"Dad, I don't have any friends at school... because of my Aspergers."

"Dad, I don't have any friends at school. I think it is because I am different because of my Aspergers."

It was a situation I knew one day we would face. We knew our oldest son Garren was different from a young age. He read really early and really well, he would talk nonstop about facts and figures of things he was interested in, and when with other children he was perfectly content playing independently. Once Garren started first grade we had confirmed that he had Aspergers.

Young kids were generally patient with his quirks and he had good friends at school that we were also friends with outside of school. Now he is facing more serious consequences in our new home in Arizona.

Last night Mom was at Homemaking and me and the kids were just sitting around the living room talking. Then Garren says, "Dad, I don't have any friends at school. I think it is because I am different because of my Aspergers." I didn't know what to say, and honestly would have cried if I opened my mouth. I just smiled at him.

I need some advice; how do I help my son gain the confidence in himself and create meaningful friendships at school?

Meet the Mormons (2014): Mormon Movie Review

 

(Grade A)

   I didn’t intend on seeing the Church’s new film, Meet the Mormons right away. I wanted to see it, but didn’t see the need to view it in the theatre. Who wants to pay nearly $20 for you and your date to see a 70 minute I’m a Mormon commercial? Then I saw the invitation from Jeffrey R Holland.

Read the Full Review…

Guest Post: General Conference Traditions

My beautiful wife shares some of our General Conference traditions. She has started a blog of her own sharing her side of the story when it comes to how she experiences this Mormon life. You can also read my General Conference post from last year.

I LOVE traditions! And I love General Conference. Every 1st weekend of April and October a General Conference is held where our dear prophet and other church leaders speak to us. And I truly believe that Thomas S. Monson is a real prophet who speaks for The Lord. Like Noah or Abraham of old. It is a great weekend to get answers to struggles or personal revelation on how we can better come unto Christ. It's always inspiring. I always feel the spirit. And everyone is welcomed to listen. They have two general sessions on Saturday and two sessions on Sunday. There is also a Priesthood session Saturday night. Always fun to see the Conference quotes on Pinterest after a session. Love that we can have reminders in our home after conference is over to help us remember the great things we learned.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014): Mormon Movie Review

 

by Grady
(Grade: C+)

I went into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with pretty low expectations. I can safely say it was better that I expected, but not as good as I had hoped.

I think I’ll lead off with the things that went as expected.

First is the overuse of CGI. If you have ever read a review by me you will know I am a big fan of practical effects. Having your five of your main characters be hyper blur martial artists is a discredit to the medium of feature film. It was very good animation, but it was still animation. The plot was very weak and transparent. The only spoiler I will give in this post is that there are no spoilers! Everything happens just as you expect it would.

Read the rest of the article on Mormons at the Megaplex…

Review: 1776 is a Jovial and Musical Tribute to How Our Nation was Founded

(Grade: B-)

I love musicals and I love America! As we approach Independence Day I was hard pressed to find a film that tells they story or the signing of the Declaration of Independence, let alone the Revolutionary War. After much data mining I excavated this gem from 1972…

For the full movie review along with a content guide and spiritual messages to discuss visit the Mormons at the Megaplex.

Millennial Choirs & Orchestras- To Be American: Mormon Music Review

   I have been singing with the Millennial Choirs & Orchestras for about eight years now and we have recorded three full length albums ranging from the birth of Christ to his visit on the American continent.

   MCO’s newest album, “To Be American” is a musical tribute to God & Country.

Get Ready for Summer- Three Hour Block Party Ribs

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Weave Made Media® and Farmland/Smithfield, but all my opinions are my own. #weavemade #ReadySetRibs http://my-disclosur.es/RgFrEH

   With our impending move to Arizona we have been staying with my parents these past few weeks. My mom is an awesome cook, and before I left I asked her to teach me how to make her awesome baby back ribs. When I get to Gilbert I am going to need to impress all our new friends with my BBQ skills.

  Her ribs are surprisingly easy to make. They are the perfect dinner to throw in the oven, head off to your Three Hour Block of church, and come home to a meal ready to slap on the table. Or you can grab a knife and separate the ribs and serve them at your Summer Block Party.

Are Church Disciplinary Councils Necessary?

I am attending BYU-Idaho Online and I was given an assignment to write a persuasive essay on a controversial topic. While my writing contains statements made by them, I cannot speak for their intentions, personal testimonies, or worthiness. Thanks for all of you who offered feedback and critique as I wrote this and I hope you enjoy the finished product. If you did, you might also enjoy my other post that has a poorly veiled reference to Dehlin, The New Anti-Mormon Campaign.

New Content Week to Kick Off the Summer!

There are a lot of exciting things going on this summer at This Mormon Life. We have a whole bunch of new content to share with you and we thought we would jam it all into a single week! Every day we are going to give you a new post about some awesome things to talk about. We have some news, movie reviews, personal stories, and some tips to enhance your summer!

Here is what we have on the schedule:

• Sunday: With all the Excommunication hoopla going around we weigh in on the subject with a paper I wrote for school.
• Monday: It’s time to party! I share my Mom’s recipe for Three Hour Block Party Ribs.
• Tuesday: Edit (I moved to Arizona this day and my “To Be American” article posted after midnight)
• Wednesday: Are you ready for your Independence Day Soundtrack? We will share with you the latest offering from the Millennial Choirs and Orchestras featuring Glenn Back (in the mean time check out their other offerings).
• Thursday: Get in the mood for Independence Day with our review of a lost Revolutionary film gem. My favorite Revolutionary film is The Patriot, but this one is good for the whole family.
• Friday: A lot of you know about our impending move to Arizona and the medical condition my daughter Ginger has. Let us bring you up to speed of how things are going.
• Saturday: Can you believe some guy got ran over for saving a pew in church!? Stay safe on the Sabbath by reading our rules for protecting your pew!

To find out when we post our newest articles follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Bloglovin, you’ll be glad you did.

With the Price Increase, is Disneyland Still Worth it?

   Recently, Disneyland “adjusted” their prices. A lot of people were up in arms about the increase. I wrote to Disney and asked them what justified the price change and in response they invited me to come visit the park as their guest to see for myself.

   Disneyland has always had a special place in my heart. When I was young my grandma would take all the grandkids to Disneyland every summer. I was scared of a lot of the rides so I actually spend a lot of time with her as she watched us from the sidelines in her wheelchair. I asked her once, “Grandma, does it ever make you sad that you can’t go on the rides?” “Gradypoo,” she responded, “seeing your smiling face and knowing I put it there is all the happiness I need.” Grandma has been passed away for nine years now, but this is a lesson I have never forgotten and tried to honor on our adventure at the Magic Kingdom.

I Have a Baby Named Ginger and She is so Brave!

   This is my baby girl Ginger. She was born right on time with a healthy birth weight. Her birth did have some excitement and she lived in the NICU for a few weeks before coming home. Since then we have spent the last nine months seeing doctors and specialists trying to figure out what happened and why she is “failing to thrive.” It has been a hard and difficult process and we have had to endure countless inquiries from well meaning individuals. “Was she a preemie baby? Are you feeding her enough? etc” Finally, we have a diagnosis, but we are seeing that this is only the first step to the trying journey ahead.

I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go… even Arizona

   In February we visited the Gilbert Arizona Temple Open House. Being from Southern California, with 4 temples within a 100 mile radius of home, we figured it would be one of the last opportunities for our children to enter a temple until they turned 12. (The age when children can go to the temple and participate in a limited amount of service.) It was a wonderful experience. Hundreds of Thousands of visitors were able to tour the temple grounds and interior before it was dedicated. It was much more than expected so the kind ushers tried to nudge us along the tour. After a 6 hours in a car with four kids under the age of nine, we were going to take our sweet time.

You Should Record a Podcast with Me

 

Twice a month I record a Podcast for This Week in Mormons called the Third Hour of Power. It is a brief 15-20 minute show where we discuss the upcoming lessons from the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church.

I am always looking for new co-hosts to join me for an episode or two. People who make good hosts have a testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we able to communicate at an 8th grade level.  You don’t need to be a “scriptorian”. We like guests who have an online presence with fans who would enjoy seeing you talk about the Gospel.

An Open Letter Apology to Tyler Glenn of the Neon Trees

 

Mormon vocalist for the Neon Trees, Tyler Glenn, announced himself as Gay in a recent article for Rolling Stone. I formed an opinion about Tyler before understanding all the facts. I wanted to apologize to him.

Brother Glenn,

I highly doubt you will ever see this, but I also doubt you were aware of my reaction so I call it even. Me and my family are big Neon Trees fans. Your albums have saved out sanity when it comes to family friendly music options that are hip and cool. After a recent Cub Scout Meeting my oldest son and I went out to dinner and ended up singing Animal on Karaoke.

“Be in the World…” Why I was in a Male Beauty Pageant

 

   Some of you loyal followers may have noticed my content has been lacking as of late. Now you will know why. Last night I competed in a Male Beauty Pageant called Mr. Fountain Valley.

   How did I get roped into that you ask? Because I’m a Mormon! Let me explain, a few months ago I was getting ready for Church and listening to Sunday School Bonanza. The hosts were talking about how faithful Latter-day Saints should be more involved in their communities and referenced an old talk by M. Russell Ballard.

Date Night: She is More Than Just Your Kids’ Mom

   Growing up I used to always look at our Stake directory. I love maps and they had one of every ward! In the calendar section I remember seeing an icon of a man and woman dancing on every Friday night. Above it in bold all caps were the words DATE NIGHT!

   Flash forward 18 years, now married with children, and our relationship wasn’t as strong as it could have been. We wanted to add strength to our relationship. Part of our plan was to go out with a "power couple" in the ward. You know, the ones that are always chosen as the witness couple at ward temple night? We wanted to pick their brains and find out what they were doing to be successful.

Introducing Our New Podcast: Third Hour of Power

        

   We’ve all been there.  Opening Exercises in priesthood has ended, all the old guys and youth depart to class, and it’s time for Elder’s Quorum.  The Presidency bounces around trying to abdicate who is actually teaching that day and the least persuasive guy gets stuck with the lesson.  He proceeds to invite someone to read a paragraph and follows up with, “Does anyone have any thoughts on that?”  Being met with crickets, calls on another reader.  Then you rinse and repeat for 20 minutes.  Third Our of Power is our solution for you!

Lone Survivor (2014): Mormon Movie Review

Quality:

   Based on the true autobiographical story of Marcus Luttrell and Seal Team 10 who set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious al Qaeda leader Ahmad Shahd, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare. As you might be able to tell by the title of the movie, things don't go well.

New Content Week: A New Blog Post Every Day!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

   It has been a while since my last blog post.  Sometimes life gets busy and we start to forget.  Yesterday I posted an article I wrote about things I wish my Mission President told me at the end of my mission.  You should read what he did say instead.  That post has gotten some great responses and I’m getting excited again!

5 Things I Wish My Mission President Told Me Before I Went Home

   When I was completing my mission I was looking forward to my departing words from my Mission President.  When my Mission President arrived in the mission I had already been out a year.  There were some false rumors about me, founded in actions of my companion after I left an area, spreading through the mission.  Because of this, we didn’t really start off on the right foot and it was a rocky experience for the remaining 12 months.

   I had heard great stories of sage counsel given to a missionary “returning with honor” and this was my moment as we sat in the airport terminal alone together.  Finally boarding began.  He shook my hand, looked me in the eye, and said, “Elder Kerr, don’t go inactive.”  The words grate on me still today.