Five People I'd Love To Have at a Dinner Party

An intriguing question I ran across surfing blogspots was this: "Who are the five people I'd most love to have to a dinner party."

Man, did that get thought processes flowing. I decided to not let a little thing like someone being dead get in the way . . . and so here it goes. The list of who I would most love to invite to a dinner party.

Joseph & Emma Smith, I'm counting them as one. But I would love to be able to sit down with this prophet of God and his beautiful wife and just listen. Several years ago I was given the privilege of spending two years studying the life and times of Joseph Smith, Jr. In order to get a complete picture, I studied his life, his family, the church, political, religious, literary, economic and criminal climate of the time.

This gave me an incredible picture of the man the Lord chose to restore His gospel on the earth. His words to the twelve and the saints, "O ye Twelve! and all Saints! profit by this important Key -- that in all your trials, troubles, temptations, afflictions, bonds, imprisonments and death, see to it, that you do not betray heaven; that you do not betray Jesus Christ; that you do not betray the brethren; that you do not betray the revelations of God, whether in Bible, Book of Mormon, or Doctrine and Covenants, or any other that ever was or ever will be given and revealed unto man in this world or that which is to come. Yea, in all your kicking and flounderings, see to it that you do not this thing, lest innocent blood be found upon your skirts, and you go down to hell. All other sins are not to be compared to sinning against the Holy Ghost, and proving a traitor to the brethren. Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p 156. So yes, they would be my first guests.

William Shakespeare would be my next guest. His skill in writing is unsurpassed by all who have followed. I didn't come to appreciate the beauty of his work until my uncle, James Robinson (a great Shakesperian Actor,) acted the plays out for me. Oh my goodness, did they take on a whole new meaning. The Taming of the Shrew is one of my absolute favorites, as is The Tempest.

William Shakespeare would be second guest I would choose to be at my dinner party. How do you think he and Joseph Smith would get along?

Parley P. Pratt, for as long as I can remember the way Parley P. Pratt writes has touched a deep part of my soul. One of my favorite passages he wrote was this regarding their unlawful imprisonment in a Missouri jailhouse: "One night in the Richmond Jail, as guards in “dreadful blasphemies and filthy language” boasted of their participation in the Saints’ persecution, Joseph rebuked them in the name of Jesus Christ in a “voice of thunder”: “SILENCE, ye fiends of the infernal pit. … Cease such talk, or you or I die THIS INSTANT!”He stood chained and without a weapon and rebuked them. Calm, unruffled and dignified as an angel as he looked upon the quailing guards. Dignity and majesty have I seen but once as it stood in chains at midnight in a dungeon in an obscure village in Missouri." And he had testified before kings, queens, and presidents.

Oh the command of the written word this man had. He has long touched my heart and spirit with his words. Yes, he would definitely sit at my table for my little get-together.

Jane Austen. No little get together of those I long to meet and spend time with would be complete without the woman who started it all. In her day she was known as a writer of frivolous romance. But she captured a picture of society that was full of humor, foibles, weakness, strengths and entwined it all with color from daily British life. The author of six novels, her work survives today being translated into television and film as well as reprinting of her books. Frivolous romance just doesn't get that done, does it.

Oh yes, Jane Austen is a definite must-have.


Nora Roberts. From the land of the living I would have to have Nora Roberts at this little get together. One of the most brilliant writers of our time, she has long been an inspiration to me as a writer. Wow, I can just see this very eclectic group together all eras and generations . . . that would make for some very interesting dinner conversation, on a number of levels.

Shoot, I'm going to cheat and just add two more people to this little dinner party my husband and I are having. It's my party, I can do whatever I want to! I'll just get a bigger table, oh yeah, and a bigger house. Might have to move the party somewhere else.

Also from the land of living, I would include Merrill Osmond. Merrill is one of the greatest people I know. A consummate entertainer, devoted husband and father, Merrill is a very dear friend of mine. I think he'd get a kick out of joining us at this little party. "For he that seeks to know the mind and will of God with a heart that agrees to accept the truth, shall find and know the mysteries that are hidden from the world." -- Merrill Osmond.

My husband and I already consider him a member of our family. And no little get-together with people I would love to sit down and chat with would ever be complete without my friend and brother, Merrill Osmond.

And last, but most certainly not least! The final individual I would add to this gather is one that occupied my thought, actions, and beliefs for the entirety of my life. Because of Him life is much more bearable and eternity is possible.

Jesus Christ. Need I say more.

And on this auspicious occasion, I would probably just sit next to my husband with my eyes big, my heart full and just listen. And me being me, I'd throw a question or two as well. This would definitely go down in history as the greatest account of "filling the well within" that has ever occurred within the entirety of time and history.