American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and Pack Meeting -- Oh, My!

Yeah, it's Tuesday again. Yeah, you know what that means.

First off, Shannon and Derek are gonners on Dancing with the Stars. I was so glad Cristian wasn't voted off -- it wasn't his fault he got hurt, and I think he deserves to keep going. I'm also glad to see that Marissa is doing so well. As a woman of size, I'm delighted to see someone whose not exactly rail-thin have the chance to show how beautiful and talented and yes, sexy, she is.

On to American Idol -- it was simply too weird for words tonight. I just don't know. Having Neil Diamond for a mentor was kind of strange -- how many people can really sing Neil Diamond songs? Besides Neil, of course. I wasn't blown away by anyone. I thought David Cook did well, David Archuletta did okay, and everyone else was just there. I found it really hard to even care tonight. That might be more a reflection on the fact that I've been in a really bad mood all day, but I think it's more a reflection of the fact that there wasn't a lot to care about. I'll let Rob back me up or disagree with me on that one.

So, my predictions:

David Cook, safe.
David Archuletta, safe.

If they do a bottom three, it'll be Jason, Brooke and Syesha.

If they do a bottom two, it'll be Syesha and Jason.

Syesha is going home.

I base this on the fact that Brooke seems to have a strong fan base. She's really made some mistakes over the last few weeks, and yet she's still with us. Jason seems to have cornered the young teenage girl demographic, but he wasn't really himself tonight. So that puts him in danger. But I don't think Syesha has the fan base Brooke and Jason have. So, there's my prediction. For whatever it's worth. I haven't done too well with this game so far, but Rob wanted me to play, so . . . I'm playing. (Really, when Rob does his puppy-dog eyes thing, you just can't say no.)

Tonight was Pack Meeting, and not only did my son overcome his shyness to do the Pledge and to bring in the color guard, he got his Bear badge. My dad came over for the presentation and got to hand him the badge. It was awesome. What can I say?

After the American Idol results:

I'm sad to see Brooke go. She brought a lot of genuineness to the show, and I'm going to miss her. And I'm sad that I was wrong. That said, Rob was wrong too, so that sort of takes the sting out.

Let the Good Times Roll!

This last Saturday, I went out to lunch with the ladies from the writing group, SCRAWL. That almost sounds like an alternative rock band, but really, they're the nicest ladies on the planet. I love getting together with them. They make me feel uplifted and like, yeah, I am somebody pretty cool. I need that from time to time (okay, like, all the time) After lunch we talked for a while about editing, and I probably bored them all to tears saying things they already knew, but they were gracious about it.

Every single person in this group is immensely talented and I know we're going to see them all in print one day. That's my little prediction right there for ya.

But now I have a deep question. Why do I always tip my head to the side when someone points a camera at me? Is this my attempt at being coy and mysterious, or do I have self-esteem issues with my neck? Something to contemplate . . .

I'm on YouTube!

Getting all geared up for my blog tour to start on May 1st (see my sidebar) and I'm even on YouTube! How cool is that!

The War on Terror -- Tristi's Take

Ever since terrorists flew their hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and crashed in Pennsylvania, patriotism has taken on a whole new face. And it will never be the same again. We've been engaged in a war in the Middle East and right now, to continue or not continue that war is a major political hot button. The next presidential election will largely be decided by the opinions of the voters toward the war -- the candidates have made their stance and we'll be voting for the person whose ideas most closely coincide with ours, on the topic of war as well as other platforms.

From my perspective, the war on terror must never be stopped.

I struggle to understand the mindset of people who think that if we just pull out of the Middle East, the problem will go away. It's not going to go away. It's going to get worse and worse, and if we pull out, we're giving the terrorists free rein to do whatever they want to do. They're not going to say, "Oh, wasn't it nice of the US to pull out? Let's do something nice for them and stop killing people, and then we can trade friendship bracelets and have a sleepover and giggle about crushes." It's not going to happen. The terrorists have determined that they are going to kill all the infidels in the world. By their definition, I'm an infidel. My children are infidels. They're not going to be happy until I am dead, until my children are dead, until every person on this planet who does not believe the same way they do, is dead. There's not going to be a sleepover, folks.

There's another aspect to this war that I rarely see mentioned, but to me is screamingly obvious.

Revelations 16:16: And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Ezek. 38: 16: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

Joel 3: 14: Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

Zech. 14:2: For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Luke 21: 20: And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

Each of these scriptures refer to the end times of the world, and to the winding up battle which will take place in the valley of Armageddon. Which valley is located in Israel. It has been prophesied since the beginning of time that just before the coming of the Lord, two huge armies will gather at Armageddon and battle to the death. The coming of the Lord will bring an end to that battle. Prophets throughout the ages have seen this battle in vision. Many have written about it. John the Revelator saw it. Nephi saw it. Regardless your denomination, if you're Christian, you have heard this prophecy.

And yet I am constantly hearing members of the Church say, "I wish this war would just end."

I say in response, "I'm excited for the Savior to come again."

And they look at me with confusion. They don't get the connection.

It's not hard to connect the dots. The war on terror and all the things that are currently taking place in the Middle East are the precursor to the upheaval that will take place and usher in the battle at Armageddon. That battle is not going to sneak up on us. What, we're going to wake up one morning and poof! Thousands upon thousands of soldiers will suddenly have magically appeared in the valley, ready to duke it out? Of course not. It will be built up to slowly. First this political decision, then that one, then this war, then that one -- step by step leading up to where the battle will be a natural next step. Everything we're experiencing now is a piece of the puzzle.

Put simply: The war on terror is part of the Lord's second coming, and if we were to somehow stop the war, it would delay the second coming. However, we cannot delay it. The time has been decided. Therefore, we cannot stop the war. That's it in a nutshell.

I'm not saying that I'm crazy about this war -- I hate war of all kinds. But I will say this -- we cannot withdraw our armies and let the terrorists win. And there is no way on this earth that we can stop the tide from rolling in. We are in the end times of the world. The Savior will be coming soon. The signs are coming thicker and faster. Rather than ranting about things we can't change, let's concentrate instead on preparing -- you know, that preparation we've been told repeatedly to make?


Meggido, looking toward the valley of Armageddon

Half an Idol and None of Stars

I do have other things to blog about, including yet another tag to fulfill, but all that will have to wait because you realize it's Tuesday, and for you regular blog readers, you know what that means. It's time to comment on my shows and offer my feeble predictions.

I'm sure you're wondering what the title of this blog has to do with anything, let alone the price of tea in China (and while we're on that topic, I sure don't know where that expression came from). Well, this week I saw none of Dancing with the Stars on Monday night for the stupid reason that the batteries in the clicker were dead, the tv was stuck on Cartoon Network, and we couldn't find fresh batteries. In the olden days, I would have just turned a little dial to change the channel, but now in the grand and glorious age of technology, I'm completely dependent on batteries to change the cable box. Stupid progress. So anyway, I had no prediction there, because, I missed the whole thing. I did see the results show, and I'm more convinced than ever that there's a little somethin' somethin' going on with Derek and Shannon. Maybe he can convince her to give up gambling.

And as for Idol, I only saw half of it because I had a meeting for Cub Committee, on which, I am. I dashed home just in time to see Paula consoling Brooke, and I have no idea what happened. I heard something about forgetting lyrics and starting again, but I didn't see it myself.

Based on the performances I did see and the recap, here are my thoughts:

Oh, my gosh! David Archuleta knocked it out of the park tonight! I loved his rendition of "All I Ask of You." It was contemporary, it was groovy, it wasn't girly -- it was gorgeous. He completely blew me away. It made up for having missed the first half of the show, just to get to hear that.

David Cook made me very nervous when he announced that he was singing "Music of the Night." You know what, though -- it was really good. He can sing -- he's not just a rocker, he's a singer. He did a fabulous job. I didn't care for his last note, but the rest was brilliant.

Third for me was Carly. I hated the song she chose -- I've always hated the concept of making a Broadway musical about Jesus Christ -- but she sang the song well. Horrid, sacreligious song, but she performed it well.

Syesha, Jason and Brooke are going to be in the bottom three. Syesha sang her song reasonably well, but it was boring. Jason was in way over his head tonight, and Brooke -- I love Brooke. I think everyone in America loves Brooke. But she didn't pull it out.

My guess to go home -- Jason. I think Brooke will get enough of a sympathy vote to keep her around one more week. Jason, though, just tanked. There was great and mighty tankification taking place.

And that's what I'm wagering will happen.

Postscript: Wow, last night's elimination show was wild. I guessed that Syesha would be in the bottom, and that Brooke wouldn't go home, but that's all I got right. Seacrest threw me off by having a bottom two instead of three -- yeah, I'll blame it all on him. I doff my cap at Rob for guessing Carly would be the one, but I have to give myself props for getting him thinking about it.

I have to wonder how much of an effect Carly's song choice had on her elimination. I didn't like the song, but she sang it well and I still ranked her #3. Very interesting . . .

Meanwhile, the Mormons are still going strong. I don't know if we've ever had a Mormon make it this far on the show, and now we've got two of them. They're the main interest for me now -- with both Michael and Carly gone, I'm feeling a little disheartened. Not that I'm going to stop watching . . . honestly! What do you take me for?

Mormons and Fundamentalist Mormons -- Not Even Kissing Cousins

Ever since Texas authorities marched in and raided the compound owned by the FLDS Church, the media has been having a heyday with stories about strange religious practices, polygamy, teenage pregnancy, child rape, on and on. While they are covering these stories and investigating the cases, I can see that the reporters are tired, probably staying up late to meet their deadlines, and I can see that mistakes will be made. However, there is one mistake that is being repeatedly made that they must stop – they keep referring to the compound as being owned by the LDS Church, and that the people who are being arrested are LDS. No, folks, that would be FLDS. Note the use of that first initial.

The LDS Church, to which I belong, has absolutely nothing to do with that compound out in Texas. Those aren’t our members out there being arrested. Those aren’t our four hundred children being farmed out to foster care. Sure, we care what happens to them as they are part of the human family, but we are not brothers and sisters in the Gospel. The LDS Church and the FLDS Church are two entirely different organizations.

There are those who have said that the two religions are so close, they might as well be the same. Umm . . . that would be said by people with very little knowledge into the beliefs and practices of the two religions. Many of the FLDS congregations live in seclusion, have very little contemporary education (many don’t even know that man landed on the moon) read only books written by their leaders (Warren Jeff’s followers didn’t read the Book of Mormon or the Bible for their scriptures – they read books written by Jeffs) wear old-fashioned clothing, believe that a woman’s entire place in this world is to have children, rarely associate with those outside their own church, and view the outside world as a scary and unsafe place. People of the LDS religion go to college, hold degrees, teach at universities all over the world, study all forms of books, read both the Book of Mormon and the Bible, wear modern clothing, associate freely with people of all religions, and while we do have children, we as LDS women are encouraged to learn, grow, educate ourselves, and be people every bit as interesting and well-rounded as our husbands. These are all outward things – I haven’t even touched on doctrinal differences – but this is a pretty long list of just simple ways in which we are very, very different.

The Fundamentalist Church has sometimes been said to be an offshoot from the LDS Church. It calls itself the Fundamentalist Latter-day Saint Church or Mormon Fundamentalist Church. However, when we go back to the roots of the FLDS Church, we see that they aren’t connected even that remotely. From the Mormon Fundamentalist website, which was set up to educate people as to the origins of the FLDS Church, we learn that after the early LDS Church leaders stopped practicing polygamy, a man named Wooley came forth and, I quote: professed that the authority to solemnize new plural marriages was held by men who were not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The site goes on to say that all branches of Mormon Fundamentalism are traced back to Wooley. Let’s rephrase that just for clarity: The man who started the Fundamentalist movement began it by saying that men in the LDS Church don’t have the authority to practice polygamy, but he did. Right there, in black and white, you have it – the FLDS Church was started by disavowing the LDS authority to practice polygamy, therefore, the FLDS Church is not claiming any relation to the LDS Church. From the horse’s mouth, folks. We say we’re not related, the man who started the Fundamentalists says we’re not related –

We’re not related.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not support, approve, or agree with anything that has been done by the Fundamentalist Latter-day Saint Church. We do not practice modern day polygamy. We do not marry off our daughters in their teens. We do not hold our children back in their education and brainwash them into only knowing the things we want them to know. We do not worship our leaders, but rather, respect them. We have families, but we do not consider that to be the full extent of the worth of a woman’s creation.

I would dearly love it if every broadcaster, journalist, and blogger in the media today could somehow get it into their heads that they are confusing two entirely different churches when they confuse the LDS and the FLDS churches. I would love it if people would stop blaming the Mormons for the mess in Texas – wrong people.

I fully admit that us Mormons are a pretty strange people and I’m not asking the world at large to believe everything we do. I’m just asking that people get their terminology straight and make sure they’re talking about the right group of people. Understanding, folks, that’s all I want. I’m not trying to convert you—I’m just trying to help spread around a little understanding.

Sunshine Almost Always Makes Me High

Actually, it's the smell of latex that's making me high.

We did something today we have never, ever done before. We took all four of our children down to Wal-Mart and bought them bicycles. I've wanted to get them bikes for several months now, and when our income tax refund came in, we decided that's what we should do with part of it. I didn't have a bike growing up and I'm kind of weird about wanting stuff for my kids that I didn't have, so today was fun for me, maybe even more fun for me than for them.

They've had bikes from the DI before, but the bikes never really fit and they were beat up to start with and you know how it is.

But, see, I didn't think about getting a bike lock, and I don't want to set the new bikes outside overnight without a bike lock. And it's late on Saturday night and I'm not going back out to get a bike lock. So the bikes are in the living room overnight -- we're going to get a lock on Monday -- and we'll set them outside during the day (you know evil loves darkness and they never would get stolen in daylight).

New bike tires really smell, you know that?

My Night, My Shows

I really like Tuesday nights because I get to watch the performances on American Idol and see the results of Dancing with the Stars. On Stars this week, Priscilla went home, like I thought she should, so all's right there.

However, my world was crushed a little last week when I got word that Michael Johns had been sent home. He's been my #1 fav since day one, and I wasn't even home to see him leave. I had two friends e-mail me and fill me in. Can I just say, if I'd been home, he wouldn't have left. Yes, I am that powerful.

Now, for tonight.

David Archuletta definitely won some hearts out there. I think he also got a sympathy boost when Ryan commented that he's often so nervous on performance day, he can't eat. As if the kid wasn't cute enough already, they had to go and make us feel sorry for him.

I enjoyed Carly tonight, even though the judges didn't. I thought her performance was gutsy and awesome.

David Cook did a really good job. I personally didn't think it was as awesome as the judges did, but it was good.

I also enjoyed Syesha's performance, even though I was unfamiliar with the song and wasn't sure if it was really going how it should -- it was one of those songs with lots of sharps and flats and unexpected notes.

Brooke was terrified tonight. The close-ups of her showed that she was shaking. I enjoyed her rendition, though.

Kristy Lee still just bugs me. I don't know why. I haven't stopped to analyze it. But she does. She did a tolerable job tonight, but that's as far as it went for me.

Jason also did a decent job, but I didn't agree with the judges. They were all over it, but I didn't think it was his best.

So, top to bottom, that's how I personally enjoyed the evening. Now, on to my predictions.

I think Carly, Kristy Lee and Brooke are the bottom three, and Brooke is going home.

After the results:

Wow! I didn't think Kristy Lee was going home. I mean, I was hoping, but I've been hoping for a long time now. I did get it right that Brooke and Kristy Lee would be in the bottom three, but I didn't see tonight's result coming at all. It's all good. I'm glad Brooke has a chance to redeem herself and I really hope she can start pulling it out of the fire. I like that girl.

Child Predators

I have been outraged and sickened by the death of a little girl in Salt Lake City this week. The autospy report shows that she was brutally beaten and raped before being strangled to death. Local law enforcement is upset and has vowed to do everything in their power to get her killer put away forever, if not executed.

Her killer was a friend of her family.

She was seven years old.

There exists a subculture in our society of persons who find nothing wrong with the fact that they find children sexually attractive. I must point out in no uncertain terms that there is something sick and evil about being attracted to children. There is nothing normal about it. It's not the same thing as liking blondes or wanting to date only people who are under six feet tall. Children are not eligible for romantic relationships, period. If you have sexual feelings toward a child, you need to get yourself into therapy, now. This is a sickness. Do not seek to justify yourself. There is no justification. You need help.

This, That, the Other Thing, and Apple Juice

What a wild day.

First off, thanks to all of you who like the new blog look. To answer Keith's question, I do like change. I can't stand having the same thing the same way all the time. I would rearrange the furniture more if I had options for where things should go. But I don't even order the same check design twice in a row. I need variety.

Secondly, we had an unfortunate incident involving my three-year-old and apple juice. It got the keyboard and the Comcast router. After waiting all day for it to dry out, I'm now back online but my space bar is still sticky. And the phone doesn't work yet. Hopefully that part will evaporate by tomorrow. If it doesn't, we'll have to take the box in and get a new one. So if you don't hear from me for a day or two, that's why.

Okay, now. On to other things.

Dancing with the Stars: I pretty much figured it would be Adam Corrolla to go tonight. I was sorry to see it happen --he's so funny. But the other dancers are really starting to bring their game. I thought Cristian should have gotten higher marks for his Paso. That was seriously fabulous. And I laughed my head off when Carrie Ann complimented Priscilla for looking so serene all the time -- she must not have caught on to the Botox frozen face thing. We're still looking at Kristy and Jason as the two finalists, although I think Shannon is getting better all the time.

American Idol: For once, Rob and I agreed on a person to go home and for once, we both were right. I like Ramielle, but it was time for her to go. I don't see any reason why we had to sit through that ghastly rendition of "This Little Light of Mine" in order to see the results, though. I've had nightmares ever since.

Tonight, I'm really torn. I hated Jason's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and the judges thought it was brilliant. I hated Kristy Lee's song, and the judges said it was her best ever. I do not know what is up. My pick for the bottom three would be Jason, Kristy Lee and Brooke, with the high possibility of Brooke going home, I hate to say. Rob wants me to make actual predictions. Okay, I predict Brooke's going home.

J. Scott Savage's Book Tour

J. Scott Savage (or Jeff Savage, as he'll always be to me) is kicking off a virtual book tour for his new series, "Farworld." From what I've heard about this book, it promises to be a unique, creative fantasy novel and I'm really looking forward to reading it. Click here to learn more about it. As soon as I get my promised advanced reader's copy, I'll be blogging about it on Families.com. Stay tuned . . .

Um, Mom?

The last time I used my oven, some of the sauce from the dish overflowed and hit the bottom of the oven. I didn't have time to clean it up and had forgotten about it. This morning I slid a pan of buttermilk biscuits into the oven and noticed a slightly smoky smell. The oven was already hot and it was too late to do anything about it, so I decided to let it burn off.

A couple of minutes later . . .

My son: Mom, what's that smell?

Me: Something spilled on the bottom of the oven. It's burning off. Everything is fine.

My other son: Mom, what do I smell?

Me: You smell some sauce that fell on the bottom of the oven. Everything is fine.

My daughter: Mom, it's getting smoky in here.

Me: When something is burning off, it does create smoke. Everything is just fine. Your breakfast is not burning.

Me, two minutes later: Oh, crap . . .

The Reviews are Rolling In . . .

Sending out review copies is always a little freaky. If the reviewer doesn't like the book and blasts you, it makes you feel wounded. If the reviewer writes a good review, it'll put you higher than a kite. It's an emotional rollercoaster either way.

So far, the reviews have been great. Here are some for your reading enjoyment.

First, from Jamie Reynolds of the AML:

Ben Perkins loves his wife Mary Ann, deeply, wholeheartedly, eternally. The only things that mean more to him are the Lord and Ben's love for and faith in Him. In "Season of Sacrifice" by Tristi Pinkston, the reader becomes a bystander watching Ben seeking to fulfill all that the Lord has asked of Him. Ben's desire to live the Lord's gospel takes himself and his wife on a perilous quest that will test their strength and commitment, both to the Lord and each other.

After being baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ben feels a strong pull to leave Wales and join the other Saints in Utah. Through hard work and determination, he is able to immigrate to the United States. Eventually, Mary Ann Williams is able to join him and they marry. Over the next several years, they work hard to build a home and a life together. Mary Ann finds true satisfaction as their family begins to grow.

As so often happens in life, when the waters are calm, a hand reaches in to stir them. Ben and Mary Ann are called to help settle the San Juan valley. They sell the home that they have worked so hard to build, place their belongings and their children in their wagons, and, along with Mary Ann's sister, Sarah, they set out for the great unknown. The weeks pass as a six week trek becomes a six month long journey. Their courage and Ben's ingenuity are tested as they realize that they must build road after road over cliffs and through mountains.

Upon reaching the San Juan valley, Ben and Mary Ann seek to settle in and continue building their lives together, with one exception. Ben feels that it is time for him to fulfill the commandment that he has received to enter into plural marriage. The woman that he has chosen is none other than Mary Ann's younger sister, Sarah. The remainder of this book is filled with the agonizing struggle that these three individuals face as they strive to seek the Lord's will for them and as they seek to reconcile themselves both to it and to each other.

"Season of Sacrifice" is not a novel that will reach out, grab its readers by the throat and hold them captive throughout its pages. That being said, this book is all the more compelling because it is based on real people in very real situations. Tristi Pinkston does a very good job documenting exactly which portions of the book are historical fact and which portions she has supplemented with fiction. As we see so often in our daily lives, the true events are almost more unbelievable than the fictional moments.

Throughout this story, the reader is able to gain a greater appreciation for the people who sacrificed so much to settle these new areas. This book is one that will give its readers a new perspective of the practice of polygamy. The author has taken these struggles and challenges from a large issue that encompasses many people and brings them down to an individual level. There is a human component to this story that confronts and compels the reader to think of the actual people who were faced with these choices.

This book flows smoothly but is not necessarily an easy read because of the depth of its content. "Seasons of Sacrifice" is a wonderful resource for Latter-day Saints who are seeking to better understand their ancestors and the challenges that they faced. It is also an excellent reference for those individuals who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but would like to better understand the issues of this particular period in the Church's existence.

From Heather Moore on LDSReaders:

Recently I finished reading Season of Sacrifice by Tristi Pinkston (critically acclaimed author of Nothing to Regret and Strength to Endure). I first based on the lives of the author’s great-great grandparents. At first I was a little nervous. Everyone has a great story somewhere in their family, but an entire novel’s worth? Diving in, I immediately liked how Pinkston put the location and date at the beginning of the chapters. I felt grounded from the beginning as the story opens in 1867 Wales.

Ben Perkins is a young coal miner who is saving his money to immigrate to America. But weeks before he’s set to leave, he courts Mary Ann, who he promptly falls in love with. He has to leave her behind but writes her frequently—through another person since he can’t read or write.

Almost three years later, Ben has saved enough to bring the rest of his family to America, including Mary Ann. What unfolds is a tender love story set against the background of the rugged terrain of Utah.

Next we meet Sarah, the younger sister of Mary Ann. Through several unfortunate hardships, her family makes the choice to leave Wales and travel to Utah—hoping for a fresh start and reunion with Mary Ann. In Utah, Sarah struggles to accept the unfamiliar surroundings and live in the Mormon culture (of which she has yet to convert). But her trials multiply when she agrees to travel to San Juan with Mary Ann and Ben and help establish a new Mormon settlement. When Sarah is faced with the prospect of becoming a second wife in a plural marriage, her faith is shaken to the core.

The story was exciting and kept me reading without hardly putting it down. When finished, I read the chapter notes and was very surprised at how little the author embellished the general events. Here was a true family saga that could be made into a novel, keeping a picky reader hooked until the very end.

This book is for sale several places on-line, but you can get an autographed copy through the author’s website: www.tristipinkston.com

From Candace Salima at Dream a Little Dream with Me:

From the backliner: "Sarah Williams is a young Welsh immigrant, coming to Utah to join her sister Mary Ann Perkins. When the Perkins are asked to join the San Juan mission to pioneer a trail through Southern Utah, they take Sarah along to help care for the children. But a six-week journey turns into six agonizing months of hard work and toil as the Saints blast their way through a cliff to bring their wagons through what would become the famous Utah landmark “Hole-in-the-Rock.”


Finally settled in the San Juan, Sarah’s true hardship begins when Ben Perkins asks her to be his second wife. With their faith and testimonies challenged to the core, both Sarah and Mary Ann struggle to find the true meaning of Christ-like love and obedience. Will they make it through?

This is a fantastic book. I was able to read it when it was still in manuscript form and absolutely loved it. Tristi has this book for sale on her website and it is a must own!

This book is about her great-grandparents. He became well-known in Utah history by being the man who engineered the entire journey through the blasting and traveling through "Hole in the Rock." Truly a man of tremendous talent as well as honor.

Tristi has skillfully woven the accurate account of her ancestors into a fascinating story which will quickly become a favorite across the world.

I'm so proud of her! Click here to purchase your copy of her latest book. She's done it again!

Thanks for these reviews, ladies.

I'm going on a virtual book tour in the month of May, which means that several bloggers all over the Internet will be reading the book and posting about it. Many of these reviewers are unfamiliar with my work and know very little about the history of the LDS Church, so I'm curious to see how the book reaches a non-LDS audience. Stay tuned for the URLs to the locations of these blogs as they pop up in May.

The Reality about My Reality Shows

Okay, so, you're all ears to hear what I'm thinking.

Marissa didn't go home, and I'm glad. I think she deserves another shot. However, it's sad to see Perpetually Happy Steve Gutenberg go. He showed a lot of improvement this week, and his number with Jonathan was absolutely hysterical. He'll be missed.

On to American Idol . . .

I really enjoyed Carly tonight. I've always loved her voice, and it was hard to pick my favorite performance of the evening, but I pick hers.

David Cook can do no wrong, in my opinion. He's a genuis.

David Archuletta really knocked it out of the park.

Michael still holds a firm place in my heart. Rob is wagering he'll be gone in two weeks, but I still think he's going to make the final four.

Syesha probably made a mistake by singing "I Will Always Love You." That song, while amazing, has been done so much, it's a cliche. She did do it very well and I liked that she tried to stay away from Whitney's version.

Brooke concerned me a little tonight. I thought, like Randy did (even before Randy said it) that she rushed it and seemed a little out of breath. I love Brooke and I love her voice, but she didn't bring it home tonight.

Jason is a cutey-pie and he seems so sincere, but I wasn't loving it as completely as other competitors tonight.

Ramielle did a tolerable job. She looks like one of my Cub Scouts in a dress.

Kristy Lee may have had a good night with it being a country song, but she just doesn't do a single thing on this planet for me.

That being said, I know I've ranked Ramielle above Kristy Lee on my personal preference meter, but my wager for who will go tomorrow: Ramielle. There was very little personality and I was pretty bored.

I wonder if Rob has posted his thoughts yet . . .

Dancing with the Stars Update

This season is really getting interesting! Here are my thoughts, independent of what the judges said or how they scored.

My #1 pick for last night was, surprisingly, Priscilla. I was concerned when they first brought her on. That woman is old. But she's been bustin' some moves, and last night's tango was the best of the night. She and her partner Louie brought some sizzle to the dance that none of the other couples did, and I was downright impressed.

Next on my list is Kristy. She and Mark are doing a great job, but the judges did hit the nail on the head -- technically she's awesome, but she needs to bring more emotion to the dances.

Now, the judges didn't care for Mario's performance, but he and Karina came in third, in my book. The guy is good. That's just how it is.

Shannon did a great jive. I thought it was funny that the music director chose music with the lyrics "Don't drink, don't smoke -- what do you do?" for this number -- Shannon's partner Derek is Mormon and doesn't drink or smoke. She's showing a lot of improvement.

Cristian is one manly Latin dude -- and is really stepping it up in this competition. He and Cheryl were given dumb music, but they did a good job, nonetheless.

Jason is an awesome performer and has a natural ability, but his performance last night was a little lackluster, compared to what we've seen up until now.

Marlee is doing an excellent job, but the others were a bit better last night. She's not going to get eliminated any time soon.

Marissa is also doing a good job, but her jive was a little dull. She's got a great personality and it should have gone over a lot better last night, but I'm worried that she's in a little trouble. In fact, even though I'm ranking two other dancers below her, I think she's going to be the one to go tonight.

The last two dancers on my list are Steve and Adam. They both did a great job last night, compared to how they've done in the past. Anna was sick this week, so her husband Jonathan taught Steve how to tango. Steve picked it right up and says he'd rather dance with Jonathan from now on.

Adam totally cracked me up. He said he'd gone online to learn the origins of the tango and discovered that the dance is about pimps and prostitutes. (Interesting . . . ) Samantha Harris asked him how it felt to be taught about sensuality by a nineteen-year-old girl (his partner, Julianne, is just nineteen and he's many years her senior. He's already commented that he thinks it's weird) He turned on the comedic charm and said, "You know, my grandfather always told me that if I wanted to learn an Argentinian dance about pimps and prostitutes, I should talk to a nineteen-year-old Mormon." (He wasn't criticizing our religion; he was saying, what on earth would a Mormon know about that?) After the laughter died down, he said to Julianne, "Oh, are you Jewish? Oh, I'm so sorry. This is uncomfortable. I thought for sure you were a Mormon." Another round of laughter, which he followed with, "I love the Mormons! I really do!" I laughed so hard -- after all the negative press the Church has gotten during this political campaign, it was nice to see someone joke in a friendly, non-abrasive way.

So there you have it -- Marissa will probably leave us tonight. I guess we'll see.