Comment

FHE Idea

Our family just wanted to write and express how much we enjoy the Ensign. We find great spiritual nourishment from reading the magazine. One article that we particularly enjoyed was “Pointers for Parents” [“Family Day,” June, p. 23]. Family home evening is a tremendous Church program! We had difficulty holding it regularly until one day we tried our “scripture swap.” Each family member brings a favorite scripture and shares with the others “what it means to me.” We use this idea once a month, and it keeps us reading our scriptures regularly. This has turned out to be one of our most consistently spiritual family experiences.

Lew Jewkes
Sandy, Utah

Ward Record?

I read in your May “LDS Scene” that the Valley View Fifth Ward in Salt Lake City believes it has the most missionaries in the field, with 20. Well, our ward here in Vancouver has 21 missionaries, and we have more preparing to go. I saw the write-up in the Ensign and asked my father if I could answer it. I’m eleven years old. My father is our bishop.

Selena McLean
Vancouver First Ward
British Columbia, Canada

July Conference Issue

My staff and I wish to congratulate you on the fine artwork—layout, color, illustrations, etc.—in the July issue. Just turning the pages is interesting—and inspiring! We also wish to congratulate you on the fine section “News of the Church,” which is very useful to us in preparing the current history of the Church.

Leonard Arrington
Church Historian

Every month I look forward to receiving my copy of the Ensign. The July issue arrived and it’s a great joy to read the words of the living prophets and to be spiritually uplifted.

Harold F. Walker
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

I have looked forward to receiving the conference addresses in the Ensign. It is the only way that my husband and I can keep in touch with the General Authorities. Both of us are totally deaf.

We could probably get the messages with the aid of an interpreter, but it is never the same as hearing it or reading it yourself. My husband and I, as well as many other deaf persons, have had many hard struggles in church, and it is because of those struggles that I have become determined to find the answers to our problems. I have fasted and prayed many times and studied the scriptures and have found many answers. Not to be overlooked is the counsel given by the General Authorities in the Ensign. How often their words have inspired and comforted me and given me many answers!

We are members of the San Jose 17th Ward. We love our bishop and the members. We have often talked about these questions: How does a deaf man magnify his priesthood in a hearing ward? What does a deaf sister do besides help in the kitchen? What about the talents that God gives all of us—can they not be developed in serving him?

Particularly, all of us desire to be recognized, loved, wanted, and needed. When people pass us by, we know that it is through ignorance or fear, but in doing so, it is like denying our existence. Thus, it is easy to see why handicapped persons will always face struggles and hurts.

Thank you again for the many articles and reports that you give to us. Knowledge is power—and a deaf person needs to gain as much knowledge as he can; otherwise he is powerless to progress.

Sybil Hendricks
San Jose, California

Lehigh—not Lehi

Just to set the record straight: Elder James E. Talmage was graduated from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and not Lehi University, as appeared in the June issue, page 72.

Elder Thomas Joachim
(Lehigh Class of 1977)
Korea Mission

Concerning Literature

I admire and love the quality of Church magazines and feel that they are providing great impetus to the creation of distinctive LDS literature. It will take a while, of course, but I feel that as more and more Church writers begin to write for Church markets, there will be a greater blend of faith and belief with polished style in our published material.

I’ve given considerable thought to the qualities a “Mormon literature” ought to have. I personally feel that we ought to be producing the best and greatest literature the world has ever seen, but that’s just personal opinion. All great movements, modes of living and thought, and collective consciousnesses have produced their own peculiar literature, so why not ours?

What should our literature be like? I feel that it should be truthful, hopeful, faithful, and expansive in its concept of man, God, and the world. It should reflect the revelatory nature of the restored gospel and seek only to edify and lead to Christ. It would naturally find expression in our great religious traditions and history, as well as demonstrate our beliefs. The style would seek after perfection, sensitivity, and beauty. The total sum, at its best, would be a loving testimonial to the world of Jesus Christ, his gospel, and his church. These, to me, are just a few of the qualities our literature ought to have.

Since the publication of our newest church magazines, we have seen in the Church a definite improvement of artistic content.

Richard Ellis Tice
Newark, California