Wednesday, July 20, 2011

It's Relief Society Book Club Time!

To: Abbottsville Fourth Ward
From: Susan Renfro, Ward Relief Society President
Subject: August Book Club Meeting

Dear Sisters,
Please choose from the following titles:



Go Sit in the Corner
for women


Latter-day Saint sisters can prepare for another interesting read this August with the choice of the following titles from Go Sit in the Corner for women.

Fun With Freeze-Dried Cheese!
and other super creative recipes from your food storage.
by
Rita Marie Dastrup


LDS preparedness specialist and self proclaimed "foodie," Rita Dastrup, suggests clever ways to implement items from our food storage into everyday meals so that when the impending calamity occurs, our families will be accustomed to how bad everything tastes.


Alana's List
by
Clarice Samuelson

Marriage is the last thing on 18 year old Alana Baxter's mind. Not until she finishes "her list," that is. She doesn't care how many of her friends, family, and fellow ward members have taken the plunge. She's won't consider being tied down until she's completed her list of "must do's," a collection of ambitious goals that includes staying out past curfew, visiting Idaho, riding in a taxi cab, having a gay friend, and learning how to cook sushi. Then the tall, dark, and handsome returned missionary, Rulon Humbolt, walks into her life and sends that list of hers into the recycle.



Hie to Zarahemla
by
T. J. Benson, PhD

Sixteen year old Thad Hatch turns his dad's old Chevy Vega into a time machine that takes him back to the Book of Mormon land of Zarahemla. Eager for an exciting, swashbuckling adventure, Thad immediately signs on to join the Lamanites in their battle against the Gadianton Robbers!  -- Only he ends up spending most of his time searching for his horse.



One Sister's Quiet Desperation
by
Joan Allred

Sister Joan Allred recalls the private hell she endured upon learning her son suffered from same-sex attraction. Follow her heart wrenching journey beginning with her desperate efforts to call him to repentance, then her frustrating and failed efforts to cure him, and finally her brave decision to cut him off entirely for the sake of her family. Read how this exemplary LDS woman emerged from the experience with a strengthened testimony, a determination to never see her son in this life or the next, and the realization that the whole thing is her fault.



If you would like to stop receiving these emails, our Ward Preparedness Specialist, Brother "Bull" Barton will stop by with a Freeze-Dried Cheese Variety Kit just for you.

18 comments:

  1. This is probably the right place to admit that I LOVED the "Tennis Shoes" series when I was a Mormon teen (the Hie to Zarahemla title reminded me of them).

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  2. LOVE these!

    Questions: Is the photo for the Joan Allred book from a crisis pregnancy ad? It think I've seen it.

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  3. @Diana. You can still love the Tennis Shoes series. :) I confess when I read about the actual book that Alana's List is based on, I was tempted to order it from DB and read it myself. Of course my reaction to it now would be very different than when I was a Mormon kid.
    http://deseretbook.com/List-Melanie-Jacobson/i/5060541

    Leah, thanks for reading and commenting!! I got that picture by googling "guilt."

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  4. Spot on, as always Donna! Your satire is amazing!

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  5. Donna, you are THE QUEEN of LDS satire. Hands down. Once again I'm laughing while simultaneously chilled to the bone.

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  6. @Kate and CD thank you so much -- and we're all queens!! (Only here and not in heaven.)

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  7. Donna, Donna, Donna, you're genre-hopping on us! "One Sister's Quiet Desperation" sounds like literary realism, not parody! It's heartbreaking how many homophobic fundamentalist parents have done just that to their LGBT sons and daughters.

    Wow. Does Alana have a nervous breakdown after living such a sheltered married life?

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  8. @Ahab, yeah, actually all of them could be considered literary realism, but should be satire. :)

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  9. Suppose someone behaves like Sister Allred and ostracizes her own kid. Would the Church ever intervene to tell her not to do that?

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  10. In a word, Paul, no. But they'd put it differently -- we love him, we just hate his sin, you know.

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  11. I'm envious of your creative venom! I need to get madder at something, but I can't seem to choose in the target-rich environment available today, so I spread myself too thin. I need to focus down on one utterly insane thing and hone my sarcasm!

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  12. @Nance -- Michelle Bachmann might be a good target for you for now! lol

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  13. Holy shit, Donna! That last book hit very close to home for me. But I changed the ending of mine and now I'm on blogs like this. :-)

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  14. Awesome JZ. Yes I know it hits close home but it definitely isn't you!!

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  15. One Sister's Quiet Desperation ? I think with a so called mother such as that, he is better off without her, 'cure him' ?!?! I can't wait for the Sister Missionary's to come by to discuss this topic/book ... Heavenly Father loves everyone equally, and that young man would be welcomed with open arms in my home. Are you blind as to how many ' It's ok-to-be-gay' Mormons there are? No way will I consider to be baptized in the church, thanks for posting that book, just he title is a real eye opener.

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  16. @Donna: The sad thing about that line, "We love him, just not his sin", is that it allows people who otherwise might be more reflective and understanding to shut down any genuine compassion they feel. I'm not talking about the folks who would hate the kid anyway, but about the fence-sitters, so to speak. At least that's been my experience of it.

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  17. Kym and Paul, you are both so right.

    Kym, are you considering joining the LDS Church? If so, kudos for doing your research and reading alternative voices!! When it's all said and done, it's your decision. Psst...thanks for following my blog.

    Paul, I know. But then when you hate "his sin" and when "his sin" is being himself ... I know there are compassionate religious people who belong to bigoted organizations. However, I was one of those folks, left a long time ago, and have increasing impatience with others who won't. -- Who knows?

    Thanks, as always, for the comment.

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