Well whaddya know! I got my new blog live… It’s a work in progress still but it appears to be functioning so far. Stay tuned mis amigos — this oughta be fun.

Well I made it back from a fun family trip to Utah. I see that the comments are hanging up forever with Blogger still so my first order of business is to find a new home for my blog. I expect to have www.newcoolthang.com up and running by this weekend. More on that to come. (more…)

I graduated from BYU in 1994 and haven’t been back to Utah since. That is about to change my friends. (more…)

Yep, Sunday school inspired me again this week. We were studying section 25 and this verse about the Bloggernacle jumped out at me: (more…)

I always chuckled at that saying. I think that was the title of an album by a punk band in the 80’s — but I can’t remember which band it was. In any case it applies to the new home page for the Mormon Archipelago: www.ldsblogs.org Go check it out and let me know what you think!

The purpose of the new site is to be a useful central place to see what’s going on at all of the best blogs in the Bloggernacle. We hope it will continue to grow more useful over time. Be sure to try our the sweeeeeet search function written by my super-smart younger brother Russ. Yer gonna love it!

In Sunday school this week I used the term “twisting God’s arm” as a way of describing the process of petitioning the Lord with enough fervency and faith (and sometimes through enough people) to get a mighty miracle. It was a tongue-in-cheek reference and I qualified this term by mentioning God wants his arm twisted in this way by his children. But I have decided that twisting his arm is not the proper analogy for this process. (more…)

Or maybe the question should be: Does God think of the Bloggernacle? I’m reminded of that great story in told in general conference a few years ago about a priesthood leader that was in need and had the name of a certain man come into his head as the right person to ask for help. This saint made the requested sacrifice and said it was worth it all “just to know the God in heaven knows my name.” This post is to assure you, good readers, that God knows your names. (more…)

And “We’ll make the air with music ring, shout praises to our God and King” because of it.

I am only home for a few minutes so I haven’t had time to check the Bloggernacle or even the comments here, but based on the number of comments here I can only assume my plea for prayers here made a difference. Here is the update: Our baby boy Quinn is well on his way to a full recovery. (more…)

It’s just past midnight. I just came home for a few minutes from the ICU to write this post because I believe it could make a difference.

We found our sweet three year old son Quinn face down in the pool this afternoon. He is alive and stable now but there remains a very real risk of brain damage. You bloggernacle citizens are righteous people — I can tell. We are praying for a full recovery for Quinn. Can you please help? Prayer is a form of work but my family can’t do all this work alone. We need saviors on mount Zion to help us with this work. All we ask is one sincere prayer for the boy to have a full recovery. (If you can muster any more we would be very grateful). Our extended family and our ward family are already joining in the prayers. I came home tonight to beg for your prayers on behalf on Quinn as well. I got the feeling that it would be worth it.

UPDATE — Thank you all. We got our miracle. All is well.

I can’t get no, genealogical excitement
And I try
And I try
And I try, try-try-try-try, tryyy
I can’t get no! (Guitar riff)

Feel free to sing along. I had the Stones version in my head but you can substitute a cover like the one Devo did in your head if you’d like.

My last post about how our ancestors might be sending us messages through the Holy Ghost reminded me of a problem I have: I don’t feel any connection to my distant ancestors at all. I have nearly no desire to search them out or learn about them. I have only a passing interest in their stories and histories. In the church we call the invisible pull many people feel to learn about their roots “The Spirit of Elijah”. Well I ain’t got none. And to be honest it makes me a little nervous. (more…)

Have you ever seen an angel? I haven’t. In fact I’ve never met anyone who has claimed to have seen one. Yet I have met thousands of priesthood holders who hold “the keys of the ministering of angels.” Now I’ve read the statements by Wilford Woodruff and others that explain why God will only send us angels if the job at hand can be accomplished in no other way. But it has always seemed odd to me that there is so much emphasis on the restoration of the keys of the ministering of angels if we never get to use those keys. Well I have learned something new recently that has helped me better understand and now you get to learn it too… (more…)