Each year for Christmas my wife and I try to build something for our kids.  One year it was a toy store (moving conveyer belt and all!). One year it was a craft desk.  One year it was a PhD (the kids didn’t think that was too cool).  This year, we built a Noah’s Ark for our little two-year old man Calvin.  We came up with the idea about a year ago and thought it would be sweet to build an ark that opened up on the sides and had little cubbies to hold all his toy animals.  We searched online for various ideas and saw some cool arks, but nothing like what we were thinking, so we designed it ourselves.  Here was our cardboard box prototype to get a feel for size and how much wood we would need (glad I could put that extra MORMONS: An Open Book box to use, and the green premium diapers box from Sam’s Club “leak prevention you can trust!”).

Here’s the finished cardboard ark. We knew we were on the right track when our little Cal came in as we were taping together this cardboard prototype and started playing with it like mad.

We built the thing out of poplar wood because, well, it’s not too expensive, is fairly workable for non-experts like us, and, lets be frank,  because it is one of three options at Home Depot (pine–too soft; redwood–am I Daddy Warbucks?).

I built the boxes using a dado blade and tongue in groove system.  Only screwed up the first go around, but the next two sets of boxes came together sweet.

I built the side walls next…

Then the handles on the side that add some decorative ark flair (and ergonomic use to carry the bad boy).  I originally was going to hand carve a male and female lion head on the end of each handle as you can see in the cardboard cut out, but, alas, I was pushing time as it was (this photo was taken on December 20th) and the poplar was terrible wood to try to hand carve.  Bag that idea (it actually turned out for the better.  Kept the finished ark with a simpler, child-like look rather than giant lion heads like at the door-knocks of some mansion).

I attached the handles to the ends using lag bolts, and then attached the ends to the center boxes using lag bolts and corner connectors.

I then built the house for the top, cut the top lido deck piece (I hopeNoah called it the “lido deck.”  Feels so cruise ship like) and attached the house and deck together.  The deck fit down into its place snug as a bug.  I glued it and attached it with some screws from the bottom.

Last of all, I cut the side panel doors and top lid doors (for the house), all of which hinge open and close (the side panel doors lock with some bolt levers).  Aside from putting his animals in their little cubbies, opening and closing the doors has gotta be the most fun for a little munchkin.  I also cut and built a ladder with steps that attaches to the side so he can march his animals up to the top deck.  Here is the final product, being glazed with a wipe on polyurethane and then all set up, ready to go on Christmas eve.

Here are some shots Christmas morning of the little man with his ark (gotta love the bed-head).

Don’t you love the mass of animals piled up on the one side?  So much for order on the ark.

This was a great project to do and we’re happy with how it turned out.  Most important, our little man (and other kids…including me) have loved it–putting the animals two-by-two into their compartments, mixing pandas and polar bears (oh my!), closing up the lid and locking them away to get ready to disembark, marching them up the ladder, stuffing them all into a heap in the house on the top.  It’s been cool.  So cool that we think we’ll keep it when he’s older (it’s a “family” gift, back off!):-).

A. Because people, in general, want and need to better understand Mormonism.  As of 2012 we are the fourth largest denomination in the United States.  There are more Mormons in the U.S. then there are Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists.  We have over 28,000 LDS congregations in over 170 countries worldwide. Mormons and Mormonism are increasingly in the public arena. Yet in a recent Pew Forum survey 51% of Americans admitted they didn’t know very much or nothing at all about what Mormons actually believe.  With the growth and exposure of Mormonism in recent years, more and more people are curious about our actual beliefs and practices, and they want it straight and undiluted from sources they can trust.  This book fills that niche.

Q. What does the title imply?

A. The title has a dual meaning: Mormonism, and this book’s approach, is open to answering and discussing the questions that most people want to know.  Let’s talk about LDS temple worship, temple under garments, polygamy, our stance on same-gender marriage, why Mormons tend to have bigger families, the role of LDS women, our beliefs about Jesus Christ, etc.  This book hits all of those, and more. However, as the subtitle also implies, this book will stick to what you really want to and, therefore, ought to know.  To the disappointment of perhaps a few this book doesn’t go into some of the fringe or nuanced things that don’t matter to 99% of the population and aren’t fundamental to understanding LDS beliefs, history, or practice.

Q. What does this book offer that other books on Mormonism don’t?

A. There are a lot of great books out there on Mormonism, and some not-so-great ones.  This book offers four combined elements that I don’t think any other book on Mormonism offers under one cover: First, the book is written from the perspective of faithful members of the LDS Church explaining their beliefs.  It isn’t written from a detached, critical, outsider, historical, scholarly perspective.  This is important because if you want to really know or understand something you are interested in but unfamiliar with (say, surfing, for example) you go talk to the locals on the island—the local surfers—not the tourists or the weatherman or the oceanographers.  To really understand Mormonism, you must hear it from those who know it, live it, and love it. Second, I am an LDS religious educator by profession.  Explaining LDS beliefs in layman’s terms to your average person in an engaging way is what I do everyday.  Thus, although this book is heavily researched (I think there are over 400 external references in the book) and offers both breadth and depth on the subject of Mormonism, it isn’t written in scholarly language or to the academic world.  In other words, it won’t put you to sleep.  It is written to and will be enjoyed by the average, normally educated person who simply wants to better know and understand Mormonism.  Third, this book is visually engaging and interactive.  It’s not a boring text book.  There are graphs, images, charts, pictures, paintings, QR codes you can scan with your smart phone to watch videos, and a host of other aspects of the book that will not only help you better understand and know Mormonism, but enjoy yourself in the process.  Fourth, I am funny.  Dang funny.

Q. What are your favorite features of the book?

A. The layout.  It is beautifully designed and aesthetically pleasing.  It’s just a fun book to look through.  I also really enjoyed incorporating in all the social studies that have been done on Mormonism: The facts, the stats, the national forums, and the polls.  Last, I really enjoy that each chapter has what I termed a “Mormyth”—a section that tries to answer and dispel commons myths about Mormonism. For example: Mormons have such big families because using birth control is against LDS standards.  Want to know the real answer? Read the book.

Q. Why should someone who isn’t LDS want to have this book?

A. To be better informed in a reliable, non-threatening way.  The tone I tried to take in this book is, “Hey, this is what we as Latter-day Saints believe.  Take it or leave it—that’s cool with us—but at least now you know” (and no, I’m not going to quote G.I. Joe here).  This book isn’t not trying to convert or condemn anyone; it’s not on the offensive, or the defensive, just on the informative.

Why should someone who is LDS want to have this book?

A. To aid Latter-day Saints in knowing how to clearly and concisely answer some of the common questions people, including investigators and recent converts to the LDS faith, often have.  Perhaps most of all,  for Latter-day Saints who want to give something to a non-LDS family member or friend that helps concisely and openly explain Mormonism, this is a great book to send their way to help them better understand the faith.