the little snake. She thought it would make a beautiful addition to her terrarium. It wasn’t very big, about seven inches long, but when she started leaning over to grab it, her grandmother caught sight of her and looked down at the little snake that had attracted Melody’s attention.

When she saw exactly what kind of snake it was, she reached down, picked up a big rock and slammed it down on the tiny snake, just as it started to reach up to Melody’s hand. Astonished, Melody began to cry and asked her grandmother, “Why, Grammy? It was so cute. Didn’t you see how it was standing up so I could catch it easier? And now it’s dead.”

Her grandmother tried to explain that if it had bit her she could have died, but Melody was inconsolable and refused to talk to anyone until her Gramps cut the rattle off the dead snake and handed it to her. He explained that, even though the snake was only a baby, its bite was just as poisonous as an adult snake’s.

That was the last time Melody ever tried to pick up a rattlesnake. She caught lots of other snakes, lizards, frogs and toads, but never another rattlesnake. She had the rattle for a very long time as a reminder.

The snails

Common garden snail

This is a much shorter and to the point story of Melody and her reasoning.

One day, Honey (Melody’s mommy) had just finished cleaning the house, and was resting on the couch. At the time there were only three children, although Kenny was on his way. She thought the children were taking a nap, but she should have known better. A rustling sound caused her to look up. She gasped at the sight that met her eyes. She didn’t think she’d ever seen a more disgusting (or comical) vision in her life: there, standing in all her five-year old glory, was Melody, covered from the neck down in… snails.

Her excuse? The snails were in in a hurry to get into a cool place before the sun got too hot and dried them out. They were too slow and asked her if she would give them a ride. She did, and since the coolest place she knew was the house, that’s where she took them. Honey was so flabbergasted that all she could was point toward the door and say, “out”. Melody hung her head and followed her mother’s instructions, explaining to the snails on her way out that they were going to have to find another cool spot, outdoors.

These were just a couple of examples of Melody’s obsession with animals. There were so many more, that they would require a thousand books to contain them all (okay, so maybe there would be only a hundred). ;)
If you find it hard to believe these things really happened, you can always ask my mom; she remembers!

“Y” is for Young (and not so Young) Missionaries.

“After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent the two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.¹”I’m pretty sure that most of you have probably seen at least one couple of LDS missionaries during your lifetime, unless you live in an area where proselyting is prohibited. And you can see them even in some of those countries where they depend mostly on information provided by members of the Church. The missionaries are those young men dressed in suits and wearing white shirts, ties, nametags and short hair.In most cities, they also ride on bicycles. In the first city I served in during my mission in Italy, Gorizia, back in 1977, they were known as the white flies because of the way they flew through traffic on their bicycles.

When I was a missionary the larger part of the missionaries serving around the world were young men, although there was also a small number of Sister missionaries and married couples. At the time, it was expected that young men served a full-time mission lasting two years, whereas sister missionaries and married couples were happily accepted, although not expected, to serve eighteen-month missions. Young men leaving on missions were usually nineteen years old, while sisters had to be at least 21 before they left. Married couples were eligible for serving as couples after they no longer had children living at home.

Now, young men can leave on missions after their eighteenth birthday, while young women can leave at nineteen. The percentage of young women going on missions has increased greatly, and I’m very  glad that there is a couple of sister missionaries here—they buoy me up when I feel like I’m about to sink under with despair. The married missionaries serve in a variety of areas. Right now, the couple serving in our center – both professional nurses (see “Women in the church”) – are in charge of the medical needs of all missionaries in our particular mission. They also serve in temples, in the Church Education System, etc.

Missionaries leave their families, friends, studies and their daily lives to serve the Lord for eighteen months to two years, to bring untold blessings in the lives of those they encounter, just as the missionaries that Jesus sent out when He was on the Earth.

¹Luke 10:1

© Mary Purpari. May 1, 2015. All Rights Reserved.

“X” is for not Xenophobic

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"¹

Xenophobic: Hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their politics or culture.²

Several people who don’t actually know me personally have called me racist and bigot because I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If they really knew me and the Church they would discover how untrue the statement is. I used the last stanza of Ms. Lazarus’ poem, The New Colossus, because in a way it also describes the LDS Church; any person on the earth, regardless of religious beliefs, is welcome to enter through the church doors anywhere in the world, and gain membership if they love Jesus Christ our Savior. Anyone, regardless of their nationality or social status.

It is wonderful to know that wherever I go I can meet new people, who share the same love for Jesus as I. Wards, or branches, are also very international. When I was living in Bologna, Italy, our branch had an American (me), a Greek and an Egyptian, an Armenian and lots of Italians. My first branch here in New York was mostly composed of wonderful Caribbean islanders (Jamaica, Trinidad, Haiti, Guyana, Barbados, etc), several of our brothers and sisters from Nigeria, and a few Americans. The branch I’m in now is even more diversified with several Latin American countries added to the group, along brothers and sisters from India, the Philippines, China and Korea. We even had a brother from Pakistan for a while, until he moved to Arizona.

Some of my favorite activities are when we have an international cultural evening and everyone brings food from their native countries, a well as singing their national anthems and telling us about their country’s culture. I always go as Italian, although I also join in on the American section.

Paul said in his letter to the members in Ephesus: “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;”³ And that is what you will find in any group of the LDS Church.

¹Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus, 1903.

²Reverso Online Dictionary

³Ephesians2:19

 

© Mary Purpari. April 30, 2015. All Rights Reserved

“W” is for Women in the Church

“Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price [worth] is far above rubies… Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.¹”

The way people outside the Church view the position of the women inside the Church never ceases to amaze me. Several of the leaders in our Church have been physically attacked by feminist groups because of the way these women mistakenly view the position of the women of the Church. Many think we are oppressed, down-trodden, ignored or considered second-class citizens. This is far from the truth. There are writers, artists, poets, musicians, teachers, scientists, doctors, nurses, business women, politicians—you name it, we’re there. In fact, some of us are all of those together, because we’re mothers.

A couple of Sundays ago, in a Relief Society meeting, one sister, who just happens to be a nurse and a director of her sector in the hospital, told us about something that happened to her at work. Now, Sister Eckert can be a bit, shall we say assertive when she requires something to be able to get the job done well. So one day, while she was talking to the personnel director of the hospital, he mentioned that he had just learned that Sister Eckert was LDS, and told her he was surprised, because she didn’t look like a woman in the Church. When she asked him why he replied, “Mormon women are oppressed, but…” Staring him straight in the eye, Sister Eckert asked him, “Now Fred, do I look oppressed?” We all had to laugh when she told the story, because believe me, Sister Eckert is anything but oppressed and Fred had to admit it, too.*

The Relief Society [of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] is the oldest and largest women's organization in the world. Relief Society was established in 1842 for women 18 years of age and older. Its purpose is to build faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and help those in need.² The leaders of the group are all women.

Fun Fact: In the 1800s, LDS women were invited to go back East and study medicine, to be doctors and nurses. “As the Saints settled in the valley, and began organizing various needs for the community, it became clear that medical education needed to be addressed. There were a few male doctors, but the women wanted women to assist them in having their babies. As well, women were more concerned about health care and teaching hygiene. Eliza R. Snow, with the support of Pres. Brigham Young, sent six women back east to attend medical school. Upon their return, a building was purchased to house the first Mormon hospital. There were other religious based hospitals in the valley (St. Mark’s and Holy Cross), but this new hospital would be willing to treat everyone whether they could pay or not. In the late 1800s Deseret Hospital would serve the LDS community with an all woman board of directors.³”

For the most part, the women of the Church are highly respected members of the Church.

¹Proverbs 31:10, 31; I would suggest reading all verses from 10-31, inclusive, to know exactly what is written; it might surprise you.

²http://www.mormon.org/faq/relief-society

³http://www.ldswomenofgod.com/hospitals-and-the-relief-society/

* Story used with permission; Fred is not the director’s real name.

©Mary Purpari. April 27, 2015. All Rights Reserved.

“V”is for Virtue

“We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.¹”

I realize that most churches, Christian or not, basically claim this same belief. It is taught in most religious works, including the Bible, the Koran the Torah and Talmud and other religious teachings; it is not something claimed exclusively by the LDS.

Virtue is defined as: behavior showing high moral standards. synonyms: goodness, virtuousness, righteousness, morality, integrity, dignity, rectitude, honor, decency, respectability, nobility, worthiness, purity, chastity, honesty.

It is our belief that being virtuous is not something that has gone out of style, like old clothing, hairstyles or music; nor do we believe it ever will. We also believe that being virtuous applies to both women and men, to the same degree. In other words, what’s good for the goose is also good for the gander, and vice-versa.  

Being virtuous is one of the main steps in determining a person’s worthiness to enter the temple. We must literally live according to the Thirteenth Article of Faith if we wish to be worthy of entering the temple and performing the ordinances that are reserved for the temple.

We also believe that obeying God’s commandments helps us to maintain our virtues and to therefore become more like God, or as stated above: If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. We know we’re not perfect, but we’re working on it so that some day we can be with God.

¹Thirteenth Article of Faith

“U” is for the United Nations

“Representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints addressed the role of the Church’s global humanitarian outreach efforts at a meeting at the United Nations in New York City on 27 February 2014.¹”

I was present that day last year and it was a truly amazing experience to be in that meeting where the efforts of the Church in offering humanitarian was was unfolded. I knew that the members of the Church had been involved in many such efforts throughout the world, but just how widespread those efforts were and how great the manpower involved was, truly caught me by surprise, as it did many others, as well.

For instance, I was unaware that immediately following WWII the members of the Church in Holland had gathered together over 70 tons of new potatoes that were put into the warehouse to be exported to Germany. One must consider that at that moment of time there was not a whole lot of love lost between the Dutch and the Germans, but they willingly shared what they had, planting potato crops wherever they could find a free space to cultivate; some even turned the space used for flower gardens into potato patches. Were they their brothers’ keepers? You can bet on it!

When the Teton Dam waters overflowed in Idaho, more than 45,000 members of the Church also flowed in Idaho to assist in cleaning  and fixing up. The same thing happened here in New York City when Sandy hit us in 2012.

Italian members of the Church sewed rag dolls in cooperation with UNICEF in order to collect funds for vaccinations for children in Third World countries.

“Initiatives of LDS Charities in 2013 include clean water (560,000 people in 37 countries), neonatal resuscitation (28,000 people in 37 countries), vision care (89,000 people in 34 countries), wheelchair distribution (66,000 people in 55 countries), family gardens (35,000 people in 20 countries), immunizations (18 projects in 12 countries) and emergency response (103 projects in 54 countries).”²

The services rendered around the world are provided free of charge  to all people, regardless of nationality or religion.

I enjoyed participating in the meeting, and hearing about the way things are improving throughout the world, thanks to the services offered by the Church.

For those who are interested, there is a video at the link below that should play; it shows the entire meeting if you are able to get it going.

¹http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormon-representatives-united-nations-discussion

² ibid.

© April 23, 2013. Mary Purpari. All Rights Reserved.

“T” is for Temples

“For verily this generation shall not all pass away until [a temple] shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house.¹”

Temples. I Love the temples of the Church. They are such beautiful places to go, to bask in the peace that is found inside, where nothing of the world outside can come in. At the moment, there are 144 temples in operation around the world, so that worthy members of the Church can go and worship the Lord and learn more about Him. There are several more that should be dedicated this year, including a temple in Rome.

Temples are sacred places for adoration, where only worthy members of the Church can enter. It is not like our regular meetinghouses where anyone, including nonmembers can enter. The Temple is reserved for sacred ordinances that can be done only in the temple.

When a member of the Church goes through the temple for the first time, they do the ordinances for themselves. These ordinances are varied, but the most beautiful are the marriages that are performed there. When a marriage is performed in the temple, we believe that that marriage is bound not only until death do us part, but also beyond the grave and for all eternity.²

In Malachi, we read “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.³” One of the main reasons that the LDS Church is so interested in genealogy is so that we might be a means for our ancestors to receive those blessings that come from being members of the Church. In my article on the Spirit World, I spoke of how the gospel is preached to those who didn’t have the chance to hear it when they were alive. In the temple, we act as proxies for our ancestors, giving them the chance to be baptized and sealed in the temple. Of course, they will have the choice of accepting these ordinances or not – they are not forced to accept. For those who might feel that this is a flight of fantasy of the LDS Church, I would invite you to read 1Corinthians 15:29.

Because of problems related to these ordinances being performed for the dead, the Church now allows this ordinance to be performed only if the member presenting the names is a direct descendant or has permission from the closest living relative, if the person being presented was born within the last one hundred ten years.

 

¹Doctrine and Covenants 84:5

²See Matthew 16:19 

The temples shown are:  (counter-clockwise) The San Diego, CA Temple, the London England Temple, The Los Angeles CA Temple, The Rome Italy Temple, The Bern, Switzerland Temple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“S” is for the Spirit World

“…the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. The spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they should rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow. The spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord;…shall be cast out into outer darkness.¹”

Most Christian churches agree that when a person dies there is a separation of the physical body and the immortal soul. Most also agree that the physical body remains in the tomb while our spirit returns to our Heavenly Father or goes down to Hell to stay with the devil. Many think that that is the way things remain, ignoring the importance of the Resurrection; but the LDS believe that the resurrection is the reunion of the soul and the physical body to be led before the judgment bar.

So then, what happens to our spirit in the time between the physical death and the resurrection? According to Alma, a prophet in the Book of Mormon, the righteous spirits are taken into a state of happiness, or paradise, whereas the spirits of those who have lived evil lives will be sent into outer darkness, or to a spirit prison, where they will be preached the gospel.²

And so, the spirit world is not our final destination, but it will be decided at the Judgment Day, which immediately follows the resurrection. People who have visited the spirit world have said that life there is very similar to how it is here, without pain and suffering, for those living in Paradise, but there is no idleness: all are employed in some continuing task, or continuing to learn. It is not a place or condition to be feared, but one where peace and joy abide.

¹Alma 40:11,12,13

²1 Peter 3:19; 4:6

 

© April 22, 2015. Mary E. Purpari. All Rights Reserved.

“R” is for the Rest of the Story*

“Behold, I would exhort ye that when ye shall read these things…that ye shall receive these things and ponder it in your hearts. And when you shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.¹’' 

We made a new appointment and they started to answer my questions. Then, they started getting serious and I wasn’t. They gave me a Book of Mormon and asked me to read it and to pray about it. They came back two days later and asked me if I’d had a chance to read some of the Book. I said I had – the entire book. They looked at me as if I were the alien from outer space (I like to read; what can I say?) and asked me what I thought about it. I told them I thought it was interesting, but I didn’t believe it was the word of God. They were frantic.

They then asked me to read the scripture quoted above and asked if I had prayed. I said no and they asked me if I would do so. I said I would, but I was silently convinced that the answer would be no.

That night before going to bed, I prayed; I prayed every night and every morning anyway, but this time I asked about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I also said in my prayer that I sincerely hoped for a negative answer, but that I would accept the answer, regardless of what it was. I then went to sleep.

When I awoke the next morning, I was smiling (I do that a lot) because I knew that the Book of Mormon WAS the word of God. And because of that, I knew that Joseph Smith had to be a prophet, which meant (in a logical process) that this had to be God’s Church, because it seemed highly illogical that God would have more than one prophet teaching things that would be so contrary to one another. I think the missionaries were ready to faint when I told them I wanted to be baptized two weeks later. And I was.

*Continued from “Q” is for Questions

¹Moroni 10:3,4

 

© April 20, 2015. Mary Purpari. All Rights Reserved.

“Q” is for Questions

“Behold, I would exhort ye that when ye shall read these things…that ye shall receive these things and ponder it in your hearts. And when you shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.¹’'

 I was in something of a quandary last night, because I had absolutely no idea what my Q blog would be about. This morning, it came to mind that a question had been asked in a comment for another article, and so I have decided to answer it today: “Why did I choose this particular Church?”

The first thing I need to say is that I didn’t really choose this Church; it chose me. Most of my family had joined the Church when I was about 14 or 15, but I already belonged to another church and was very happy where I was, thank you. This situation continued for about six years, until a few months before my 21st birthday. I was in my third year of college and the Choir was on tour in Northern California. I had a number of very good friends who were LDS and when they asked me if I’d like to go to Oakland to see the temple there I thought sure, why not? A few other friends went along with us and we had a fun time.

After the tour, I asked the pastor of my Church what he thought about the Articles of Faith of the Mormon church (I had picked up a card that had them listed while visiting the temple). I found them thoroughly confusing, and I was hoping to find an excuse that would allow me to say “Thanks, but no thanks.” He did his best, but when we’d finished talking, I think he was as confused as I, if not more so. In fact, I decided that I would ask the missionaries what those things meant, because I found that many things coincided with what my church taught, while many other things seemed to be as believable as aliens from outer space.

The missionaries didn’t come to that first appointment, which ticked me off royally.

To be continued tomorrow. Look for “R” is for the Rest of the Story.

¹Moroni 10:3,4

The photograph is of the Oakland Temple

 

© April 20, 2015. Mary Purpari. All Rights Reserved.

“P” is for Polygamy

When I was serving my mission in Italy, one of the first questions men would ask us was “If I join your Church, can I have more than one wife?” After staring for several seconds at the inquirer, we would shake our heads and tell him that there has been no polygamy in in the Church since the late 1880s, when it was declared illegal by the United States Congress.

Polygamy had never been a widespread practice among the members of the Church from the time it had been instituted in 1843; there were only about 3% of the male members who practiced polygamy and those who did had to be formally approved. Among the main requirements were that the men were financially able to support an extended family and that they were also spiritually worthy. The main reason for the institution of polygamy was that so many of the LDS men were being killed by angry mobs that many women, including the widows of the men that had  been killed, were in need of support, both financially and spiritually. It should be remembered that in those days, it was virtually impossible for women, especially women with children, to find a job, especially when members of the Church were being chased from their homes time after time. Despite what is commonly believed, most women were fine with plural marriage, or polygamy; if they were unhappy in their situation, they had the right to bow out with a divorce.

When the early pioneers finally reached Utah, they thought that they had finally found a place where they could live according to the dictates of the Church and their own conscience. It should be noted that there was no legal provision regarding polygamy in the US Constitution, but each State was allowed to define their rules on the subject, just as with marriage laws in general today. However, Congress declared at that time that polygamy was unconstitutional and that if Utah wanted to enter into the Union, they would have to cease to practice polygamy. In the end, this resulted in many families being torn apart, with many wives and children being left without husbands and fathers, inasmuch as the order was, unfortunately, retroactive. The practice of Polygamy officially ended in the Church on September 24, 1890 through a Manifesto signed by President Wilford Woodruff.

Today, the practice of polygamy is not accepted or promoted in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are a few fundamentalist groups which practice polygamy; they are not a part of the the Church, and when a member of the Church does contract a polygamous marriage, he is ex-communicated.

This is an Interestingly Fun Fact: despite the title of the supposed biography by Irving Wallace, The Twenty-seventh Wife, Brigham Young did not truthfully have that many wives. The below photo, entitled “The Empty Pillow” was published at Brigham Young’s death.

“N” is for the Ninth Article of Faith

“We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.¹”

 It is a common belief these days that God no longer speaks to mankind, and yet the times we live in are more needful of God’s guidance and direction than any other time. I really wonder why people think this way? Do they think that God loves us less than before? Or that He has possibly lost his power? Perhaps they feel that we DON’T need his help, that all we need has already been written in the Bible. I’m not quite sure what people think regarding this important question, but I do know that none of the previously mentioned answers is correct.

One of the elements that distinguish the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that we are led by a prophet called by God; there has been a prophet on the earth ever since Joseph Smith was called to restore the Church back in 1820. The man that God has called to be his prophet at this time is President Thomas S. Monson; Thomas Monson receives the necessary revelations pertaining to our days for the more than 15,372,000 members of the Church. And the very good news is that these revelations are not just for the members of the church, but for every single person living on the earth today, regardless of who they are. The Lord is not a respecter of persons, but has the same love for all of His children, whether they want it or not. The first Saturday and Sunday of this month, the Church held its semi-annual Conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah. During this Conference, the leaders of the Church gave talks on a variety of subjects, receiving inspiration from Heavenly Father. If anyone would like to read or listen to these talks, please click here.

Amos, one of the last prophets in the Old Testament said, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”² There are still many things that were prophesied in the Old and New testaments that still haven’t happened yet. According to this verse, if there are no more prophets, then nothing else that was prophesied will happen, including the second coming and the Millennium. What do you think?

¹Ninth Article of Faith

²Amos 3:7

© Mary Purpari, April 17,2015. All Rights Reserved.

“M” is for Mormons and Miracles

I remember when I was serving as a missionary for the Church that when we told people that we were missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they would look at us blankly and say “Who?” When we explained to them that we were also known as the “Mormons” they would look at us, their faces lighting up as they nodded sagely at us and asked why we hadn’t said so in the first place.

We didn’t say so in the first place because that’s really not who we are. “Mormons” was given to the members of the Church as a derogatory nickname, because of our belief in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon received its name from the prophet who compiled and abridged the sets of metal plates; his name was Mormon. My name is Mary, not Mormon, and I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I accept – hopefully with some semblance of grace – the nickname, as do most of the members, but we really prefer being called by our own names or by the appellation of LDS.

That being said, one of the things that distinguish us from many, if not most churches is that we believe in the continuing existence of miracles. We believe that they didn’t cease with the death of Jesus Christ and his Apostles, but that they continue to be performed even today. I sincerely believe in miracles, because I have seen them over and over again.

The first miracle took place about 39 years ago, when I had my first knee surgery. I suffered from bilateral chondromalacia patella, which is a softening and deterioration of the kneecap; it scrapes against the soft tissues in the knee and causes inflammation and great pain: in my case, it had also stretched the ligaments that held the kneecap in place; you can just imagine how much fun I was having. It should be remembered that this was before arthroscopic surgery came into existence, let alone replacements; so when the doctor told me that if I had both knees done at the same time – with open knee surgery – I would have less than 25% possibility of walking anymore. I had no choice at the time; I had a healing blessing¹ and a week after surgery, I was walking, albeit highly resembling Frankenstein with my full-length casts; six months later, I was running. The Doctor said I might go from 1-15 years before I would need more surgery—I went twenty. A miracle? I think so.

My daughter is a a second miracle. The doctor told us nine months before my daughter was born that we would never be able to have children, under any circumstances. We were given a blessing and the rest is history; that was almost 32 years ago. We had no more children, but we’re thankful for the one beautiful daughter we have. And yes, I believe in miracles.    

¹See James 5:14-15

© Mary Purpari, April 16, 2015. All Rights Reserved.

“L” is for Life

“My life is a gift; my life has a plan.My life has a purpose; in heav'n it began. My choice was to come to this lovely home on earth and seek for God's light to direct me from birth. I will follow God's plan for me, holding fast to his word and his love. I will work, and I will pray; I will always walk in his way. Then I will be happy on earth and in my home above.”¹

The LDS consider our life on this earth to be a wonderful gift, something to be cherished, despite the difficulties that find their way onto our path. We believe, and the scriptures support this belief, that we lived in Heaven with God as his spirit children, before being sent here into this life. We were given a physical body that would allow us to have experiences that were not possible with only a spirit body. We would feel physical pain, and so be able to appreciate the lack thereof.

We were sent here without the memory of what our life was like before, and we were given the chance to make choices in every situation, knowing we would be responsible for those choices and either reap the benefits of those choices, or pay the consequences when we made bad choices. This body, despite its weaknesses, is a great blessing, something we had to fight for to obtain. The scriptures tell us that a third of God’s spirit children did not obtain, and will never obtain, a physical body because they chose to not accept God’s plan. If we follow his commandments, we will be able to return and live with him again. I’m so very thankful for this.

Life is so sweet, despite the sadness we face, the pain that afflicts us, although we may not think so at the time. I know that I don’t always appreciate the pain and sadness; it’s a human failure, but these and other experiences make us strong, even though we may ask at times, “why me?” But you know what? Life is an experience that I’m glad to live, because I know that with God’s help, I can overcome any and all obstacles thrown in my path (even though sometimes I may not want to at the beginning )

An important part of life is death, because it is through death that we may return to live with our Heavenly Father.

 

¹I will follow God’s plan, Vanja Y. Watkins, © 1981

“K” is for King of Kings

“All kingdoms of the earth are become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. And he shall reign forever and ever, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.¹”

When I began thinking about what I wanted to write for this particular article, the first thing that came to mind were the words of the scriptures used in the Hallelujah Chorus by George Friedrich Handel as written above. If you would like to hear this beautiful chorus sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, click here.

We believe that the Millennium, the thousand years that Christ will reign upon the earth, will be very similar to life as we know it, with one great exception: there will be complete peace and evil will be banished. But what does this mean in the sense of King of Kings?

There’s a story in the Book of Mormon that tells of a group of people called Lamanites. These people were divided into different groups with a king that ruled over each separate group of people. However, there was also a Head King that reigned over all the other minor Kings. The smaller groups had a certain degree of autonomy, but were still subject to the whims of the Head King. If he didn’t like the way one of the subordinate kings was acting, he had the power to remove the lesser king or interfere with the way he was running things. The minor kings didn’t have the collective right to remove the Head King. So it will be during the Millennial period, except that the King of Kings will rule in righteousness and will not rule with whims, but according to set rules that will not change, because they will be just. People will not have to change their religion, during this time, if they don’t feel the need, because no man or woman will be commanded to be what they don’t want to be.

 

 ¹Revelations 11:15; 19:16

See Articles of Faith 10 for further information

Painting: the Second Coming by Harry Anderson

“J” is for Joseph Smith

The first thing I’ll say here is that the members of the Church do NOT adore Joseph Smith; we revere him as the first prophet of this dispensation, the man to whom the task of reestablishing the Church of Jesus Christ, in its entirety, just as it was in the days when Jesus walked upon the earth.

In 1820, Joseph Smith was a young boy, a little past his fourteenth birthday, when he went into the woods near his home in Manchester, New York , to pray; the area was rife with religionists and evangelists of many denominations, each proclaiming that only they knew which was the true way to Heaven, and Joseph was very curious to know for himself which of these groups he should join. It was after reading James 1:5 which states: “If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” that Joseph made his decision to pray and ask which of the many churches was true. In answer to his prayer, Joseph was told in a vision that he should join none of the churches, but that he was to restore the original church.

Three years later, at the age of seventeen, he was visited by an Angel who told him that he would be given some metal plates that contained a history of the people who had lived in the new world and a record of their relationship with God. Each year, on the same day – September 21 – Joseph went to a certain hill; on the fourth year, he was told to dig up the plates and to translate them. He was also told to be careful and to protect them as many men would try to steal them because of their intrinsic value. He began the translation at the age of twenty-one, in the year1827. These plates were published under the title of The Book Of Mormon in 1830.

Joseph Smith was assassinated in 1844, at the age of thirty-eight, after having been unjustly arrested for trumped up charges. A mob of one hundred fifty to two hundred men shot both Joseph and his brother Hyrum to death and wounded one other person, each receiving four musket-balls.

 

“I” is for I am a Child of God

“I have said, ye are all gods; and all of you are children of the most high.”¹

One of the most misunderstood doctrines of the LDS Church is that we state that we ARE indeed children of God, with all of his blessings awaiting us as such. We lived with Him before coming to live on this earth which was created for us²; he knew each of us personally,³ and sent us here so that we could learn to be like him.⁴

We read in Genesis that we were created in his own likeness and image.⁵ He loved each of us so much that he was willing to let us come to earth, to learn and have experiences that would help us become more like Him. He knew that it would be difficult and that there would be pitfalls and detours that would tempt us, and he knew that we would lose our way at times; because of this, because of his love, he provided us with instructions that would help us get back on the road that leads back to his presence: the scriptures.

One of my favorite hymns states ^♫I am a child of God, and he has sent me here, has given me an earthly home, with parents kind and dear. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.Teach me all that I must do, to live with him some day.^♪♪6

 

¹Psalms 82:6

²Job 38:7

³Jeremiah 1:5

⁴Psalms 8:4-9

⁵Genesis 1:26-27

⁶LDS Hymns 301; Naomi W. Randall

“H” is for Health—The Word of Wisdom

“Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—”¹

When I first started working for the L.A. Times, just shortly after I joined the LDS Church back in 1973, I was disconcerted to discover that I was followed by several of my co-workers whenever I went on break. This continue for several days until, exasperated, I turned around and asked, “Is there something I can do for you?” Taken by surprise, they stood mute for about two seconds, after which their response took ME by surprise, “We know you’re a Mormon, so why are you drinking Coke?” I put their dear little hearts at ease, by telling them (truthfully) that I was in fact drinking root beer, not Coke. I would like to point out that drinking Coke or other similar beverages is not prohibited, but only suggested that we not drink them.

Other foods and drinks that are warned against include alcoholic beverages, coffee, tea, tobacco and stimulants. It is also advised to eat meat sparingly, in times of winter or famine. There are many foods which we are encouraged to eat including herbs, grains, cereals, fruit, etc.

A number of people have tried to get me, and others, to drink wine, saying that it is nothing more than fermented grape juice and that grape juice is good for you; they also like to point out that it was used all over in the Bible. I like to show them these verses found in the Bible:

“Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine or strong drink, and not any unclean thing.”²

 “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”³

As a result of keeping these commandments, we are are promised that we will be free from bonds, and that we will “find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures”⁴

 

¹Doctrine and Covenants 89:4

²Judges 13:4

³Proverbs 20:1

⁴Doctrine and Covenants 89:19