Mary Ellen Edmunds - Peculiar in a Good Way

Library of CongressCataloging-in-Publication Data

Edmunds, Mary Ellen, 1940

Peculiarin agood way / Mary Ellen Edmunds.

p. cm.

ISBN-13:978-1-59038-663-7 (pbk.)

ISBN-10:1-59038-663-9 (pbk.)

1. MormonwomenReligious life. I. Title.

BX8641.E36 2006

248.8'43088289332dc22 2006016048

Printedin the United States of America Publishers Printing, Salt Lake City, Utah

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

p i-kyool-y r

pi-'kyl-y&r

pih kyulyEr

uncommon, unusual,choice, different from the usual or normal, distinctive, pure, holy, setapart

Mydeepest appreciation to the Arrowheads:

Ann,Anne, Barbara, Carolyn, Debbie, Dorothy, Jane, Leanne, Lori, Nancy, and Robin

Preface

Imso glad you picked up this peculiar little book. (It started out HUGE, but Ijust kept chopping away. I didnt want it to weigh eighteen pounds orsomething.) I know there are a lot of books on store shelves about a variety oftopics that may grab more attention than this one about being peculiar. But ifyouve chosen to read this one, welcome! I sincerely hope your reading andpondering experience will be enjoyable and meaningful.

I hope you have chosen to read this little book because youlove and want to learn, and youre looking for some ideas on how to be a happy,obedient, genuine child of God. I write of the possibility of being peculiaramong the peculiar. Look at the flowers on the cover. Theyre all in the sameflower family, but one is standing out.

We stand out when were a lily among roses, or a cactusamong palms, but we can also stand outbe unusual,uncommonwhen were a daisy with other daisies. Im hoping inthis book I have explained what I mean by our striving to be better when werealready pretty good. Thats one of the main themes.

I know Im going to use that word peculiar WAY too much... get overit! Ha ha. I just love it that our Heavenly Father wants us to be peculiar, soit has come to be a very positive word for me.

One thing I want to admit is that I decided about midwaythrough working on this book that I wanted to use CAPS for emphasis rather thanthe customary italics. My editor asked me why. I dont know. I LIKE caps. Maybeit comes from a lifetime of writing notes in capital letters. Anyway, I usequite a few caps, which likely will make the book a little bit more peculiarthan it already was.

At the end of some of the chapters I have listed books orarticles under the heading Highly Recommended Reading. These suggestionsarent meant to include all the wonderful material there is on any topic Ivetouched on, but once in a while I couldnt help myselftherewas something I had read that seemed so good, I just had to share! Obviously,Id recommend that you add your own references to these lists. Someday when yousee me, let me know about your favorites.

I am so grateful to the folks at Deseret Book who give such wonderful help. Jana Erickson, Emily Watts, Sheryl Dickert Smith, andTonya Facemyer all shared their expertise to create the book you hold in yourhands. Without the help, encouragement, and patience (yea, evenlong-suffering at times!) this great Deseret Book team has had forme, I might never have finished.

For each book sold, I will donate to a wonderfulorganization called CARE FOR LIFE. This foundation was created by Blair andCindy Packard of Gilbert, Arizona. Go to their web site to learn more:www.careforlife.org

Cindy and Blair are wonderfully peculiar people doingwonderfully uncommon things in the African country of Mozambique, and by thetime you read this book they will be President and SisterPackardmission president and companion. (Or they may havereturned home from Mozambique if its a while before you read this; we dontwant to leave them there TOO long!)

Thanks for helping!

Chapter 1

On Being Peculiar

I, MEE, having been born ofpeculiar parents...

What comes to your mind whenyou hear the word peculiar? Somethink of other words like strange,odd, or weird. Buttheres more to the word than that,isnt there?

One dictionary explains that the word peculiar means: That whichpertains to or characterizes an individual person, place or thing, or group ofpersons or things, as distinct from others. Setapart. [Really! That definition is in several dictionaries!]Distinguished in nature, character, or attributes from others. Unlike others,singular, uncommon, unusual (TheNew Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press,1993; emphasis added).

What are some things that make usboth as apeople and as individualsdistinct, uncommon, set apart? Itsnot the horns, is it? Do you know that there are still people who ask aboutthat: Do Mormons have horns? Well, yes, but we keep them well hidden. Some ofus keep them in a safety deposit box or under a stunning wig.

In this book Id love to explore with you the notion ofbeing peculiar people. I dont want to add a lot of unnecessary pressure,guilt, or frustration to your lifeIve consciously tried notto do that. What I hope to do is invite you to consider the joys of beingincreasingly distinct and different in good ways, holy ways, Christlike andGodlike ways.

One of the important phrases that keeps popping up as Ivebeen working on the book is striving to be better when youre already prettygood. I love that phrase! I hope it will be on your mind as you read, becauseIm guessing that were all probably pretty good, but that something in ourhearts and souls wants us to be even better.

So, going back to the opening line of this chapter, whatmade my parents peculiar? Everything, really. Im convinced that these twopeople, Paul K Edmunds and Ella Mary Middleton, were chosen to bring me to thispart of my existence, to teach and nurture and endure me.

When I tell others about my parents, I sometimes start bysaying my dad was a doctor and my mother a nurse. That is, after all, how theymet. They were the only two single, LDS, medical staff people at the hospitalin Hanford, California, in about 1936.

My parents were definitely peculiar, and I even have fourpeculiar brothers and three peculiar sisters! Imagine eight very differentchildren born to the same parents. To be honest, I might be one of the mostpeculiar of the eight.

Isnt it fascinating how a whole lot of people can all livein the same home, have the same parents (or parent), eat approximately the samethings, have similar experiences, and yet turn out to be so DIFFERENT from eachother?

As I think of my childhood, I am amazed that our parentswere able to allow each of the eight of us children to find our uniquepersonalities, our brought-it-with-us interests andtalents. Ive often said that Charlottes dolls went to dances and my dollswent to war. How is it that our parents allowed these differences, even if theyhad hoped I would be more like Charlotte? (Interestingly, as the years havegone by, Ive had lots of times when IVE wished I could be more like her!)

Thinking about my parents and my family, I look back at thatfirst verse in the Book of Mormon again. I have thought a lot about what Nephisaid in that one verse concerning his life, and about how his experiencescompared with mine.