Gloryland, by Shelton Johnson

This is my latest read and it's fascinating, beautifully written and poignant. It does not dissapoint. The author is gracious and eloquent of speech. I miss it now that I've finished Gloryland.

It's Not The Mormon Church or The LDS Church!

Should You Call Yourself a “Mormon”?
By Lyman Kirkland
LDS Newsroom Blog

The most common way for the public to identify members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is by the term "Mormons." How the Church feels about that term and its appropriateness in classifying members or aspects of the Church is a common topic of conversation. For instance, earlier this month, a front-page article The Salt Lake Tribune addressed the issue.
People began referring to Latter-day Saints as "Mormons" in the 19th century shortly after the Church was established. The word comes from the Book of Mormon, a sacred book of scripture used by Mormons in addition to the Bible. The nickname stuck and has been used by Church members ever since as a shorthand version of "Latter-day Saints."
The term does not replace the proper name of the Church, however. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the name mandated in scripture in 1838. Calling it the "Mormon Church" or "LDS Church" leaves out the most central part of the Church: Jesus Christ. Consequently, the Church does not refer to itself as "the Mormon Church" and discourages use of that term.
The Church reemphasized that position in February of 2001, when it publicly encouraged the news media and the public to use the proper name of the Church. Bottom line: It's OK to use the term "Mormons" in referring to Church members, but we added: "Please don't use 'Mormon Church' as a substitute for the 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.' "
The Internet has brought an added dimension to this issue. Since people looking for information on the Church mostly enter "Mormon" into their search engines, the Church has to accommodate that reality. Consequently most stories and headlines on Newsroom use" Mormon" or "Mormons" regularly, so Church statements, positions, policies and stories are more likely to be picked up by casual Internet searchers.
The Church has frequently and prominently used the term during the past decade. In October of 2001 -- the same year the Church reemphasized its official name -- it also launched a major new Web site, Mormon.org, to reach people who are interested in learning more about Mormonism.
Overall, we're pleased with the fact that the media is using the full name of the Church much more frequently than in the past and that writers are correctly using the word "Mormon."

Today is Not Only Earth Day, it's Rick's 35th Birthday!

Happy Birthday Rick!

Today is John Muir's Birthday

John Muir in 1872, San Francisco.
Reading him is like reading poetry to me.

Breaking 300 in Scrabble

Scrabble is about my favorite board game and I've given one to each of my children. So Eve and I are playing a game Easter night and I totally am hot with every word. This is rare for me. So this game I got over 300 points which I've never done before. I've only laid down all seven letters once in all the years I've played. So congratulations to me for my high score, maybe never to be repeated.

Poppies

Jewelry

I have jewelry my mother wore. I have jewelry Bev wore. I have jewelry my children have given me. I have jewelry Michael gave me. I treasure them all. I picked out jewelry and trinkets in Hawaii and he bought them for me. I have turquoise he bought me in Ensenada. I have a lovely purple stone necklace from Skagway. They are bits of beauty I can enjoy and remember my loved ones.