Religion

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Americus Dotter Featured at Inspirational Women Authors, Coffees, Confections and Conversations

“Gather up your friends and plan to join us for a delightful time of fellowship, fun and encouragement!” reads the event page for Inspirational Women Authors, Coffees, Confections & soul_picConversations. “The afternoon gathering features a panel discussion with published women authors who have walked through some deep valleys, traversed the road less traveled, and discovered their inner strength along the way.”

The event takes place at Cloverdale Church of God, Boise, Idaho, Saturday, from 1 -3.

Americus Dotter is the pen name for an American author and advocate for women, best known for her autobiographical thriller, Soul Sale: A Rude Awakening.

Dotter was an ovum donor for many fertility clinics across the United States including Yale University, and helped many couples achieve their goal of creating a family. Stem cell research and the ethics surrounding it are one of her primary concerns. Her book, Soul Sale, is the raw story of spiritual warfare that she experienced in 2008 following the birth of her own child. It is an example of “quantum psychiatry,” a term that is gaining popularity and support in the psychiatric community. Quantum psychiatry is thought to be where spirituality and science meet to expose unproven realities. In a time where the transhuman agenda is beginning to appear in headlines, the ethics surrounding stem cell research must be discussed and unintended consequences of our knowledge should be examined. Amy Dotter successfully sheds light on these issues in a creative true story not like any ever heard before.[1]

She was interviewed for the documentary film Eggsploitation, discussing her story and the idea that “the fertility industry has a dirty little secret.” [2]

Americus Dotter invites the reader feel some of the pain of psychosis, in a tale weaved from her real life experiences. The book explores the issue from several perspectives. She offers stark implications for bioethics. Elements of fantasy and reality are weaved to give readers an inside look at one woman’s remarkable journey. And while the darkness is spelled out, the book also offers inspiration for women, in the end.[3]

Authors who will be participating are
JoEllen Claypool
Vera DeMay
Americus Dotter
Sheila Eismann
Jane Freund
Carol Green
Phyllis Vavold

A recent review of Soul Sale: A Rude Awakening, said:

I walked into a local bookstore to see an artist book signing. I love to read and thought I don’t do much for myself, I am going to buy this book. I didn’t ask what the book was about and I have never just walked up to an author and purchased a book. I was drawn to this woman it was as though I was following a beacon, like something told me I had to stop, I could not pass up this book or meeting.. I am personally dealing with much more than I can handle at the moment and this book and the authors experiences let me know I am not alone. No I didn’t have the same experiences and do not have the same exact mental issues. However, I have had or do have many of the same thoughts and feelings.
During my tour through the author’s experiences, thoughts, and feelings, I laughed, I cried, I related, and I was motivated to take my own life back to find happiness again.. When this book becomes a movie, if it isn’t to scarey,I would love to see it.

Come meet Americus and these other awe inspiring authors.

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Thomas S. Monson, LDS Church President, Escapes Fraud Trial, British Court Drops Case

ThomassmonsonEXCERPT:

A British judge has thrown out a fraud case against the head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, saying “the court is being manipulated to provide a high-profile forum to attack the religious beliefs of others.”

Tom Phillips, a former Mormon bishop and stake president, had charged that church President Thomas S. Monson has “made representations … which were untrue or misleading” — including that “the Book of Mormon, the church’s signature scripture, was translated from ancient gold plates by church founder Joseph Smith; that the Book of Abraham, another text viewed as scripture, is a literal translation of Egyptian papyri by Smith ” — to “make a gain for himself or another.”

“To convict, a jury would need to be sure that the religious teachings of the Mormon Church are untrue or misleading,” said the ruling by Judge Howard Riddle, chief magistrate in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. “No judge in a secular court in England and Wales would allow that issue to be put to a jury.”

Read the full story

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Fred Phelps, Westboro Baptist’s preacher of hate, dies at 84

ABC NEWS reports:

Fred Phelps did not care what you thought of his Westboro Baptist Church, nor did he care if you heard its message that society’s tolerance for gay people is the root of all earthly evil.

By the time you saw one of his outrageous and hate-filled signs — “You’re Going to Hell” was among the more benign — you were already doomed.

Tall, thin and increasingly spectral as he aged, the Rev. Fred Phelps Sr. and the Westboro Baptist Church, a small congregation made up almost entirely of his extended family, tested the boundaries of the free speech guarantees by violating accepted societal standards for decency in their unapologetic assault on gays and lesbians. In the process, some believe he even helped the cause of gay rights by serving as such a provocative symbol of intolerance.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mormons

EXCERPTS from an article in LDS Living Magazine:

Two copies of the Book of Mormon were found in Martin Luther King Jr.’s personal library when his house was sold in 1990. While we couldn’t find any particular instance of him quoting from it, we hope he was as inspired by the words therein as we are!

To this day, general authorities of the Church continue to quote Martin Luther King, Jr. in talks and conference addresses. Dr. King’s moving rhetoric has occasionally been used to help teach Latter-day Saints about the importance of freedom, turning the other cheek, practicing compassion, and treating our fellow man with love and respect. One of our favorite Dr. King quotes used in a talk by Elder Holland is: “When our days become dreary with low hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that … [God] is able to make a way out of no way, and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows.”

In 2013, James Taylor joined with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to sing a musical tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. While the entire concert was not focused on Martin Luther King Jr., the song “Shed a Little Light” was written for and dedicated tohim. Ruth Stevenson, a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, said, “This musical tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King will always be a timely message.”

SOURCE: http://ldsliving.com/story/74803-martin-luther-king-jr-and-mormons

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Confessions of a Mormon Bishop

Like pastors, priests, and clergy in other religions, those of us asked to serve as a bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spend hours behind closed doors meeting with people who allow us into the darkest corners of their lives.

They come to us for various reasons. Because of guilt. Because they have lost hope. Because they have been betrayed. Because they don’t know where else to go. Because they feel worthless. Because the person they are isn’t the person they want to be. Because they have questions. Because they have doubts. Because they believe in a forgiving God yet feel disconnected from Him.

They come and sit in front of me. Some hesitate. Take a deep breath. And grasp for courage to say out loud what they have been hiding inside for days, weeks, or years. – See more at: http://www.russhillmedia.com/2013/03/19/confessions-of-a-mormon-bishop/#sthash.BUVskf7G.dpuf

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What Does the Bible Say About Healing? – OpenBible.info

Isaiah 41:10 ESV / 180 helpful votes

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

 

Jeremiah 17:14 ESV / 161 helpful votes

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.

 

1 Peter 2:24 ESV / 139 helpful votes

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

 

Isaiah 53:5 ESV / 123 helpful votes

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

 

Jeremiah 33:6 ESV / 117 helpful votes

Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security.

 

Psalm 103:2-4 ESV / 107 helpful votes

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.

Read the full page at: http://www.openbible.info/topics/healing

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Ask Mormon Girl: I’m an out gay Mormon serving a mission, and I need help.

Just over a year ago, I stood at the back of the first-ever Mormon temple in Kirtland, Ohio, and witnessed a choir of gay Mormons sing “How Firm a Foundation” with a grace and power that would make the Mormon tears roll down your face.  And next to me stood a young gay Mormon man, nineteen and red-headed and freckle-faced, who’d travelled across the ocean from Europe, just to be in the company of other gay Mormons.  Just to be understood.  And as tears rolled down his freckled face (of course), he asked me: “If they could see us”—they being, I don’t know who, perhaps Church leaders?—“don’t you think they’d change their minds about us?”
Read the full story

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FIVE MYTHS ABOUT MORMONISM and other news an events from joannabrooks.org

News and events

  • FIVE MYTHS ABOUT MORMONISM:  Polygamy.  Politics.  Gender equality.  Diversity.  Read my contribution to the Washington Post’s popular “Five Myths” series here, and the web chat here.
  • BREAKING NEWS: Politico says I’m one of “50 Politicos to Watch” this year.  Follow @askmormongirl on Twitter for my take on Mormon life and politics, or read me at Religion Dispatches.
  • RADIO: Is 2011 the “Year of the Mormon?”  That’s the question everyone’s been asking me, from the BBC to the nationally-syndicated public radio show Interfaith Voices to the Mitch Albom radio program. Tune in to hear me talk about Mitt Romney, The Book of Mormon musical, funeral potatoes, and other features of 21st century Mormon life.
  • PODCAST:  I’m happy to be a regular guest on the Mormon Matters podcast, a weekly show covering Mormon politics and culture.  Check the podcast out here.
  • TALKS:  Thanks to Clark and Claremont Universities and the Mormon Stories Conference for hosting my recent talks about Mormonism, Mormon identity, digital media, and the twenty-first century.   To inquire about booking a speaking engagement on contemporary Mormon thought, politics, and culture, please email jb@joannabrooks.org.
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The Book of Mormon Original Broadway Cast (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

The Book of Mormon
Original Broadway Cast (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

From Trey Parker and Matt Stone, four-time Emmy Award-winning creators of South Park, and Robert Lopez, Tony Award-winning co-creator of Avenue Q, comes a new Broadway musical called “the funniest show I’ve ever seen, by far” (Entertainment Weekly) and “so good it makes me angry” (Jon Stewart, The Daily Show).

The Book of Mormon follows a pair of mismatched Mormon boys sent on a mission to a place that s about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get. Co-directed by Mr. Parker and three-time Tony nominee Casey Nicholaw and described as “making the audience insane with joy in this way I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a theater” (Ira Glass, This American Life), see it now or find yourself asking, “Dear God, how do I get tickets?” (Village Voice).

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Teen’s religious commitment springs from relationships, study shows

For the 12,000 teens who participate each year, EFY is a time for game nights, dances, and cheer-offs, and now a study at BYU illustrates the program’s secrets to success.

In a new study, Brigham Young University professor David Dollahite and graduate student Emily Layton identified seven anchors of religious commitment for teens. Through in-depth interviews of 80 adolescents and their families belonging to different faiths, they recognized an overarching theme of teens building relationships.

“Relationships matter to youth,” Layton said.  “Relationships are critical to how youth are experiencing their religion—relationships within the family, church leaders and members of the faith community.”

The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Research, draws upon interviews Dollahite conducted with teens in New England and the San Francisco Bay area. They asked a variety of religious leaders to recommend families of their faith that showed an engaged level of activity. The entire family was interviewed and recorded, but the researchers focused on the adolescents. Layton then analyzed the information for her master’s thesis.

After reviewing the recordings, Dollahite and Layton coded each interview to identify seven anchors of religious commitment:

  • Traditions
  • God
  • Faith denominations
  • Faith community members
  • Parents
  • Scriptures
  • Religious leaders

“The good news for parents and religious leaders is there are many avenues to religious commitment, or we use the word anchors,” Dollahite said.  “We use the metaphor of a tent held down by seven different stakes.”

From their interview with a 16-year-old Presbyterian boy mentioned in the study, the reason his faith was more than just a crutch was the friendship he felt at church.

“Religion has sort of taken on a new role in my life from being something just to turn to in a time of need to something that I really care about and I participate in just for the joy of connecting to the people I’m worshipping with,” he said.

It’s that “joy of connecting” that is critical, and it happens through these various anchors.

“Teens feel connected to their faith communities in a variety of ways,” Dollahite said, “and those connections make a difference.”

Maybe it’s the boys escorting the girls to dinner, or the nightly devotionals in small groups.  It could be the teamwork games or testimony meetings.

Either way, EFY programs give youth a number of social and spiritual ways to build friendships in the faith. Those friendships become anchors that support a personal reason to stay religious.

“Just like a tent is held down by many stakes, likewise our commitments in our religion are anchored by relationships, beliefs and behaviors that may seem different but all serve to give life to our religion,” Layton said. “The ‘small and simple things’ that foster relationships and make religion fun are important to our youth.”