If Shaun had a personal motto, it might be this: "Everything! Now!" He's a published author with an MA in writing and years of teaching experience, a world traveler who speaks some of half a dozen languages, a serious adventurer, rock climber, skier, sheriff search and rescue volunteer, EMT-B, RM, etc. He has held nearly every position available in a singles ward and then some, and currently teaches elders quorum.
Jul 2 2003
Whether you’re a teenager, an adult, or a senior citizen, if you want to spend the rest of your life happy, then I recommend that you ask yourself one important question every single day. Do it after you wake up every morning, stumble into the bathroom, and look yourself in the mirror. Ask yourself, “Am [...]
Jun 12 2003
In many LDS circles, singles over 25 are considered old. 27 makes them a “menace to society.” 30 and stake leaders start suggesting a special fast. Divorcées might more often escape the curious glance and probing question “So, what’s your fatal flaw?” but they’re still single and in danger of missing out on some of [...]
Jun 12 2003
Do you ever get the feeling that something just doesn’t fit the way it should? Do you notice people who don’t behave the way that has always made sense to you? Do you feel frustrated or angry because life hasn’t yet measured up to your expectations of the arrangement? Has it ever occurred to you [...]
Jun 12 2003
Psychologists and philosophers will tell you that two powers alone make the entire human race tick, that two motivations determine all actions – Love and fear. Others would call love the life force – the natural inclination to grow and learn, the will to survive and thrive. The only reason to avoid the sheer joy [...]
Feb 16 2003
Several years ago while serving as elders quorum president for three university wards combined for the summer, I faced the challenge of motivating our quorum members to wake up early enough on a Sunday morning to attend nine o’clock priesthood meeting. After consulting with my counselors, we decided the best thing we could do was [...]
Feb 10 2003
The biggest trouble with good advice is that we so often fail to take it.
It’s not your fault, though…okay, it is your fault, but who can blame you? The simple fact remains that despite any amount of good advice we may receive, we humans still have to learn life’s lessons for ourselves.
Someone else may have [...]
Nov 26 2002
“And also,” wrote Josette from somewhere in France, “I don’t agree with political mails on this file.” This came in one of a dozen emails about voting and politics from the LDS singles email group I joined a few months earlier. “I thought that this forum my brothers and sisters was totally unbiased,” agreed Nunda [...]
Nov 11 2002
You know all the answers to junior Sunday school questions by heart: pray, read the scriptures, keep the commandments, Jesus. There’s a good reason for the repetition: these are the best answers to nearly every problem you will ever face throughout your life.
President Hinckley added what ought to become another answer in your repertoire in [...]
Nov 7 2002
Carrie looked a little worried. She looked a little tired all through dinner at my uncle’s house. I noticed because I had always loved my little cousin like another little sister.
On her twelfth birthday, I hid candy all around her room and filled her ceiling with a glow-in-the-dark universe. When she turned on her ceiling [...]
Nov 5 2002
The LDS play “Saturday’s Warrior” seems to have as many opponents as it does fans. “That’s so fake!” detractors will say, “We didn’t promise one person in the premortal existance that we’d find them on earth and get married!” Then for good measure, they’ll toss in a prophetic paraphrase: “Any two righteous people can marry [...]