my faith

Globetrotting, Mormon-style

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

One of the things almost sure to be heard in a Mormon testimony meeting after someone has traveled (whether it’s across the ocean or just to the next town over) is an expression of gratitude that “the Church is the same no matter where you go.” To a certain extent, it’s true. We all sing the same hymns, although every ward congregation seems to have its particular favorites. We all read the same scriptures. Sunday meetings follow the same general format, even if the meetings are in a different order.  Sunday School and other lesson manuals are standardized and translated into over a hundred languages, and on any given Sunday the whole worldwide Church is studying the same lesson (give or take a week or two depending on how organized the local Sunday School teacher happens to be).… Read more

A Mother There: Finding the Divine Feminine, Part 4

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

– Note to subscribers: I accidentally published this when I was only halfway done (yes, my worst blogging nightmare). Please ignore the first post and read this one  –

Up till now, these posts have mostly concerned my own personal journey toward understanding and appreciating the female side of God (for background, see posts 1, 2 and 3). I wanted to start out that way because many of my ideas and beliefs about Heavenly Mother have come through thinking about Her and seeking personal heavenly guidance. Much of this guidance has come through prayer and inspiration from the Holy Spirit.… Read more

A Mother There: Finding the Divine Feminine, Part 3

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

If you’re new to the conversation, you might want to read Part 1 and Part 2 first.

My next thoughts about Heavenly Mother have a lot to do with our conception of the afterlife, and how we will live there. Mormons have been described as having “the biggest heaven and the littlest hell.” One of the things I love about my faith is that it describes a God whose boundless mercy includes many people denied salvation by the tenets of some other faiths.

The Mormon idea of heaven is expansive, nuanced, and mind-bogglingly beautiful (in my opinion. Anyway, it tops my list of ideal future destinations).… Read more

A Mother There: Finding the Divine Feminine, Part 2

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I hope all of you mothers had a lovely mother’s day. Before Church, my husband made me breakfast, and my kids gave me cute cards. At Church, I substitute-taught a class of a dozen rambunctious eleven-year-olds, and reflected that mothering my own two children is actually pretty easy by comparison. After Church, I had a nice videochat with my mom, and then Tony took the children to visit a lonely lady in the ward, and I laid out my blanket on the lawn and read The Secret Life of Bees. Lovely.

And yes, I also spent  some time thinking about my Heavenly Mother, and what I would say in this post.… Read more

A Mother There: Finding the Divine Feminine, Part 1

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

This is a post that has been germinating inside of me for a long, long time, and the week of Mother’s Day seemed like the perfect moment to let it flower.

As you may or may not know, the Mormon conception of God encompasses both a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother. However, for whatever reason, we almost never talk about our Heavenly Mother.

The relative absence of my Heavenly Mother didn’t really bother me much growing up. In fact, when I thought of Her at all, I thought about Her as a sort of special, beautiful secret, and something I found aesthetically pleasing about my religion.… Read more

When I Have Grown a Foot or Two

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

When I was ten years old, I became the second mommy to the cutest little baby in the world.

During the next several years, I mentored him through all sorts of worthwhile activities. For example, here I’ve dressed him up as a mad scientist for the homeschool science fair.

Despite the influence of his older sister, Jesse turned out pretty awesome. Part of me still thinks of him as the curly haired seven-year-old I kissed goodbye when I went to college. In the meantime, he’s grown up to be a handsome, witty, articulate college student who plays the guitar and leaves the ladies swooning on all sides.… Read more

Chanticleer, A Line in the Sand, and The Mormon People

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Today I have only awesome books to review for you.

Chanticleer and the FoxChanticleer and the Fox by Barbara Cooney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a treasure of a book! This made it to our house because it is on the Ambleside Online Year 2 free reading list. I can’t think of a better way to introduce my seven-year-old to a bit of Chaucer. Maybe it’s just that I remember my own foray into chicken-keeping so fondly, but I was enchanted by this story of a proud, beautiful rooster who learns a lesson about trusting to flattery. The lovely illustrations really make the book.… Read more

A Mormon Holiday

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Heather at Women in the Scriptures was talking the other day about our lack of holidays that specifically commemorate our religious history as a people.

Sometimes I am a little envious of my friends whose religions involve a year full of holidays. Ramadan, for instance, is kind of like a month-long holiday for Muslims, complete with special foods and lots of family time.When I was growing up, the Jewish family next door invited us over to their house to eat potato pancakes for Purim. Then we listened to the story of Esther, and all us children stamped our feet and shouted to drown out the name of dastardly Haman whenever it appeared in the story.… Read more

Mormon Women in Tunisia

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Sorry for leaving you in the lurch for the entire second half of December. We had a family wedding, and it just all ended up busier than I thought it would. But nicer too.

I’m still not going to blog here on Casteluzzo today (well, any more than I am right now), but I do have a post featured on Heather’s Women in the Scriptures blog. I discovered her blog just a month or two ago, and have been enjoying both current articles and her extensive archives. As the title denotes, Heather focuses on studying the women in the scriptures. It seems like that would make for a pretty short blog, right?… Read more

Mormons and Muslims

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I blogged today over at Times & Seasons about what Mormons and Muslims have in common. Pop on over and have a read:  http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2011/10/mormons-and-muslims/

photo credit… Read more