Thoughts and stories, by Pal

This article gives several scientific reasons that the Prophet Joseph couldn't have written The Book of Mormon himself, with the education etc. that he had.    No one, even a college graduate with a doctorate could!   I love the Book of Mormon, and I have a firm testimony that it is the Word of God, and translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith.   Joseph Could Neither Have Written nor Directly Translated the Book of Mormon By Mark J. Stoddard  · July 1, 2018 Sign up for Meridian’s Free Newsletter, please  CLICK HERE Cover image via Mirror Films.  Take a quick word quiz. How many of these words do you know:  censure, consignation, cumber, durst, exult, impenitent, indolence, lamentation, lasciviousness, penitent, solemnity, stratagem . I asked my class of seniors in college which of these words they knew. Few recognized more than two. When Joseph Smith presented the world the Book of Mormon in 1829, a...

Happy July 4th to all you dear friends!  I'm reposting # 881 I posted a year ago, about my husband Wayne, and him coming home on July 4th from the army in 1955, and 2 years earlier on July 4th from his mission to Sweden.  Fun memories!  Also some beautiful Patriotic songs!  (Further down) Wayne, on a July 4th holiday at our son Allen's in Menan, Idaho. Wayne on the left, and Blaine, his twin brother, in the army in 1954, in Europe. This was first written on July 4, 2016.   Tomorrow, July 4th, is the anniversary of two major events in my husband Wayne D Eckman's life! In 1953, he returned home from his 2 and a half year mission to Sweden,  and was awaiting his draft papers to be in the army, during the Korean War period.  In August, the next month, is when Wayne and I were introduced by mutual friends, on a blind date.  My best friend from Dixie High School had married one of his best friends in Murray, Utah.  They picked ...

To any of you dear readers who have been a victim of Child Abuse, this beautiful article may help give some comfort.  It can be faith-shattering! Each summer for several years I have reposted a different article about the dangers of sleepovers to children.  You may want to go to this link also: https://grandmapalspocket.blogspot.com/search/label/sleepovers  (You may need to copy and paste this URL.) LDS Victim of Child Abuse Shares Beautiful, Brutally Honest Testimony of Coming to Love, Trust Her Father in Heaven by Ann, adapted from "Making Sense of Suffering"  | Jun. 29, 2018 Makes You Think Mormon Life Comments From age five through fifteen, I was subjected to extreme abuse at the hands of my stepfather. I struggled for years with feelings of great unworthiness. I was quite inactive and bitter as a Church member. My heart became quite hardened. I suppose you could say I was spiritually bruised and br...

I'm reposting # 877, which I posted a year ago today, June 27, 2017, in honor of the Prophet Joseph Smith.  It was 174 years ago today he and his brother Hyrum were martyred in Carthage, Illinois. I have been to Carthage Jail, and felt the Spirit there.   First I want to include the history from Latter Day Devotion, of what happened the day before--on June 26th.  The story is truly a testament from both Joseph and Hyrum Smith!  I had a great-grandfather, John Lowe Butler, who was an ordained bodyguard to the Prophet Joseph Smith.  He rode with 17 other men to Carthage, but were told by the Prophet to go back home.  He said they rode back in silence.  You can read many inspirational stories about John Lowe Butler by looking under his name under "labels" on the right side, on the blog. This is what happened the day before Hyrum and Joseph were murdered. 1844  - After breakfast, Mr. Stigall, the jailer, moved the Prophet Joseph and tho...

When We Try to One-Up the Lord's Standards: Culture vs. Commandments by Brent L. Top and Wendy C. Top, Adapted from "Finding Inner Peace: Lessons Learned from Trying too Hard"  | Mar. 01, 2018 Makes You Think Mormon Life Comments Sometimes in an attempt to prove our faithfulness to the gospel, Mormons create standards that require even more than what the Lord is asking of us. So before we expend too much energy trying to live these "higher" standards, we should ask ourselves, "Are we living the cultural gospel or the Lord's gospel?" In their book,  Finding Inner Peace: Lessons Learned from Trying too Hard ,  Brent L. Top and Wendy C. Top share deeply personal experiences about how trying to live the "cultural gospel" took a serious toll on Wendy and the entire family as she suffered a breakdown and battled clinical depression. They write: As Wendy began to evaluate the caus...