December 5, 2010. That was the date of my very first blog post. Nobody read it. Nobody even knew I had started a blog. In fact, my first month I had about 8 total readers, none of whom I knew personally. A few months later, I told my EC about the blog, and a few more people eventually stumbled in. It just kind of grew from there.
Now here we are, three years later. It is crazy how fast time goes. When you look at the numbers, it becomes almost hard for me to believe:
- I have somehow managed to write over 700 posts. (I am confident that at least 10 were pretty good.)
- You guys have managed to submit over 15,000 comments. (Not including those that I trashed.)
- This little old blog has been looked at over 1.7 million times.
I feel one of the great accomplishments of my blog has been that I have helped teach compulsive “typo police” people how to be more patient.
Beyond that, I have been able to meet and learn from people from all over the world. Members and non-members. Ex-Mormons, and future Mormons. It has broadened my mind, and taught me much about the vastness of our Church. It has also made me more aware at the variety, complexity and difficulty of many of the challenges and tragedies we all experience. Sometimes it is enlightening, other times heart-wrenching.
I also get to know of the joys, testimonies and good-natured humor of so many people from all walks of life, all around the world. I feel like I have friends all across the county, and in many other nations, which had made the world that much smaller to me.
We all have our own opinions, idiosyncrasies, dislikes, phobias, and pet platitudes, and that is OK (most of the time). More importantly, we share a common faith in Jesus Christ, a common testimony in His restored Gospel, and hope.
I appreciate your unflagging support, your stories, your questions, your insight, your bravery, your strength, and your humor. I appreciate you for helping me keep this a safe place where we can laugh, cry, learn from each other, and occasionally bicker like the siblings that we are.
This silly blog helps me be a better man. Thank you.
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The survey is complete. Thanks to those who took the time to fill out the information. I don’t actually know what I am going to do with it…
Now I’m going to ask a favor of you. I want to know more about you, and what you think about all this. I have put together a brief survey to get a feel for the demographics, and opinions, of you – my good-looking, witty and highly intelligent readers. And I’m not just kissing up. I promise.
PLEASE give it a go, and share it with others who you know who might visit MMM. It is anonymous (like me), and it is short (unlike me)
Here
I come here with a big heart and strong testamony. If I am a diamond I might be too rough to be to be highly prized just yet. Please dont dump me I promise to polish up snd raise my hand.
Happy Blogiversary! I’m impressed with how quickly your blog and it’s following has grown in three years, but not surprised. It has been one of my favorite reads in the year and a half or so that I’ve been following along. Thanks for sharing your many insights on such varied topics with intelligence, humor, and common sense. May you have many more years of successful blogging!
Congratulations on the anniversary! You’re doing great work. Keep it up!
Not so much interested in just the numerical stats that your survey will generate, but would really like to read all the comments left, category by category.
I’m glad you started a blog. Truly, truly! I know it’s made my life better. 🙂
Happy Blogbirthday.
Took the survey and it didn’t even hurt a bit!
I took your survey, but when I tried to choose the country, I think I ended up with Uganda. OOPS.
I love the way your posts encourage me to look at both sides of a topic. The nonjudgmental approach is what I’m trying to apply in my life every day. HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. “A Suuunbeam, a Suuunbeam. Jesus wants me for a Suuunbeam…”
“What I discovered was that he somehow knew and expressed, most eloquently, the words of my heart about the gospel. So I stayed.” – Anonymous
Yep. This is exactly why I plugged you into my Feed.ly! Happy Day!
Still reading. Keep on keepin’ on. Miracle Whip forever!
Congrats! I’m glad to have found your blog! 🙂 I hope last night’s discovery grants me forgiveness for not commenting more often lately! 🙂
And of course it would be me, the one person to mess up the first comment I left, so I had to come back and redo it. I don’t even know if my first comment went through. lol sorry!
For those who don’t know what Sharline is babbling about, she is referring to the fact that she was the very first person to comment on my blog. Ever. Ben is a lucky man, and we need to remind him of it every chance we get.
Talk about being awesome… 🙂
Happy birthday! Eat cake….Bill Cosby says it’s good for you.
I was on the last survey question of my country and pushed a wrong gizmo…did it go to you or did it go to Neverland and if so I’ll redo it.
HAPPY, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
Thanks for starting a blog on my birthday!
I may or may not have lied about my age.
“may or may not”…. mCat? “DID”
Happy Birthday! I’m glad that I found your blog over a year ago.
Happy Birthday! Should I just bring the gift to Chucky Cheese later?
That would be great!
I stumbled in and immediately recognized superb writing so I stayed to investigate. I loved how he intermingled humor with the gospel, so I returned again. What I discovered was that he somehow knew and expressed, most eloquently, the words of my heart about the gospel. So I stayed.
I began sharing his posts at home and online. They have fostered literally hours of discussion with family and friends about the gospel. T
his blog helped me explain things to my husband who was not a member at the start, but has since been baptized in no small part due to the many discussions fostered by this blog.
I’ve met and made friends I intend to hang on to for life.
What Middle-aged Mormon Man’s blog means to me: sharing the gospel, standing as a witness of Jesus Christ and His church, and the conversion of people I love as well as enriching my own. I love this blog and my friend behind the mask. Thank you for three years of awesome. I look forward to whatever else you are willing to offer us.
What she just said. All of it. Well, except for the non member husband part. She is absolutely spot on about how I feel. We love you, MMM!
I too, second that. 😉
Amen and ditto to Anonymous! Thank you for expressing what we all feel. My husband and I love your blog and discuss it in our home when something hits a chord. Or when we want a good laugh (i.e. snow monkey’s).
I would love to see the general results of this survey. I’m a sucker for statistics. 🙂
I will publish some of it. Most of it is what I expected, but there are some surprises.
Ooops I accidentally said I was from Nicaragua.. I’m not.. Indiana is indeed in the US so you may want to change that.
Does this mean you’re a Sunbeam now? Three years old, you’re a big kid now! So cool. Congratulations on such a great achievement. I can only hope to be like you when I grow up, or at least when my blog grows up. Keep up the great work! (No, there aren’t any hidden meanings or little jabs in this comment today. That’s my birthday gift to you.)