Preserving Your Testimony

Here is an excellent example of writing down and preserving your personal testimony for family members to enjoy.  Read what my Aunt Lin did to preserve her conversion story, in an article she had published in Deseret Saints Magazine, April 2009 Edition.

12 Days of Easter Countdown and April Writing Prompt

I am doing a 12 Days of Easter Countdown on my blog starting today...check it out if you'd like to follow along...I'll be including verses of scripture from both the New Testament and The Book of Mormon that tell the story of the week leading up to Christ's Atonement through His resurrection.  Easter is a wonderful time to contemplate Christ's sacrifice for us.

For April's writing prompt, you are invited to bear testimony of Jesus Christ in some written way, either in a journal, as a comment or a blog post, or even as a letter written to your family or children.  Happy Easter to all.

http://beinglds.blogspot.com

A Brand New Year

Hello Fellow Writers - 

So, we've all been a little (lot) busy over the last little while, but we are done with Christmas now...and having babies (for now)...etc...and hopefully, we can squeeze in a little bit more time for writing in 2009.

You know I try to keep things simple here, so the first writing prompt of the new year is fairly straight-forward:

What do you want 2009 to be about for you?  (Yes, it's goal-setting time!)  Instead of writing about specific goals...I want you to write (in whatever format you deem appropriate) about your vision for yourself in the new year.  Think big picture, here.

For example:  I have chosen a "theme" for my new year.  That way I can keep my goals focused on accomplishing my one big idea.  Honestly, I sort of borrowed my theme from a song called "Say Yes" that I downloaded from the new church Youth website "A Brand New Year".

Many of you are probably already thinking along these lines anyway, so this will just be a continuation of your thought process.  Now get blogging/journaling/creating/writing...and hopefully this will mark the end of radio silence on here! :)  Happy New Year!

The sad passing of Martha, our friend

Sadly, Martha Marie Pilling passed away yesterday while bungee jumping from the Eiffel tower. She was 88 years old. Apparently after spending the week water skiing on Lake Powell, touring Europe, and visiting with her 184 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, her heart had enough excitement and stopped. She wanted us to be grateful for this happy occasion, and pray for her that she makes it through the pearly gates. That girl is gonna require a whole lot of prayin', people! But, at her request, her friends and family threw a party in her honor to celebrate the hope that she will live happily ever after.
Martha could talk the ear off a mule, but she loved people and strived to be a good friend. Listening was not her strength, but if you ever wanted a highly entertaining (and fairly one-sided) conversation, she was the girl for the job. Her house was never clean, but she tried very hard to serve her family and others, and loved spending her time uplifting others. Her patience was very thin while raising her young family, but fortunately, she did gain some as they grew, and as a grandma and great-grandma, actually (finally) learned to speak in a softer, gentler voice, and to not sweat the small stuff.
Martha loved serving the children in Primary, and spent many, many years of her life serving in that capacity. She'd always say she learned more from them than they ever learned from her. She fit right in Primary since she was a boisterous, rambunctious big kid herself.
Martha was always grateful to have the blessing of staying home with her children as they grew, in spite of all the challenges it presented. She strived to make her home a refuge from the storm, as imperfect as she was, but her family knows she loves them dearly and counts them as her greatest treasures. She will be missed by many, and still many others will wonder why it's suddenly so quiet.

Be Bold, Brave, Stubborn, and Smart...

First, I'd like to recommend a book, one of my favorite books, in fact: Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson. (Click here to find it at Amazon or check it out at your local library.)
I loved reading this lively and inspirational picture book for the first time when my baby Guy was just a year old. It's about a real woman who used her most powerful weapon (a Pen!) to make things happen in the world. She was bold, brave, stubborn, and smart...and she created a great movement to make sure Thanksgiving was celebrated as a national holiday. The illustrations and writing are fantastic. And it reminds me every time I read it how powerful we can be when we are brave enough to share our opinions in writing. This would be a great book to share with your children...especially your little girls!

Have you ever written a letter to a governing body, an elected official, or even a newspaper to express your concerns about something? I once wrote a letter to my Representative in Congress asking him to stop allowing some much nuclear waste to travel through Ohio. All I got back was a form letter informing me of why this had to be. It was something, I guess.

I recently read in my Grandmother's personal history that she once lead a letter-writing campaign to get the TV show The Three Stooges taken off the air, because it added nothing to the moral characters of viewers. She didn't get anywhere with that obviously, but it's the act of speaking out and being a part of public dialog that really counts.

Last year around this time, we saw lots of commentary in political circles debating whether or not Mormons were "Christian". As a result, a few members of the local LDS community wrote in to The Daily Item opinion page to express their testimony of Jesus Christ. Cheyenne's was particularly touching and read (in part) as follows: "I am a Mormon and I am indeed a Christian. I believe that Jesus is the Christ....He is my Savior and redeemer...I know that He loves me and everyone on this earth." This was printed on December 17, 2007 in The Daily Item. I wonder how many people read this wonderful testimony that ended in well-wishes to people of every faith...and how many people were touched because Cheyenne cared enough to make her voice heard through simple, clear, honest writing. (Way to go, Cheyenne!)

Now it is your turn to be "bold, brave, stubborn, and smart" by writing about something you care about and putting it out there for our local community to read. You can comment on anything you wish (i.e. the elections, the Thanksgiving holiday, your faith, the local schools, even thank someone for doing something nice, etc.)

The only suggestion is that you keep your comments on the positive side, since many letters to the editor are negative in nature. Below, you can find guidelines for submitting letters-to-the editor to the Daily Item, but you can send your writing in to any publication you want. Keep your comments to 300 words or less and remember to post here AND send it in to a publication. If you want help proof-reading your work before sending it in, just say so in your entry here or you can email it to me separately if you'd like! (jocelyn.christensen@gmail.com)

Now GET WRITING! And Happy Thanksgiving (a bit early!)

Instructions for sending letters to The Daily Item Opinion Section:

"Please include your full name, address and a telephone number where you can be reached during daytime hours for verification and content questions. Letters should be 300 words or less and address a single topic. All submissions become the property of the Daily Item."
Submissions by email: letters@dailyitem.com
By web: www.dailyitem.com...click help desk, then "Submit letter to the editor" under "Contact Us" list.

It is with great sadness we report the death of Britten Ling Wheeler. Britten passed peacefully from this life to the next on June 25^th 2075 in Salt Lake City, Utah next to her husband. Both died of natural causes due to age.
Britten was born on May 9^th, 1982 as a mother’s day present to Ron and Debbie Nelson in Salt Lake City, Utah.
She attended Welby Elementary School, Copper Hills High School and graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelors of Science degree.

She married Daniel Ryan Wheeler from Tucson, Arizona on December 16, 2000 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. Britten is survived by her wonderful children. She is also survived by several grandchildren and great grandchildren and one great great grandchild.

Britten was active in the LDS Church; she served for the church in many callings throughout her life. With each calling she would serve with love and enthusiasm. Britten had a veracious passion for life. Her infectious personality touched everyone she met. She gathered many lifelong friends along her way. God gave Britten many talents, all in which she shared with those she met. Some of her talents included her ability to learn and figure problems out. She was able to learn new skills easily and efficiently. Britten was creative and her ability to see what could be and not what is was something she used. Not only in material things, but in people as well. Britten had the ability to listen to others and council them in times of need. She was a rock for many friends that came to her for guidance. But throughout her life and despite all the many talents she had, her lifelong goal was to be a mother. Britten always felt that this was her most important calling in life.

“The noblest calling in the world is motherhood. True motherhood is the most beautiful of all the arts, the greatest of all professions. She who can paint a masterpiece, or who can write a book that will influence millions, deserves the admiration and plaudits of mankind; but she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters, whose immortal souls will exert an influence throughout the ages long after paintings shall have faded, and books and statues shall have decayed or have been destroyed, deserves the highest honor that man can give, and the choicest blessings of God.” ~ Pathways to Happiness, Llewelyn R. McKay

Britten’s life was full of love and laughter, her spirit lives on in her children and her legacy will live on in all those that knew her.

Her services will be held on…..

Give Me Good Writing or Give Me Death...

Topic: Write your own obituary
Style: Autobiographical/Journalism/Obit/Poetry...It's up to you!
Given by: Jocelyn

Is it too morbid to talk about your own death? A few months ago, I listened to this wonderful interview on NPR with journalist Ann Wroe who has gained prestige for her ability to write great obituaries! I was quite intrigued. She has made quite a career out of writing about people's lives and deaths and to hear her talk about it makes it sound like quite an art. This month, in honor of Halloween, we are going to write obituaries for our writing prompt. You can decide whether you want to write it about yourself (oh, come on now, be brave!) or another person...whether you will write a witty tombstone to accompany it or just a blurb that might end up in the paper in the days following your passing. I know this might be a scary assignment for...well for all of us writers who are still living! But it could also be fun. You can take a serious approach or a comical twist...dig deep and just enjoy the process and see what you come up with!

Things to think about: Just how will you die, exactly? Are you the type who will die during a bungee jump at age 89? Or will you die of hysteria while laughing at yourself? Or will you drift away peacefully, watching your fave re-run of The Golden Girls? Who will be at your side when you pass? How old will you be? How would you describe yourself? What will be your proudest accomplishment or biggest regret? Where would you like to be buried? Funeral arrangements? Do you have a message for the people you will leave behind? Will you leave any special gifts to anyone?

I have included a few witty tombstones sayings that I found online as well as a link to a site where you can actually make your own virtual tombstone - to post along with your finished writing sample! Good luck everyone! (Please post by the 15th, which happens to be my birthday...your posts will be the perfect gift!)

To generate your own tombstone free online click here.

NPR Interview with Ann Wroe: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17821504

For more inspiration and how-to tips go to The Blog of Death. (I like the "who's dead and who's alive" section)

First a Cough

Carried Me Off

Then a Coffin

They Carried Me Off In

Boston, Massachusetts

I told you that I was sick!
-- Georgia Cemetary, USA

Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake; Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.
-- Pennsylvania Tombstone, USA

Remember man, as you walk by, As you are now, so once was I, As I am now, so shall you be, Remember this and follow me.
-- Tombstone in England

Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake; Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.
-- Pennsylvania Tombstone, USA

Falkirk, England

1690

Here lie the bones of Joseph Jones

Who ate while he was able.

But once overfed, he dropt down dead

And fell beneath the table.

When from the tomb, to meet his doom,

He arises amidst sinners.

Since he must dwell in heaven or hell,

Take him - whichever gives the best dinners.