Third Hour

I've been married for a over a year and have yet to start Christmas traditions with my husband. We've talked about the traditions we'd like to adopt from within our own families. But I also want to create new Christ-oriented traditions with our future family. A couple worldly traditions are opening one gift on Christmas Eve and eating prime rib and shrimp on Christmas Eve. A couple of Christ-oriented traditions from our families are giving a gift away to someone else and passing out treats to our neighbors. Christmas is the perfect time we can remember our Savior by creating Christ-oriented Christmas traditions. Give a Christmas Gift Away (via YouWall) Although my husband and I don't have kids yet, we've already begun planning our future family holiday traditions. Before we went to bed the other night, he shared one of his Christmas childhood memories. He said that after he and his siblings opened all of their Christmas gifts, his parents told them to pick one of their gifts to give away to... View the full article

The many nativity scenes around our homes and churches each Christmas commemorate the very first nativity: The birth of Jesus Christ. What you probably haven't thought about is why we remember Christmas by putting figurines around a manger. This brings us to the second nativity when St. Francis of Assisi began the tradition of the nativity scene. The details about St. Francis' inaugural nativity scene come only from a single biography written about his life, by a man born only after Francis' death. Trip to the Holy Land The son of a merchant trader, Francis lived a relatively opulent childhood. As a young man, he became a crusading soldier. After living as a prisoner of war for a year, Francis began a spiritual awakening where over the next ten years he came to value virtues such as humility and poverty. The pope authorized Francis to begin a religious order based on those principles before his thirtieth birthday. As the leader of a religious movement, Francis wished to travel to the Holy Land. But his first trip ended in a... View the full article

Looking to feel holly jolly this Christmas? Here are 29 Christmas memes that are sure to put a smile on your face! 20. So much more complicated than when I was a kid 19. But not even Hipster Santa is as Hipster as these guys 18. On a one cat open sleigh 17. A cause worth supporting 16. Those sneaky guys always seemed suspicious to me 15. This is the way to keep up with the Joneses 14. Robin laid an egg 13. The ultimate Christmas question 12. Better than coal 11. Have a very punny Christmas 10. Gotta grow them gifting muscles 9. Business cat office party 8. Well it doesn't sound like heaven 7. Unless Santa is Darth Vader 6. Er . . . um . . . 5. Finally an honest conclusion 4. Engage 3. It's why they don't air the Grammys in December 2. He evolves into Graveler 1. Us too View the full article

It's common knowledge to most members of the Church that Sunday School classes focus on a new section of the standardized works each year. This upcoming year of 2017 is, of course, no different. But there is something that has the potential to totally alter how we study 2017's curriculum: "Revelations in Context." 2017's Sunday School curriculum is centered on the Doctrine and Covenants, which contains a great wealth of interesting historical information as well as spiritual insight. In an effort to help members of the Church better understand the sacred revelations found in the D&C, they have developed a study tool called "Revelations in Context" that can be found on LDS.org. Revelations in Context is comprised of narratives written by the Church History department that explain the background to many different revelations. As its name suggests, it will give members the invaluable opportunity to read much of the Doctrine and Covenants in the context of its day. "Elder J. Devn Cornish of the Seventy said, “Gone are the days when... View the full article

As a group, Latter-day Saints largely celebrate Christmas in the same ways as the other Christians around us. But that doesn't mean we don't have our quirks. I asked our readers about their strangest Christmas traditions . Head down to the comments to add your family's strangest Christmas tradition. Grab a Fork A lot of readers shared traditions about what they ate around Christmas time. The night before Christmas one family eats "shrimp and French fries" every year. While another reports they always have pizza for Christmas Eve dinner. The next morning, one family always has a breakfast . . . turkey? Their dad puts it in the oven at midnight so it would be ready as everyone woke up. Another family has the tradition of the kids making breakfast. Once they reached dessert, one family traditionally has oyster soup. Still, no family had quite as intense a Christmas tradition as one who reported they kill all their Christmas food with their bare hands. The only Christmas food I kill with my bare hands... View the full article

I once heard someone say, "People are okay with you having your own opinion — as long as it's theirs." That really struck a chord with me at the time, and it repeatedly echoed in my mind during the recent election season as I saw words of hatred, malice, and anger coming from both sides of the political spectrum. Funny enough, it would appear that in a time when tolerance is celebrated and lauded seemingly more than ever, people are becoming less and less tolerant. Here's the thing: tolerance doesn't mean just tolerating someone that has your same opinion. Because that's easy. Anyone can do that. Tolerance means being respectful and kind to people that have opinions that you don't agree with. By its very definition, tolerance doesn't apply to people with whom you already share an opinion — it applies to people with whom your beliefs don't coincide, which is why you even have the need to tolerate their opinions in the first place. Tolerance doesn't mean to condone or approve; it... View the full article

Are Mormons Christian? The 3 Mormons discuss why Mormons are Christian with Stacey, the star actor from Studio C. Check out this episode of 3 Mormons! The 3 Mormons each take turns asking Stacey questions about his life as a Christian, his embarrassing moments, and his celebrity crushes, and his favorite Apostles and Prophets. Stacey and the 3 Mormons also discuss their thoughts about why Mormons are Christian and what it means to be a follower of Christ. Stacey believes A Mormon is a Christian, a follower of Christ and one who seeks after his teachings. He is fundamental to our religion, and to our doctrine. Without Christ we have no religion. Everything we believe as Mormons hinges on Christ and what he taught. Stacey also discusses how being on Studio C and being in the comedy realm can be uplifting and edifying. Making people happy is a great gift you can give to people and that can be done through edifying comedy! Mormons are Christian, and this means that we need... View the full article

You probably love Christmas music. But that doesn't necessarily mean you love everything about Christmas music. Here at Mormon Hub, we've done what we can to help solve your Christmas dilemmas with our three Christmas music playlists. And we've given you two ways to listen. We have the full playlists on Spotify, you can see them below, but, you'll need a free account with Spotify. Or you can listen via YouTube. It's missing a few songs, but there's no signup required. Problem #1: They Keep Playing the Same Christmas Songs Over and Over https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6Z5l5SPZbx4bF6a8zF5UP4yGmHddamXz We've got you covered on this one. Here are nine complete hours of Christmas music, without two versions of the same song ever coming up! We've included excellent covers of traditional Christmas songs, as well as many of your new favorites. We've also unearthed some of the best hidden Christmas song gems that deserve your ear, such as "Christ was Born on Christmas Morn" by the Cotton Top Singers. Then we added the best new Christmas music... View the full article

Several years ago Eric Huntsman (Professor; Coordinator, Ancient Near Eastern Studies at BYU) sat down and asked himself a question: How can we take the celebration of Christmas and the texts that teach us about it and connect them with families? His conclusion was that through celebrating Advent each year through devotional activities, he and his family could better enjoy the spirit of Christmas. Typically he would delve into biblical commentaries. After one memorable Christmas, he decided that simpler was better. For over a decade, he and his family have celebrated the four weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas. Listen as Dr. Huntsman shares with Blake Dalton how he has been able to mesh biblical scholarship with family Christmas traditions. They also delve into what we can learn about Mary and Joseph from the birth narratives. They discuss when Christians began to celebrate Christmas, which was first seen as soft idolatry, and the timing of the addition of the birth narratives into the Gospels. Check out the links in the show notes for Eric’s ideas for celebrating the Advent of... View the full article

"Comparison is the thief of joy," said the late President Teddy Roosevelt (and just about every poster in my high school English classrooms). Even though I've heard this quote approximately 40 billion times (only a slight exaggeration), it still rings true to me because it's honestly pretty obvious when you break it down: when we compare, we're jealous. And when we're filled with jealousy, we're certainly not happy. I recently had a friend pose a question that caused me a great deal of introspection: can we have an attitude of gratitude and still be envious of others? My knee-jerk reaction was "Of course. I'm a pretty grateful person, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't kill for Sandra Bullock's jawline." Okay, disclaimer: I wouldn't actually kill for it. But you get the point. After thinking about it a little more, I realized that having an attitude of gratitude is being grateful for what you do have, not jealous of or upset about what you don't have. So my final answer, Regis, is no. We... View the full article

Dr. Michael Hubbard MacKay earned his PhD in history at the University of York. He now teaches early Mormon history and the Doctrine and Covenants as an assistant professor at BYU in the Department of Church History and Doctrine. He has also worked as a historian/writer for the Joseph Smith Paper Project and as a visiting professor for the Department of History at BYU. In this episode of LDS Perspectives Dr. MacKay is interviewed by Russell Stevenson. Some may not realize that Joseph continued to use seer stones after the Book of Mormon was translated. He used them while translating the Bible, when dictating revelations, and even when giving patriarchal blessings. After his death, Joseph's stones were passed down to succeeding presidents of the church and looked upon as sacred relics. Dr. Mackay claims the seer stones were not simply a tool to give Joseph confidence to translate; they represent something much more significant. Listen to the podcast here: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ldsperspectives/9LDSP_-_Seer_Stones.mp3 or at the LDS Perspectives website. Then be sure to listen to these podcasts coming in November: 11.23.16: Lehi in Mesoamerica with Brant Gardner 11.30.16:... View the full article

Have you ever wondered what happens in Mormon temples? 3 Mormons discuss the sacredness of what goes on inside a temple of the Mormon Church. Shelley puts it best when she says that the main goal of the Mormon Church isn’t for people not to know what goes on inside the temple. We as a church want everyone to know what goes on and to receive the same blessings we do. The Mormon Church and all its members invite everyone to take and read a free copy of The Book of Mormon, to visit with Mormon Missionaries to learn more about our Church and the Temple! What is the difference between secret and sacred? This question is discussed when Shelley and Ian go to the campus of Brigham Young University to discuss with other Mormons about their thoughts on the temple and the sacredness of it. Each Mormon member they talk to gives insight to the matter of secret vs. sacred and that the things we do inside the temple... View the full article

A lot of people aren't looking for a true church, they're looking for a good church. They want to be part of an organization that is fundamentally sound and makes its members and the world around it better. I'm not trying to say the Church is perfect. But we so often get stuck focusing on its minor faults and its truth claims that we often miss what an outstanding organization it simply is. Here are 21 reasons we are lucky to be members. 1) Takes Care of Their Own The Church does good by those who are members. Through fast offerings, bishop's storehouses, and job services, along with ward councils and home teachers to make sure no one slips through the cracks, the Church is wildly efficient at caring for its own members. 2) Does Good in the Community The Church and its wards regularly serve at the community level. Whether it's participating in local service projects, working at local food banks, or organizing with the new JustServe.org website, Latter-day Saints strive to make where they... View the full article

Latter-day Saint songwriter Michael McLean has been nothing short of a paragon of faith that members have looked up to for years. He has been an example and a leader that has led many people to find greater faith in the Savior and hope in His life and Atonement. Yet underneath it all, McLean himself was struggling, and not just for a day or a week or some relatively minuscule amount of time. In a recent article with LDS Living, McLean explained that he struggled with his faith for nine years. "It all started about 10 years ago when McLean’s youngest son told his family that he was gay. “He was hoping that if he was good enough, prayed hard enough, served faithfully as a missionary, and kept the commandments that he’d somehow experience a miracle and become straight,” says McLean. “It’s tough enough to be a gay kid in a straight world, but being the son of the songwriting icon of the Mormon Church was impossible for him. The pain... View the full article

People find a way to make time for the things they want to do. Which is probably why I never found much time to read my scriptures. I'd never really understood the scripture, "Feast ye upon the word of Christ," before my mission. I'd always loved the Book of Mormon and the Bible because I knew they contained God's word, but when it came to actually reading them? I wasn't so into that. I've never really been good at math, but I was good enough to know that scriptures + me = boredom. I willingly attended seminary and subsequent activities like mutual and institute. I even took classes on the scriptures during my time in college, but I still couldn't help but sit there slack-jawed when people would express how much they loved reading their scriptures. I wondered if they loved it as in "I love this and could read the scriptures all day, every day" or if they loved it in a "I love working out because it's good... View the full article

It's time to get ready for a toddler-filled sacrament meeting. What distracting sacrament meeting snacks should you pack? Well, MormonHub provides. We've got your completely biased one-man definitive answer. We've scored the most popular snack options on how noisy, messy, healthy, and easy they are to get ready. Here's your list of the best sacrament meeting snack. And be sure to head down to the comments and let us know what perfect snack solution we've forgotten. 10. Cookies Are cookies really the worst sacrament meeting snack? Yes. And you know in your heart it's true. No snack this tasty could really be the best. Noise: 8 Quiet to break, quiet to chew, and if you get going on them for a bit they can keep the kids quiet. Mess: 2 When a cookie breaks, the crumbs shoot directly for the deepest crevice in the chapel carpet. Prep/Cost: 5 Cookies require virtually no prep time. But they're one of the priciest options on the list. Or you make them and they require tons of prep. Health: 1 Here's where... View the full article

My freshman roommate carried 8 oz. bottles of Coke to sacrament meeting in her purse. Without shame, she’d take swigs when the speakers lulled, or the bishop droned, or simply when she was thirsty. The hushed crack and hiss of carbonation brought the occasional judgmental stare or pharisaical glance – though the only commandments being broken were social. This was – without a doubt – one of my favorite scenes from the "freshman experience." Drinking Coke isn’t typically seen as taboo outside of the Latter-day Saint community. And, even though BYU campus is staunchly anti-caffeine, having a sip of Coke is not akin to breaking a commandment. So why is a mid-sacrament Coke to fight the intermediate snooze such a big deal? Within Mormon culture, the lines between doctrine and convention can often become blurred. As Latter-day Saints, it is important that we have a concrete understanding of what we do and do not believe, and to what degree of authority the obscure beliefs that creep into our lives have been validated. Evaluating doctrine can be... View the full article

When I think of pastors, there are two people who come to mind: Joel Osteen and the dad from 7th Heaven. I'll be the first to admit that that's definitely a skewed perception of what pastors are like — both of these men seem to exude this confidence, kindness, and superhero-esque nature that is unrealistic for nearly any pastor to achieve. But are these the kind of men that congregations have come to expect? That they have come to demand? Unrealistic Expectations Are congregations a bit unrealistic in their expectations of pastors? Christian news organization Baptist News Global recently published an article about the dwindling numbers of pastors. It's not that people aren't seeking out the ecclesiastical profession — it's that they're not keeping it. BNG's article cites a 2015 study performed by ExPastors.com, a site whose mission is to "be a place of help, healing, and hope for expastors, pastors, and church leaders." The survey results concluded that "Eighty-five percent [of pastors] consider leaving ministry [and] 77 percent consider themselves having experienced burnout." But... View the full article

Leaves are falling, the temperature's dropping, and with the daylight hours waning, let's face it: we're all looking for more reasons to stay inside. Fortunately, with Halloween on the not-so-distant horizon, those of us who have retired our plastic pumpkin buckets now have the time for more adult pastimes. Specifically, scaring ourselves silly. Unfortunately, most scary movies offer cheap thrills, copious amounts of gore, and overtly sexual content. Finding a horror movie that is truly terrifying and not a bloody mess of jump-scares can be a tiring task — but it doesn't have to be. With services like VidAngel, you can pick and choose what you view. Of course, with some horror films, that means you might be missing a large portion of the film. There are great horror films out there that need little to no censoring for even the most faint-hearted of viewers. The following are a few terrifying features that are sure to scare you into staying home, without scaring the spirit into the streets. Disclaimer: The movies listed below are frightening; most contain... View the full article

The 3 Mormons discuss what is appropriate for Mormons to do and wear for the Halloween season and also do hilarious impressions. Check it out! Shelley doesn’t think that it should be such a big deal that when this time of the year rolls around, that girls should have pumpkin spice in everything, and wear leggings and Ugg boots! Ian disagrees, because he looks forward to this time of year so he can have pumpkin pie, eat lots of candy, and wear his flannel shirts! He thinks that pumpkin flavored anything is awesome. Ian also believes that Mormons can celebrate Halloween and that there is nothing wrong with that. He also doesn’t think that watching a scary or thriller movie isn’t a big deal and that we shouldn’t worry about that. Kwaku, Shelley, and Ian all agree that some Halloween costumes are inappropriate and shouldn’t be worn. Halloween shouldn’t be an excuse for people to start dressing immodestly and inappropriately. The 3 Mormons have different opinions on how Mormons celebrate Halloween, but we... View the full article

It's the same in Every. Single. Movie. Really, though. Every fairy-tale, every so-called "girl-power" chick flick. They all seem to end in exactly the same way: with the swoon-worthy guy at the end. Minus, you know, Disney's Brave. But that's one's an outlier, because last time I checked, way more movies revolve around the perfect kiss rather than (spoiler alert!) the heroine's mom turning into a bear. But please, correct me if I'm wrong. The girl-meets-boy and they live happily every after story is great in its own way. It's idyllic: you find someone that you love, someone who is good and kind, someone who is "the right person." But do you ever think that maybe we spend a little too much time fantasizing about our "right person" instead of pouring our energy into being the right person? Shifting Our Focus Disney's Tangled characters Rapunzel and Flynn each had to focus on their own learning, growth, and selflessness before they reached their happily ever after. When I was about 12, I remember watching... View the full article

What is the Law of Chastity? The 3 Mormons tackle the hard questions about three principles of the Law of Chastity: sex, porn, and masturbation. The 3 Mormons talk start with the idea that “waiting to have sex until you're married is too hard” is a bad mentality and is just not true. We are children of God, and because of that we can utilize many tools God has given us to overcome those sexual pressures and maintain pure thoughts. Christ died for us, and through him we can overcome anything. We as human beings have the sacred ability to procreate, and it should be treated as a sacred power. All 3 recognize that pornography is evil thing in all forms (soft pornography included) and leads to addiction. When someone you know is struggling with an addiction to pornography, the best thing you can do is support them and let them know that there is always hope for them no matter what. The best thing we can do is avoid... View the full article

Today Neal Rappleye presents a podcast about Book of Mormon Central, a great online resource for this year's study of the book of scripture, or whenever you are involved in your own scripture reading. Book of Mormon Central's purpose is to enlighten us on aspects of Book of Mormon culture, meaning, and context to enhance our experience with our scripture study. Book of Mormon Central is manned by archivists, researchers, writers, editors, reviewers, illustrators, narrators, audio engineers, video engineers, web designers, web and mobile developers, graphic artists, and social media publishers, in addition to support personnel. The site offers many features for online visitors, including short essays, memes, podcasts, an archive of resources in several kinds of media, Book of Mormon commentary, and verse by verse analysis (exegesis). Neal Rappleye has been doing ongoing research on the Book of Mormon for several years. His work has been published by Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, FairMormon, the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum, LDS.net, and Meridian Magazine. He presented at the 2014 and... View the full article

A “Conventional Family” in the LDS church is one with stay-at-home mother and working father. As stated in The Family: A Proclamation to the World: "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners." My husband and I talked about what we planned to do when we decide to start a family. Growing up, he expected to have his future wife stay home with the kids. So when we got married, he shared that once he establishes a job and we start a family, I will be staying home. However, I want to be able to work. I know I probably won't work when we start having kids. But I hope to work while my children are in school. Although this lifestyle is by far the most "normal" for LDS... View the full article

To be or not to be . . . yourself. “The sister missionaries asked me to go on splits with them tomorrow.” I’d just waltzed into my little brother’s house for leftovers, when I met him and Jennie in the kitchen with my bit of random news. I think they knew I was coming; about once a week I’d come over after the kids were in bed to eat their food and grace them with my presence, so if they didn’t expect me, they at least weren’t surprised. “I don’t think they call it splits anymore.” Jennie didn’t skip a beat as she started bringing out tupper-ware from the fridge filled with that evening’s dinner. “What else would they call it?” I was a bit disappointed that the lingo had changed. I liked saying the word ‘splits.’ It sounded nostalgic. “I don’t know, but it’s cool that you’re going.” Seth said, as he dished out his portion for next days’ lunch to keep me from eating it: I may or may not be... View the full article