Mormon Life - Orson Scott Card tag

Grateful for hard times? Wealth is not the reward for righteousness

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:44:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

In my last column, I mentioned that there's a stanza in Emily H. Woodmansee's poem "As Sisters in Zion" that I wish we could add as a fourth verse in the next edition of our hymnbook:

The Lord hath established the cities of Zion,

The poor of His people are trusting in Him,

He makes us a source for His poor to rely on;

Oh! shall we not brighten the eyes that are dim.

This verse is a reminder that Relief Society was founded as a part of the spirit of consecration, that it was charged with taking care of the poor and providing for those who were building the temple.

But this is a matter for all the Saints, not just for the sisters.

Anatomy of a real apology

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:00:00 -0700

source: MormonTimes.com

I'm sorry, but when you look at what happened you'll see that I was completely justified. I'm sorry, but it wasn't my fault at all.

All right, OK, I'm sorry. I'm so-o-o sorry. Excu-u-u-u-uze me.

I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I'm sorry I got you so upset. If I did anything wrong, I'm truly sorry for it.

All right, whatever I did, I apologize for it. Satisfied? If you don't accept my apology by Friday, then consider it withdrawn. I'll apologize if you apologize, it's not like you were perfect.

Have you ever heard these apologies? Ever used any of them?

Orson Scott Card: Traditions and when to change

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:24:00 -0700

source: MormonTimes.com

When our oldest child was 5, he came to his mother and asked her for a box.

"What do you need it for?" she asked.

"Packing," he said.

"Packing? Where are you going?"

"For when we move," he said.

"We aren't moving," she said.

He looked at her in consternation. "I already had my birthday in this house," he said. "It's almost my birthday again."

Only then did she realize that in his entire life, he had never spent two birthdays in the same house. He did not share our adult understanding that this was about going to graduate school, getting a job and then moving from rental to rental till we had room for our growing family.

He assumed that this was how things were supposed to be — the Card family moved every year.

Orson Scott Card: The words of Isaiah — to us

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:38:00 -0600

source: MormonTimes.com

As we read Isaiah, it can often feel like an exercise in cryptography: Here are all these words — let's decode them and see if we can make them mean something.

Nephi said, "My soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah" (2 Ne. 25:5), but he also said, "My soul delighteth in plainness unto my people, that they may learn" (25:4).

Plainness? Isaiah? Raise your hand if you found Isaiah "plain" on first reading. Anyone? No?

Yet Isaiah was not writing allegorically, where one thing always means another. He used metaphors and analogies, but their meaning was instantly clear to the people of his time — they were used for clarity, not obscurity; to reveal the Lord's intentions, not conceal them.