The saddest news just reached me: Our beloved prophet, Gordon B Hinckley, has left us at age 97. For twelve years he has been the most exemplary leader for the Church, and he will be missed. Here is the full story: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/ In this state of mixed emotions I shed a lot of tears; I am sad, and feel a great void, because of his passing; but there are also tears of gratitude for what he has accomplished, and also happiness that he now has come home

Last week I taught a few Institute of Religion classes at Bolliaden, a Young Adult conference in the Church. The theme of the conference was Walking on the Straight Path. The students brought a good spirit and the participation level was high. Like I often say, I feel privileged to teach in such settings, especially since I feel as though I have been taught just as much – if not more – as my students. Our discussion came to focus a lot on faith, as being the opposite of fear.

I know I posted a different Christmas card earlier, but I (and the family) can’t help sending this second one (with a photo by courtesy of the Nativity Story, a motion picture from 2006). To me this photo is amazing. I am filled with so many thoughts and emotions when looking at it. I don’t even know where to start – so just feast your eyes on it and let yourself go. In the past weeks I have met many people in different circumstances. Most of them are more or less stressed by

A week ago we lost one of our oldest, but dearest members of our congregation, Agnes Traviss. Yesterday her funeral was held. Until my release two months ago, I had been her bishop for several years. I had truly enjoyed her company. She always wore that gleaming smile on her face that would make you forget your own worries for a moment. Often when I looked at her from the stand I thought about her life as a single woman, struggling to get by. She had had many reason to compla

Last week I attended a CES Conference. At one point a friend and colleague gave all the participants a few minutes to write a personal psalm. I’m not a poet, I know, but I was still glad to have a few solitary moments to clear the world from my mind and write these words of gratitude. For the wonders of the earth, I adore Thee For the light in heaven, I see Thee For the glories of thy creations, I admire Thee For the blessing of family, I honor Thee For the companionship

I had a tricky lesson recently. The text was taken from the first half of Leviticus (Old Testament), and dealt a great deal with the sacrificial offerings the Israelites were commanded to perform. Understandably, some of the students were… how shall we put it… a bit nauseated by the description of these offerings; blood sprinkled on the altar and intestines being cleaned, etc, didn’t appeal to all students. For these reasons I tried to minimize those part, so as not to gear o

One of my duties as a CES Coordinator is to visit teachers and students in their various classes, assisting with administrative matters. Last night, as I met with a class in central Sweden, I spoke at length with the teacher about her recent family tragedy. Her twenty-one year old son had passed away a month ago in a motor accident. She explained that even though there had been many tears and a feeling of void in their lives, there had still been light – even peace. I asked h

Recently I was out walking with my baby girl. When we entered our favorite forest path, she rapidly nodded off to sleep as the carriage softly swayed back and forth. Lucky me, I thought, time for a photo shoot. It was a beautiful day and I had my camera ready with a 100mm macro lens. I enjoy the forest immensely. There is a special feeling there that I can’t put my finger on. This is the first image a took (arranged a little in Lightroom) At the edge of the forest we reached

I was captured by some autumn motives today. This is one of them. When I saw this yellow tree I got what may seem to be a silly thought, but nonetheless… How does that birch tree feel? I mean, she stands there showing her bright colors, in the middle of everything, sticking out from the rest? Does she feel out of place? No. It can’t be. Just look at her! See how she stretches towards the sky, how she waves to us with her beautiful color, projecting her branches for all to see