Fun Facts for October General Conference 2025

Posted on October 13, 2025 by treeoflifemama
Credit for All Photos of Conference Speakers and Images from it above and below: churchofjesuschrist.org

It’s time to play Fun Facts October 2025 General Conference! If you don’t know what that is, that is the semi-annual conference for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a time when we get to hear people called by God to lead the members of the Church, as well as anyone else. They testify of Jesus Christ and preach to us about how to be better disciples of Jesus Christ. This is held and livestreamed every six months, the first weekend of every April and October. So we just had a conference over a week ago. It’s like the Sabbath Day on steroids, spread out over two days. I aim to make it a time of feasting spiritually and physically. More thoughts about that are here.

OK, so that’s about Conference. Now let’s talk about the Fun Facts game. This is a mass-marketed tabletop game that I love. You can read my review of it here. I love it because it generates conversation, laughs, and smiles as people connect over random topics as they answer questions. Every answer is a number. It’s not so much a trivia game, as it is a co-operative game to see if you as a team can figure things out to arrange your number answers in order. If you need the rules go here. After reading the rules, you can probably come up with your own DIY game using paper and pens or mini-white boards and dry erase markers, as well as a stack of question cards.

I like to provide customized Fun Facts questions related to General Conference talks. You can read my questions for October 2024 GC here, and April 2025 GC here.

Image Credit: boardgamegeek.com

Here are the questions for October 2025’s General Conference.

-Elder Gary E. Stevenson talked about two men involved in a conflict who made peace and are now good friends. One is a Muslim imam, and the other is a Christian pastor. They live in Nigeria, Africa, where they have established an interfaith mediation center. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you desire to visit Africa? If you already live in Africa, on a scale of 1-100, how much do you desire to continue living there?

-Sister Tracy Y. Browning spoke about the power of songs in the Children’s Songbook used in Primary. On a scale of 1-100, how confident are you in being able to sing the first verse of any song in the Songbook, without looking at the words?

-Elder Kelly R. Johnson talked about how when he was a child, his family used a cherry tree shaker to harvest cherries. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you like to eat cherry pie?

-Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi wore a lavender tie. How many items of lavender clothing do you own?

-Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi spoke of touring Hill Air Face Base in Layton Utah USA. How many United States Air Force Bases can you name off the top of your head?

Image Credit: amazon.com

-Elder Jaggi spoke of reading aloud to his children the Chronicles of Narnia series of books by C.S. Lewis. How many books by C.S. Lewis have you read?

-Elder Jaggi told the story that President Russell M. Nelson told in am October 2022 General Conference talk who toured a temple open house and noticed an altar in the temple. How many temple open houses have you attended in your life?

Credit for photo of sealing room in Rome Italy Temple from ldsdaily.com

-Elder Kevin Brown wore an orange and yellow floral tie. How many articles of orange clothing do you own?

-Elder Brown said that he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his native Jamaica. He said that Jamaica to him is as the Sacred Grove is to Joseph Smith. He then shared the exact address of the home he was living in when he gained a witness from the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is true. How many addresses of places where you have lived can you recall?

Image Credit: brittanica.com

-Elder Gerritt Gong told a story of learning to make fortune cookies as a young adult, and that he learned that fortune cookies aren’t authentically Chinese. On a scale of 1-100, how much do you desire to learn to make fortune cookies from scratch?

-Elder Gong said that every Sabbath Day, our church holds worship services in how many nations? (195)

-Elder Gong said that our Sunday meetings our held in how many languages? (125)

Image Credit: dinnerin321.com

-Elder Michael Cziesla said that when he left his native Europe to serve a mission in Ogden Utah USA, he discovered green jello and funeral potatoes as popular foods in Utah. On a scale of 1-100, how much you do enjoy eating green jello? How much do you enjoy eating funeral potatoes?

Photo Credit: thestayathomechef.com

-Elder Quentin L. Cook quoted Charles Dickens by saying that today is “the best of times and the worst of times” just as the setting in A Tale of Two Cities. How many books by Dickens have you read?

Image Credit: amazon.com

-Elder Cook said that in the past 36 months, nearly how many people have joined the Church? (900,000)

-Elder Cook said that this amount of 900,000 members exceeds what the Church’s population was during what anniversary year of the Church? (110)

-Elder Cook said the membership of the Church in Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and Latin America grew by what percent? (20)

-Elder Cook said that the membership of the Church in North America increased by what percentage? (17)

-What year did Elder Cook say that Elder Holland, Elder Uchtdorf, and he, Elder Cook, were born, which was the year the Church celebrated its 110th anniversary? (1940)

-Elder James E. Evanson told a story of two service missionaries who met a woman in a park, who eventually got baptized. How many different parks have you visited so far this year?

-Elder Dale G. Renlund wore a pink and purple paisley tie. How many paisley clothing items do you own? How many pink clothing items do you own?

-Elder Renlund’s talk was “Taking On the Name of Jesus Christ.” He spoke of a professorship created by the University of Utah Medical School named after President Nelson, who was a heart surgeon and professor at the U of U. Dr. Robert Selzman is the first person to receive the professorship. Dr. Selzman realized that he wanted to be a kinder surgeon, as President Nelson was, in the operating room. Elder Renlund likened the way that Dr. Selzman took on the RMN (Russell M. Nelson) ethos as a doctor to the way we take upon ourselves the name of Christ when we get baptized. How many parallels did Elder Renlund make between these two pathways? (5) (What are these five parallels? Go here to read and find out!)

-Sister Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus spoke about prophets of God. She wore a purple dress. How many articles of purple clothing do you own?

-Sister Spannaus shared the story from the Bible about a woman who invited Elisha, a prophet, to come eat bread in her home. How many times this past year have you invited someone into your home to “break bread,” aka share food?

-Elder Ozani Farias wore a yellow tie. How many articles of yellow clothing do you own?

-Elder Ozani gave a talk titled “The Book of Mormon—an Immeasurable Treasure on Our Journey.” He gave several facts related to The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

-How old was Joseph Smith when he translated The Book of Mormon? (23)

-What year did Joseph Smith finish translating The Book of Mormon (1829)

-What year was The Book of Mormon published (1830)

-How many days did it take Joseph Smith to translate The Book of Mormon? (less than 75)

-How many missionaries are serving around the world bearing witness that The Book of Mormon is true and that it testifies of Jesus Christ? (over 80,000)

-In how many countries are the missionaries serving? (more than 150 countries)

President Oaks’ talk was “The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

How many temples did President Oaks say that President Nelson announced, as of April 2025? (200)

-How many years did he say that it has been since the Proclamation on the Family to the World was announced by President Hinckley? (30 years)

-How old was President Oaks when he got the news that his father had died? (7) The news caused him to run to his bedroom and cry his heart out. Then his grandfather rushed to his side and told him that he would be his father. President Oaks said that grandparents can fill in the gap for parents. How many grandparents did you have living when you were a child, or have living now as you are a child?

-President Oaks assured us that people can repent in the spirit world after they die. What section in the Doctrine and Covenants tells us this revealed truth? (138) (verses 57-59)

That’s all for now! I hope you enjoyed Conference, and if you missed it, or want to watch again, go here to watch.

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Fun Friday: Turn Homeschooling Into Funschooling

Posted on October 10, 2025 by treeoflifemama
Photo Credit: amazon.com

Last summer I read this amazing book by a homeschooling mom, Sarah Janisse Brown. It’s the book below.

Book Cover Image Credit: amazon.com

Her story is amazing! I’ll have to do a review of it another time, it’s too much to cover here. If you are a homeschool mom, you will love reading it. It’s one of those books that feels like you are enjoying a cozy mug of herbal tea with a cinnamon roll, while you lounge on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. It’s just such a lovely testament of the power of what one woman can do as a Christian wife and mother.

Sarah has 10 biological children and 5 adopted. She was homeschooled herself, which led her to homeschool her own children. While figuring out how to help her daughter with dyslexia, she created a fun way of homeschooling called funschooling.

Here is how to implement funschooling in your home, step by step, with a video explanation below.

Watch her video below to learn more.

Go here to see if funschooling is a good fit for you.

If you go here you can get an ebook from Sarah, for $10, full of homemaking tips, healthy recipes, family bonding ideas. I enjoy it!

Here is a fun article she wrote for a newspaper about chocolate. Then below is a video she did years ago, with her veteran mom advice about life with toddlers.

Her daughter with dyslexia grew up to be a lovely young lady who created a musical about the life of Jesus Christ, called His Story.

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Wellness Wednesday: Crunchy Mom Amazon Prime Big Deal Days

Posted on October 8, 2025 by treeoflifemama
Credit for Images Above and Below: amazon.com

It’s Wellness Wednesday! It’s also the last day of Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days! A few months ago I blogged about the Maria Principle. That’s the truth from the life of Maria Von Trapp of Sound of Music fame. That is the truth that when you have the right material for work or play, life is so much better. So here are some things for work or play that you will make crunchy mom life more enjoyable.

Instant Pot Air Fryer for $46.99

I have a Pioneer Woman Air Fryer that my children gave me for my birthday over 5 years ago. I love mine! It makes it so easy to cook up meat and reheat meat! Just 12 minutes at 400 degrees cooks up to four raw hamburger patties, or 5-6 strips of bacon. If I had to buy an air fryer again, I would buy this one shown above. I love that it has a window to see the food inside. You can do the following six functions with an air fryer: air fry, bake, broil, dehydrate, roast, and reheat. I trust the Instant Pot brand after seeing how well my Instant Pot works so if I didn’t already have an air fryer, I would jump on this deal.

The rest of this list does not include photos because my laptop is being super slow about uploading photos to share so I’m mostly just putting links. Note that none of these links are affiliate, I receive no compensation if you buy the item through the link.

Immersion Blender for $29.77

I have had an immersion blender for years. When you are making soups and want to make sure the soup base is uniformly smooth, an immersion blender is the way to go. This one looks super sturdy with a 1000 W copper motor.

Vacuum

A vacuum that works well is worth its weight in gold for the busy mama. This one looks amazing because it does wet mopping and dry vacuuming.

Magnetic Building Toys

These are so fun! Erin Bates Paine recommends Magnetiles as one of her 5 favorite ways to entertain children without a screen. Go here to learn about that. A basic set of Picasso tiles, a knock-off of Magnetiles, is linked above for $34.99, which consists of 100 pieces. Other magnetic toys on sale are a regular 32-piece Magnetiles brand here for $34.99, Race Car Picasso Tiles for $69.99 are here, and lots more sets are here.

6 Qt. Instant Pot for $59.99

This is one of the best kitchen appliances for a mom ever. It is a pressure cooker that allows you to cook things faster than a crockpot. You can put food in it then forget it, like a crockpot, but it cooks so much faster than a crockpot. Just make sure you always have at least 1 c of liquid when you cook your food in it, otherwise you will burn the food. So, yes, you can have a meaty meal ready in less than an hour without tending to it after you put the food in. My favorite use for it is to put in seasoned chicken thighs or legs, and they cook in less than an hour. Then I throw them in my oven to broil on low for 10-15 minutes to crisp up, and I have perfect crispy and juicy chicken. An Instant Pot can cook rice, cook eggs, make yogurt, cook potatoes, even bake bread or custards. The 6-quart version is on sale for $59.99, 45% off.

Now let’s talk about some fun family board games on sale. These are to help you and your family have less time on screens and more family bonding time, with conversation and laughter. Playing games can lower your stress hormones, increase oxytocin, and gives you fun without eating. The ones below are definitely classics!

Ticket to Ride is $35.99

Ticket to Ride Jr. is $23.99. (I found this thrifting for only $4! My grandsons thoroughly enjoy it.)

Settlers of Catan is $34.49. This is my firstborn’s favorite board game of all time.

Azul is $26.99. It’s so pretty! You can feel like you are building mosaic art with azueljos, the beautiful Portugese tiles.

That’s it for now! I’m sure you can find a bunch more deals over on amazon.

If you want to see my top ten plus items to make mom’s life easier, go here.

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10/3/25 Fun Friday: DIY General Conference Packets for Children and Adults

Posted on October 3, 2025 by treeoflifemama

Happy Friday everyone! I’m hoping to start a new series where every Friday I share something that starts with “F.” Let’s see… I could do fun, faithful, frugal, fabulous, fantastic, funschooling, fashionable, or funny. This is going to be fantabulous!

Today I’m sharing something to do with fun AND faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Since the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is this weekend, I’m sharing how to make fun activity packets to keep children quiet and adults awake during the streaming of the 5 sessions.

For this project you will need:

-plastic page protectors, if you want the pages to be reusable

-activity pages from LDS Church magazines (if you don’t have physical copies of the magazines, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered, see below)

-3 ring binders or clipboards to hold the pages

-dry erase markers

If you have a pile of Church magazines, just search them to find the Funstuff pages in the Friend magazine, or the Fun Stop pages in the For Strength of Youth magazine. Tear them out, put them in the plastic protecter pages, and bind them in a binder or a clipboard. Have them ready for the weekend with some dry erase markers and you are ready to go!

If you don’t have physical copies of the magazine, then go to the Church website and go to the search bar in the upper right.

-type in “fun stop” in the search bar and you will get a page like this, as shown below, or something similar.

Print out the pages you want, cover them with plastic page protectors, add the markers, and have fun with them this weekend.

Here are some other ways to find activity pages from the Church website:

-type in “hidden pictures” to get pages like this

-“funstuff” gives you the following pages shown here

-type in “maze” and get things like these

-use “puzzle” to get pages like these.

You can filter the search choices as well with the terms underneath the search bar, either by “images” or “PDF.”

I hope you have fun with this, and remember, it’s OK for you as an adult to use them too to help you stay awake!

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September 2025 Thrifting Hauls, #thriftingthursday

Posted on October 2, 2025 by treeoflifemama

It’s #thriftythursday! Today I’m sharing what I got for my thrifting trips during September 2025. I did weekly trips to find a flowy white skirt, which I’ve ben looking for all summer. I haven’t found one yet and now it’s fall. Sigh. Fall is not really a time to wear a white skirt. Along the way of not finding a skirt, instead, I’ve find all this other fun stuff, mostly clothes and books, and a few other little things. (Over here is what I found in May, June and July, and here is August’s.) I’m just about to the point of giving up on finding one at a thrift store and just buying one on amazon or ebay for between $15-$30.

Then maybe I’ll reduce my thrifting trips in October? Do I dare propose that? Once I get my skirt, I only have one thing left to thrift for that I really “need,” which is a lid for a pot that I’ve had since I got married or close to then, and somehow it’s gone missing in from the past move or two. Unless I decide I want to keep thrifting to find books and little games and stuff for Christmas gifts. It would be nice to get my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving, and to find all my giftable things in super nice condition at thrift stores would be amazing.

OK, I’ll talk about the stuff at the very top at the very end of this post. The picture below shows my first September thrift haul.

I just love that tangerine colored top! And the shoes! Both pairs look brand new! Each pair was $6 from the Provo Deseret Industries (DI).

I have been wanting some super comfy casual white shoes that are good for standing and walking in for hours. These are perfect! They are Soft Science brand and still had the price tag, showing that they retail for $74.99. What a great deal!!!!

Some might say they look like nurse/Grandma/dowdy shoes but I don’t care. I think they look great and will go with a lot of my outfits. The clean soles show that they have never been worn outside. They were so pristine that I didn’t wear them for a few weeks after buying them, it just seemed like I should keep them virgin for a time after buying them, LOL. I finally tried them out this past week and loved wearing them!

The pink shoes look brand new as well. They replaced a pair of pink loafers I got about two years ago, which turned out to scuff easily and are uncomfortable. I gave them to Savers after replacing them with the pink ones above. I’m being better about giving away items equal to what I bring in.

Then here are some books above I got from the Provo DI the second week of September. A DK edition of the classic book Heidi!!! I don’t love the art work in the Table Talk book but it has fun ideas about making dinner a bonding family time, which I’m all about. Then the Hebrews for Dummies book to add to my Dummies collection!

Above is what I got when I went to the Provo DI the third week of September. The boots I got to replace the beige boots I got a while ago that are similar but now scuffed up a lot on one of the toes. Then two card decks (Hold to the Rod and the Dad Trivia) to add to our tabletime/culture time card decks. I might save them for Christmas stockings for my husband and me. We’ll see. Then I found a Grandpa Beck card game to play with my grandchildren when they visit, Nuts About Mutts. Then some interesting books.

I got fascinated by Mount Vernon when I toured it as part of a trip with my homeschooling co-op in May 2019, what I call my National Treasure Tour. I just love the fact that Mt. Vernon is not owned by the government but a private association started by a group of ladies.

Notice the price tag on the back cover. It probably came from the Mt. Vernon museum shop, which I visited 6 years ago. I wonder if that price is from over 30 years ago? That price seems low for a brand new book in a gift shop these days!

I’m a sucker for Christmas stories. I do have a lot of anthologies of Christmas stories for adults and children already, so over the past year I’ve been passing up most of them that I see when thrifting. This one though looked great and unusual enough for me to get. See the front cover above and below.

I also had this mini-haul below on another visit the third week. A basket for $1, and the book and the card game for $1.50 each. I love that the basket fabric was so clean. I didn’t have to take it out and wash it like I have with other fabric-lined baskets I’ve bought. I collect Professor Noggins’ Card Games, so I got the one below to add to my collection. So far I have: Art History, Medieval Times, Countries of the World, USA Geography, American Revolutionary War, American History, U.S War Between the States, Science, and Wildlife. I rotate through these for our mealtime games and occasionally use these conversation starters to help with dinnertime fun and bonding.

If you look close you can see a name written in ballpoint pen on the bottom of the card game. I assume that’s the previous owner’s name. So thank you Trish for donating the game to DI so I could pick it up a lot cheaper than on amazon, LOL. Then I got the math book to help me inspire my last remaining homeschooling child (age 16) to enjoy math, especially in the Pyramid Project class that he’s in, which I am mentoring.

Then here’s my last haul, below, the best one of the month. This is the one I did with my married daughter and two grandsons in tow. It had been a long time since I went thrifting with her. It was a quick trip! We met at the Springville DI, and she only stayed for about 15 minutes and then left, and I stayed longer. It was such a great haul for both of us. I was so happy to find the stuff below. I went looking for some fallish looking tops that would look fall with some orange or yellow in them but not be dark/drab/too brown or thick or heavy because it’s still hot outside. I also wanted them to be longer and cover my tummy and bum, as I have, ahem, gained a bit of weight as I’ve let up on being strict keto. It’s time for me to reign it in! These are all perfect to wear until I lose some weight and feel OK wearing my smaller tops that end at the waist. Plus I found two skirts to go with them! I love how the peach skirt goes with two of the tops and the black one goes with all three! This black skirt is a bit different than the one I got in the summer because it is a bit shorter, with knife pleats, so it looks sassier. My daughter said the middle top looks like a nurse’s scrub, which maybe it is, but I still love it and will wear it anyway. I might add some elastic to the sleeves to add cute puckers to the bottom edge of the sleeves.

Now for the books in the photo. My son is into drumming. I figured he probably would already know all the stuff in the drumming book but he could use it in case he wants to teach drumming. Then The King’s Equal is by Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia, which I love so I figured it would be just as good. It appears to be a parable about marriage and gender roles. I can always give it away if I don’t like it, it was only $1.50. Then the Suzuki piano book 1 is to help my last child or any grandchild want to learn piano with Suzuki YouTube music and this book.

Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings I got because the whole family has read it but me. They’ve always read a public library copy. I finally decided it was time to get our own copy. It’s one of those books where I know it would be good for me to read it too to be culturally literate. I’ve tried and just can’t get into it. It was only $1.50. I just have a hard time enjoying fantasy. Narnia and Holly Claus are as fantastical as I get.

Then here’s the story behind the picture book, Prayer for a Child. I mentioned it in my post last Sunday and am copying it and pasting it below, in case you didn’t read that.

About a week ago, I read aloud the book Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field and illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones as part of our Morning Basket time for homeschooling. The book has a page in it with an illustration of children from all around the world, representing different races. I saw it and thought, this image is just so lovely. I wish I could turn this page into a framed piece of art for my wall, but I don’t want to take this page out of the book. I wish I could have another copy.

Here’s the image of children around the world that I want to frame from the book Prayer for a Child and hang on my wall.

For the last few days of this past week, I babysat my grandson who lives in TX (the one who was born 18 months ago, right before the solar eclipse in April 2024). His parents have been in town for a few days to go to the Faith Matters Restore Conference. I agreed to babysit the little guy for Thursday night, all day Friday and all day Saturday while they attended the conference. So I thought of stuff to do with a little toddler in tow. My first idea, after playing with some toys with him, reading to him, and taking him on a walk, was to go thrifting! I texted my married daughter and asked her if she wanted to go thrifting with me. She said yes so we met at the Springville Deseret Industries (DI). Guess what I found? The above book in a board book edition! It’s big and so beautiful! Only $1.50! So now I can break apart the other book and frame that page, plus any others I want to! When we got back from our thrifting jaunt, the first thing I did was read aloud my new Prayer for a Child board book to him. It’s such a gorgeous book, published in 1941. and winner of the Caldecott Medal, for its beautiful illustrations. When I read this book, I picture my mom a as a little girl because this book was written when she was turning 2 that year. I’m recalling a photo of her at that age, where and she looked like the little girl, with blond hair and soft eyes. I just love the glowing, comfy, warm, cozy adoring family life it depicts. It features a prayer worth repeating today, in the midst of all that’s going on, one I hope will resound in the home of every family during this pivotal, divisive time of earth’s history.

Then here are the books I got by trading with books at some Little Free Libraries. My homeschooling son has some classes where I drop him off and then I go on brisk walks while I pass the time while I wait to pick him up instead of going home. I’m much more motivated to go on these walks when I know I can trade out some books. Sometimes you just have to do things to bribe yourself to do habits that are so good for you but boring right? Listening to a podcast or YouTube video and checking out all the Little Free Libraries helps the medicine go down for sure.

The brown book hidden under the Ben Franklin book is like this one below, just a different edition, in a plain brown cover. I can’t wait to read it this winter for some hygge time.

What I passed up: a bunch of tops that were pretty and floral but too big, a bunch of books, including Christmas picture books, because I have so many, a magazine holder/stand with three baskets, and a bunch of games that looked interesting and fun. I have so many games that I’m holding off and not getting more unless they are truly compelling. Thrifting is fun but it can be easy to go overboard and get more than my home can hold so I’m being good at restraining myself.

Want some more thrifting fun?

Go here to see my top things I’ve thrifted for homeschooling.

Go here for other thrifting posts.

I’d love to hear about any of your thrifting finds if you want to share below in the comments. Happy thrifting!

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9/30/25 Tree of Life Mama’s Picture Book of the Week: Scientists of Faith by Christy Monson, illustrated by William Luong

Posted on September 30, 2025 by treeoflifemama
Credit for All Images in this Post: amazon.com

I blogged a bit ago saying that with I wanted to share a few picture books about learning and school, now that the 2025-2026 school year is in full swing.

Today’s book is a beautiful collection of portraits and one-page biographies of men and women scientists. Besides all of these people being scientists, they all share the common bond of having faith in God. This book shows each scientist’s path in different school settings and the kindling of their love of science, which blossomed into significant contributions to the fields of science and/or math.

Here is a summary of the book below, copied and pasted, from amazon.com:

“Help children discover how science and faith CAN coexist in this profound, inspirational picture book biography about 28 scientists who’ve also professed their faith in God.

“Can faith in God and belief in science be compatible? Might science even deepen our wonder at God’s works? Absolutely!

“From medieval physician and Jewish theologian Maimonides (1135-1204) to American immunologist Kizzmekia Shanta Corbett (born 1986), readers will meet thirty-one brilliant men and women from different countries, backgrounds, time periods, and scientific disciplines who all share one thing in common: an unshakeable faith in God.

“You may already know about scientists like Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), the monk-scientist who discovered the hidden world of genetics, and Katherine Johnson (1918-2020), the African-American mathematician finally made famous in the movie Hidden Figures

“And there are some you likely never heard of like American astronomer Maria Mitchell (1818-1889) who discovered a comet in 1847, and Iranian theoretical physicist Mehdi Golshani (born 1939).

“Others include Bienvenido Nebres (born 1940), a Filipino scientist, mathematician and Jesuit priest, and Mary Higby Schweitzer (born 1955), an American paleontologist who found evidence that a T-Rex specimen was a pregnant female.

“Scientists of Faith reveals that faith in God isn’t just compatible with science―it can be a scientist’s most powerful force in the journey of discovery.”

That’s such a great truth! Let’s shout it from the rooftops!

I absolutely love this book! It’s so refreshing to learn about scientists who believe in God. I never heard about that in public school so this book is an absolute treasure to me.

Each two-page spread has a beautiful portrait of a scientist, done by illustrator William Luong, on the left-hand page with a biography of the scientist on the right hand page. The book starts with Galileo and ends with Karin Oberg. Besides all the scientists I have already mentioned, the other scientists in the book are:

-Robert Boyle

-Sir Isaac Newton

-George Washington Carver

-Dorothy Garrod

-Henry Eyring (father of Elder Henry B. Eyring, one of the apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The elder Eyring was a professor of chemistry at Princeton and then the U. of U. The first science building at BYU is named after his uncle, Carl Eyring, another scientist. I took a lot of classes there when I was a student at BYU. The building has a fabulous Foucault pendulum hanging in the foyer, btw. If you are ever in Provo, go check it out!)

-Dame Kathleen Lonsdale

-Guadalupe Ortiz de Landazuri

-Abdus Salam

-Mendi Golshani

-Dame Joeclyn Bell Burnell

-Georgia Mae Dunston

-Peter Dodson

-Aaron Ciechanover

-William D. Phillips

-Francis S. Collins

-Donna Strickland

-Rosalind Picard

-Katharine Hayhoe

-Jennifer Wiseman

-Suchitra Sebastian

-Omololu Fagunwa

Wow! So many names of people from all over the world for us to learn about! It’s just amazing that this book brings to light so many women and non-American scientists. Some of them are Christian, some are Muslim, and some are Jewish. They are all believers in science and God. This book is something rare for sure. It is perfect for use in a homeschooling Morning Basket. So I encourage you to get his book, either from your public library (use interlibrary loan if your library doesn’t have it, that) or from amazon, and enjoy it soon. My library didn’t have it so I requested it through interlibrary loan. Now that I’ve looked at it and read about half of it, I love it enough to buy it. I also love that it has a quote from each scientist with some aspect of faith in God, as well as an open-ended discussion on almost every other page. I’ll be using it in my LEMI Pyramid Project class this year to tell these stories to the youth.

I love the Bible scripture mentioned in the publisher’s note at the very beginning of the book: “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.” -Psalm 111:2. These people show how a curiosity, belief in God, and reverence for God’s creations can be a part of a scientist’s journey.

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RIP Pres Nelson, Black Swans, Pray for the Victims of Today’s Michigan Shooting, and a Tender Mercy Involving a Picture Book

Posted on September 28, 2025 by treeoflifemama
Image Credit: byupathway.org

After I got in bed last night, after my nightly prayers and before I did my nightime reading, I got a text from a friend saying that President Russell M. Nelson had died, around 10 PM, that night. He was 101. So rest in peace dear President Nelson. When I think of him, I think of the fact that he had nine daughters and one son. I think of his career as a heart surgeon. I remember how he studied Mandarin Chinese after hearing President Kimball ask the people in attendance at a meeting where they both were to learn Mandarin, so they could serve Chinese people. I think of my grandmother who was particularly fond of a talk that he gave at BYU, in 1987, called “The Magnificence of Man.” She was so enamored with it that she made copies of it from the BYU magazine for alumni for each of her grandchildren. You can read it here or watch it below. It’s all about the wonders of the human body.

My favorite talk of his was the talk he gave at a RootsTech conference, where he shared the story of his grandfather being visited by the spirit of his deceased father. You can read the talk here or watch it below.

I am grateful for his emphasis on temple work. I am grateful for his example of dedication and service in Christ’s name to God, family, and others. How happy he must be to be in heaven with his dearly departed wife Dantzel and his daughter who died at a relatively young age of cancer.

How interesting that his death happened the same month as the Charlie Kirk assassination and the shooting in a Michigan chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, right during a church service. I am so saddened to hear of that horrible violent event. I’m praying that the victims and loved ones of the victims will find healing and peace despite this trauma, especially those little children who witnessed it.

We are living in times where Black Swan events are coming closer and closer together. Watch this video below of Rod Meldrum with Michael Rush explaining what a Black Swan event is. Charlie Kirk’s assassination definitely counts as a Black Swan event.

Despite the Black Swans that will probably keep coming at a faster rate, we have the assurance from President Nelson that the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ will continue. He told Church members “Wait till next year, and then the next year. Eat your vitamin pills. Get some rest. It’s going to be exciting.”

I also love that he said the following:

“But, my dear brothers and sisters, so many wonderful things are ahead. In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns ‘with power and great glory,’ He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.” (see the full talk here)

I just love that!

I had a mini-miracle this past week, a tender mercy. About a week ago, I read aloud the book Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field and illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones as part of our Morning Basket time for homeschooling. The book has a page in it with an illustration of children from all around the world, representing different races. I saw it and thought, this image is just so lovely. I wish I could turn this page into a framed piece of art for my wall, but I don’t want to take this page out of the book. I wish I could have another copy.

Here’s the image of children around the world that I want to frame from the book Prayer for a Child and hang on my wall.

Then for the last few days of this past week, I babysat my grandson who lives in TX (the one who was born 18 months ago, right before the solar eclipse in April 2024). His parents have been in town for a few days to go to the Faith Matters Restore Conference. I agreed to babysit the little guy for Thursday night, all day Friday and all day Saturday while they attended the conference. So I thought of stuff to do with a little toddler in tow. My first idea, after playing with some toys with him, reading to him, and taking him on a walk, was to go thrifting! I texted my married daughter and asked her if she wanted to go thrifting with me. She said yes so we met at the Springville Deseret Industries (DI). Guess what I found? The above book in a board book edition! It’s big and so beautiful! Only $1.50! So now I can break apart the other book and frame that page, plus any others I want to! When we got back from our thrifting jaunt, the first thing I did was read aloud my new Prayer for a Child board book to him. It’s such a gorgeous book, published in 1941. and winner of the Caldecott Medal, for its beautiful illustrations. When I read this book, I picture my mom a as a little girl because this book was written when she was turning 2 that year. I’m recalling a photo of her at that age, where and she looked like the little girl, with blond hair and soft eyes. I just love the glowing, comfy, warm, cozy adoring family life it depicts. It features a prayer worth repeating today, in the midst of all that’s going on, one I hope will resound in the home of every family during this pivotal time of earth’s history.

Another exciting thing is that I found out today that this same son and daughter-in-law are expecting another baby in April 2026. I’m so happy about that!

I pray that we may each find peace, hope, healing and strength in our Lord Jesus Christ to move forward in faith, despite the scary things going on. May we choose not to give into fear. May we all remember that truly the best is yet to come, because of Christ!

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Tree of Life Mama’s Podcast of the Week: Jessica Smartt on a Welcoming Home with Jennifer Pepito

Posted on September 26, 2025 by treeoflifemama
Images Credit: amazon.com

I absolutely love the book by the author, Jessica Smartt, shown below. I reviewed it here a few years ago. That’s why I’m excited that she was on the Restoration Home podcast this week with Jennifer Pepito. (I love Jennifer’s book that I reviewed over here too.) You can listen to the podcast with Jessica and Jennifer here. Jessica just came out with a new book, shown above, so I’m excited to read it.

Here’s the back of Jessica’s new book to let you know more about it.

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9/25/25 Tree of Life Mama’s Product of the Week: Drawing Textbook by Bruce McIntyre

Posted on September 24, 2025 by treeoflifemama

Today is an amazing, splendid, historic day for me!

Why?

Because I just finished all the 222 exercises in the Drawing Textbook by Bruce McIntyre. Actually, I think I skipped two of the exercises because I wasn’t interested in drawing those particular things. OK, so I did 220 of the exercises.

I started this book so long ago, I’m not really sure of the date. At least ten years ago, back in 2015. Probably before. I started using this book when most if not all of my children lived at home, to be used as a homeschooling topic of study to enjoy together. Watching my mom and my sister develop drawing skills always intrigued me. Both studied art in college, with my sister earning a bachelor’s of art degree in illustration. I’ve always wanted to develop my artistic skills but have hardly taken the time, always feeling like I had more urgent things to do. In high school it was to study for and pass 7 AP tests (not art, but art history was one of the AP tests I passed), then in college it was to graduate with a degree in zoology premed emphasis, then it was have a job at a medical school, then after getting married, it was to rear and homeschool seven babies.

Life somewhat settled down somewhere after 2010 when I started drawing from this book with my children.

Below are the earliest pages I can find, but they aren’t dated. I started dating my exercises later.

I read about this book in the lovetolearn.net catalog, with the description below written by Diane Hopkins, veteran homeschooling mom of 7.

“The concept taught in this book is incredible! Everyone, not just the artistic, can learn to draw realistically just as nearly everyone can read or write. 222 lessons clearly and simply teach hands-on such principles as alignment, perspective, foreshortening, shading, etc. You and your children can master the skill of drawing just like you learned to read—through simple lessons teaching basic skills and practice. I draw the lesson (such as a box in 3-D) step-by-step on a paper or chalkboard and have the children draw along with me on their papers. You will see unbelievable improvement in just a few lessons! Paperback, black-and-white drawings, 60 pages.”

So Diane sold me on the book! I probably bought it when I only had three kiddos, back in 1999 or something. I read the intro and hung on to it for years until I finally dove into it. I loved the introduction that says most anyone can learn how to draw, just like most anyone can learn how to read. Reading is not a skill for the select few. Neither is drawing, argues the author of the book, Bruce McIntyre. He used to be an animator for Walt Disney and has taught many people how to draw. You can check out his site here. He says that the ability to draw is a great way to learn to communicate. I agree!

The outside of the book is not very impressive. It’s just a thin flimsy book with a cardstock cover, and the binding is stapled. Looks can be deceiving! It’s a book that can change your life if you do the exercises!

Anyway, I think I started maybe in 2012? It was an effort to do some study of ” ‘you’ with them,” a variant of the one of the Keys of Education from Thomas Jefferson Education, which is ” ‘you’ not them.” Every day, for a brief time, we did one exercise together, my four younger children and I. But then life happened. I forgot about doing it every day and/or got distracted. Then we moved, and unpacked, picked it up again, then moved again, and then again! If any of you have moved three times in 9 years like I have, or even more frequently, you know what I’m talking about, am I right?!

It was last fall that I got more into it, working on it at least weekly. I asked my son, my last remaining child in my homeschool to do it with me. He balked so I finally agreed to not force it on him, and just do it by myself. Then this past summer I pretty much did an exercise every day.

Anyway, one of my children really took off with drawing. I like to think it’s because of my exposing her to this book, with that brief time over ten years ago when we did it together. She never finished the book on her own but went on to teach herself by studying a variety of other drawing books and YouTube tutorials. Now she draws amazing sketches of human figures.

I highly recommend this book. If your children are interested in learning how to draw, they can learn with this book. If you are interested in learning, you too will learn how to draw. Even if you are like me and take over ten years to get through it!

Here’s the author, Bruce, doing some of the exercises.

I find so much joy in drawing! Making the pencil draw straight lines, meeting in a corner exactly, with another line gives me such a noncaloric dopamine hit. Then using a straightedge, to learn to draw parallel lines to show depth and perspective of realistic objects, is just so satisfying. Then to use my electric eraser, from Daiso (the little blue thing in the photos I show in this post) like a little wood chipper and redraw lines just makes me feel like I’m some kind of carpenter, refining the wood I’m working with, or even a sculptor chiseling away some marble to create a thing of beauty. It just all feels so good! Perhaps it is a way to feel more peace and some bit of control in this crazy world we live in. I feel like I’m following in the steps of my favorite illustrators, including Robert McCloskey, Eloise Wilkins, Jessie Willcox Smith, my artist mom, and my youngest artist sister Emily.

You too can learn to draw! I’m excited to move on to two other books I have in the wings. Even though AI can draw anything I want, I valuable being able to draw the old-fashioned way, by myself.

Here’s a review of the book by my great friend Audrey and her daughter, Avery, below.

I do hope you check it out and learn how to draw too! If you are a sincere seeker of truth and beauty, I know you’ll enjoy this book!

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Patterns and Connections with Charlie Kirk’s Memorial: Coincidence or Not? Are these Significant? Listen. Read, Research, and Then You Decide!

Posted on September 23, 2025 by treeoflifemama
Credit for Image Above and Three Below: Christian Fire Poppy YouTube Channel

Wow, it’s been an amazing three days! Let me explain. It all has to do with connections and patterns through time.

Are there connections between the place and time of Charlie Kirk’s assassination with Judeo-Christian meanings? What was going on in the heavens the day Charlie was shot?

Look at these screenshots above and below and then watch the video that the screenshots come from embedded further down below. I invite you to listen and read and research with an open mind and decide yourself.

Today is September 23. You can write that another way: 9/23. Let’s talk about that set of numbers: 9/23. Charlie Kirk stood for the traditional nuclear family as promoted by the Bible, the source of Judeo-Christian values. Is it coincidence that he was shot at 9:23 Jerusalem time, as shown in the image above?

Is it coincidence that the Proclamation on the Family to the World was released on September 23, 1995? That’s a proclamation issued 30 years ago today by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Proclamation on the Family affirms traditional Biblical teachings regarding the family and gender roles.

OK, now let’s talk about two days ago, September 21, the day of Charlie Kirk’s memorial service. It was on September 21-22 (the visit took place before and after midnight) 1823 that Joseph Smith saw the Angel Moroni, according to what Joseph wrote (you can read it here) and was told about the plates that he would eventually translate into the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Moroni told him that he plates were buried in the Hill Cumorah, near Palmyra, New York. Every year for four years after that, he met up with Moroni where the plates were, on that night Sept. 21-22, for a check-in interview. Finally, on the night of Sept. 21-22, 1827, God knew that Joseph was mature and ready. Moroni allowed Joseph to receive the plates after the annual meeting on the Hill.

Is it a coincidence that Charlie Kirk’s memorial service was held on the anniversary of this date, on September 21, 2025? I don’t think so.

The same day that Charlie’s loved ones held a memorial service for him, September 21, 2025, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rededicated the Hill Cumorah Historic Site. Here are Elder Bednar’s remarks below from two days ago.

Is this all a coincidence?

Also, that day September 21, in 1823, it was the Jewish holiday the Feast of the Trumpets. Learn more about that here. I invite you to ponder what the connection is between the Feast of the Trumpets, Joseph Smith, Moroni, and Charlie Kirk.

Here is more symbolism connected to Charlie Kirk. Look at these asteroids in the image below.

Could it be that this September 21-22-23/the Family Proclamation/Charlie Kirk death and memorial service all point to a revival across the world to add momentum to the gathering of Israel? I invite you to read, listen, and research, and decide for yourself.

Here’s another video to add more insight.

As the Happy Lady in the video above says, “The Shofar (trumpet, from the Feast of the Trumpets) is shaking up September!” Are you listening? Is this part of the gathering of Israel? All coincidence, or not? Please decide for yourself only after you do the research.

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