Kyra Moon

A few weeks ago, I read an article by economist Tyler Cowen entitled "Want to Help Fight Climate Change? Have More Children." Apparently Mike Lee read the same article because after he stopped talking about tauntauns and seahorses in his speech about the Green New Deal he alluded to it. I've been thinking about it ever since, trying to decide how I feel about it. I think a lot comes down to the same idea I talked about last week. What do our hearts treasure? What do we value? Let's talk about Utah County for a minute. Utah County has a pretty high birth rate, and recent innovations show evidence for that. We went down there during Jim's spring break because there seemed like lots of fun things for kids to do. There are the museums at Thanksgiving Point. There's the Neighborhood Art Center in the mall. There's even a kids' section at the Harold B. Lee library. If we'd gone in the summer we could have gone to some epic playgrounds and splash pad...

Sunday did come. And to be honest, it was a bit somber. As I lay in bed this morning, I thought to myself, "I bet there was a terrorist attack today." It wasn't a premonition so much as an appraisal of the world we live in right now. And, sure enough, more than 200 people were killed in Sri Lankan churches and hotels today. As I looked through my Facebook feed, there was some really sad news interspersed with the bright family pictures and quotes from apostles. Friends who had died recently. Parents who didn't have long to live. This was shaping up to be a gloomy Easter, complete with a cold rain. During church, a speaker mentioned that because of Christ's resurrection we can see loved ones again. As I thought about it, the initial reason that we will see loved ones again is because we will die ourselves. We will be spirits, but we'll still see each other. Many people believe that -- even some atheists say they don't believe in God but do believe in life a...

There isn't much in the Gospels about the days following Jesus' death. Were they making plans for how to move on? Were they trying to remember everything Jesus said to get a hint at how to proceed? Were they wondering if they'd been on the wrong team all along? Were all the people who had supported Jesus on Palm Sunday completely flabbergasted at the trial that had happened so fast they didn't even have time to figure out if they were still going to support Jesus or not? The answer is, we don't really know. Interestingly, we have a more detailed account of what things were like for the Nephites and the Lamanites while Jesus was dead. It was dark. People were devastated. They were not shocked -- they had been warned that these things would happen, and now they were seeing the fulfillment of those prophecies. In either case, it was a terrible time. The apostles lost their dear friend and leader and their sense of direction. The Nephites lost their cities, their famili...

I am not moved to love Thee, O my Lord,     By any longing for Thy Promised Land;     Nor by the fear of hell am I unmanned To cease from my transgressing deed or word. Tis Thou Thyself dost move me,—Thy blood poured     Upon the cross from nailed foot and hand;     And all the wounds that did Thy body brand; And all Thy shame and bitter death's award. Yea, to Thy heart am I so deeply stirred     That I would love Thee were no heaven on high,— That I would fear, were hell a tale absurd! Such my desire, all questioning grows vain;     Though hope deny me hope I still should sigh, And as ray love is now, it should remain. -"To Christ Crucified," translated by Thomas Walsh One reason I love this poem is how it captures what President Nelson said in his talk "Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into our Lives" when he said "There is no amorphous entity called “the Atonement” upon which we may call for succor, healing, forgiveness, or...

(This is another Holy Week post.) I have been surprised by how much I like the Good Place. The first episode was totally bizarre (like Spy Kids, my younger sister pointed out), and I still cringe at the substitute swear words and innuendo (at a RS activity tonight I told people I didn't even say "Oh my gosh" until recently, and only when my kids are all crying at the same time or refusing to get out of the car, if that gives you an idea for what kind of language I'm used to). But even so. I think it is hilarious and thought-provoking. Just like yours truly, har har. One of the last episodes of the third season has really gotten me thinking lately. (Warning: Spoilers abound.) The judge of the universe has caught up with our friends, and they try to defend themselves by saying that no one  has made it into the Good Place since the early 1500s because life is just too complicated now for us to do more good than bad. Every breath we exhale now adds to the carbon dioxide i...

(This is part of my Holy Week series.) As I've observed my boys the past few days, I've thought about how much their personalities are shaped by each other. They of course come a certain way but I think about how they might bring out the methodical, the wild, the responsible, and the kind in each other. Some of it is following someone's example whereas some of it is in reaction to another's behavior. I think we're all the same way. I think of how friendships have shaped me over the years. Most of them have helped me be open and trusting, but a few left me with a defensive shell. To a large extent my interests have been affected by the interests of those around me. It makes sense, of course. If you're with toxic people, it's hard to not be defensive and wary. If you're with irresponsible people, you either become irresponsible yourself or become overly responsible to compensate. If you're with dishonest people, it can be so hard to remember what truth...

Last year, I wrote a series of posts during Holy Week , and since it's Holy Week again I thought I would share a few more ideas that have been floating around in my head. In a book of essays by E. B. White, one of them is titled, "What do our hearts treasure?" I think about this question a lot right now as I try to make the most of my limited time and energy. Living in a new house, I treasure doing what I can to keep it looking new -- dusting and vacuuming, dust-mopping, cleaning off the cooktop, things like that. I treasure my kids' education, whether at home or at school. I try to treasure my music ambitions even though I tend to nap more than compose these days. I have to remind myself that my heart does treasure that, even if it has to be pushed to the side far too often. What's interesting sometimes about discovering what you treasure is that it's revealed when life makes it difficult to obtain. I realized how much I cared about music last year when Kevin...

Today a friend asked via text if I was secretly famous because I told her I had a deadline that might be taking over my morning tomorrow. I laughed and explained that the deadline was for the Church Music Contest (and it has been extended, which is why I can write this post instead of work on music). It got me thinking though about a time I was secretly famous. I was actually telling Kevin about it just last night because I saw an article that reminded me about it, and now you all get to know the story too! It all started in August 2002 when my older sister and I were flying from New Jersey to Utah. Our family was moving back home after my dad's sabbatical, and my sister and I had stuck around an extra week to go to Girl's Camp. It was my first time on an airplane, and it was all very exciting, if a bit turbulent. As I looked down I could see patchworks of fields. As I looked up I could see us flying through puffs of clouds. And we even had a meal at dinnertime! As we got close...