Born December 21, 1913, in Winnetka, Illinois, Arnold Friberg is recognized as one of the greatest master painters of modern times. Perhaps his best-known work is the 1975 American masterpiece “The Prayer at Valley Forge” — depicting George Washington praying while the Continental Army winters at Valley Forge.

He also did the pre-visualization paintings for the Cecil B. DeMille film The Ten Commandments , for which he received an Academy Award nomination.

Currently, the exhibit is in Bountiful, Utah. If you are interested in getting the exhibit in your area, you can go here to vote (see the ‘vote’ tab at the top of the page).

For more information about this traveling art exhibit, see here or here.

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A fireside was held to commemorate this significant event. You can watch a rebroadcast of that fireside by clicking here.

The post Blacks and the Priesthood — Commemoration Fireside appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

For some beautiful pieces exploring stories of women in the Old Testament, see this article.

Do you know of other existing art to which we can link? Do you have art of your own you would like to share, or know someone who does? Please email us at ‘mormonwoman’ AT ‘gmail’ DOT ‘com’

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Keep checking back, as they say that they will continue to upload material when possible.

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You see, our darling old 1922 bungalow had grown a bit shabby at the farthest edges of its trim, all cracked and peeling. Over the course of our precipitously precipitatious Pacific Northwest winter, unfortunately, that can wreak havoc on the wood underneath. The weather forecasts foretold just one week left until the rains set in for the year. It was ‘now or never.’ As every painter in the area was booked solid, we found that the only choices were to risk damage to the wood or repaint it ourselves. Naturally, we chose to take it on, with a little help from the guys at our local hardware store.

We purchased two sets of ‘paint eater’ power sanders, lead-rated respirators, and goggles, and set to work sanding off the old paint. All went well until we started getting to where we had to use just about all 28 feet of the ladder, approaching the ridgeline of the roof. My husband did make it up there one time, and he even did some sanding. When he made his way back down the ladder, though, he was blanched and said that he wouldn’t do it again. “It can’t be that bad,” I thought, as I began a climb up the ladder that ended about two-thirds of the way up, where I froze. I couldn’t go up; I couldn’t go down. My arms felt numb, and I had to consciously convince myself to keep breathing.

There we were, with the trim half-done, sanded to the bare wood, and neither of us feeling able to complete the task. There was a panicked round of phone calls to every house painter in the local phone book, of course to no avail. One of the painters even joked that not only could he not come paint my house, he needed me to come paint a few houses for him. That was it – no help to be had. Not being willing to risk the inevitable water damage, we had to figure something out.

We finally decided that since I weigh little more than half of what my husband does, it made sense for me to be the one to go up the ladder, with him steadying it at the base. The solution made sense, but that didn’t make it easy.

As I stood at the base of the ladder, with the bucket in my hand, I knew that it was time, and I knew that it was up to me to get it done. For all my sense of duty, my knees still felt as if they’d slide right out from under me any moment; my hands again were numb; and my heart was pounding such that I could feel my own pulse all through my body. As my free hand made contact with the cold aluminum of the ladder, a shot of adrenaline coursed through my veins. Fear gripped me.

I began climbing slowly. As my head was clearing the first story of the house, though, I just stopped. The slightest shift of my weight sent the ladder jiggling. I was climbing one-handed, as I had to hold the bucket with the other hand. The wind was blowing at me from the side in a most unnerving fashion. I tried playing various mental games with myself to get moving again. Alas, again, I was frozen in place on the ladder. “I have to do this,” I told myself, and, even still, I could not lift my foot to move it to the next rung.

A conversation that I recently had with a friend suddenly flashed unexpectedly through my mind, and I found myself remembering remarks about how, with the Lord to call on, we really can handle anything with grace, acceptance, and peace. I closed my eyes and simply said “Lord, help me take this next step.” The bonds of fear that had held my foot fast were gone. I went up one rung on the ladder. “Lord, help me take this next step,” I prayed again, up one more. “Lord, help me take this next step,” again and again. Soon, I found myself at the top of the ladder.

Through every step of my task, as I called out to Him, the Lord heard those little prayers and sustained me, holding my fear at bay and steadying me for the work at hand. I was taught again that with the Lord to call on, we truly can handle anything that life gives, be it scary, tragic, urgent, tedious, intense, sorrowful, puzzling, or random; be it a life-changing loss or a moment of minutia like a climb up a ladder, He is there, and He hears us, strengthens us, and sustains us.

-by Naiah

Read more First Person essays here.

Would you like to submit a First Person essay? Submit essays to ‘mormonwoman’ AT ‘gmail’ DOT ‘com’.

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My grandmother on my mother’s side has always been a great inspiration to me. She was 75 when I was born and lived another 18 years, so I had a chance to know her and spend some time with her, although we had moved halfway across the state when I was five.

Grandma came to northwestern Oklahoma in a covered wagon from Kansas. She and her husband (who died before I was born) lived in a dugout for some time before they could build a house. They were farmers and raised wheat and cattle.

Life was filled with hard work for Grandma. She cooked and baked on a wood stove for many years. She raised a garden for vegetables, which she canned for the winter. She sewed clothes and household items. She had all the usual housework and childcare (she had 5 children), but also helped some with the farming. Mom used to tell me about how Grandma and Grandpa were always feeding neighbors who were having a hard time – not that they had much either. People knew that if they were out of food, they could go to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s at suppertime and would be warmly welcomed and fed. Grandpa would entertain them with conversation while Grandma slipped into the kitchen and made more biscuits and noodles to fill out what they had to eat and everyone had a grand time.

Although not a Mormon, Grandma was a hard worker, a good Christian, a good wife and mother, and a good neighbor. When we went to visit her, she always prepared wonderful meals and had our favorite sugar cookies baking when we arrived. Her custard pie was out of this world. She greeted us with smiles and hugs and I never saw her being angry or upset. She was always bustling around doing something, and happily talking to whoever was around while she did it.

I can’t imagine having to work so hard – we have so many modern conveniences these days. We do, however, have work that we need to do–housework, church work, service, work outside the home, and so on. When I think of Grandma and other pioneer women and how they managed to do all those things without all the ease we have today, it inspires me to try to be more like them – more disciplined and yet cheerful, happy and content with what I have. I appreciate history – family and church – that tells me about these wonderful, hard-working women. They are good examples to me and inspire me to be a better person.

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Find answers to some frequently asked questions here.

If you are interested in knowing more about the purpose of temples, you can go here and here for some articles and talks about temple worship and the purpose of temples. Find articles and talks about the endowment here. You can read more about the temple garment here.

You can browse content about temples on our site here, and read some people’s thoughts and feelings (or share your own!) about the temple here.

You can see a map of completed and dedicated temples around the world here.

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“How the gospel impacts and influences my life”

Adversity/Trials

Agency

Charity

Conversion

Covenants

Education and Learning

Eternal Identity

Eternal Perspective

Faith

Family

Gender/Gender Roles

Healing

Homemaking

I am a Child of God

Jesus Christ

Joy

Living with the Spirit

Marriage

Motherhood

Personal Revelation

Prayer

Priesthood

Purpose of Life

Relief Society

Repentance

Scriptures

Self-Worth

Service

Sisterhood

Spirituality

Temple

Unity

Virtue

Vision

Womanhood

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