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For tiny ones, nursery is either paradise or purgatory. Thesame dichotomy applies toadults' opinions of serving innursery.

I was determined to have atraditional AmericanThanksgiving in 1985 in CostaRica.

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Heather Newell: We areMormon

By Heather Newell

For Mormon TimesFriday, Dec. 05, 2008

In October 1979 General Conference, Elder Bruce R. McConkie declared, "We arecalled Mormons." He went on to list other things of which we are falsely accused which"sow the seeds of prejudice among those who otherwise might learn who we are andwhat we believe."Elder McConkie then closed his thoughtwith a request that stillstands today, "We feel it is not too much to ask, in this age of enlightenment and opendialogue, to let us be the ones who tell who we are, what we believe, and why our cause is going forward in such a marvelous way."Many of us are familiar with the series of talks Elder Ballard gave to graduatingstudents aboutUsing New Media to Support the Work of the Church.Both Elder Ballard and Church Public Affairs have encouraged Latter-day Saints to join the onlineconversation and use language that friends of other faiths will understand.Even still I receive emailsexpressing concern about usingthe word Mormon, especially usingthe term Mormon Church. Asmembers of the church, we all knowwho we are, what we believe, andthat this is Jesus Christ's Church.Many of us understand the styleguide set forth by the church to themedia. But not everyone else does.More than 70 years ago,whenPresident Gordon B. Hinckley wasa missionary in Englandhe askedan associate, "How can we getpeople, including our ownmembers, to speak of the Church by its proper name?" To which the associate replied,"You can't. The word Mormon is too deeply ingrained and too easy to say. . . . I've quittrying. While I'm thankful for the privilege of being a follower of Jesus Christ and amember of the Church which bears His name, I am not ashamed of the nicknameMormon."Even though I'm an active, daily participant in online conversation about the church, inthe past I too have struggled with embracing the word Mormon. I want to share theinsights I have gathered which have helped me respectfully say, "I am a Mormon."1. In the Book of Mormon, Ammon taught King Lamoni using terms King Lamoniwould understand. Ammon used the term "Great Spirit" so he could thenconnect that term with the concept of God. [Alma 18:26,28]. This has helpedme realize that I too should use the term Mormon as it's the most common wordnon-Mormons use to find out information about the Church and its members.Once someone finds my site or video, I can then teach them that the correctname is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.2. I am well aware that those who would "sow the seeds of prejudice" are morethan willing to use terms such as Mormon and Mormon Church. If those whowant to learn about our beliefs can find truthful sites about our faith on the