Trick or Treat or Tracting

Halloween is not a great night for missionary work.

Marrow of My Bones

There are a handful of expressions popular in the Church that I'd like to phase out of our vernacular. "Marrow of my bones" and "every fiber of my being*" are at the top of my list. (Followed closely by "nourish and strengthen.") Today's gag features Elders Hammer and King getting in trouble after using one of our quirky sayings.

*Kevin Beckstrom covered this one just a couple of days ago in a joke quite similar to this one.

Soccer, er, Football

Can we all acknowledge that the United States has it wrong and the rest of the world has it right when it comes to the sport the U.S. refers to as soccer and the rest of the world rightly calls football?

I mean, in the game we call football a foot touches a ball in three different scenarios: kickoff, field-goal/extra point, or punt. And in one of those scenarios the team doing the kicking isn't happy. I suggest we cede the name football to soccer and call it something that better captures the sport. Something like, I don't know, concussion ball.

Hearts Failing

(Today's gag seems particularly pertinent, don't you think? This one was featured in the October 2018 issue of the New Era.)

It is proposed that the name of this website be changed to the Ward Cartoonist. All those in favor please manifest it in the comment section. Those opposed can also manifest in the comment section.

There were so many great suggestions for a new name to this site, I truly struggled up until late last night before I settled on Ward Cartoonist. Thank you to everyone who offered up suggestions.

And now for some housekeeping items:

• I've purchased the domain name wardcartoonist.com. Today it simply directs traffic to mormoncartoonist.com. Eventually, I hope to migrate all the content of this site to that domain then direct mormoncartoonist.com to wardcartoonist.com, but the takeaway is you can find my stuff at both mormoncartoonist.com and wardcartoonist.com.
• As I mentioned above, the decision of naming this blog was tough. Here are some names I seriously considered:
• Eight Cow Cartoonist. Ultimately, I opted not to go this route because I have a sneaky suspicion that Johnny Lingo is going to continue to age badly. Plus, I'd risk the sneer "Arie, you cartoons are ugly!"
• Cartoonist at Temple Square. Several clever readers suggested this name and I really like it, but I do more of my cartooning at my kitchen table than Temple Square. Plus, Temple Square already has a resident cartoonist.
• Ex-Mormon Cartoonist. It wasn't long before I realized this title might be a bit confusing.
• As always I am not the ward cartoonist, just a ward cartoonist. I do aspire, though, to someday become the stake cartoonist.

Waiting for the Mailman

Checking the mail was a highlight of my day as a missionary. Missionary work has improved in so many ways over the 20 plus years since I came home. But in this one thing, I doubt it will ever get better.

Thanks to everyone who has sent in suggestions to the rebranding of this website. You've given me a lot to think about. There are enough good ideas for a half dozen websites (if only I could supply the content to justify them).

The Blob

It is October, which means it is time to turn our gaze towards missionary work in the Transylvania Central Mission. Today's gag features some good old fashion member missionary work.

We can excuse Blob for using the old "Mormon" moniker to describe the Church. He's new and doesn't know any better. We can probably be a little less charitable to the publisher of this blog for his continued use of that name, which is why I'll be rolling out a new title for this website a week from today. The thing is, I'm still not sure what the replacement name of this site should be. I'm welcome to suggestions. Please leave your ideas in the comment section.

Alarm Clock Snooze Button

Wasn't General Conference amazing? It was full of great counsel and direction on ways to improve our life.

And as the proprietor of a website called Mormon Cartoonist, I realize that I have some work to do.*

 Here's the deal, on Thursday, October 18, I'll be updating the website with a brand new name. The thing is, though, I'm not sure what it is going to be quite yet. I'd welcome any suggestions.

*Honestly, I've known I have some work to do for a couple of months now, but like Elder Meyer in today's strip, I've been snoozing while an alarm has been going off.

General Conference Bingo

For nearly ten years on this blog I've had to deal with change after change after change in the Church which has resulted in a back catalog of gags and jokes becoming obsolete. Shoot, the very name of the blog is out of date now. It's an exciting time to be a Latter-day Saint, but it does make keeping a site that gently pokes fun at the Mormon Latter-day Saint culture difficult.

Today's gag represents a potential shift in my strategy for dealing with change. I just need to anticipate what changes the Church is going to make before it makes them. No problem, right? I mean we do believe in revelation after all.

How about  you? Any guesses as to what, if any, big announcements are coming this weekend at General Conference?

Alarm Clock

Is it possible to suffer PTSD from an alarm clock? A couple of years ago I moved from a traditional alarm clock to one that wakes me up with the gentle sound of birds chirping. And yet I still experience a deep unease whenever I hear the traditional alarm clock blare.