A Mormon Woman's Reflections on Life and the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Mormon.org–a newly redesigned site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons, LDS) has launched today!

A rich, lucid venue through which thousands of voices of genuine, everyday Mormons, address questions often asked by friends of other faiths in snippets and testimonies, with photos and personal text, opens up dialog and communication with online seekers and curious onlookers.  An initial group of 2,000 have not only already posted profiles visible to the public, but have added explanations of their beliefs and shared glimpses into their own applied faith and lives.

The site offers live chat options and frequently-asked questions, selectable even by gender, age, and location. So friends of other faiths can narrow down their communiques to those in their own socially relevant or preferred demographic.

Share this with your friends of all faiths, and with members of the Church! Tweet about it and visit us on Twitter.

I love this piece by Maureen Proctor of Meridian Magazine, regarding Bill Childs’ unerring, unswerving testimony and love of the Sabbath.

Just as I’ve been pondering the talk I’ll share with Young Men and Young Women in our ward, the subject of which is “Enlarging Their Conception of God,” including what it looks like then to walk in the wake of His will, I have wanted to include a comment about the value of keeping the Sabbath day holy.  Voila.  Here it is again. What a great witness. I love the Sabbath.  At a time when reverence for the Lord on His day has been depleted, this is refreshing.

Recently my daughter challenged her friend not to study for a test on the Sabbath–but to attend to other things more appropriate.  Her friend accepted and shared her witness of divine intervention.  I’m moved by simple acts of testimony like this one. Dallin Oaks’ father shared with him his intent and commitment to do the Lord’s work and not his secular studying and professional work on the Sabbath. It spurred Elder Oaks on to the same commitment.  

I love how the Mauris completely observe the Sabbath and hope we can continue to reflect a deeper love for the Lord in honoring Him and worshipping Him more fully that day.  

I feel that there is more I can personally do to minister on the Sabbath.  If you have additional ideas, please feel free to share, or share your witness of the Lord’s blessings as you have honored Him and been renewed on the day of rest.

What an amazing concept–one in seven, day of renewal.  One year in seven, time for the land to rest.

Let’s take it a step higher.

I’m a former Catholic with ancestors in Italia… bella Italia..   I just saw an article, clipped below, that touched my heartstrings and reached that longing to make more ties in family lines.  Had that feeling?  Do you know what it is? Well, Mormons call it the “spirit of Elijah.”  Elijah actually came to restore the gaps and mess-ups in the human family by restoring the keys to bind worthy families together–in other words to  seal together us and others to our ancestors who are worthy or will become worthy of eternal life in the highest kingdom of God.  Well, that’s the source of that feeling that is sweeping the earth–to trace their family lines.  And it is the backbone of much of Mormon temple work.

Anyway, I’d love to find Mormons, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are in the Napoli branch in Italy. Love this article, Laurie. Thank you!  And thanks, Bianca, for sharing it.

I have roots in the Pietraroia area, including the Bello line.  If anyone out there has contacts in that branch, I’d love to connect with them.  Hoping to bop over there with my girls a year from Christmas.  My sister went over to Italy to visit relatives, the Trifilettis, in Sicily, and said it was surreal.  Saw the house my grandfather built for my grandmother, still there amid the cobblestones and groves.

I’ll shower you soon with pics of my two girls..

NAPLES, ITALY

Laurie Sowby, Church news writer

Mario Manzella was a young husband and father looking for answers.

But, he says, it wasn’t until he began praying to God, asking why he felt nothing when he attended the church he’d been raised in, that he began to notice the name tags worn by the young men who frequently dropped in to his bakery.

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” he read.

He invited the elders to his home, and his wife, Anna, accepted their invitation to join the discussion. “As soon as they started using the scriptures, I recognized that what they were teaching was true,” recalls Sister Manzella 39 years later.

She was baptized April 4, 1970, in Napoli (Naples in English), the city where she’s lived all her life. Her husband followed soon after, and in 1976, they traveled to the Bern Switzerland Temple to be sealed to their four children.

As I knelt in prayer last night, on the eve of this 179th session of General Conference (Mormons’ semi-annual meeting to receive the Lord’s will), I asked 5 questions of the Lord, and invited His guidance on those during these two days of talks by apostles and members of the Quorums of The Church of Jesus Christ (sometimes called by those who do not know its full name, “The Mormon Church”).

I received an answer to one of those requests through the remarks given by Elder D. Todd Christofferson, apostle of Jesus Christ. It came as the Spirit bore witness to me and reviewed what has been my privilege to experience through trial–the power and blessing of keeping my covenants. (more…)