President Thomas S. Monson once taught of the perils we are faced through the purveyance of pornography.  This evil seems very enticing, so much so that some refuse to let it go.  In this modern day parable he teaches oabout a Tongan fishing lure, called a maka-feke.
“Some publishers and printers prostitute their presses by printing [...]

More…

September 19, 2008 (New York, NY) – Glenn Beck received the 2008 Marconi Award for Network Syndicated Personality of the Year from the National Association of Broadcasters. The Award was announced Thursday night at the annual NAB Marconi Radio Awards Dinner. Beck’s self-titled national show “The Glenn Beck Program,” syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, launched [...]

The Easy Chair
Musings by J.P. Starrs

“Virtual Reality In Real Life.”
Lately I have been thinking about real world society and virtual society.
Each day I am immersed in visual and aural messaging telling me about people, places and things I have never seen “in real life.”
While it has become far more easy to keep up with [...]

My family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when I was nine years old. I enjoyed my early experiences in primary, and believed the messages I heard as I entered a new life with the light of the gospel. I loved the warm, safe feeling I felt when the missionaries [...]

Over six years in the making, Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys is an interactive DVD and book set based on LDS Church Historical sites in downtown Salt Lake City.  With research and hosting by 5 BYU religion professors, and rich interactive media produced by award-winning filmmakers, the project represents an unsurpassed teaching and learning experience.
“One of [...]

(Ed. Note… This is a re-post from July, but because the speech dealt in part with 9/11, we are sharing it again.)
Giving one of the most moving and important speeches of our times, Glenn Beck rises to the occasion of The Patriotic Service of America’s Freedom Festival in Provo, Utah, and teaches all who attended [...]

During the 149th Annual Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in May, 1979, President Spencer W. Kimball made the following statement: “Now, my brothers and sisters, it seems clear to me, indeed, this impression weighs upon me—that the Church is at a point in its growth and maturity when we are [...]

In a state with more than 80 different theaters and theater companies, many of the smaller organizations are left competing for a piece of the resources-talent-and-money pie.
More…

Seven semitrailer loads of emergency relief supplies from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are on their way from Salt Lake to Gulf Coast church storehouses near the expected impact zone of Hurricane Gustav — and more is on the way.
More…

The Easy Chair
Musings by J.P. Starrs
“Citius, Altius, Fortius.”
These three Latin words mean “Swifter, Higher, Stronger,” and of course, are the Olympic motto.
I remember as a kid watching the 1976 Olympics with my mother and being impressed at the abilities of the athletes.  I distinctly remember Jim McKay leading us through the “thrill of victory and [...]

Listen as Michael Medved shuts down an idiot…

Chinese officials have admitted deceiving the public over another highlight of the Olympic opening ceremony: the picture-perfect schoolgirl who sang as the Chinese flag entered the stadium was performing to another girl’s voice.
From The London Telegraph
More…

(Editor’s Note: Glenn Beck starts a fundraising effort by kicking in $22,000; and by teaching a valuable lesson.)
GLENN: You know, I said to you on your show, because you brought me on this morning and you told me this news and it came as just a, just it was a blessing to me to [...]

The Easy Chair
Musings by J.P. Starrs
Time is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We all have the same amount of time each day. It’s what we do with it that makes the difference.
Each week as I sit in The Easy Chair to write this column, I am always astounded at how quickly the [...]

Giving one of the most moving and important speeches of our times, Glenn Beck rises to the occasion of The Patriotic Service of America’s Freedom Festival in Provo, Utah, and teaches all who attended the true meaning of leadership in America.
As a part of one of the largest freedom celebrations in the country, “America’s Freedom [...]

PROVO — Rodger Sorensen, chairman of Brigham Young University’s Department of Theatre and Media Arts, will speak at a campus devotional at 11:05 a.m. Tuesday in the Joseph Smith Building Auditorium.
From Deseret News
More…

The Easy Chair
Musings by J.P. Starrs
Making a world of difference, with brownies and ice cream.
The girl was in a cage. They called her incorrigible. Her parents had abandoned her. She was caged like an animal in an institution because that’s how she acted. She would fly into rages and throw anything she [...]

by Todd Giles 
My bishop asked me to talk today in a combined Relief Society, Priesthood, and Youth meeting about good resources on the Internet.
I decided to split the discussion into three areas:

Avoiding the Bad
Finding the Good
Adding to the Good

I created a site that has links to everything I showed and discussed as well as the [...]

“In a time when America is begging for a leader; in a time when America is shouting out, ‘Where is the leader, when will he step forward?’ I am here to tell you: You are the leader — the leader we seek. The leader we need is you; it always has been.
More…

PROVO — The public is invited to attend America’s Freedom Festival’s annual Patriotic Service today.
More…

“A Brighter Day” - Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial, Sharon, Vermont USA.
This photograph was not enhanced in any way.
By John P. Starrs. Copyright 2007 All Rights Reserved
Click the image for a larger version.
======================================================
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 was cloudy with scattered showers in Sharon, Vermont when our film crew arrived from Brigham Young University in Provo, [...]

The Easy Chair
Musings by J.P. Starrs
I am not sure what it is about taking a shower that stimulates thinking. I used to think that it was a phenomenon unique to myself until a friend mentioned a while back that he also gets all his best thinking done in the shower.
I don’t know if it [...]

High above the Capitol rotunda above the front doors is a mural of men erecting the Stars and Stripes on Ensign Peak on July 26, 1847. If the event really happened, it was the first proud and patriotic posting of the national colors in Utah. Only, it probably did not happen.
From Mormon Times
More…

 The Easy Chair
Musings by J.P. Starrs
Walk in Beauty
When I lived among the Navajo people in the American Southwest, I was introduced to a concept that I find absolutely wonderful.
The Navajo have a word, Hózhó. (rhymes with “no go”, except with a zh as in Dr. Zhivago. Well, sort of.)
The concept of Hózhó [...]

“You must understand your role in preparing, raising up, training, and teaching a corps that will go out and do the work. This vision is far beyond what perhaps any of you will be able to see when you see them as struggling students — walking from class to class, doing the things you have [...]

The Easy Chair
Musings by J.P. Starrs
No More Pencils, No More Books…
The refrain escaped my lips every summer vacation of my youth.
I enjoyed school. Mostly. Except 10th grade.
The rest of it was great. I do wish I had paid more attention, read and written more, and played more dodge ball. Never can [...]

The Easy Chair
Musings by J.P. Starrs
The power of kind words from a stranger…
This week has been interesting and I don’t want to do a negative story today.
So, while this will start out down, hopefully we will all be lifted before I am done.
Life circumstances found me at the local credit union yesterday explaining that I [...]

“In whatever goals or whatever dreams you have, it doesn’t matter if you’re a softball player, a footballer or a ballroom dancer. Remember to put the Lord first,” Boye’ said. “I know the Lord calls his people, and the hard part is knowing where the Lord wants you”
From BYU Newsnet
More…