The Cricket and Seagull Fireside Chat

Like lots of the people on the planet, Latter-day Saints find themselves swimming in more and more new technology every year.  Just consider whether you send hand-written letters or use email these days?  Do you post family pictures on Picasa or Flickr and send links to your family?  Do you update your Facebook or MySpace page when someone gets a mission call, has a new baby, or just wants to post video of little Hannah's first violin recital? Twenty years ago if someone had talked to me about Podcasting, Blogging, and YouTube, I might have thought they were talking about farming, bodily functions, and my own personal cryogenic chamber.  These days, those words have not only become a daily part of how many of us communicate, get our news and entertainment and share what we think is important, they've also shown up in addresses by General Authorities.  And of course there are also some technologies useful to the Saints in particular; like the new Gospel Library app for iPhone, the FamilySearch website, and streaming General Conference on-demand, when it's most convenient for us to listen. In this edition, we're asking about the technologies YOU use and HOW you use them.  In the future we'll be delving deeper into how these can both help us and hurt us, and where to draw the line.  For today though, please just take a listen, think about the new technologies which have become part of your everyday life, then send us an email to help direct where this podcast (there's one of those words again) starts exploring.  Or, just leave a comment right here on this blog. That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...  

Truman Madsen knew the scriptural history of the Holy Land as few knew it, and for his final visit before his death in 2009, he stood in the places he loved and taught from his heart, sharing a lifetime of scholarship and testimony.  Now released on DVD, this series of 8 lectures on 4 DVDs is a spiritual marvel, giving a wider audience access to his invaluable and intimate teaching. In this edition, Truman's wife Ann--herself a lecturer on Isaiah and other subjects at BYU--tells of creating this new resource for teachers and families everywhere, of favorite moments in places both sacred and secular, and of Truman's powerful final testimony of Jesus Christ, permeating every moment of this lecture series of a lifetime. That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...  

"The Atonement of Jesus Christ is not only a gift for our last breath or the last day of our lives, it is also for every day of our lives, and breath of our lives."  So says author and former LDS bishop David Vandagriff. With vivid examples and specific experiences, the writer tells of learning to apply the Atonement not only to the effects of sin, but to undeserved suffering, prayer, despair, and ev en the good times in life. That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...

She got her Masters at Juilliard and has played everything from the classics as first violinist with the National Symphony to her impressive solo recordings of great movie themes, but Jenny Oaks Baker feels closest to her Heavenly Father when performing and listening to sacred music. While on a concert visit to Salt Lake City, this virtuoso violinist talks about her new collaboration with Emmy Award-winning composer Sam Cardon, and her search for both the peaceful and the epic in timeless themes and hymns like "How Great Thou Art,"  "All Creatures of Our God and King," and "Finlandia." That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...  

As a mother of seven, DeAnne Flynn knows well the challenge of staying balanced in a world where busier seems to be equated with better. In her book, The Time-Starved Family, Helping Overloaded Families Focus on What Matters Most, the author shares 16 practical ideas for breaking out of the hectic, stressful, over-scheduled way of living. From dumping the guilt and comparing to learning when to say "no," DeAnne shares ways to increase and improve the time your family has together by focusing on what's most important. That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...  

Darla Isackson knows her topic by heart because she has lived it—those moments which surprise us, frustrate us, break our hearts, and leave us reeling, wondering if everything we believe is really true. Organized by topic and experience, the author shares her personal experience and a wealth of comfort from scripture and modern prophets to testify that God is trustworthy in all things whether we are dealing with divorce, depression, death, anger, the need to forgive, or any of the other mortal experiences which can be our opportunity to truly take the Lord's hand in a new and stronger way. That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...  

How to expose your family—and yourself—to the classics of the Western musical tradition?  One way is the new "Sunday Morning Classics" series featuring inspired music from some of the world's greatest composers.  Including Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Handel, and Scarlatti (and the list--or should I say "Liszt?"--goes on) you'll hear everything from solo piano and string quartet to full-blown orchestral pieces, all carefully chosen to fit the peaceful mood of a Sunday morning. In this edition, long-time film music producer Ted Hinckley talks about choosing the pieces, creating the state-of-the-art High Definition recordings in Prague, and the reactions he's received to the initial releases of this new series. That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...  

Long-time favorite duo Afterglow returns with Mercyville, a collection of new original songs written to celebrate the joys and challenges of life. Messages including serving others, dealing with loss, experiencing joy and finding our way through life's trials.  In this edition Joel McCausland and Kevin Peay talk about 30 years of singing, the songs they wrote for this first new studio album in a decade, and—their voices strong as ever—show why Afterglow is the #1 LDS vocal group of all time. That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...  

  The Buffalo News review says, "Anyone in need of a breather might like to give this a try. It's the real deal." Heavensong features beloved classical selections that will lift and transport you through a journey of light and hope. From new Mack Wilberg compositions to familiar melodies to “The Prayer,” this music is perfect for quiet contemplation. In this edition, choir director Mack Wilberg takes us on an audio tour of these peaceful classics, along with several new choir favorites, shares the story behind recording "The Prayer" with David Foster, and much more. That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...    

It began with an online plea for 150 Latter-day Saint volunteers with expertise in medicine, construction, and the French/Creole languages, all to fly to Haiti and help with relief and rebuilding after the massive earthquake.  Within hours emails and applications began pouring in by the thousands. In this edition you'll hear interviews and excerpts from the pre-flight meeting with Haitians, returned missionaries, Steve Studdert—the operation director, and other LDS members who will be reporting the efforts of this non-official group of church members giving their best to be anxiously engaged in helping the orphans, the injured, and the hungry in Haiti. That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...  

You hear the song and want it, but not the whole CD; the answer? Downloadble .mp3 files of individual songs. You want your choir to sing the song but can't wait two weeks for shipping; the answer? Downloadable printable .pdf files of copyright-legal sheet music. Composer/Arranger/Producer Greg Hansen and his tech-savvy son Jade have combined the .mp3s and the .pdfs into LDSmusicnow.com, a site which sends out a free download a week, has a 24/7 radio option, and more. Plus, you'll thrill to hear about the how-to elements of President Kimball's gospel vision of the arts beginning to come to pass through new technology. That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...

Forget that most famous first-page diary entry on January 1st where you try to sum up the entire previous year. Instead, listen as noted EFY and Education Week speaker Randal Wright teaches you The 3 Word Journal technique, and get started accessing your own mind and your own experiences in a simple, yet profoundly meaningful way. You'll be surprised what memories and events just a few words can trigger and how easy it is to "3 Word" them for later expansion. You'll soon have a catalogue of instantly accessible life experiences which point the way to what the Lord has prepared you for in this life and be able to leave a legacy of personal learning to bless your family for generations. (I'm not kidding when I say this is one of the most fascinating and useful interviews I've conducted and I really wish I could make everyone sit down and listen for 20 minutes, then share it with a friend.) :-) That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...

Now accessible in nearly every temple district, the LDS Church's New FamilySearch program puts research resources at your fingertips in ways only dreamed of even a few decades ago, and prevents the duplication of effort which has bogged down the work in the past. Product Manager Ron Tanner talks about how to log on, new advances in the online program, the realization of an amazing visionary statement from 1947, why you're never too old to learn to use the New FamilySearch, and why it's changing the atmosphere in temples everywhere. That's th

Most Latter-day Saints can answer the "Why are we here?" question from childhood, but it can be a bit trickier to find the answer to "Why am I here?" Institute instructor, author, and EFY and Education Week speaker Randal A. Wright worries about that, "Because," he says, the youth we are retaining in the church "are the ones who really know who they are," while we lose many of the others. In this interview Dr. Wright talks about Patriarchal Blessings, how the Lord reveals things to us over time, using both our strengths and our weaknesses as clues, and why we are never to old to ask the Lord, "What's next for me?" That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...

Though most of his patients in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada call him Dr. Burton, fans of his music just call him Wayne. On his first Christmas release, Wayne Burton shares originals like "This Night," and "One Life," (which you can also find on YouTube.com with videos) and classics like "Angels We Have Heard on High," and "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," supported by artists like Jenny Frogley, Cherie Call, Alex Boyé, and Justin Smith. That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...