The Brooklyn Bridge

I would love to share a bit of what I have learned. I pray that as I testify, the Holy Ghost will be in your heart to teach you the tidbit of Gospel that you need in your home this week. To me, the Holy Ghost feels like a warm swelling in my heart, which is similar to the feeling of heartburn I get after eating a meal like the one on Thanksgiving. So, sometimes it’s hard to tell. But, if we listen, the Holy Ghost will quietly testify to you in a way that is specific to you. This is how we learn truth. I am Brooklyn Tanner, Jonathan is my husband. I am from Murray, a suburb in south Salt Lake, and fabulous Jon is from fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. We met as missionaries in Matsumoto, Japan. We worked in the same ward for the very last month of Jon’s time as a missionary. We were friends there, but I never really expected to see him again. However, I came home about four months after him, just in time for his spring break trip to Arizona. He called and asked me for a ride to the airp...

When Jon and I began dating, my father was impressed with  a him immediately. So impressed, he worried just a bit about my  chances. He told him, "You so know she comes from clown stock, right?" Jon just laughed and continued to support me in my work and pursuits. That is when I was able to recognize he started showing his love  for me, just how I was and what I was trying to be. I recognized it because that is the type of love I feel from Heavenly Father. Kind, unconditional, and supportive. Another way Jon shows me he loves me every day is by communicating with me well. He let me know how he feels and what he is thinking thoroughly, concisely, and consistently. We are able to be or get on the same page because he communicates so well.  I also feel love from Heavenly Father because He communicates with me, and allows me to communicate with Him.  In prayer, we can report to Him all our feelings and happenings. In prayer we can express thanks, and faithfully as...

Returning missionaries compare going home from the field to death, which is rather dramatic. We have built this new life, and sometimes a new person based on that little white book and big-deal of a blue book. We are on a now-familiar, stringent 16-hour work schedule and most of us have come to really enjoy it. We are blessed with plenty of time to study the gospel and many opportunities to bear testimony. You are doing all that one day, and then tomorrow comes and you step off an airplane into another world, different from the new environment and loved ones you have grown in and close to. It's all snatched away at once. It's kind of like...going on a mission in the first place! Ahahaha, everything is an interesting eternal round. I didn't quite feel like I died  coming home, but it was very strange. The mission seems like a short, wonderful, weird dream I had.  The good news is, it was real! Real, just like real life; the mission was exciting, beautiful, very diffi...

Intro Good morning Brothers and Sisters, I am so grateful to be able to call you that. The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful family. Brother Dallas Anderson and I get to speak today because we have been called to serve as missionaries for this, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. On Wednesday, October 1, we report to the Missionary Training Center at 12:30 to prepare to preach this gospel in our respective areas. I have been assigned to labor in the Japan Nagoya mission. How exciting! I think we can agree that we have received an outpouring of loving support from our families, our ward and friends visiting today. Thank you for being generous with your love, morale, and advice. I have wanted to serve a mission since I was pretty young and in Primary. Now that it is at last and yet all of the sudden here, I think I finally know why I want to go.  In 3 Nephi 27:21, Jesus is commands the people to be like Him: 21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospe...

Me, Teagan, Alyssa. Two of my best friends, the day Teag got her mission call. This weekend I was doing a show at a seven-year-old's birthday party, and as I was setting up, I noticed the middle of a scene. Two of the party guests seem to have a minor quarrel, which ended in "Fine!" from the first girl and "FINE!" from the one talking with her. I'm not sure what happened, but that second grade drama is serious stuff, as many of you know. As the show went on, they laughed and had a good time but did not sit by or talk to one another. At the end, all the kids sit in a circle to meet and pet the rabbit. Bitter Girl tried picking up the rabbit and stumbled with how to hold it. Ex-friend immediately (out of habit, I infer)  helped her and showed her how. They paused and (no longer) Bitter Girl said "Do you want to be friends again?" And Helper/Healer Girl said, "Yeah, let's do it." And bam. Besties again. How easy was it for these ...

This was a very, very fortunate random grab off the "Featured" shelf at my library. Sentence-Synopsis:  An explanation of common autistic behaviors through an extensive interview with a thirteen-year-old autistic boy. At only 193 pages, this was a two-hour read, which became two important hours of my life. Naoki answers the questions about autism honestly and fully, providing unexpected understanding for an outsider. The active effort to understand and love each other is essential, and this book provides another opportunity for that. It reminded me that as I go on my mission, it isn't "my" mission. My mission is for others, for the people in Japan. To love them, understand them, and render service to them the best I can.  The Reason I Jump  is a gentle, wonderful reminder to simply follow a commandment: Love One Another. Overall Grade:  A Disclaimers: No controversial or adult material.

A Reflection of my Religion 101 Class, with a rather pretentious but honest-as-possible ending. As soon as I started registration for college, I asked the counselor if there was a Religions of the World class. I was eager to take it because I plan on serving an LDS mission in the fall. I wanted to know as much as I possibly could about what other people were thinking before I went out and told them my way was better. The two most memorable phrases Dr. Anderson has ever said to me came on the first day of class. First, “What the hell is Religion?” I thought it was witty and ironic, and I liked to think I understood witty humor and was cool enough to nod in comprehensive laughter.  Religion is a system comprised of people with similar belief, with rituals to enact those beliefs. Religion is a community, a therapist, and an inspiration. Religion is controlling, violent, and destructive. These are all things Religion can be, and have been. Learning about all these denominati...

Hello. My name is still Brooklyn. When the Stake Presidency asked me to share some of my thoughts and feelings for eight minutes, I was really excited. However, I believe it is very impossible for any 18-year-old girl to comprehensively explain her feelings in eight minutes. And besides, you wouldn’t understand. All drama aside, I chose just a few passionate feelings and I’m grateful to share them with you today. I will begin by introducing myself a little, just in case some of you don’t follow me on Twitter. I am Brooklyn Brewer from the Hillcrest Ward, my daddy Paul and I do magic shows, my beautiful, amazing mother Jodi teaches dance classes, and my baby sister Katelyn makes really delectable cupcakes. I go to school at Westminster College, where I major in being a Freshman, which means I have no idea what I want to do with my life yet.  However, I do know who I am. Which I think is a good first step.  I am a child of God. God is my Heavenly Father and He loves me...

That's about as new as twenty-fourteen me gets, and that's my satirical slam on society for the day. I don't do New Year's Resolutions. I don't make them either. Now before you write me off as a snob hipster, which you're free and probably entitled to do, read my rant since you're already here and internet-wasting time. First, Nearesos seem impulsive. There is ALL THE MUCH going on in November and December such as recovering from Halloween's awesomeness, deciding how you feel about Christmas music, eating too much, NaNoWriMo, pretending to study for finals, frantically "shopping" for gifts even though you're broke as a joke (thanks Kate) and have no idea what your family could possibly enjoy, working ridiculous hours, deciding how to make your one party dress look different at each party, contemplating on conforming to ugly sweater day, and then shifting into quality family time mode and magically getting along with everyone. So by the tim...

So. In true Brooklyn fashion, I committed to a project, started it a day late, made it look like I was going strong complete with pictures, and then waited until the morning it was due to finish it. Yay. Therefore, if any of you invisible audience members were looking forward to reading all my Thank You chapters, you should seek a new hobby. NO. I joke, I mean I'm sorry. Sorry. It's crazy to think I'm so blessed that I won't even be able to list MOST of the things I'm grateful for. I present, Chapter 3-28: Abridged. 3. Dear J.K. Rowling, thank you for the magical world my heart calls second home, and for creating a story about real magic. Love, Brooklyn. 4. Dear 1970s Clariol Kindness Hot Rollers, thanks for being there daily to calm the storm. Love, Brooklyn. 5. Dear Musical Theatre, Thank you for making my mornings theatrical,  letting me dance through high school, and making me cry at the gym. Love, Brooklyn. 6. Dear Clocks, thank you for giving me someon...

"Phineas, when did you change your shirt?" This was definitely one of the silliest, cheesiest, and most fun plays I've been in. I was such a little sophomore and felt so proud of my first "female romantic lead" when really I was they only one who actually wanted  to do it. Ha ha! This was the cutest play written in part by one of my favorites, Carrie Finlinson, making light satire about our city of Murray and small quirks of our church. It's a really sweet story that spins off of Shakespeare's "A Comedy of Errors." Phineas and Phineas were separated as infants when a tractor hit their tour bus, sending Dad and Phineas into Preston, Idaho and Mom and Phineas into good old Murray, Utah. The boys grow up, Mom and Phineas in the church, but he's having doubts because he's gotta maintain that Legend-In-His-Own-Mind Image. Phineas of Preston seeks out to find the rest of his family, meets the missionaries, finds his mother without realizi...

Today is a day full of love. It is the Sabbath day, a day about our Savior, who has infinite love for all of us. Some of us go to church with people we love and who love us. And it's also Mother’s Day. Mothers are without a doubt among the most loving people I know. These are just a few of the mothers I admire: Molly Weasley: I admire her because she will do anything to protect her children from the harm or influence of evil. Liz Jorgensen: Liz is one of my favorite friends. She also loves Harry Potter, like I do, so she's automatically super neato. Liz never loses faith. She's currently going through a very serious time with her newborn son, Eli (you can read her blog here ). However, she is the happiest, most positive person I know. She continually glorifies Heavenly Father for every small blessing in her life. She loves her family and is completely dedicated to them.  Mary Williams: Mary dedicates her life to loving everyone as if they were her family. Mary w...

Sometimes I speak in church and it's fun. This is basically all I have for an entry this month. Love everybody! Hello! I’m up here today to talk about living. Living is something we do every day of our lives. If we do so righteously, Heavenly Father has promised us eternal life. What an amazing Father we have. Living righteously consists of an ongoing process: knowing, doing, and becoming. Know Heavenly Father has given us exceptionally ample resources to gain knowledge on what to do in this life, including His holy scriptures, words of the prophets, pamphlets, testimony meetings, General Conference, Seminary, Institute, Sunday School, home and visiting teaching, and the beautiful opportunity to pray. I know prayer is such an incredible gift, because we are able to sincerely ask and allow Heavenly Father to personally answer what we need to know at any time in our lives. In Genesis 3:22 , we read... The knowledge between good and evil truly is a blessing, and learning is...