Change of perspective

Waaaaay different imagery, but I'm sure there's still something we could learn from that parable!
 

Ketchup with the scriptures

When you read the parables, it's good to keep in mind that Jesus used images and situations that made sense to the people of the time. How we think of mustard is radically different than how they did. Likewise, they wouldn't have understood a reference to posting to TikTok.

Lucky them!
 

By the way, General Conference is coming up soon! It's time once again for the Ward Cartoonist's General Conference Activity Pack! Download it, use it for your class, your family or your own personal use!

Ask about the billows

The correct answer: the wind's blue.
 

Sketchbook: Get up and dance

Maybe when they complete the latest revision to the hymn book there we be some tunes that are easy to dance to.

Which hymn makes you want to get up and dance?
 

Going green

I thought about using this idea for Valentine's Day. Running with the idea today mean that I could use the patented Disney Evil Green in the background. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day — stay safe out there!

 

A shocking object lesson

I've been experimenting with some of my drawings, trying some new things. This didn't turn out exactly like I envisioned it, but I think it works OK!
 

Happy feet

As a missionary, there were fewer temporal joys greater than getting fresh new socks. 
 

By the numbers

Have a safe and happy Pi Day. Don’t do anything irrational. Or should we?
 

Sketchbook: Winning isn't everything

But there's a chance still in the Best Supporting Companion. A supportive companion can make all the difference; the converse is also true. 

On a side note, are newspaper vending machines still a thing? I can't think of the last time I saw one. How do missionaries get the headlines?
 

Food for (second) thoughts

I know missionaries do their best to be polite. Elder Long and his companion came to dinner with our family. He tried hard to hide it, but it was apparent that he wasn't enamored of the main dish — nor was he a fan of most of the sides.

As he left, he thanked us for the meal and said, "The rolls were good!"

That's our new standard for feeding the missionaries. Are the rolls good?
 

The way home

Are Cheerios an LDS thing? Do other denominations use different snacks?
 

The bright side

There have been odder places for baptisms, that’s for sure!
 

The main thing

Another entry from the Disney collection. Ever felt like this when you were on vacation?
 

Sketchbook: Spit, spot

Sis. Poppins should be able to take the area to the next level. 
 

Starting out small

This is a rerun, but for a good reason. We have a special baptism coming up this weekend! And he’s the opposite of this — if there were a high dive into the font, he’d use it!
 

What was witnessed in the heavens?

Because what else would missionaries see?
 

Table for four

This was us, only it was a table for seven.
 

When can I be done?

Which is more of a challenge: writing a history for an ancestor, or writing your own personal history? 
 

Sketchbook: One for the books

We were lucky. Yes, the first kid had a ton of photos — but so did the last. Not because we were great documentarians. It was more of a function of changes in technology that made it easier to take photos.

The oldest has albums; the youngest has files.
 

Running on solar energy

Funny, the scriptures talk about how we should be the light of the world. It doesn't say anything about being the heat of the world.
 

Smell of success

I can only imagine what that fragrance would smell like.

We had to run a cartoon about sister missionaries today because today is the birthday of our ward's very own sister missionary, Sis. Imlay! Happy birthday, and thank you for your service!

 

On the other hand...

I struggled with the concept of left and right for the longest time. Then someone pointed out to me that if you hold your hands in front of you, palms out, your right thumb points to your left hand. That clarified everything.
 

Primary prep

A good teacher knows how to make adjustments on the fly. 
 

Sketchbook: Go unto the mount

Not that this ever happened to me as a missionary...
 

And why are they not frozen?

I remember one area where everything we had was frozen. We hung up our laundry to dry — and it didn’t thaw out for almost a week!
 

Primary: The gift that keeps on giving

I know I'm always worn out after we sing Once There Was A Snowman in Primary!
 

Family ties

Another from the Disney series. 

I've never had the experience of picking up the wrong kid. However, when I was about eight years old, I glommed on to the wrong family one time, and as a parent I've accidentally left behind a kid or two for a very short time. And one time as a parent I tried to load the kids into the wrong car. I knew it was the wrong car right away, though. The seats were clean and the floors weren't sticky enough!

 

Over their heads

With all the recent headlines about incursions into sovereign airspace, I wondered who else might need to be careful in their travels.

Have a safe and happy Valentine's Day!
 

Sketchbook: Power of the word

 

Who's at the door?

Primary kids are good about letting you know that you're loved.
 

Cold feet

I can relate. I spent the first month in the mission field frozen solid. 
 

A little deeper

This was in my sketchbook, and my plan was to leave it there. But it kept nudging me, and making me think. 

When I was eight, I was pretty sure I understood what baptism was. Then as a missionary, I learned more and understood more, and saw the change it made in people’s lives. 

Now I’m a little bit older, and I’m learning more and understanding more about this important ordinance. I better understand where Nicodemus was coming from. Like so many things in the gospel, there are layers and levels of meaning. 
 

Halfway there

The new semester just started in our local schools. It's possible I heard this line not from a student...but rather a member of the faculty or staff. Possibly.
 

Sketchbook: Heaven’s Gate

This is less of an outright gag and more of, well, a sketchbook. With Come, Follow Me, we’ve had a lot of discussion on repentance — what it is and what it isn’t. I’ve heard people say they haven’t had to repent for months, yet I hear admonitions from leadership exhorting us to repent daily. 

This much I know: the more we repent, the less time we’ll have to wait in line. 
 

The Family of the Baskervilles

Actually, I think Sherlock Holmes would be an amazing genealogist. He could certainly track down the most hidden of ancestors
 

Down for the count

Sometimes people forget that sitting in a pew at church doesn't make one invisible. It's amazing the things that ward clerks see when they make the count.
 

What is this stuff coming down?

This is the kind of thing we run into all the time in the Pacific Northwest.
 

They'll come home

It's exciting when missionaries encounter a celebrity sighting! P!nk lived in my son's mission; she was always very cordial to the missionaries, he said. I'm sure Bo Peep would welcome them as well.
 

Sketchbook: That was fast

As I was sketching out ideas for the week, I came up with this gag. I thought it would be a fun one to do to go along with this week’s Come, Follow Me. 

Later I was listening to the Follow Him podcast with Hank Smith and John Bytheway, and doggone it if Bro. Bytheway didn’t use This. Exact. Same. Joke. 

Rather than scrap the whole thing, I thought I’d share my story. I could do worse than being on the same wavelength as those guys, even for a little laugh. 
 

One step at a time

 

Yeah. Me, too. 

That's to go, please

OK, I promise this is the last locust-related gag for a while! 

This cartoon brings up so many questions for me! Wouldn't it make sense to have a food cart out in the wilderness, since John was bringing in crowds of people? 

Do you think that locusts and honey would be a sweet/savory combination, like perhaps pepperoni and pineapple? 

Doesn't pizza make sense? The Romans probably brought some of their cuisine with them, right?

Where did the pizza guy get that hat? The color scheme is vaguely reminiscent of Burger King's uniform in days gone by.
 

It's what's for dinner

I wonder if I should be concerned at all that two of my recent cartoons are about eating bugs? 

Interestingly, while consumption of most insects is forbidden, locusts are considered to be kosher. I'm not sure what to do with that information. Either way, I don't think I'll be swapping lunches with John the Baptist any time soon.
 

It’s not the cough that carries you off

 

As any parent can tell you, the struggle is real. 

Sketchbook: Jolly jokers

From what I hear, this is tame compared to a lot of pranks that our missionaries pull off!
 

Snack time

Yes, I know there are many places that use insects as a source of protein. But I don't want my kid crawling around the garden and eating them!
 

All in the head

Actually, this is less of a problem outside of Utah and Idaho.
 

Going to the dogs

In my humble opinion, making friends with pets is an underutilized tool in the missionary toolkit.
 

Hardly working

Here's another one from the Disney collection. With a little rewrite, it could totally work for our New Year celebration as well!
 

Sketchbook: Even hidden treasures

Diaper bags are amazing things. There's so much they can hold, and they're often full of a variety a treasures. Just sometimes you have to be careful where you're hunting.
 

Still too soon

I’ll admit it. I certainly felt awkward reading the nativity story just a short time after chopping up the Christmas tree for firewood.