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Jellybeans
in the Carpet: Meridian Readers Scrape up Sticky Issues
Edited and compiled
by Kathy Green
Grapes of Wrath
Happy In the Hall-Walking Stage, by Mary Babcock
I am concerned about the amount of food brought into the chapel to feed children during sacrament meeting. I was in a new chapel (opened in February) this very evening and found grapes, jelly beans and other types of candy on the floor under the pews. There were the usual remains of numerous crackers, cookies, cereal, etc there also. Has this topic been discussed as yet? I remember an article or two dealing with reverence of children during Sacrament meeting, but don't recall a specific recommendation on food and drink.
Could it be that our chapels are becoming like public movie theaters?
Name Withheld
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A Good Scout
Following the Motto, by Paul Bishop
“Follow the Motto:” one of the best articles I have read on being prepared. Davis
Carole Davis**********************************************
Resurrection’s Miracle
Easter's Promise and the Second Estate, by Darla Isackson
Thank you for sharing your testimony, for bearing your soul, and for pointing us all to the scriptures for the answer to this perplexing question. Each of us has relatives and friends who seem to have lost their way — or never found it — in mortality, and some scriptures would seem to condemn them, at their death, to a lesser state in the world to come. It is important to know that a prophet or teacher, in trying to make a point, will make statements that appear to be contradictory at first to other scriptures. That is why it is so important to pray for the spirit and to read widely in our search for the truth. He will make guide us and lead us and in the end enlighten our souls. Your beautiful article touched my heart at this wonderful Easter time.
Dennis Hess
Orem Utah
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I loved reading this article about Easter's Promise and the Second Estate. It reminds us more at this time more then ever about the Ssavior and the atonement that he suffered for ALL mankind not just for sinners but for those who were not mentally well as well. It made me realize that the Second Estate does continue in the Spirit World and continues until Judgment Day. It made me wonder that when we say Endure to the End that maybe it doesn’t only mean the end of this earthly state but also the end of our Second Estate or Judgment Day. We will not be able to let our guard down until Satan is bound….
Kim Bennett
Agua Dulce, California.
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I read Darla's article and rejoiced. I now feel that it is Easter! I was feeling so down this Easter weekend, felt that Sacrament meeting was boring and fell way short of celebrating the resurrection of the Lord. But Darla's article changed all that.
L. William Lauro
Salt Lake City, Utah
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I truly appreciated this article. My precious son suffers from severe depression/anxiety. He was raised in the Church and accepted it as a child/young man. Now at 21, he is inactive but extremely sensitive, loving children and all good in the world. He cannot accept the Church structure. He seemed to fall through the cracks. His family of three brothers and one sister try to stay close to him but he has chosen friends where he is comfortable. He has been suicidal and is on medications/therapy. I constantly worry about his future and only stress how his Father in Heaven and Savior are so close to him. It is a constant heartache for me. I work at not becoming depressed myself.
Thank you for sharing about your dear Brian. It gives me greater understanding as I pour over the scriptures and ponder. I seek refuge in the temple. I am so grateful for what you have written.
Name Withheld
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This was a beautiful article that will bring hope to many. My heart ached when she told of her son. I knew she was going to tell us that he had died by his own hand before I saw her words. She shared a great picture of a young man troubled at least with depression and possibly other mental disorders. For some as yet unknown reason, one of the characteristics of clinical depression is a feeling of unworthiness. This comes from the medical world, not the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
But young people especially get that all confused, and they blame themselves and call themselves sinners. And since they are so handicapped and shorn of energy and enjoyment of life, they easily almost naturally question the way of life expected of Latter-day Saints, and criticism of the Church, its members, and leaders follows. How often alcohol and illegal drugs are used because at last something is found that treats the depression.
Jesus told us that he suffered not only for our sins but he felt the pains of our illnesses. We have some mental illness in our family, and some have learned of this in their youth and had loving adult family members to explain the origin of clinical depression and the promise that "Jesus knows."
I have devoted time, energy, and inspiration to saving the life of one of my brothers -- time and time again. I have sat with him and felt the blackness that suicidal depression causes to be felt emanating from the sick one and clouding the very air surrounding him. My brother is dying now of kidney failure. He has such severe agoraphobia that he will not leave his house three days a week for kidney dialysis. He knows that Jesus Christ felt as he feels in those sad and lonely hours in Gethsemane. And so he will soon have the great blessing of "going home." I can only answer, Godspeed you.
And I believe, as Sister Isackson has so skillfully written, that the principles of faith, repentance, baptism, and the Gift of the Holy Ghost are in full operation in the Spirit World. Our responsibility in all of this is to be "saviors on Mt. Zion" and perform the vicarious ordinances that will bring the repentant to Christ. They are in a place where without Satan's influence or power to tempt them and without the afflictions of the mortal body to hamper spiritual development, great progress will be possible for them. And part of that progress is our responsibility in our temple attendance.
I attended the funeral of an adorable little two-and-half-year old neighbor boy this week. His great-grandfather reminded us that his big spirit had left the confines of his little body, and he was going forth as a great missionary to teach the Spirits in Prison. What "joy" it is to "know that [our] Redeemer lives.
Name Withheld
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Cancer Sign Language
Ruling Out Cancer, by L. William Lauro, MD
Around Christmas I read an article in Meridian about signs of cancer. Although cancer doesn't run in my family (except for leukemia, which wasn't mentioned in the article), there's always a first time. I'm glad to have this article to keep as a reference. It has helped me make a couple of medical decisions in the past few months, and I'm grateful for the information.
Patricia in Virginia
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Desert Song: Carry On!
A Photographic Chronicle of Loss: story and photographs by Kjirstin Youngberg
It is so sad to see Richard Dutcher's terrible loss. I respect and admire him and pray that he will have the strength to carry on.
Your article was excellent.
Judy Dugan
Washington State
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The “D-bate”
Sunshine, Vitamin D and Cancer: The Current Controversy, by L. William Lauro, MD
This was all very good information for those of us who have to be out in the sun with work. My question: If 400 units of Vitamin D are included in the supplement, but only 650 mg of calcium, what do you do to get enough calcium? Taking double amounts for sufficient calcium, gives me too much Vitamin D. Then there is the question of which type of calcium to use.
It is so hard to determine which product will be available to the cellular level of the body. So many are cut with fillers or forms of calcium that are not even healthy. I have known people who have calcium deposits from taking calcium supplements. It just should not be so hard to find healthy products and be able to truly know they are healthy.
Shirley Rasmussen
Stevensville, Montana
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Thank you for a great article. I have been involved in osteoporosis research since 1984. Vitamin D supplementation has been a big topic at bone/osteoporosis meetings the last couple of years. Vitamin D3 is definitely preferred for supplementation.
Vitamin D3, also known as cholecalciferol is readily available in supplements. I get mine as a Walgreen brand when they are on sale at half price. That brings the price down to 125 soft gels, 400 IU/gel, for $2, or literally just a couple of pennies for a day's worth of vitamin D3.
Gail P. Dalsky
Burlington, Connecticut
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I had a melanoma on my leg at age 28. I never wore shorts and was not a swimmer. Because we are all different, the causes of cancers are also, I believe. When the body is out of balance it works very hard to correct the mistakes (poor diet, lack of proper exercise, etc.) we have made.
The toxic world we live in also stresses the wellness factor. One reason for disease does not fit all and neither does a remedy. Wellness and remedies come in many forms.
Real, whole remedies were put here for us to find and use. See the Word of Wisdom. But it is easier and more profitable to corrupt parts and sell them as whole.
Elaine Smith CN
Herbalist
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Labor Payne
Giving Birth, by Marvin Payne
What a good read!!! I so much enjoyed this article the humor, the depth, the feeling. I can sense my own artist and the good humor of my spirit when I read this column. Congratulations on all the births and opportunities to witness the miracles of creation on different levels.
Wendy Rojas
San Antonio, TX
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The Route of All Evil
Bankruptcy: It’s Legal, but is it Ethical? by Richard P. Halverson
I have to respectfully disagree with your article on bankruptcy and morality. Though there are no doubt some folks who only wish to take advantage of the system, I believe the large increase in bankruptcy filings has to do with other reasons. Many persons, such as myself, at one time had a good paying job. In my case, for example, I knew that I could borrow money off my credit card, and easily pay it back as I had always done in the past. Granted, I quit my job in hopes of becoming financially successful in my own business.
Was this irresponsible on my part? Probably, but when I went back to the job market, I was only able to get a mediocre paying job. The real problems started after being late on just one payment. Suddenly all my credit cards jumped from interest rates of around 7% to as high as 25%. Long story short, things have snowballed, and I find that even with credit counseling, or debt mediation, I am not able to make the monthly payments.
How about if the credit lenders would at least be willing to allow someone who would otherwise have no alternative then to file bankruptcy, to make payments that they could afford, and without continual extreme price gouging penalties and huge interest rates? Granted this may not be a perfect resolution, but at least they would get their money back, and the borrower could at least feel a little better about himself.
Believe me, there is nothing I would rather do then pay off my debts to my creditors, as I have always done for many years. But within the last four months, my overdue balance has jumped from $40,000 to $50,000. I'm at my wits’ end as to what to do about this. I am not traditionally a whiner, and I live on a shoestring budget, but I'd have to disagree with your article and suggest that major credit card companies do have to take part of the blame for such an increase in bankruptcy filings.
Michael Bryant
Medford, Oregon
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Fluoride Warning is Hard to Swallow
Toxins, Part II: What You Should Know About Them and What You Can Do About Them, by Stan M. Gardner, MD
I disagree with #9, “Use non-fluoridated toothpaste and water." ANYTHING used beyond moderation can be toxic. Too much water, too many vitamins (excessive carrot juice turns you orange from the betacarotene), too much anything (too much exercise) is never good. Less than one part per million promotes dental hard tissue integrity. Kids need to spit out (versus "eat") the toothpaste, because, yes, too much of a good thing is not a good thing!
"In my office, we provide patients with an IV procedure, which infuses the body with phosphatidylcholine and glutathione." I would like to have seen a footnote on that. Over all, it was a very informative and knowledgeable article.
Meredith Hobbs Lund
Dental Hygienist, who will continue to be a "professional
student" all my life
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Cheer Up
The Cheeriest Person in the Universe, by H. Wallace Goddard
Well done, Wally! As always!
Tim Carver
Layton, Utah
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A Few of My Favorite Things
These are a few of my favorite photographs of President Hinckley, by Scot Facer Proctor
Beautiful photo essay. I have seen some of your pictures before but I love your comments because it makes your pictures real and almost like I was there experiencing it all myself. Thanks for sharing your spiritual insights.
Rachel Marshall
Lehi, Utah
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No Luck with Thirteenth Principle
Strengthening Our Marriages: Where to Begin and Where to Go, by Sean E. Brotherson
Attention to all 12 points would help a marriage relationship. It seems that all are dependent on people 'connecting.' You can't build a bond or accomplish much if you don't connect on an emotional level. John Gottman's books are excellent in analyzing and discussing this.
I would like to read about marriage where one partner prefers solitude, being alone with thoughts, thinking, sitting at the computer all day and evening with the door closed, whose greatest joy is acquiring knowledge and facts. I know of a spouse who passes back and forth in the house without greeting, refusing all invitations to socialize (with spouse, family, or friends) or travel. This person feels no need to respond to conversation (you didn't ask a question), does not participate in ANY home or property chores, and is not willing to negotiate or compromise or talk about any issues. But this is a moral person who attends church meetings and gives excellent talks. This behavior is not an exaggeration. It has caused great pain. I have seen it.
Many issues are discussed in marriage articles, but I have never seen this one. It would be nice to read something that dealt with it.
Thanks. I just wanted to mention a serious problem that is never addressed,
Name Withheld
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Rock-solid Advice
Identity: Built on Rock or Sand? by Darla Isackson
Darla is so good in this article. I am a 32-year old woman with five kids and I am not sick; yet I still have had my struggle with identity.
It isn't the great “I do” that I struggled with, but the great “I have.” It seems to me stuff was emphasized excessively as a child and young adult. I always figured I'd always be able to keep up financially with those around me. This has not been the case. Homes get more and more expensive, cars are expensive, and my husband is the only one working outside the home in our family, and not for even the "living wage" some states figure you have to have to make it as a family of 4. At one time we made what one billboard we passed several times said you needed every month for one child. At the time we had 4 children. Thus I have had to realize that material wealth does not make you more special or more important. I have had a major struggle with this on the emotional level. Probably lapsing occasionally into the "I do" category of believing, it is what I do that makes me important. However I have realized this is not true either. I have had the insight to know that it is the "I am;" I am a child of God that really gives me my identity, but buying in emotionally, spiritually, and physically to this is much harder. Thanks so much for your article confirming that it is who I am that is important, not what I have or what I do that makes me important though both can be important in fulfilling divine roles. Our divine worth is not from either of these and our divine worth and our divine roles are two different categories. Also our divine role will differ in our lives, but our divine worth is always in place and unchanging.
Melanie Lewis
Twin Falls, Idaho
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Thank you so much for these continuing articles by Sister Isackson. It has been such a blessing to me to be able to read what Sister Isackson has so eloquently written regarding the challenges that many of us face with chronic illnesses.
I am both a person with ME/CFS and a single parent caregiver of an adult daughter, now 27, who has been ill with ME/CFS for 14 years. (We sometimes refer to ourselves as the barely functioning unit!) As a family, we have had to learn that being is what our lives seem to be about, rather than doing. Unfortunately for my daughter, her father and his side of the family, as well as many others, view those of us not capable of 'doing' as not being of worth. This has caused considerable heartache for my daughter over the years, but she has learned many lessons from these challenges and is a young woman of great strength and wisdom. I stand in awe of her each and every day.
I am so grateful to know that our worth and sense of identity does not come from those around us, what we can do or accomplish, but because we are beloved children of a Heavenly Father. We are of worth, because we are.
Thank you so much for these articles. I'm sure they have helped to inform a great many people of the challenges and struggles that the chronically ill face, and have helped those of us with this particular challenge to feel less alone and isolated.
Sister C. Best
Sidney Ward
Victoria, BC Stake