Grass is Always Greener

I don't know if I've ever drawn a more autobiographical strip than this one.

Your October 2024 General Conference Activity Packet

General Conference is almost upon us! How many of the new hymns would you guess will be sung during the five sessions?

Here is your Ward Cartoonist General Conference Activity Packet for next weekend's General Conference! Download your copy now. Also available in Portuguese (thanks, Dani!) and Spanish (thanks, Gaby!).

Once you've done that, check out the other materials that I have available for you.

Do you want even more activity pages? Then check out my many books:

• The Book of Mormon Come, Follow Me Activity Book
• The New Testament Come, Follow Me Activity Book
• The Old Testament Come, Follow Me Activity Book
• Super Sunday Activity Book
• Scripture Power Activity Book
• Now That I Am Baptized: A Puzzle Book for LDS Kids

If you are more interested in a laugh than solving a puzzle, I'd suggest ordering a copy of Mission Daze. It includes nearly 500 comic strips tracking a missionary from mission call to homecoming. (This book makes for a great mission farewell gift!)

And then there are the apps (iOS only, sorry!). Your kids will love LDS Scripture Heroes or Book of Mormon Adventure on the Apple App Store.

Smiling Exercise

I actually learned this as a missionary. It really works.

With Apologies to Schulz

This one goes out to fellow cartoonist Kevin Beckstrom who might be the biggest Peanuts fan I know. You know for being deceptively simple looking, those Peanuts kids are extremely hard to draw. And why does everyone make fun of Charlie Brown's head when Linus's looks like a talking, walking gourd?*

*Maybe that's why he's such a big fan of the Great Pumpkin.

The Hard Sell

I've commented on this website before, and will probably do so again, but I can't imagine ever going into door-to-door sales. It was hard enough when I was pitching a product I believed in with all my heart as a full-time missionary.

Archery Squad

Another gag set to the week's Come, Follow Me lesson. I love the story of Samuel the Lamanite. It's telling that God chooses Samuel to share the message of Christ's coming. Think of it, He could as easily asked His prophet Nephi, arguably the greatest prophet in all the Book of Mormon, to share the supernal news of Christ's birth; but instead God sends Samuel, a Lamanite, to the heart of Nephite civilization. 

For over 500 years the Nephites have looked down on Lamanites as something less than themselves. For nearly all that time, the Lamanites have certainly been less spiritual. And when God needs to share His greatest news, He picks the most unlikely of messengers. For a Church that reveres a prophet called as an uneducated 14-year-old farm boy and sends mere teenagers out to share the gospel throughout the world, this story resonants. 

Return Appointment

I managed to maintain my cool in pretty much every situation as a missionary. That I did so as a 19 and 20-year-old is a huge deal!

CSI: Zarahemla

Today's gag ties nicely with this week's Come, Follow Me lesson.

I've often wondered what entertainment will look like in the Millennium. I figure most, if not all, of our television will have to be replaced. Personally, I look forward to a show recording the exploits of the three Nephites as they go from place to place solving problems and making things right. For sweeps week, I'm sure we'll get special episodes featuring John the Beloved.

And of course, there will be CSI: Zarahemla with the Nephi from the Book of Helaman playing the role of Columbo. (It will be cancelled after the first episode.)

Yelp! Mission Area Review

Priorities, priorities, priorities...