He acknowledged his brother, who was in the audience, and said, "This is the first time he has heard my testimony. Hopefully I can bring my family to a truth. The Church of Jesus Christ has been restored. It was restored by a young boy, Joseph Smith, who in a field saw God the Father and Jesus Christ."

McDowell continued, "Take the time to research and find out for yourself. Take the time to pick up The Book of Mormon. Ask whether it is true. If you want to see a miracle, just think that Gladys Knight is running a choir in the... more

Several years ago, Gladys Knight's son was the first member of her family to look at the Church. After he got baptized, her daughter came next.

Sister Knight described her search for God's true church, which came after the baptism of her children:

"I was raised in a Baptist home. We spent all day on Sunday at church. I was kind of all over the place religiously. I was a Baptist and then a Catholic and then I went to several other churches. I was seeking. There was something good in every one of those churches, but I thought... more

When I came across this article about Gladys Knight, I knew I wanted to share it here. I was particularly touched at the mention members of the Haitian branch attending one of her performances! :)

Gladys Knight Tells Floridians, "This is the Light" By Geoffrey Biddulph for Meridian Magazine

Gladys Knight and her 60-person choir of Latter-day Saints gave four performances for more than 5,000 people in southern Florida last week.

"This is... more

As an LDS mom of adopted Black children, nothing thrills me more than meeting and learning about other Black church members. The church is growing by leaps and bounds in places like Nigeria and Ghana, and is finally gaining a solid footing in American cities with large African American populations such as Cleveland. The Genesis Group has long been a beacon of light and source of support to LDS Church members of color, and the numbers of well-known Black LDS members, even though small, are steadily growing.

This... more

Just for fun, here’s a list of my “favorite” questions and comments, roughly in order of how frequently I get them. :)

1. Six words: “You sure have your hands full!” Some days it’s all I can do to keep myself from responding, “Gee, that’s clever! You’re the first person who’s ever said that to me! Instead, I usually have a little fun with them and tell them how many I have at home. ;o) I know it’s petty, but I can’t tell you how much I detest having these words thrust at me daily!

2. Is this a daycare? When I answer, “no,” it usually leads into question #3.

3. Which ones are yours? I generally give a quizzical look like I don’t know what they’re... more

So, how do we tackle the negative comments that are couched in kindness?

My number one strategy with strangers is avoidance. As my friend Erin over at the transracial adoption blog recently observed, it’s pretty easy to sense when you are being watched, and it’s often an effective strategy to simply busy yourself with your family and not leave the door open for comments. It doesn’t work every time, but I know from experience that it works a lot!

When I simply can’t escape the “praise” of others, my second strategy is to cut them off before they can get to the “these kids” part of their speech and this approach can... more

Just the other day, I took my daughter in to the pediatrician because she had a strange rash on her stomach. Our regular pediatrician was gone and a locum doctor was there in her place. I had to explain about Cora’s albinism, which lead to a brief discussion about Haiti and how she’d been adopted. The doctor asked if we had other children, and I told her that we did and that Cora was one of three we’d just adopted from Haiti. She then asked if we were foster parents, and I told her that we had four birth children, two from China, and now the three from Haiti. She dropped Cora’s chart in her lap and exclaimed, “Oh my goodness! Does everyone around here know who you are? Are you well-known... more

Being an adoptive family or even a prospective adoptive family can open you up for all sorts of unwelcome questions, comments and general observations on your life. In my experience, I’ve only rarely been confronted by people who express overtly negative feelings on the subject of adoption, but I find that these kinds of run-ins aren’t the only ones that cause me to cringe. No, the worst encounters seem to occur when people’s ignorance gets in the way of their attempts to “praise” or offer “encouragement.” Just ask any couple that has experienced infertility... more