Home & Family: Words of the Past

by Muriel Sluyter on Rocky Mountain Straight Talk
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 5 June 2008

Do we gain by listening to the teachings and warnings of our predecessors? Did they know things that we have yet to learn? Can their hard-won wisdom save us from committing critical errors that will cause us grief and misery? Yes, especially if we have enough sense to act on their warnings.

Let's examine the writings of some wise men of the past: John Adams our second President, and the man primarily responsible for shepherding our Declaration of Independence through Congress, said: "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." ~ Read More

Home and Family: A Culture at War With Itself

by Muriel Sluyter on Rocky Mountain Straight Talk
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 2 June 2008

A young man and I approached the post office door at the same time. I smiled at him and stepped aside, expecting him to hold the door for me. Instead, he smiled back, opened the door and walked through. As I realized that I had fallen back into an old pattern that is no longer in effect, it struck my funny bone, and I started to giggle.

It reminded me of another incident of thirty-plus years ago. At that time I was also approaching a post office door. There were several older men standing around, passing the time of day. One of them stepped forward, smiled and opened the door for me. As he did, he touched his fingers to the brim of his hat in a courteous salute. I remember thinking that, though we were in California at the time, this man must have come from southwestern Colorado. It was such a typical Colorado salute for a man of his generation. ~ Read More

Home & Family: When the Family Falls Apart

by Muriel Sluyter on Rocky Mountain Straight Talk
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 29 May 2008

A man contacted me a short time ago to request a copy of an old column. He said his copy had come from someone else’s copy, which had come from someone else’s copy, and it was practically unreadable. I dug into my archives and found it was several years old and full of quotes from the long-dead, but very wise, Alexander Fraser Tytler; then I knew why it was being passed around. I have quoted him extensively over the years, and I am going to do it again today. In that column I said:

“For many people around this world, freedom is anything but commonplace; it is, in fact, a dream that will never be realized during their lifetime. We who have possessed it for over 200 years think of it as an entitlement, rather than an extraordinary condition enjoyed by comparatively few of this world’s inhabitants. -- Read More

Home & Family: Forgotten Heroes

by Muriel Sluyter on Rocky Mountain Straight Talk
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 26 May 2008

When the First World War ended, it became important to the American people to commemorate the signing of the peace treaties. As a result, November 11 was set aside and celebrated as Armistice Day. Several decades ago, it was changed to Armed Forces Day, and the armistice which ended that awful conflict was forgotten.

The American people wanted to remember those brave men who had fallen in that hideous slaughter, their fathers, sons, brothers and husbands, and so, a day was set aside to decorate their graves. It was appropriately called Decoration Day. Several decades ago, it was changed to Memorial Day. Our men who had fallen in the First World War had made the first step toward becoming forgotten heroes. ~ Read More

Home & Family: Aaron and the Baby Goats

by Muriel Sluyter on Rocky Mountain Straight Talk
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 22 May 2008

A few years ago, our youngest daughter brought a very nice guy home. She and he were students at the same college. He was a linebacker, and looked like the kind of guy you wouldn’t want to irritate. He gave you the feeling that if you crossed him once, you might not live long enough to do it twice.

But his impressive, indeed ominous, appearance belies a gentle nature. He has turned out to be a phenomenal husband and father, gentle but strong, kind but firm. He willing works at extremely hard, dirty jobs, then comes home and makes delicious pies for his adoring wife and children. -- Read More

Home & Family: Daddy, Am I Beautiful?

by Muriel Sluyter on Rocky Mountain Straight Talk
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 19 May 2008

During my teen years, which is a time when so many young girls feel ugly, fat and awkward, I felt beautiful. It was not something I thought. It was something I felt. Elizabeth Taylor was, to my young mind, the undisputed Queen of Beauty and yet I, bearing absolutely no resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor, felt beautiful.

I have contemplated this phenomenon, and have come to realize that my earliest memories include my father's voice, and the words which come back are "Aren't you Daddy's pretty little girl?"... "Daddy's smart little girl"... "Daddy's good little girl"... "Daddy's little girl is so beautiful,"..."so beautiful"..."so beautiful".... Can anyone question why I was vastly less at risk than most of feeling ugly, undesirable or of no value during those fragile years? ~ Read More

Home & Family: Biography of a Great Lady - Mary Moore, Part 4

by Muriel Sluyter on Rocky Mountain Straight Talk
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 15 May 2008

And we come to the end . . .

Now let's leave Mary in these appalling circumstances, and find James, the brother whom the Shawnees kidnapped on Sept. 7, 1784. Mary's life depends on him, so let's pull him off the pages of history, and get him into this story. We'll begin with James' own account: His father sent him to the Poage property, which had been abandoned because of Shawnee raids, to catch a horse. It was his regularly scheduled task to take their home-grown wheat 12 miles to the mill, have it ground and return with the flour, often arriving long after dark. ~ Read More

Home & Family: Biography of a Great Lady - Mary Moore, Part 3

by Muriel Sluyter on Rocky Mountain Straight Talk
on yourLDSneighborhood Newsstands - 12 May, 2008

And we carry on . . .

Martha Ivans and Mary remained with the Shawnees until the fall of 1788. They were slaves, literally property of value, but were treated very like Indian children. Their only danger came from a dispute concerning their ownership. When the Indians who claimed them were sober, the girls were safe, but when they were drunk, the girls were taken into hiding by sober Shawnees in order to save their lives. ~ Read More

Home & Family: Biography of a Great Lady - Mary Moore, Part 2

by Muriel Sluyter on Rocky Mountain Straight Talk
on the yourLDSneighborhood Newsstand - 8 May 2008

And the saga continues . . .

It was early morning and James had two helpers cutting wheat, while he gave his horses their daily salt. John Simpson was lying in the loft of the cabin, too sick to work. Margaret was fixing breakfast; two of the children, Rebecca and William, were returning from the spring with the morning's supply of water.

With a shout, two raiding parties of Indians burst into view. One party headed for the house, and the other rushed to the field where the men were working. The first party shot Rebecca and William, approximately 7 and 5 years old, as they returned from the spring, after which they shot little Alexander, about 3 years old, near the house. ~ Read More

Home & Family: Biography of a Great Lady - Mary Moore, Part 1

by Muriel Sluyter on Rocky Mountain Straight Talk
on the yourLDSneighborhood Newsstand, 5 May 2008

I should like to tell of Mary Moore - a real story about a real person - who lived in Virginia two centuries ago . . . James Moore, of Scottish descent and grandfather of Mary Moore, was born in Ireland. In about 1726, he and his brother Joseph sailed for America, settling in Pennsylvania.

Joseph died after approximately two years, leaving James to discover the wonders of America alone. In his loneliness, he met and married Jane Walker, a girl of Scottish descent, whose father had emigrated to Ireland, married, fathered seven children, and finally, brought his family to America. ~ Read More