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MTC Mailroom

Clint — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 01:31:26 +0000

I found this cool little blog that was created by a student that works in the MTC mailroom. It is called MTC Going Postal. I found it while browsing through some of the websites on the Mormon Times website under the “Today in the Bloggernacle“. Many of you may not know but the MTC (Mission Training Center) is filled with BYU students trying to work their way through college.

When I was at “The Y“, I worked at the MTC too but I did not have the cushy job of sorting mail for the missionaries. My job was a little more gritty and unpleasant. I worked in the dish room. Yep, I washed the dishes of thousands of missionaries. I would wake up really early in the morning, like 4:30am or something crazy like that and washed dishes. I remember putting in earplugs because of the noise of the dishes clanking together and the noise from the dishwashing machines, drying machines and disposals. I would put on green rubber gloves, a plastic apron and stand by a conveyor belt. I was assigned the job of cleaning off all of the major pieces of food off of each plate, bowl and cup. Then I would stack each piece nicely on another convener belt so that it would go through the washer correctly. On some of the days, I would work at the end of the washing line where I would have to take off the clean and dry dishes and stack them. At that time, I would have to wear cotton gloves because the plates and bowls were so hot coming out of the rapid dryer that they would burn your skin. After a couple of hours of staking hot dishes, the gloves would be soaking wet. Even though it was not fun work, it did help pay my way through my classes. So, if you want to know what missionaries eat, or don’t eat, I could tell you. I must say, I don’t think I have ever put that work experience on my resume.

Parenting our Youth

Clint — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:54:44 +0000

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has come out with another excellent video this week. If you haven’t subscribed to the Church’s YouTube Channel, you should. The video is focused on how parents can effect the lives of their children, especially the youth. Elder Hales gave a talk in General Conference on this topic and parts of his talk are included in this video. This is especially cool for our family because we were able to meet Elder Hales personally, if you will remember my post about it earlier this year.

Enjoy the video:

Duty to God Links

Clint — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:17:10 +0000

I’ve been roaming around the internet trying to gather some information about the New Duty To God program and I found a bunch of really good stuff.

This is a set of slides that someone put together for a presentation on the DTG program.
http://www.putonthearmoroflight.com/2010/08/new-young-men-duty-to-god-program.html

Here is another article written about the new Duty to God program. It breaks down each section and each activity very nicely. It talks about how the new DTG program focuses on plan, act and share.
http://bystudyandfaith.net/2010/08/new-duty-to-god/

The Mormon Church has also updated their website with a bunch of new Videos and a PDF Copy of the new DTG booklet.
http://lds.org/dutytogod/

This is a direct link to the “Materials” page of the LDS website for DTG. You will find the links to the PDF file, videos, Q&A.
http://lds.org/dutytogod/materials.html

This is a direct link to the “Implementation video for you men, parents, and leaders. It is a WMV file.
http://broadcast.lds.org/aaronic-priesthood/duty-to-god/2010-05-1010-overview-128k-eng.wmv

This is a direct link to the “Implementation video for Quroum presidencies. It is in WMV format.
http://broadcast.lds.org/aaronic-priesthood/duty-to-god/2010-05-1010-overview-128k-eng.wmv

Scout Camp

Clint — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 02:14:53 +0000

Most LDS Families participate in the Scouting Program in their individual wards. Each LDS Ward has their own troop and patrol. So, as one of those Mormon Families, we send our 12 to 14 year old boys up to Scout Camp. We happen to go to Camp Bradley Idaho for camp. At camp, the young men earn merit badges and have a chance to “rough it” for a week.

Each year the Stake Young Mens Presidency goes up and feeds all of the scouts from our stake. I have had the privilage to go up 3 times now and do just that. When I’m up there, I usually try to encourage my son to finish off his merit badges and sometimes we do something fun.

This year I decided to make a little video commercial. It was fun to make and will be a great memory of Scout Camp. This is a Spoof of the Old Spice Commercial that you may have seen on the internet or on TV. Make sure you take a look at the bloopers too.

Internet Sites

Clint — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:38:05 +0000

My Mom just sent me this long list of websites that have references to Mormons. I havn’t checked them all out yet but they look interesting. If you have some time and you want to surf around some Mormon Help Sites, give a few of these sites a tumble (as Dennis Miller would say).

FAMILY HOME EVENING

www.ayearoffhe.blogspot.com – FHE

www.fheinasnap.blogspot.com -FHE

www.fheplanner.blogspot.com – FHE -link to – www.youpublish.com

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

PRIMARY

www.christysclipart.com – Primary music, Primary, YW, RS

www.emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries, handouts

www.jackandjillofalltrades.blogspot.com – YW, Primary, celebrations

www.latterdaychatter.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries lesson aides, cute handouts

www.ldsactivitydayideas.blogspot.com – activity days

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.wendy’sactivities.blogspot.com – activity days

PRIMARY MUSIC

www.basicprimarymusic.blogspot.com

www.beehivemessages.blogspot.com – Primary music, YW girl’s camp

www.christysclipart.com – Primary music, Primary, YW, RS

www.emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries, handouts

www.jollyjenn.com

www.primarysingingtimeideas.blogspot.com

www.primarysingingtimewithmatilda.blogspot.com

www.thechildrensing.blogspot.com

PRINTABLES – DIGITAL PAPER

www.pinkigloodesigns.blogspot.com – digital paper

www.steadfast-and-immovable.blogspot.com – YW handouts, digital scrapbooking

www.summertimedesigns.blogspot.com – digital paper

RELIEF SOCIETY

www.christysclipart.com – Primary music, Primary, YW, RS

www.emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries, handouts

www.enrichmentcottage.com – RS activities, crafts, recipes, homemaking, humor

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

SELF RELIANCE

www.plentyofpicnics.blogspot.com – self reliance, storage, bible stories

www.preparednotscared.blogspot.com -preparedness, planners

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

VISITING TEACHING

www.alittletipsy.com – YW, VT, gifts, tutorials

www.emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries, handouts

www.latterdaychatter.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries lesson aides, cute handouts

www.ldshandouts.blogspot.com – YW, VT

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.visitingteachingblog.blogspot.com – VT

www.visitingteachingsurprise.blogspot.com – VT

www.visitingteachingtips.blogspot.com – VT

YOUNG WOMAN

www.alittletipsy.com – YW, VT, gifts, tutorials

www.beehivemessages.blogspot.com – Primary music, YW girl’s camp

www.christysclipart.com – Primary music, Primary, YW, RS

www.emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries, handouts

www.jackandjillofalltrades.blogspot.com – YW, Primary, celebrations

www.jillsldsyw.blogspot.com – YW

www.latterdaychatter.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries lesson aides, cute handouts

www.ldshandouts.blogspot.com – YW, VT

www.papercakesandicing.blogspot.com – YW lesson aides $$

www.steadfast-and-immovable.blogspot.com – YW handouts, digital scrapbooking

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

OTHER – CRAFTS / SEWING

www.alittletipsy.com – YW, VT, gifts, tutorials

www.controllingmychaos.com – recipe cards, crafts

www.deckthehalls-christmas.blogspot.com – craft ideas

www.enrichmentcottage.com – RS activities, crafts, recipes, homemaking, humor

www.jackandjillofalltrades.blogspot.com – YW, Primary, celebrations

www.makingitfun.blogspot.com – sewing, tutorials

www.mormonchic.com – gospel, recipes, mommy, style, crafty, healthy, deals

www.plentyofpicnics.blogspot.com – self reliance, storage, Bible stories

www.preparednotscared.blogspot.com -preparedness, planners

www.skiptomylou.org – crafts, recipes, teacher appreciation

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.thecottagehome.blogspot.com – sewing tutorial

www.theideaattic.blogspot.com

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.thequiltingdiaries.blogspot.com – quilting ideas

www.threebears.wordpress.com – sewing tutorials

OTHER – MISCELLANEOUS

www.christmasintheair.blogspot.com – Christmas stories

www.educationaltoysplanet.com – wooden toys

www.etsy.com – shopping

www.executivehomemaker.com – kids, parties, holidays, gifts

www.family.go.com – Disney site

www.lds.about.com – 150 wrappers for Life Savers

www.mormonchic.com – gospel, recipes, mommy, style, crafty, healthy, deals

www.mycreativestirrings.blogspot.com – ideas

www.partiesandholidays.blogspot.com – lots and lots of ideas

www.room-mom101.blogspot.com – lots and lots of ideas

www.skiptomylou.org – crafts, recipes, teacher appreciation

www.wonderwoman.blogspot.com

ALL AUXILLIARIES

www.emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries, handouts

www.jackandjillofalltrades.blogspot.com – YW, Primary, celebrations

www.latterdaychatter.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries lesson aides, cute handouts

www.lds.com.about – clip art, visuals

www.ldshandouts.blogspot.com – YW, VT

www.mormonshare.com – all auxiliaries, clip art, activities, primary talks

www.plentyofpicnics.blogspot.com – self reliance, storage, Bible stories

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

Dances

Clint — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:02:06 +0000

Last night out Stake was in charge of hosting our regional multi stake dance. We have a Stake Youth Committee that gets together and plans out each task. The dance we put on yesterday was themed Red, White and Blue. Each ward had an assignment and the Stake Young Men and Young Women presidencies where the chaperons. The dance normally starts at 9:00pm and goes till 11:00pm. Youth generally start arriving around 9:00 to 9:30pm but last night, there was a whole crowed of kids there even before 9:00pm.

There might be some people out there in the world wide web that don’t know that Mormons can dance. One of the wonderful things that the Mormon Church does is to plan and carry out wholesome activities for teenagers. Not only are they fun activities, but they are always supervised so that parents can feel comfortable dropping off their youth and know that they will be safe and that everything will be kept within certain guidelines that reflect gospel principles. Some of the dress standards that are followed are found in the “For Strength of Youth” pamphlet. In our Multi Stake Region, we ask all youth to ask their Bishop for a Dance Card. The dance card simply details out the standards that are kept at the dance and has a signature that states that the young man or young woman will abide by these standards. If someone doesn’t have a dance card, they are generally not turned away unless they are not abiding by the standards.

As I walked around the building (until my feet ached) I thought about how wonderful it was that church leaders would freely give of their time to host and chaperon a dance so that youth could mingle, dance and socialize in a safe environment. As a Father in an LDS Family, I am very thankful for the youth programs that train my kids and offer them opportunities to socialize, grow and prosper.

Wass Up Video

Clint — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:02:57 +0000

A while ago I pulled out my Flip Video and did a re-enactment of the Wass Up Commercial. I scripted out all of the parts, took the video clips and spliced them all together. Little did I know that I had put so many little references to the Mormon Church in the video. At the beginning, my daughter answers the phone. If you look close, she is sitting on our couch and the Mormon Temple in Logan is in the background. Then, as my part comes into play, I noticed that I have a BYU hat on. Both of my daughters are drinking caffeine free soda. One of the soda cans isn’t even open. It is funny that I just now noticed. So, here is our little LDS Family doing our own version of the Wass Up Commercial.

Anyway, enjoy the little video.

New Duty to God Program

Clint — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:05:40 +0000

The LDS Church just came out with a NEW Duty to God Program. I’m just now starting to read through the requirements. The New DTG booklet is way different than the old booklet. As I read through the requirements, I’ll let you know if the similarities and the differences.

The first major difference I found was that all 3 sections of the Duty To God program are all bound together. There are no longer 3 separate books. The Deacons, Teachers and Priests sections are all bound together by a spiral binding. So, each young man will have one book for all 6 years of his Aaronic Priesthood years.

The Deacons Duty to God section is split up into 3 categories. Spiritual Strength, Priesthood Duties, For the Strength of Youth. In each category there are requirements to follow. For example for the Spiritual Strength category there are 3 requirements which include a “Learn” section, “Act” section, and “Share” Section. At the end of each category, there is a “Review” section that allows the Young Man to talk about what they have learned while working on these items in their lives. For example, the first requirement is entitled “Pray and Study the Scriptures”. The Deacon is then given several scriptures to read and advised to make a list of words and phrases that describe how he should approach studying and what blessings will come from studying the scriptures. He would then “ACT” and develop a habit of regular prayer and scripture study. There is a section where he can write down this goal. Then, at the end of this section the Deacon is invited to “Share” what he has learned with a family member of church leader to strengthen his testimony.

One of my first questions was, “What do we do with Aaronic Priesthood holders that are more than half way through the old program?” A number of questions just like this one have been answered in a memo that was sent out several months ago. This memo is also available on the LDS website. Here is the link to Commonly Asked Questions. In general, the answer is that young men can continue in the old program until the program has been fully implemented in their Ward or Stake. From what I understand, if they are close to finishing, they can continue with the old program and finish what they were working on and then move into the new DTG program. That is not the official church policy but it is what I understand. You will need to go to the DTG website to get the exact wording.

As I learn more, I’ll post more information.

Martin’s Cove Trip

Clint — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:53:37 +0000

A few weeks back I wrote a post about going to Martin’s Cove. Now is my report on the trip. Last week our family took a trip to Denver Colorado to attend my brothers wedding in the Denver Colorado Temple. Because we were traveling so far, we decided to make this our “family vacation” for the summer so we looked at our options and found that Martin’s Cove was “kinda” on the way to Denver. We scheduled our time and made the trip. Below is my little Flip Video log of our trip. We were happy to have Grandma and Grandpa Carter, and the Hirschi family as part of our handcart company. We had a great time. I know it is a really boring description but I’m just really tired from the return trip last night.

Temple Cleaning

Clint — Tue, 25 May 2010 17:18:03 +0000

Last week I had the opportunity to clean the Temple. Every few months our LDS Ward gets a chance to pick up special cleaning supplies and sanitize that temple. There are hundreds of people that attend the temple each week so it is essential that we take an hour at the end of every day to make sure that the Lord’s House is clean. With this regular schedule you would come to understand that the Temple is already very clean. When I have volunteered in the past, I was expecting to really have to work hard at the job I was assigned but after several visits now, it is obvious that the temple is already spotless and we are just there to make sure it stays that way. What is funny is that it is so clean that it is thrilling to find a garbage can that isn’t empty or find a small water spot on the glass in the baptistery.

I have always really enjoyed cleaning the Mormon Temple in our area. It makes me feel like I have ownership in the building. It makes me feel like this is my Temple and that I’m not just a visitor. Every time there is a chance to volunteer for this opportunity, I say yes.