Magnificent desolation

It’s amazing how fast a town can empty!
 

Enter to learn, go forth to serve

By the end of commencement, everyone is ready to go!
 

The future is bright

The two horsemen of the apocalypse. 
 

Don’t let it go to your head

Who designed those things anyway?
 

If ye are prepared

It’s graduation week for us, so I thought we’d take a look back at when Kerry Jo and her friends finished college. 
 

Tricks and treats

I thought I'd run a few of my old Halloween favorites today. Enjoy, and let's be safe out there!

 

It’s the Eve!

Yes, it’s a rerun — but it is Canada Day Eve! Celebrate wisely. I know we’ll have fireworks going off in our neighborhood tonight!
 

Special recipe

Every now and then I have to pull out one of my favorite Valentine cartoons of all time.
 

Follow the prophet. Really.

If y'all know Sis. Kerry Jo, you know she couldn't just sit quietly and let this pass. Everyone deserves respect — some people just don't know it yet!

When you run out of Disney+

...and when you're done with that there's the Bible videos you can re-watch, then The Windows of Heaven and Johnny Lingo (old and new versions). And what about Tom Trails?

A tale of two cartoons

With General Conference coming up and the whole COVID-19 fallout, I've been thinking that Sis. Kerry Jo might have something to say. I played around with a few ideas and came up with this:

I was getting ready to ink it, but something just didn't sit right. It was too negative, too pessimistic. That didn't fit with Kerry Jo's character, and it wasn't the message she wanted to deliver.

There's no other way to describe what happened next. I was hit with inspiration that made a lot of sense — and the message was pure Kerry Jo.

A lot of times we as a people get caught up in the pageantry of General Conference. Thousands of people flock to downtown Salt Lake City. We fill the Conference Center with the faithful. Tickets are a prized commodity. We wait to hear the statistical report to tell us how many millions of members we have, how many thousands of missionaries. We can't wait to hear where the next temple will be.

This General Conference, it's not about the numbers.

As Pres. Nelson told us, it's about having a personal experience, just like the young prophet Joseph Smith.

When Joseph retired to the woods, his concern was to find out which church would help bring salvation to his soul.

His answer came personally.

We see it so often in Jesus' ministry, tending to the one. His interactions are personal. It's all about the one. It's about having your own personal experience coming unto Christ. What better way to do that than through removing the distractions: the crowds, the protestors, the huge (and amazing) choir.

The settings will be intimate. The First Presidency and the speakers in a small meeting room. Each of us in our own home — alone or with friends or family. No large crowds. It will be a personal experience.

Just like Joseph had in the Sacred Grove.

Our Sacred Grove moment can be wherever we are. As a friend recently told me, "All groves are sacred."

Take care. Ask, pray, and be ready to receive.

I think it's going to be a good one.

Each in her own language

That's one of the most difficult things when one returns from a mission — no one else seems to speak the same language. Whether it's missionary jargon, carry-over colloquialisms, accents or language blends, it's challenging when nobody gets what you're saying.

Who's behind that mask?

Over on Instagram, Sis. Kerry Jo just came home from her mission. And just in time, too, if the coronavirus has any bearing on things!

It's fascinating to see the response the Church has made to do their part. The temple is closed, no meetings.

Missionaries are largely confined to their apartments, they need to take precautions if they do go out. It's crazy! Let's hope that this is resolved soon!

Light the World: One on one

I think it's awesome that no matter how big the world is, the Lord knows us individually. It's all one on one.

Counting your blessings

And Sis. Kerry Jo has good reason to count her blessings — Vol. 2 of her mission blog is now in print! Vol. 1 ended with her arrival in the mission field; Vol. 2 follows her adventures as she adjusts to life as a missionary! The First Transfer is the Hardest is available for purchase on Amazon!

It's a good time for publishing by Latter-day Saint cartoonists: Ward Cartoonist Arie Van De Graaff has a new book out, too: Scripture Power Activity Book. It's perfect for church, home or the back seat of the car. Check it out!

The tempest is raging

I was watching a weather forecast from North Carolina about Dorian's potential impacts to the Carolina coast.

"The winds have dropped to 105 miles per hour," she said. "But to tell you the truth, there's not an appreciable difference between 105 and 110 mph!"

From half a world away

We had our first non-holiday Preparation Day phone call with our missionary, and it was wonderful! There was no stress or pressure that comes with the holiday calls, and we were able to talk with him about his work. Love it!

And now, a little geography mission

It was on this date many (many) years ago that I arrived in Korea. My first area was Pohang on the east coast; it was the first time that I've ever had the experience of my eyeballs being frozen shut.

It was an awesome experience!

You think your teacher is boring...!

My guess is that this is the week that a lot of people figure out just how easy it was to sit in Gospel Doctrine and be fed a lesson every week.

Come, Follow Me will encourage a spirit of learning and of gospel study in the home. There are a ton of resources available to make it more exciting and engaging, and take our study of the Savior to a deeper level.

Shameless Plug
If you want to further enhance your gospel enjoyment, there's an additional new resource — Volume 1 of Sis. Kerry Jo's Mission Blog: I Miss Wearing My Dork Dot is now available for purchase on Amazon! It's approaching the top half-million best sellers (currently at 515,255 and rising fast!). Order your copy today — and look for more to come!

The Countdown: The others

These were a little more difficult to determine this year, as both Zarahemla Times and Good Heavens were on hiatus for a good portion of the year. I'm working on a compilation of Kerry Jo's mission blog, and I found a few story holes that needed to be filled.

With that in mind, here are the tops from those three comics!

Sis. Kerry Jo's Mission Blog:
One thing I really like about Sis. Kerry Jo is that she doesn't seem to have too many filters. She says what many of us are thinking — for example, the recovering from conference strip below. Look for more from her this coming year!

Good Heavens:
Good Heavens is where I get to inject a little political and social commentary, and occasionally refer to the news of the day. It got to be just a little too much to keep up with this year, so the strip is taking a bit of a time out. We'll see what happens in 2019.

Zarahemla Times:
Like Good Heavens, Zarahemla Times has been on a bit of a break for the past several months. I plan on coming back to it next year, although it may only be monthly at first.

Here are a couple of favorites from 2018. The scripture marking one was featured in the New Era!