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Day: May 5, 2022

Dubai’s Sikh Leaders Visit First Presidency + Today’s Digest

Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: Sikh Leaders from Dubai Meet with First Presidency Church Newsroom Surender and Bubbles Kandhari visited with the First Presidency yesterday. The two Sikh leaders from the United Arab Emirates spoke about the love they felt during their visit. National Day of Prayer Primer To celebrate the National Day of Prayer, be sure to head over and check out our article listing some of the best things we’ve read about prayer. Faith, Doubt, and Murder in ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ Sergio Lopez —Sojourners While there has been no shortage of think pieces about Under the Banner of Heaven, including in our own magazine, I wanted to direct your attention to a particularly thoughtful piece in Sojourners. While Lopez misses the tone-deaf elements that miss our faith, he recognizes some of the thoughtful questions it asks. America’s Blue-Red Divide Is About to Get Starker Ronald Brownstein — The Atlantic Since we had published a piece suggesting that the end of Roe could lead to greater unity, I wanted to direct your attention to this piece predicting the opposite result. Brownstein’s basic thesis is that as states have more distinct abortion laws, our country will be more different from state to state.

C.D. Cunningham May 5, 2022

Baby Formula Shortage

As Latter-day Saints, we often see the political news of the day through the lens of how it will affect families and children. One massive story that has somehow gone without major national notice is a troubling shortage of baby formula. WebMD has the story here: https://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20220503/baby-formula-shortage-getting-worse Supply chain issues have hit all sectors of the economy. Baby formula has also been hit by a major recall from one of the country’s leading makers of baby formula. But few parts of the economy so directly affect the health and well-being of our most vulnerable. Today, approximately 31% of stores that usually carry baby formula, do not have it in stock. This crisis suggests direct and immediate action be taken to protect so many of our nation’s babies that rely on formula.

C.D. Cunningham May 5, 2022

National Day of Prayer Primer

In commemoration of The National Day of Prayer, here are some readings on prayer. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Last year, Samuel Hislop recommended this book. The book contains an extended conversation between Ivan and Alyosha about the nature and efficacy of prayer. A must-read on the nature of faith in difficult times. The Priceless Privilege of Prayer Bruce D. Porter gave a BYU devotional examining ways that our prayers can be dishonest, looking at the example of Huckleberry Finn. President Nelson on the National Day of Prayer  President Nelson today published on social media, “On this National Day of Prayer, I have been pondering the evolving meaning in our society of the phrase ‘thoughts and prayers.’ For many, this is still a sincere expression of condolence and concern. For others, it is viewed as a perceived lack of action in the face of tragedy.” He goes on to explain how important prayers can be in the face of tragedy, and how it inspires him to action. The Power of Prayer Meleane Unga gave a devotional at BYU-Hawaii and spoke about how her father’s prayers growing up helped give her a model for how to deal with difficulties in her life. A powerful example of the personal importance of prayer. Four-Year-Old Me Prayed My Mom Would Have Eight Arms You’ll have to forgive me for including an old article I wrote myself detailing how I learned to recognize the unexpected answers to prayer. Religion for Adults Means Embracing Complexity Sarah Hurwitz wrote in the Wall Street Journal in 2019 about what a grown-up faith means, including the importance of prayer. One of the most thoughtful pieces on prayer in a national newspaper in the last decade.        

C.D. Cunningham May 5, 2022