We are rapidly approaching the Christian Holy Week, beginning on Palm Sunday and culminating on Easter. Included in that week is what we call Good Friday.
I was recently asked by someone why that day is called “Good Friday”. Since we believe that the Christ was crucified on that day, how then can it be “good”.
In times of difficulty it is often hard to focus on the things for which we should be grateful. We tend to lament the things we don’t have rather than to be grateful for the things we do have.
On one occasion as I attempted to jam a shirt into an overfilled closet, I complained to my wife about how small our closets are.
A few years ago, a man went on a rampage from California to Texas killing and maiming several people. He was apprehended near Van Horn, Texas, where he was incarcerated, tried and convicted of murder. During the trial a local minister testified that, while in jail, the perpetrator had found the Lord, was a new man and that he should be shown mercy.
So, what is the relationship between justice and mercy as it applies to each of us?
As we approach the Easter holiday season, I would like to ...
I remember going home from work one day and reporting to my spouse that I had better begin looking for another job. My boss had demanded that I do something that, in good conscience, I could not do.
“I want you to fire John Bailey,” the new superintendent had said. “But what has he done?” I asked.
The emergency room doors banged open and a father, closely followed by his sixteen-year-old son, ran through cradling the unconscious form of his eight-year-old boy. The ER personnel responded quickly and whisked the boy away into the bowels of the big hospital leaving the two to pace back and forth in the waiting area.
The boys had left Mom at home to go on a weekend outing with their Dad to do some camping and fishing and to just spend some quality time together in the great out-of-doors.
Making green and purple pancakes is among the fondest memories of my teenage years. We used to get together at each other’s homes and just have fun. Besides making green and purple pancakes and eating them with ice cream and other rich toppings, we played Monopoly, Scrabble, listened to rock and roll music, worked on school projects, and just socialized.
A woman was waiting at an airport one night, With several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shop, Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.
She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, That the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be, Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.
So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, As the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock.
Fox Eggs!
Several years ago, my wife and I spent a few wintery days in the mountains of Idaho. It had been snowing and there were about two feet of snow on the ground. The snowplows had cleared some of the roads but, in so doing, they had created great mounds of the white stuff all around the town and particularly around our apartment.
The first night we were there, shortly after dark, my wife happened to spot a fox across the road that was looking her way rather expectantly.
In a discourse to a large audience gathered in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Thomas S. Monson related the following:
“Seventy-five years ago, on February 14, 1939, in Hamburg, Germany, a public holiday was celebrated. Amid fervent speeches, cheering throngs, and the playing of patriotic anthems, the new battleship Bismarck was put to sea via the River Elbe.
A few years ago, my wife and I were hosts to two school administrators from Uruguay, South America. Our guests were amazed at the burgeoning economy of the United States and the fact that two school teachers like ourselves could live in a comfortable house and be the owners of two automobiles.
