Repentance = Seeking God’s Mercy

March 25, 2015 2 Comments

first aidIt didn’t take long before I heard the groans of my students as I displayed, in bold, big letters, the word, “repent”. They were then asked to list other words that came to mind. Sin, embarrassment, bishop, confess, pain, mistake, unworthy, discouragement, hell, hopelessness were among the words most listed. There were a few who listed Atonement, Christ, joy, and change, but the overwhelmingly, most-picked words were negative and their comments certainly reflected that my students believed repenting was no fun. Read more of this post

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Stake Conference Twitter Notes

November 9, 2014 1 Comment

twitternoteHere are my twitter notes from our Stake Conference held November 9, 2014. Sunday included a broadcast from SLC.

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Twitter Notes from the Oregon City Stake Conference…President Morby said I could!

February 17, 2014 1 Comment

1780792_10202795744202040_1017836587_nMany of you already know I enjoy tweeting General Conference. It keeps me focused and allows me to share notes that are being taken, in real time, from all over the world. It also creates a digital, web record that is being indexed by all the major search engines. This means that when someone searches anything about the Church or its doctrine my tweets have as much a chance to be in the search results as someone’s who is antagonistic towards the Church.
Fact is, my tweets and posts alone won’t do much at all. However, the combined updates, posts, tweets, pins of all of us makes a difference in what is returned on everyday searches. It really comes down to this; we have to tell our story or someone else, who hates us, will.
With that in mind, I loved the messages delivered by the missionaries and mission president in the Oregon City Stake (my stake) Conference this past weekend. In effect, President Morby asked us to get on-line, get a Facebook page, a blog, a twitter account and start telling our story. I loved it because I was, well, already tweeting stake conference. Any guilt that I may have felt for taking notes via twitter was washed away and I become a tweeting maniac. Read more of this post

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My soul delighteth in chiasmi

February 9, 2014 1 Comment

scripsOne of the literary devices frequently used in ancient scriptures is what is known as “introverted parallelism” or, as its more commonly known, a chiamus. (kahy-az-muhs) Consider the following example:

“He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matt. 10:39) Read more of this post

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A Christmas to Remember

December 25, 2013 1 Comment

NOTE: The following true story was written by my father, Giles Parker. His father, Alvin, was part of the “Greatest Generation”. It is a wonderful Christmas story that I wanted to share with others. Enjoy and Merry Christmas.

Alvin Parker [1941]A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER
By Giles Parker

I

As Christmas 1945 approached, there was an excitement throughout the country far beyond the normal holiday spirit. THE WAR WAS OVER! It seemed there truly was peace on earth. In the papers, on the radio, and over back fences the topic was the same—“the boys will be home for Christmas.” Even though I was only five years old and didn’t understand exactly what was going on, I remember the feelings. In my family the story of that Christmas has been told and retold over the years, so perhaps some of my memories come from the telling. But I have very clear memories of how it felt and of the emotions and excitement playing out around me. I think that’s the way it is; our strongest memories are related to feelings and emotions.

To understand the intense emotions of that Christmas season, we need to look at what people had been through during the previous four years. Individual experiences influenced millions of families and those influences came together that holiday season to magnify and focus emotions beyond what most of us today can imagine. It was the collective experiences of those war years that made December 25, 1945, a Christmas to remember. Read more of this post

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No really. Change IS good.

September 30, 2012 3 Comments

One of the buildings where I teach seminary.

Ok, I’m back. I know, I know. “Where the heck have you been?”

It has been an eventful several months and the common theme has been “change.” The Parkers have truly entered into a new chapter of life. As I have mentioned before, change is  part of life. And frankly, it aint for sissies!

Christian, our oldest is off to BYU-I. Josh, our youngest is loving his freshman year of high school. I have started teaching, full-time, for Seminaries & Institutes and am still adjusting to my new calling. Jill’s father (and boss) has retired and Jill has started working for her brother Steve. Jill’s father has just finished his second round of chemo therapy and Bronco Mendenhall crushed my over-the-top confidence in the BYU coaching staff with his ludicrous play call at Boise State. Indeed, life is changing.

But with new experiences comes new fodder for blog posts. I have struggled with my new schedule. Finding time to do everything I need to do, let alone things I want to do, is very difficult. You all know the feeling.

But, I’m going to give it a try. So bookmark the page, stay tuned and forgive for brief spurts of silence. Know that I’m probably trying to deal with the newest life change or that Bronco just decided to go for two.

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A Year Ago Today – Galilee

March 31, 2012 Leave a comment

March 30, 2011

Mt. of Beattitudes

Jill sitting on the traditional site of the Sermon on the Mount

Close to the height of His popularity, Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, which included the Beatitudes.  It is perhaps the most read of Jesus’ teachings and introducing something more than what the Law of Moses had become.  It moved the focus from things we do – our behavior, to the feelings and motives we have.  If we have correct motives, if we develop the attributes of Christ, our Christian acts will follow – a by-product of who we have become. Read more of this post

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A year ago today. A photo essay about the Holy Lands.

March 30, 2012 Leave a comment

A year ago this and next week, Jill and I, along with her parents, experienced the trip of a life time. A number of my posts have recounted the experiences we had in the Holy Lands. In fact, one was even published in the Church News and expressed the sentiment that you don’t have to go to the Holy Lands to experience deep spiritual feelings. One can walk where Jesus walked right here in holy temples. One can come to know Jesus is the son of God right where one stands.

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Come Listen to Living Prophets

March 28, 2012 Leave a comment

 

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The Miracle of the Shampoo

March 27, 2012 1 Comment

The Oregon City Stake just celebrated its 40th anniversary. One thing you need to know about the Oregon City Stake is that we don’t do things small. So as the 40th year of the Stake existence approached, a go-getter sister (aren’t they all) was called and a committee formed. The result was a wonderfully delightful evening of reminiscing and reacquainting. It reminded me of what I’m sure the Sons of Mosiah felt when they were reunited after years of being a part in the service of God. Read more of this post

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