Blog Tag: Easter
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Guest Post: Palm Sunday from the Outside
"A woman read Jesus’s lines. The congregation read the lines of the crowd wanting to crucify their Lord. A woman blessed the bread and water. A woman gave the sermon afterwards, all focused on the wounded God who Heals. And invited those to become like the wounded God who Heals."
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Sacred Music Sunday: All Glory, Laud, and Honor
Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, the last week of Christ's mortal ministry. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where he rode in on a donkey and was greeted with palm fronds and shouts of "Hosanna!".
I wish we did better as a church in preparing for Easter. I've seen an improvement over the past several years (I haven't heard an Easter talk on food storage in over a decade, for example), but we still have a long way to go.
I'm on my second stint as ward music chair, and I would have selected All...
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You are Enough and the Work of Heavenly Mother
I could not give up anything for Lent this year. The last two years were full of sacrifices and situations beyond my control. Instead I chose to repeat the phrase "you are enough" daily and hope to once again become comfortable with my worth and value.
Before the pandemic, I started to believe that I was enough and regularly drew on the strength of being confident in my enoughness. The anxiety of the pandemic and uncertainty for the future burned away that confidence. I was back to a beginning I had hoped never to see again.
For most of my life,...
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Ministering to the One
I'm really not a fan of having General Conference on Easter weekend. The date of Easter is known years in advance, and if we really want to show the world that we're Christian, we would treat Easter as the worshipful holy day that it is by holding sacrament meeting. It would be a simple matter to move General Conference one week earlier or later when Easter falls on the first weekend in April.
That said, there was one message from this weekend that I hadn't dared hope I would ever hear over the pulpit, even though it desperately needed to...
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Sacred Music Sunday: All Glory, Laud, and Honor
Today is Palm Sunday, the day that begins Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter. On Palm Sunday, Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem is celebrated. A traditional hymn for the day is All Glory, Laud, and Honor.
I'm looking forward to this Easter. I feel like we've all been living in a year-long Lent. But things are looking up. Resurrection is right around the corner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxzhFsuBijs
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Guest Post: To All the Souls #CopingWithCOVID19
by DesertProse
I joined a multi-faith webinar service for Easter. All were encouraged to bring their own emblems of communion to conclude the meeting.
After many shared reflections on the Savior and the hope of the resurrection, participants were invited to ponder the sacrament and sacrifice. I turned to the familiar verses in Moroni 4 & 5 and spoke aloud the words to bless my own sweet bread and guava juice.
I read the verse as I felt it—
Oh God, the Eternal Mother and Father, I ask thee to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake...
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To Be a Witness
By: Risa
Easter has always been my favorite religious holiday. I relish the messages of re-birth, renewal, and hope that Easter brings. I love the reminder that my redeemer lives. “What comfort this sweet sentence gives!” . Jesus may have suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and died on the cross for my sins, but his resurrection demonstrates that through his Grace I can be forgiven and also live again.
In preparation for Easter this year I am observing Lent. For the past few years of observing Lent I have given up a habit that is very difficult for me; but,...
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Guest Post: An Open Letter to My Ward Members #MormonMeToo
By Carmen Cutler
To my fellow ward members,
Yesterday was Good Friday.
And in Mormonism this week, we need Good Friday, a day of fasting and penance. A day to bring my heart to Christ, to view the cross anew, to see His pain and His love. I need to see the face of Jesus clearly right now, in this moment when the clearest things in my mind are these:
An MTC president groomed and then sexually assaulted missionaries in a basement office.
His leaders knew about it. They did nothing. Worse than nothing, they promoted him.
The current response of this church that I...
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Sacred Music: When It Was Yet Dark
Guest Post by Exponent II Board Member, Margaret Moore
Last year at the Exponent retreat a women’s chorus performed Stephen Hatfield’s When it was Yet Dark during the Sabbath meeting. It is a contemporary Easter anthem set to the simple yet beautiful hymn tune Pleading Savior. The title of the work comes from the Gospel of John 20:1, and the text begins by following the narrative outlined in the scriptures but from Mary Magdalene’s perspective. To me the text, written by the composer, is an astonishing feminist anthem for Christian women. I find the mixture of the poetry and music...
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Poetry Sundays: Chrysalis
Maybe I have been searching for a poem to share for this Resurrection Sunday, and maybe I have been struggling. I have found parts of poems that are perfect, like Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Spring," "The smell of the earth is good. | It is apparent that there is no death," but have not found a whole perfect poem. And then I saw this one, by our beloved Melody. She has a clear and beautiful voice, as well as a clear and beautiful understanding of Christ's relationship to Heavenly Mother and to women. So here, here is a poem for Sunday,...
What is Exponent II?
Exponent II provides Mormon feminist forums for women and gender minorities across the Mormon spectrum to share their diverse life experiences in an atmosphere of trust and acceptance. Through these exchanges, we strive to create a community to better understand and support each other.
Exponent II was founded in 1974 by a group of Mormon women in Cambridge, Massachusetts. These women were inspired by the original periodical, “The Woman’s Exponent,” to create a forum “posed on the dual platforms of Mormonism and Feminism.”
For 50+ years, Exponent II has shared women’s voices in its quarterly magazine, and members of the community have convened at an annual retreat. Our reach has expanded as technology has advanced: the blog, founded in January 2006, has reached millions. As we look to the future, we are focused on growth and building a more inclusive community.
