NewEra.lds.org

What’s New?

Log on to the New Era online and find:

• A new song to download: “Tender Mercies of the Lord.”

• A new survey.

• Mormonad videos.

And the usual good stuff like cartoons, Q&A, downloadable Mormonads, and links to great articles.

Top Five

Since we included the results of our dating survey in the What’s Up? section on page 38, we thought we’d include the top five articles we’ve run about dating or the lessons people learn about dating. (Go to the New Era online and look these up in past issues.)

• “Courting Disaster,” Feb. 1998

• Q&A (dating before 16) Feb. 2001

• “My Worst Date Ever,” May 1998

• “Speaking of Kissing,” by Bruce Monson, June 2001

• “Just Hanging Out,” by Brad Wilcox, Aug. 2001

Behind the Scenes

There’s a little more to the story about McKay Hatch and his No Cussing Club (page 33). McKay’s father, Brent, sent us some information about his son and the club he started. The club really took off but not without some kids making fun of McKay and giving him a hard time. One guy who started out hassling McKay eventually changed his way of talking, joined the club, and became one of the officers.

We asked McKay’s father to take a photo of his son in front of the lockers at school. We knew the club’s shirt was orange, but we didn’t know the school’s lockers would be orange as well. So the photo turned out to be all one bright color.

Fiction

The day I received my mission call, I drove up to Gus’s gas station. I saw him standing by the cash register counting a wad of money. He scratched his beard and pulled back his long hair as he puffed a cigarette. He looked perturbed, as if he hadn’t made quite enough cash that day. I read his lips as he recounted the money and watched his mouth form numbers and then a four-letter word.

When the wheels rolled over a black hose, the customer bell rang. It startled poor Gus and caused him to swear again. He jumped when he realized it was me, spit the cigarette out, stamped on it, and crammed the money into the cash register. The entire reaction spanned a time lapse of two seconds.

I watched in amazement. I wasn’t supposed to know he smoked, swore, or worshipped money. What? Did he think I was born yesterday?

Read the rest online in “Harley-Davidson,” by J. Scott Henrie (from Aug. 1985).

Resource Links

If teachers need additional articles to use in preparing lessons for Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood, look online under Lesson Helps for suggestions.

Illustration by Richard Hull; photograph © Getty Images