“C” is for Christians? YES!

When I was a college student, I often participated in the meetings of some “born again” Christians; this particular congregation attracted me because of a certain vibrancy, but mostly because of the amount of music that was presented during the course of a meeting. One of the featured singers was a friend of mine at college; in fact, she encouraged me to play my trumpet a couple of times, which was great fun, although my shyness almost overcame me every time. I stayed on another year after graduation and at the end of that year I joined the LDS Church.

A year or so later, while waiting for the bus, this friend saw me and stopped and offered me a ride home; during the ride we spent some time catching up on each other’s lives. When I told her I had joined the Mormon church she gasped, but then  said, “Oh , well, I’m not worried about you, because I know you’re a Christian.” Surprised, I said, “All Mormons are Christians” to which she responded, “Oh no, they’re not; they just say they are; they’re really devil-worshipers.”

This is a very common mistake; I want to let everyone know that the LDS are indeed Christian. The first, and foremost, Article of Faith states: “We believe in God, the eternal Father, and in his Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.” When we are baptized, we are baptized in his name; when we pray, we close our prayers in his name

There are two hymns in the LDS hymnal that I particularly love. The first, written by Bruce R. McConkie says: ^♪♪ I believe in Christ, he is my King! With all my heart, to him I’ll sing; I’ll raise my voice in praise and joy, In grand amens my tongue employ. I believe in Christ, he is God’s son…^♪♪1

The second, based on Job 19:25 and Psalms 104:33-34 says: ^♪♪ I know that my Redeemer lives, what comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives who once was dead, He lives my everlasting head. He lives, all glory to his name! He lives my Savior still the same. Oh sweet the joy this sentence gives: I know that my Redeemer lives.^♪♪2

Everything in the LDS church, including its name, is centered around our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ and his teachings. Everything we do, singularly or in groups is based on what He would want us to do.

Christians? Yes, indeed! 

¹LDS Hymnal, hymn number 134,  v. 1

² ibid. number 136, v. 1, 4

Painting “At Journey’s End” by LDS artist Derek Hegsted

“B” is for Bible AND Book of Mormon

One of the most common misconceptions that people have of our beliefs is that we don’t believe in the Holy Bible. This may be because of our belief in an additional book of scriptures, the Book of Mormon; those who are of this opinion are mistaken, however. As the Eighth Article of Faith states: “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.” This year, members of the Church are studying the New Testament as part of the Sunday School curriculum.

Some might argue, “A Bible, a Bible, we have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.”¹ But even the Bible itself speaks of the Book of Mormon: “Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick and write upon it, ‘For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick and write upon it ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions:

“And join them one to another in one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.”²

We believe that the Book of Mormon is that stick upon which is written “For Joseph” and that its teachings, combined with those of the Bible contain the fullness of the Lord’s gospel.

Another important point to keep in mind is that Jesus himself said that “…in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.”³ In fact, the full name of the Book of Mormon is: The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

The Bible speaks mainly of the relationship between God and the Jews, and Jesus’ ministry in Palestine, whereas the Book of Mormon speaks of the relationship between God and the people on the American continent, as well as Jesus’ ministry to that people.

As a child growing up in another faith, I loved reading and listening to the stories of the Bible, especially the stories of Jesus; as an LDS mother, I loved teaching my daughter the stories in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, because both books of scriptures teach us how to become like Jesus and how to return to him. And yes, I do believe that both the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the word of God, and I’m thankful for their teachings.

 

¹ 2 Nephi 29:3 (Book of Mormon)

² Ezekiel 37:16-19 (Bible: Old Testament)

³ Matthew 18:16 (Bible: New Testament)

 

© Mary Purpari April,1, 2015

“A” is for Articles of Faith

In 1847 Joseph Smith wrote a letter to a certain John Wentworth in response to a letter he had written to Joseph Smith, asking for information regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This letter, known after as the Wentworth letter, contained a basic description of the Church’s history, including in the last paragraph a brief description of some of the basic beliefs of the Church, although not all of them. This summary is now known as the Articles of Faith. The following are the the thirteen Articles of Faith. I will be touching on most of them during the next month with my various articles on the Church.

1) We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

2) We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

3) We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4) We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

5) We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

6) We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

7) We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

8) We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

9) 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.

10) We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

11) We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

12) We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

13) 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.

If anyone has any questions regarding this article, I will be more than happy to answer them.

Introducing My Theme for this Year’s A-Z Challenge: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

This is my third year of participating in the A-Z blogging challenge. It is also the first year that I have also entered the Challenge with a specific theme, although last year I inadvertently had one, more or less. For those of you who don’t know what the challenge consists of, it’s a one month challenge (the month of April) where each day except Sunday we write a short article beginning with each letter of the alphabet, in order, either on a set theme or on a variety of unrelated subjects. 

One day while I was busily trying to find a subject for each letter of the alphabet that I could use during the 2015 A-Z Bloggers’ Challenge, the thought came to me that I could write a whole series built on one theme, the Church in which I am a member. I’ve been a member of the Church since 1973 and I have discovered that there is such a plethora of misconceptions that people have regarding the Church, that I could almost write TWO full challenges (at a minimum) except for the letter X; I did find one, however.

My articles will be mainly of an informative nature; it is not my intention to try and convert anyone through these articles, but if anyone IS interested in knowing more about the Church, I assure you I won’t be saddened. I’m excited to write these articles, because they are on a subject that is very important to me. There are some of my readers who find illustrations to be essential; I will try to include them whenever possible.

I hope you will enjoy my theme this year and find my articles useful and interesting. See you tomorrow!

Dog-Eat-Dog World: Do You Know What Your Pet Is Eating?*

In today’s world where pets are part of the family, many people don’t know that the food they are buying for them could be a time bomb in disguise.

Dogs and cats are wonderful friends and good company. Those that have pets in their homes, generally come to look on them as members of the family. They spend thousands of dollars a year on pet products ranging from brushes to beds to food. You may have at least one yourself, but when was the last time you took a good look at the ingredients label on your favorite pet food? Do you know what you are feeding them?

Working on a tip given me by a friend, I took a stroll down the pet food aisle the other day, taking a deep look at the ingredients on several well-known brands of both canned and dry dog food, and was appalled by what I read. Other than false advertising (the main ingredients in Beef, Bacon and Cheese flavor of one brand were not, as one might surmise, beef, bacon and cheese, but chicken and meat by-products, liver and chicken, and then, after flour and such, came the expected ingredients, plus vitamins) there were also several “banned” items in the list.

If you don’t feel like inspecting pet food cans and packages in the aisles of your supermarket, you can also look on-line under dog food or cat food ingredients. They list them all; some proudly, some as an afterthought. One dry food listed its main ingredients as being meat and bone meal (the latter was banned in 1988 and for a very good reason), meat and chicken by-products, wheat flour, soy flour, etc…

What the EPA Says

In one of its reports, the EPA (Environmental Protection Administration) provides some very interesting information on how and where ingredients for pet foods are obtained, and how they are processed.

One of the main ingredients listed in pet foods is animal by-products. Animal by-products include grease, blood, feathers, offal, and entire animal carcasses (skin, bones, hair, etc.). These are then rendered in special plants called independent plants which produce tallow, grease and high protein meat and bone meal. These plants run two different types of processing: edible, which processes fatty animal tissues into edible fats and proteins, and inedible, which produce inedible tallow and grease, which are used for livestock and poultry feed.

Most of the suppliers of the raw materials that are rendered in these plants, such as butcher shops, supermarkets, restaurants, fast-food chains, poultry processors, slaughterhouses, farms, ranches and feedlots are fairly acceptable, but one in particular seems to stand out as being very wrong and totally inacceptable for the purpose: ANIMAL SHELTERS, where the most likely animals to be found there are cats and dogs, the last animals we’d like to feed our pets. And remember, the animals that are obtained from these shelters have been euthanized.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

A widespread epidemic of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, aka “Mad Cow Disease”, hit the bovine population of the United Kingdom during the mid-1980s. This is an infectious brain disease which can also infect human beings, usually by the consumption of infected tissues. The disease is transmitted by abnormal brain proteins called prions, which eat at the brain and create tiny holes in parts of the brain, causing it to look like a sponge. The prions can be found in the brain, spinal chord, eye (retina), bone marrow and other tissues related to the nervous system in infected subjects.

The suspected cause of the disease was a prion transmitted by feeding meat and bone meal products to cattle in the UK. The United Kingdom banned feeding the suspected products to animals in 1988. The disease is also transmittable to other animals, and sheep have been proven infectious even during the pre-clinical stages (from the onset) of the disease.

Another similar disease, the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been found in elk and mule deer in the U.S. and scrapie in sheep. All prion related diseases are fatal, in both humans and animals; there is no cure. It is very important to understand the cause of these diseases and how they are transmitted in order to be able to prevent their spread. And that is why meat and bone meal have been banned, at least in the UK.

What Can We Do to Protect Our Pets?

As of now, there are no FDA regulations regarding ingredients used in preparing pet foods, although there is a federal law that states that nothing less than human-grade ingredients should be put into pet food; however, as the EPA report shows, this is not what is done. It is not an absolute that a “Mad Dog” or “Mad Cat” disease will develop, but the possibility is there.

There are two basic things that we can do to avoid feeding our pets food that could possibly harm them, despite the addition of vitamins, minerals and high protein products. One is to read the label completely, including the country of origin; this in itself can tell us a lot, because some countries, such as India and China find nothing wrong with eating cats or dogs. If you harbor doubts, it would be wise to ask your pet’s veterinarian for advice.

The other thing we can do is write to everyone who has the authority to do something about enforcing existing laws. Request them to adopt new laws that protect our pets AND our families. These things can and must be supervised and enforced.

__________________________

Sources:

EPA report, 9.5.3 Meat Rendering Plants http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch09/final/c9s05-3.pdf

Mad Cow Disease Overview http://www.emedicinehealth.com/mad_cow_disease_and_variant_creutzfeldt-jakob_dis/article_em.htm

 

*This article was originally published by Mary Purpari @ Suite 101 on April 22, 2011. The dog in the above photo is Spike, a member of my family. All Rights reserved. © January 15, 2015

The Year Santa Claus Came to Town

We didn’t really see him, but he had been there; the note said “Love from Santa Claus”.

December of 1982 had not started off well at all. My husband had had another bout of his disease, and while I was visiting him in the hospital on December 3, thieves had come a-calling, leaving their “calling card” where I could easily find it: they had kicked in the door, leaving it dangling from one hinge, with a big hole where a foot had gone through it. Not finding the light switch, they had lit a candle; I knew this because it had burned a hole in my bedspread when it fell from the candle-holder.

Further inspection revealed that they had stolen such an incredible mixture of goods that it seemed the Grinch had come to Bologna, rather than Whoville, and early to boot: the contents of our refrigerator, a catalytic heater, a roll-away bed, two blankets, my husband’s guns and ammunition (he was a licensed hunter), a box of candles, several pairs of jeans, and two rings. Most of the booty had probably been carried out in the missing suitcase. Other clothing had been strewn all over the house.

While waiting for the Carabineers (Italian Military police) to arrive, I attempted to at least clean off the bed; that was when I discovered the waxy hole left by the burning candle. The whole thing seemed so hopeless, that after the Carabineers had come and gone, I sat and thought. I was alone, the door was broken in half, there was no food left in the house, it was freezing outside and in (about -3°C; 27°F), and the thieves had taken away our heater and blankets.

The next day, the Carabineers called me to let me know they had caught the thieves and had found some of the stuff, so my husband got permission to leave the hospital briefly. We recognized some of the objects presented and the Carabineers informed us that they had caught the thieves the night before; the few items, which included the rifles and ammunition and the suitcase with the missing jeans, were all that had been found.

Christmas 1982

Pickings had been a bit slim during the rest of December, but a friend of ours had invited us over for Christmas “dinner”. Served around 1:30, it was a full five-course meal and took about two hours to consume. After the last bite of fruit, we sat and sang Christmas carols until it was time to go to the cinema by our home with a group of friends.

Of course, half of Bologna’s citizenry had made the decision to see the same movie: Disney’s Cinderella. We arrived halfway through the movie, and there was standing room only. The snow dictated that we go in and stand. I was wearing heels and at some point took them off because of sore feet. How ironic it was when, right after Cinderella lost her shoe, another blonde (me) lost one of her shoes! We found it – two rows of seats ahead of where we were standing – before going to sit and watch the movie from the beginning.

The sidewalks had been swept clear of the snow, so we decided to walk the short distance to our apartment, stopping to admire the beautifully decorated shop windows along the way. Approaching the portone (big outside door) we thought we heard the sound of sleigh bells, but that was silly; Italians didn’t go for sleigh rides in the middle of large cities with two-lane streets. It was unheard of!

As we walked down the corridor toward the apartment, we saw something in front of the apartment door. Hurrying to the door, we found two large boxes wrapped in Christmas paper. Excited and curious, we dragged the boxes through the door and tore off the wrapping paper. We were stunned by what we found: lots of food, a blanket, a new gas burning heater and, at the very bottom of the box, a note that said, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”. Yes, that was the year Santa Claus truly came to town.

 

© Mary Purpari December 25, 2014 All Rights Reserved

Christmas Caroling: a Bridge over language Barriers

♪♫♫♪

Singing is in my DNA; my mother said that when I was born I didn’t howl in the traditional, time-honored manner: she insists that my first breath came while singing a Renata Tebaldi-ish high ‘C’. From that moment on, music has always been an important part of my life, but never more so than at Christmas.

Christmas caroling became a family tradition the year I was in the third grade. We started out with my parents, my four siblings and me, each contributing to the best of our ability. The attempt had such a great success that the tradition continued through the years, the choir growing as we added family members and then school friends.

Christmas caroling continued even after I married, both in Bologna and Mistretta. Every year in Bologna, between 1979 and 1983, our group was invited to sing in front of the giant Christmas tree in Piazza Nettuno (Neptune Square), and although caroling is not a common happenstance in Italy, our efforts were enjoyed by our listeners as much as we enjoyed singing. Then, we would go listen to Midnight Mass concerts which included Handel’s Messiah, Gregorian Chants and various others.

However, one of my favorite memories of Italian Christmas caroling took place in Mistretta, a tiny town nestled in the Sicilian Nebrodi mountain chain. One year, shortly after our arrival in the town, the head priest asked our church choir if we wanted to sing during the Midnight Mass that year. After conferring with the other church members we decided to sing a beautiful little song called “Stars Were Gleaming” taken from the children’s hymnal.

Finally, 11:00 pm, December 24^th arrived. The children had napped and, after hours of practice, we were ready to face a public of over 3,000 people. After dressing ourselves in our warmest clothing, we set off toward the church. We had left a little early because it had started to snow earlier and we needed to proceed slowly– everything in Mistretta is downhill, even when it was uphill – in order to avoid a nasty fall on the slippery cobblestone road. We also wanted to get there before the rest of the city showed up: seats were at a premium and we wanted to sit close to the front so we could be ready to sing when called.

At 11:55, we looked around and found ourselves surrounded by a huge crowd. Anticipation was high as the head priest, Padre Michele walked in with another priest we had never seen before, and the excitement was tangible. The little children, dressed in their costumes for the Christmas story, stopped fidgeting and turned their eyes toward Padre Michele as he stepped toward the microphone. The tingling in our fingers was not entirely a product of the freezing cold…

The minutes ticked on as we sat waiting anxiously for our turn to sing. A new priest had just arrived that day; he led the children around the chapel from “inn to inn” and ending at the manger scene at the entrance of the building. Once “Mary and Joseph” were settled in their places in the manger, Padre Michele announced that “our Mormon brothers and sisters will now sing for us”. Our moment had arrived. We stood up, knees shaking, and turned to face the congregation.

Voices quavering (was it the cold?) we began “Stars were gleaming, shepherds dreaming; and the night was dark and chill…” Our voices gained strength as we continued, “Onward going, gleaming, glowing, leading still, our Christmas star!” As we turned back towards our seats, we were surprised to hear another voice singing the same song, in another language; turning back once again, we listened, mesmerized as the new priest sang our carol with gusto.

After the mass, our group went and spoke with the new priest. We learned that he had arrived in Italy only days before from Poland, and that the carol we had sung that night was a Polish carol. He thanked us for singing that particular hymn and making him feel at home in a foreign land. And from that time, thanks to Christmas caroling, Padre Tomasz was our friend.

 

© Mary Purpari December 25, 2014 All Rights reserved