LDSPMA

Empowering Latter-day Saints to spread light and truth by connecting them at the intersection of faith, creativity, and professional skill

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LDSPMA Member Spotlight: Randel McGee

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Randel McGee lives in Orem, Utah.

What are some names of the books or other media you have created?

  • Getting Along with Groark—A puppet video series of five episodes in association with the Character Counts Foundation.
  • Popcorn Park: The 6 Pillars of Character—A six-episode puppet video series with the Character Counts Foundation
  • Sixteen titles under Celebrate Holidays with Paper Crafts: Christmas, Chinese New Year, Halloween, Day of the Dead and more. (Enslow Publishers)
  • Four titles in the Fun and Festive Crafts series: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. (Enslow Publishers)
  • Zhang Heng and the Incredible Earthquake Detector—Author & Illustrator with Familius Publishers (Just released!)

What inspired you to become a creator of media?

A deep desire to share my talents with others. A realization that the arts are a way to reach people spirit-to-spirit and share Gospel principles.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

There have been so many amazing aspects of my career, but one of the most memorable was a three-month artist-in-residence program in Omagh, Northern Ireland, in 2019 teaching storytelling and puppetry skills to children and educators there. My wife and I quickly came to love the people and culture of Ireland. We became especially close to the small LDS branch in town.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?

Do your best to be honest in your performances, don’t try to be something you are not. Do not “talk down” to young audiences; treat them with respect.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Strive for friendly professionalism. Maintain high standards of personal integrity and honor. Be a team player, and support fellow artists who share similar standards.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

Seeing the work of other artists. And the barrage of new ideas that I often get.

What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?

I get sparks of story or program ideas that I then start to flesh out aloud and on paper. A similar process can be said of my visual works—the images start to form in my mind’s eye, and then I see myself add the details mentally before doing rough sketches and finished pieces.

In what ways do you feel you have been able to be a voice for good in your creative pursuits?

In my hometown I often have adults come up to me and say, “I remember when you came to my school when I was a child. It was always the high point of my school year. I now bring my children to your shows whenever I can.”

If you want your spotlight to link to your website or any of your social media platforms, include the URLs here.

http://mcgeeproductions.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046132796100

https://www.facebook.com/Randel-McGee-as-Hans-Christian-Andersen-178341550996

https://www.facebook.com/Paper-and-Scissors-ROCK-411456305654

LDSPMA Member Spotlight: Bradley McBride

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Bradley McBride currently lives in Gilbert, Arizona.

What are some names of the books or other media you have created?

  • “Up on the Housetop: A Christmas Story,” released November 23, 2021. It’s my first foray into fiction.
  • I have been blogging for eleven years, first as Middle-aged Mormon Man, now, as ThusWeSee.com (since President Nelson threw down the gauntlet).
  • One blog collection book: “There’s a Message in There Somewhere.”
  • One collection of new material: “There’s a Message OUT There Somewhere.”

What inspired you to become a creator of media?

I’ve always enjoyed writing. After being released as a bishop, I found I had a lot of time on my hands yet still much to share, so I started a blog. Eleven years and 1500 posts later, I’m still at it. I like sharing my thoughts about gospel topics and my testimony to anyone and everyone.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Getting a shout-out from an Apostle at Women’s Conference was great, but the highlight is the steady stream of notes and comments I get from readers who connect with what I am writing. It is a great joy to be able to help people in their struggles, amplify their faith, and share what is most important to me.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?

I was told to “be myself” (by the Spirit). My interpretation of that was not to write to chase readership but to write what I feel and what is in my mind and heart. It has made the journey a great personal growth experience for me.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

You be you. Write what is important to you. Don’t chase trends. Always stand strong in your support of the Gospel and the Church and its leaders. Do not compromise orthodoxy to stir up controversy, and/or contention.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

The ever-evolving nature of life in the Gospel. Challenges change. Faith ebbs and flows. There are always new things to talk about, to study, and to discuss.

What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?

I didn’t start writing for public consumption until I was almost fifty, and I didn’t create any fiction until recently at sixty. However, I believe that a life lived gives me much more fodder for creating, and my life’s experience in the Church gives me perspectives that might be unique.

In what ways do you feel you have been able to be a voice for good in your creative pursuits?

I feel that I have a gift for taking complex Gospel subjects and doctrines and finding ways to teach and discuss them that make them more understandable. I also enjoy walking the tightrope between spirituality and humor, all the while standing as a witness of Christ, His servants , and His Church.

If you want your spotlight to link to your website or any of your social media platforms, include the URLs here.

http://www.ThusWeSee.com

The Other Christmas Miracle

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By Robert Starling

On a certain night every year all over the earth, millions of families gather together and share a two-thousand-year-old story, of how a baby was born in a humble stable who would become the long-awaited Messiah of Israel, and save the entire world from sin and error.

To non-believers, it is an incredible tale of angels appearing like UFO’s to frightened shepherds in the Middle East, as they were camping out in the hills tending their flocks.  According to the story, there were also wise and pious men in a far country to the east of Bethlehem who saw a bright new star in the sky, announcing the birth of the Christ child and fulfilling ancient prophesies. Like the shepherds, they would undertake a journey to go and worship the baby boy. Who these men were, where they were from, and how many were in their party is not known. It is a well-known but little-understood mystery of the Christmas season.

But there was another amazing and wondrous celestial event that took place on that fateful night, in an even more distant land a world away. And with that heavenly sign of his coming, the child Jesus, by his very birth, prevented the kind of horrific slaughter of innocents that took place at the hands of Herod in Bethlehem about two years later.  This was the “other” Christmas miracle.  How did it happen?

The Other Christmas Miracle

As millions of believers throughout the world are aware, yet few celebrate, another wise and holy man named Samuel had come preaching on a distant continent among the people whom Jesus later referred to as his “other sheep.” Samuel had prophesied that a savior would be born in about five years’ time and that the sign of his coming would be not only a new star in the heavens, but that in that land there would be a day, a night, and a day without darkness.

There were many who believed the words of Samuel and looked forward to these heavenly signs, but they were scoffed at and ridiculed by the rich and powerful. As the five-year deadline approached, the intolerance and persecution intensified, until at last the rulers proclaimed that if the new star did not appear, and the night without darkness did not occur by a certain date, those who would not deny their strange beliefs would be put to death. Like the many Christians who later suffered martyrdom in the coliseums of Rome, these believers were ready to lay down their lives in their commitment to their faith.

But the sign did come. As the sun began to set on that fateful day, there was no darkness.  In all that night, it was light in their land as though it was mid-day. The faithful were spared, and many more were converted. The celestial signs of the birth of Christ had indeed brought about “peace on earth,” at least in that land, and at least for a short time.

That’s a beautiful story, but how could it be true? In today’s world of scientific facts and hard reality, how could any reasonable and intelligent person believe such a fable? Is there any evidence that such a thing can really happen?

Actually . . .   For centuries Christian and non-Christian astronomers have speculated on what might have been a reasonable explanation of the so-called “Star of Bethlehem.”  Some have postulated that a supernova explosion in a distant galaxy might account for a “new star” in the heavens. Others have calculated a rare alignment of planets that could have created an extraordinary light in the night sky. In fact, on December 21, 2020, a spectacular conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurred that hasn’t been visible for almost 800 years. It was covered on major news networks and brought people out of their homes all over the world with their binoculars and telescopes to scan the evening sky.

But what about a night without darkness?  Has that ever happened before?  Wouldn’t a person be deluded and crazy to believe in something like that?

A candle in the dark. For the Nephites, light when it should have been dark was the other Christmas miracle.
Scientific Signs in the Heavens

Actually . . .  In a September 2003 conference of the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (BMAF), John Tvedtnes presented a paper called “Book of Mormon Hits,” in which he provided several scientific possibilities based on historical events:

  • Glowing night fogs have been observed in various places. The cause is unknown although it is thought that it might be electrical in nature. The phenomenon was first described in 1982 by meteorologist William R. Corliss.  One such luminous fog extended from Africa to Sweden and throughout North and South America.   Another happened in 1783 in the Alps, and another in Western Europe in August 1821.  An 1831 glowing night fog was observed almost world-wide. Corliss concludes that “nights were so bright that the smallest print could be read at midnight.”
  • There is also something that is called “earthquake luminosity.”  On 9 December 1731, following an earthquake in Florence, Italy, luminous clouds appeared over England.  Similar things have happened in places like France and South America. In fact, it is very common in South America where it is called the “Andes glow.”  Sometimes it follows the mountain ridges for as much as 300 miles in length.
  • In 1908 there was a period of time during which there were some very, very bright skies when an object burned up in the atmosphere and exploded over the Tunguska region of Siberia.  Most scientists now believe it was a comet or asteroid.  People in Scotland reported that in rooms facing north, objects cast shadows at night. In London, it was possible to read the small print in the London Times at midnight.  It was possible to read the large print indoors at 1:30 a.m. The room was as light as if it had been the day.”  Photographs were taken by this natural light at 1:00 a.m. at Stockholm, Sweden, and also at Novorzhev, Russia.

A Cornell University research paper published by the American Geophysical Union in 2009 explores the 1908 “Tunguska Event” in greater detail, and attributes the “nights without darkness” to ice crystals in the upper atmosphere similar to those caused by frozen water vapor from the Space Shuttle exhaust plume.  This “noctilucent cloud phenomenon” (the scientific term) was observed for days after the space shuttle Endeavour (STS-118) launched on Aug. 8, 2007. Similar cloud formations had been observed following launches in 1997 and 2003.

Whatever caused it to happen, and however widespread it was, the “night without darkness” came at the precise time prophesied by Samuel.  And this “other Christmas miracle” physically saved the lives of believing Nephites on that holy night so long ago, just as we are saved by trusting in Christ in our crazy world today.

Merry Christmas.

Robert Starling is a creative consultant for Book of Mormon Central  (www.bookofmormoncentral.org). He has been a writer and producer for the NBC Television Network, and at Schick Sunn Classic Pictures, Osmond Productions, and the media production department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  His recent book “A Case for Latter-day Christianity” is available in many bookstores, on Barnes and Noble, and on Amazon.com in printed and e-book versions. He lives in Riverton, Utah with his wife Sharon. They have four adult children and eleven grandchildren.

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LDSPMA Member Spotlight: Michael Young

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Michael Young currently lives in Tooele, Utah.

What are some names of the books or other media you have created?

Nonfiction:

  • Chapter and Verse (volumes I-III)
  • Before Sunset
  • Song of the Saints
  • In the Quiet Heart

Fiction:

  • A Past with Two Faces
  • First Things First
  • The Lost Barge
  • The Penultimate Dawn series:
    • The Hunger, The Thirst, The Longing
  • The Canticle Kingdom series:
    • The Canticle Prelude, The Frozen Globe, The Skyward Isle
  • The Last Archangel series:
    • Age of Archangels, The Last Archangel, The Last Kingdom, The Last Struggle
  • The Chess Quest series:
    • Paladin:Pawn, Nemesis:Knight, Rook:Revenge, Bishop:Betrayal, Sovereigns:Song
  • Advent Anthology series:
    • Carol of the Tales, Angels from Their Realms of Story

What inspired you to become a creator of media?

I’ve always had an active imagination, and I read as many book as I could growing up. As I got older, I had some amazing literature and writing teachers, and I wondered if I could write down some of the stories in my head. I wrote my first novel in high school to prove to myself that I could do it, and then I’ve been writing ever since. It has been a wonderful way to express myself in a way that nothing else quite does.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

The highlight was seeing one of my novels on the shelf in a major bookstore for the first time. It had taken a lot of work to get there, and it validated everything that I had done up to that point and helped motivate me to keep going and to keep improving.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?

Create to serve and to uplift. When you use your God-given talents for good, you are entitled to his help and blessing. His grace will enhance your natural abilities and allow you to create things much greater than you would on your own. Talents are meant to be shared, and you can be a light to the world, the proverbial city on the hill, if you take the time to climb the hill.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Ask yourself if you are a patient person and if you have a thick enough skin to put yourself out there. There is a lot of waiting around, a lot of long, thankless hours of work, and there will always be people who want to put you down. If you can work with that, move forward and don’t look back.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

I’m constantly inspired by music. I hear different songs and they drive my creative juices and inspire my writing. That’s the great thing about being in a choir that meets every week as I’m constantly exposed to high-quality music to keep me going.

What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?

I’d like other people to know that everything I do is meant to inspire and uplift others. I think there is no greater calling in art than to use your talents to serve and uplift others. Before I start any project, I ask myself how it is meant to help others.

In what ways do you feel you have been able to be a voice for good in your creative pursuits?

Many of my works have been specifically aimed at spiritual topics and helping people appreciate the scriptures and religious music better, but even my fiction is geared toward morality and nobility. I never want to club people over the head with a moral in my stories, but if you look, you should be able to take away truths that I hold dear.

If you want your spotlight to link to your website or any of your social media platforms, include the URLs here.

http://www.authormichaelyoung.com

LDSPMA Member Spotlight: Steve Simmons

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Steve Simmons currently lives near Providence and Millville in Cache County, Utah.

What are some names of the books or other media you have created?

I did all of the writing and artwork for 90+ titles for Planet Archipelago, a TTRPG. I also have educational material I have written on the website Teachers Pay Teachers.

What inspired you to become a creator of media?

I has been drawing since my youth. I was president of my high school art club. Over time I have gone from oils, pastels, and watercolors to digital art and from creating western Americana and ghost towns or wildlife art to science fiction fantasy/medieval art for the game.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

I have taught almost everything from a one-room school with eight grades and sixteen to seventeen students in the backwoods of western Montana to university classes in the humanities at Utah Valley University.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?

My uncle, Grant Simmons, was an early cartoonist for Walt Disney. He advised me to never become an artist. So I became a teacher instead and continued to do my artwork with some confidence I could support my family.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Have a day job. Learn to network and do not ever give up.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

I have an entire alien planet to create, populate, map and explore.

What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?

I often create a picture first then write the story around the image. I am open to collaboration with other writers/artists who would like to explore the planet Archipelago.

In what ways do you feel you have been able to be a voice for good in your creative pursuits?

Back in the 1970s I played D&D. I liked the sense of adventure, the social interaction, the problem solving, and the reading and math development but found the game dark, introducing young people to dangerous amounts of the occult, soft porn, and things that are in the realm of the adversary. Things which are not harmless. So I developed a game that kept the adventure and positive traits but cut out the dark content. Instead of magic there is lost alien ancient technology that can look like magic, and instead of magical creatures, hungry and curious alien animals.

If you want your spotlight to link to your website or any of your social media platforms, include the URLs here.

http://www.planet-archipelago.com

November 2021

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November 18: Heeding the Spiritual Call to Create

A discussion with songwriter and author Michael Young

How can we as Latter-day Saint Christians heed the call to consecrate our time and talents to the Lord? Author and songwriter Michael Young will share his experience writing and collaborating on 100 songs submitted for the new Hymnbook and Children’s Songbook. Michael will share how he was able to succeed through both spiritual preparation and networking and give us tips on how we can apply these strategies in our own creative pursuits!

Bio: Michael teaches in a German immersion program and enjoys acting in community theater and writing music. He played with the Handbell Choir Bells on Temple Square for several years and is now a member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. He is the author of the novels in The Canticle Kingdom Series, The Last Archangel Series, The Chess Quest Series, and The Penultimate Dawn Cycle, as well as the nonfiction work The Song of the Righteous. He runs several podcasts, including Chapter and Verse, The Carols of Christmas, and Songs for All Seasons.

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LDSPMA Member Spotlight: Mary Beesley

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Mary Beesley lives in St. George, Utah.

What are some names of the books or other media you have created?

Dragon Blood and Wolf Pack are books 1 and 2 in the Draco Sang Trilogy, a YA fantasy series.
To Unite a Realm is my adult fantasy.
Betting on Love, is my romantic comedy.
My next project is a women’s fiction piece.

What inspired you to become a creator of media?

When I found out I was going to have a fourth child, I got discouraged and overwhelmed. God inspired me to start writing stories. At first it was a place for me to be creative and decompress, then I fell in love with it. I took classes and worked hard to practice and improve. I write because I want to, and I’m good at it.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

The first moment when I was reading my manuscript and I realized it was good, really good. It hit me that I’d finally found what I want to do with my talents and time. That sense of rightness and belonging has filled me up and fueled me through hard writing sessions and painful rejections.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?

Don’t give up. Take a rest, but don’t quit.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Be patient! With yourself and your work and your editors. Read a lot. Becoming a great writer takes time. Enjoy the journey because there is no finish line. Give yourself grace and trust your gut. Art is subjective, don’t let someone else’s negative option of your creation become your own. Your voice is unique and important. It will take time and effort and learning to be a good writer. Put in the work.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

Nature. Being out among the beauties and intricacies makes me want to create. Observing humanity. Reading books, essays, and poetry. And of course, writing. Writing begets writing.

What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?

My creativity is incredibly important to me, and I try to honor it. I respect my writing time by making sure to schedule it when my mind is most active and fresh. I own my art. I write from my heart and don’t force stories that don’t feel genuine or important. It’s hard work to write well, and I expect round and rounds of edits. The time at the keyboard is only a fraction of all that goes into a story. Thinking time is vital, and I don’t skimp on listening to the silence and going on walks.

In what ways do you feel you have been able to be a voice for good in your creative pursuits?

In all my books, I aim to show the light and hope amidst the darkness. There is pain and grief in every life. I try to be real about that place but show the rays of goodness and courage that are there to be found.

If you want your spotlight to link to your website or any of your social media platforms, include the URLs here.

https://www.marybeesley.com/

https://www.instagram.com/marybeesleywriter/

https://www.facebook.com/MaryBeesleyAuthor

LDSPMA Member Spotlight: Debbi Rollo

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Debbi Rollo currently lives in Orem, Utah.

What are some names of the books or other media you have created?

Book of Mormon Rhymes
Book of Mormon Rhymes: Isaiah Chapters
Isaiah Joke Book (soon to be released)

What inspired you to become a creator of media?

I love finding creative ways to make the scriptures engaging, fun, and more understandable. I created Book of Mormon Rhymes after being inspired by a classic nursery rhyme book that was handed down to me by my grandmother. I read regularly to my grandchildren, whom we adopted after their parents’ death (our daughter and her husband). It lifted our spirits and helped heal our hearts. That’s how Book of Mormon Rhymes began, then other books followed.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

The highlight is hearing how my book has impacted readers to improve their scripture study of the Book of Mormon. I love inspiring others to read the scriptures and creating ways for people to enjoy reading them in a unique, fun way.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?

I try to keep in mind 2 Chronicles 15:7 “Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.”

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Keep going, keep learning, find mentors, and don’t give up.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

The light and joy I feel each day when I create content. I believe our Spirit is designed to create—and I’ve discovered that writing lights up my spirit, which is addicting the more I do it.

What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?

I pray before I write. I try to balance working IN my business and working ON my business (as a writer). Taking breaks is vital.

In what ways do you feel you have been able to be a voice for good in your creative pursuits?

I hope that my books inspire readers to enjoy the scriptures and to learn and love their teachings.

If you want your spotlight to link to your website or any of your social media platforms, include the URLs here.

https://www.bookofmormonrhymes.com/