Rich Alger

In order to recover and collect strength

2012-01-19T10:36:00.001-07:00

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. — Matthew 11:28-30

Bruce Webster looked up the Greek word that is translated as “rest”. It means, "to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labour in order to recover and collect his strength". This gives new meaning to the word for me.
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Beware of Pride

2012-01-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

A great message that needs to be remembered. Read the text at lds.org

Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing.

The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.

Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” (Philip. 2:21.)

In the words of C. S. Lewis: “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.” (Mere Christianity, New York: Macmillan, 1952, pp. 109–10.)

Pride is the universal sin, the great vice. Yes, pride is the universal sin, the great vice.

The antidote for pride is humility—meekness, submissiveness. (See Alma 7:23.) It is the broken heart and contrite spirit. (See 3 Ne. 9:20; 3 Ne. 12:19; D&C 20:37; D&C 59:8; Ps. 34:18; Isa. 57:15; Isa. 66:2.) As Rudyard Kipling put it so well:

The tumult and the shouting dies;
The captains and the kings depart.
Still stands thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget, lest we forget.

References to this talk in General Conference.
Elder Marlin K. Jensen, Apr 2001 “To Walk Humbly with Thy God”
President Deiter F.Uctdorf Oct 2010 "Pride and the Priesthood"

I've always been able to count on you

2011-12-09T08:53:00.001-07:00

At 17:08 in the video Mr Willie Krueger imagines himself visiting the baby Jesus in the manger.

I'm Willy Krueger and I'm custodian over at the Beck Apartments, but, but you know that, don't you. You know that. I guess nobody here can see me or hear me except you. I didn't bring a gift, I, but I, I guess that's not important. Thank you for everything you've done for me. As long as I can remember you've been right by my side. I'll never forget when you walked with me right in those first few hours after I lost Martha. I-I've always been able to count on you, when I felt dark inside and when I... You were right there, right, every time, right there. Even when I didn't feel good about myself, I knew that you cared for me enough, and that, that made me feel better. Like that time I got mad with Mabel Huntington because she broke her pipes on purpose just so she could have somebody to see while I came up and fixed them for her. Boy, I hollered at her, boy I hollered real loud. But then, then I got to thinking - you loved Mabel just as much as you loved me and I should treat her the way you want me to. I believe I talked to you about that at the time. Well, I started visiting her and we became friends. I saw her almost every day until the day she died. I love you. You're my closest, my finest friend. And that means that I can hold my head high, wherever I go. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. (Emphasis added)

At the end
'Narrator: "I love you." That's what Christmas is all about... Clarissa said it to Mr. Krueger; Mr. Krueger said it to Jesus; and Jesus in so many ways said it to all of us.'

Something in the Way She Moves

2011-11-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

There are a couple of James Taylor songs that sum up how I feel about my wife and her soul saving influence in my life. I am so grateful for her love, patience and example of unwearied diligence. "She has the power to go where no one else can find me and to silently remind me of the happiness and the good times that I know"

Something In The Way She Moves
Something in the way she moves, or looks my way, or calls my name
that seems to leave this troubled world behind.
And if I'm feeling down and blue or troubled by some foolish game,
she always seems to make me change my mind..

And I feel fine anytime she's around me now, she's around me now almost about all the time.
And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now.
She's been with me now quite a long, long time and I feel fine.

Every now and then the things I lean on lose their meaning
and I find myself careening in places where I should not let me go.
She has the power to go where no one else can find me and to silently remind me
of the happiness and the good times that I know, and then I just got to go then.

It isn't what she's got to say but how she thinks and where she's been.
To me, the words are nice, the way they sound.
I like to hear them best that way, it doesn't much matter what they mean.
she says them mostly just to calm me down

And I feel fine anytime she's around me now, she's around me now almost about all the time.
And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now.
She's been with me now quite a long, long time and I feel fine.

Mean Old Man
On my own
How could I have known?
Imagine my surprise
Just a fool
From a tree full of fools
Who can't believe his eyes
Imagine my surprise

I was a mean old man
I was an ornery cuss
I was a dismal dan
I made an awful fuss
Ever since my life began
Man, it was ever thus
I was a nasty tyke who was hard to like

I had to misbehave
I did things in reverse
Refused to wash or shave
I was horrid to my nurse
I got back what I gave
Which only made me worse
I had to have my way
Which was bleak and gray, oh dear

Living in here
One hundred years of rain
Such a drag
This riches to rags
With just myself to blame
A dirty low-down shame

Silly me
Silly old me
Somewhere outside my mind
Clever you
Walking me through
Willing to lead the blind
Just in the nick of time

Who gets a second chance?
Who gets to have some fun?
Who gets to learn to dance
Before his race is run?
Who gets to she'd his skin?
Who comes up born again?
Who was a mean old man
'til you turned him into a golden retriever
Puppy dog
Who's a good boy?
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Don't demand things that are unreasonable

2011-11-22T14:39:00.001-07:00

"Be patient with yourself. Perfection comes not in this life, but in the next life. Don't demand things that are unreasonable. But, demand of yourself improvement. As you let the Lord help you through that, He will make the difference." ("Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them" Elder Russell M. Nelson shares a personal story to give encouragement for when we feel "weak in the heart.")

Unrestrained Bluntness

2011-11-17T11:05:00.001-07:00

I have had some interactions online that immediately came to mind when I read this comment.

"So many people think unrestrained bluntness is the ideal simply because it is honest - not realizing that honesty can be expressed in numerous ways. Sometimes boldness is necessary - but sometimes, though true, it is cruel, lazy and cowardly." Papa D
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Yielding to the Enticings

2011-11-17T07:07:00.001-07:00

When I woke up this morning it was clear what I was to do.

I had been angry with my son when I hit him with the pillow. I didn't realize it at the time but I was upset when he made that noise while I was reading the scriptures. The noise I could barely hear. When I asked if him if he was making noise, he just smiled like he thought it was funny. My thought was that he was not showing me respect and I was upset. Then when he was messing around with his brother and threw the pillow at him, I acted without thinking. I picked up a pillow and hit him with it. I did it in anger, to force him to submit to me.

So I was angry with my son. I wanted him to submit to me before he made the noise. To not do it in the first place. I didn't not want him playing fun when I was reading scriptures. I was upset when he pointed out that I was angry and that I should be setting the example. I was stewing last night.

I apologized to my son in the car before we left this morning. I let him know that it was not OK for me to be angry even if I felt that I was being disrespected by my son. I also let him know that the right thing to do if you do get angry is to admit what you did wrong and apologize. If it happens one to one, then you apologize one to one. If it happens in public, you apologize in public. I said I was planning to apologize when our family was together again tonight.

It was this scripture that helped me to recognize my fault and what I was to do to be reconciled.
D&C 42:88-93

88 And if thy brother or sister offend thee, thou shalt take him or her between him or her and thee alone; and if he or she confess thou shalt be reconciled.
89 And if he or she confess not thou shalt deliver him or her up unto the church, not to the members, but to the elders. And it shall be done in a meeting, and that not before the world.
90 And if thy brother or sister offend many, he or she shall be chastened before many.
91 And if any one offend openly, he or she shall be rebuked openly, that he or she may be ashamed. And if he or she confess not, he or she shall be delivered up unto the law of God.
92 If any shall offend in secret, he or she shall be rebuked in secret, that he or she may have opportunity to confess in secret to him or her whom he or she has offended, and to God, that the church may not speak reproachfully of him or her.
93 And thus shall ye conduct in all things.

I also thought of this scripture, Mosiah 3:19. Am I to submit to the Lord because He is an angry God? Because I am afraid of what my punishment will be? Or because I am afraid that He might be angry with magma simmering just underneath the surface?

No that is not right. It is not the way God is. If I am to have the respect of my children, I am to model the behavior of my perfect Father in Heaven. God may reprove betimes with sharpness but not because He loses his temper. Because he gives correction at the time when it will be received best. He does it with the sharpness or exactness of the Spirit. In a way where we will only receive it if we are willing to listen.

Then I have received the challenge from the Holy Ghost to change. To turn my face to God. To turn to the better way. To leave behind anger and all its chains. It is because God loves me and is willing to reason with me to teach me the ways of happiness that I have the respect I have for God. I love Him because His first loved me. He loves me enough to correct me in a timely and uplifting way.

-Richard

The difference between confessional belief and convictional belief

2011-10-14T02:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a good essay on the difference between confessional belief and convictional belief. The following gives a good taste of it.

I’ve never heard my dad preach about the importance of self-reliance. Rather, he simply invested in several years worth of food storage and water, planted a garden and an orchard, purchased chickens, and learned how to care for bees.

I’ve never heard my dad sermonize about caring for the elderly. Rather, he simply invited his mother-in-law to live in his house, spent hours remodeling the bathroom so she could more comfortably use it, remodeled her bedroom to give her more space, and is currently building a ramp so that she can drive her wheelchair into the backyard and enjoy the outdoors.

What Mormons Believe About Jesus Christ

2011-10-14T01:54:00.000-07:00

I just came across an article that describes in detail what Mormons believe about Jesus Christ. To me it is a comprehensive and accurate essay of my beliefs of Christ, though a little academic.

It is "excerpts ...taken from an address to the Harvard Divinity School in March 2001 by Robert L. Millet, former dean of religious education at Brigham Young University"

The money quote from the article,

Given the challenges we face in our society — fatherless homes, child and spouse abuse, divorce, poverty, spreading crime and delinquency — it seems so foolish for men and women who believe in God, whose hearts and lives have been surrendered to that God, to allow doctrinal differences to prevent them from working together.

On how we differ from traditional Christianity about Jesus Christ.

In an effort to satisfy the accusations of Jews who denounced the notion of three Gods (Father, Son and Holy Ghost) as polytheistic, and at the same time incorporate ancient but appealing Greek philosophical concepts of an all-powerful moving force in the universe, the Christian church began to redefine the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One classic work describes the intersection of Christian theology and Greek philosophy: “It is impossible for any one, whether he be a student of history or no, to fail to notice a difference of both form and content between the sermons on the Mount and the Nicene Creed. … The one belongs to a world of Syrian peasants, the other to a world of Greek philosophers. … The religion which our Lord preached ... took the Jewish conception of a Father in heaven, and gave it a new meaning.” In short, “Greek Christianity of the fourth century was rooted in Hellenism. The Greek minds which had been ripening for Christianity had absorbed new ideas and new motives.”[i]

What is the result? Such Platonic concepts as the immutability, impassibility and timelessness of God made their way into Christian theology. As one group of Evangelical scholars has stated: “Many Christians experience an inconsistency between their beliefs about the nature of God and their religious practice. For example, people who believe that God cannot change his mind sometimes pray in ways that would require God to do exactly that. And Christians who make use of the free will defense for the problem of evil sometimes ask God to get them a job or a spouse, or keep them from being harmed, implying that God should override the free will of others in order to achieve these ends. ...

“These inharmonious elements are the result of the coupling of biblical ideas about God with notions of the divine nature drawn from Greek thought. The inevitable encounter between biblical and classical thought in the early church generated many significant insights and helped Christianity evangelize pagan thought and culture. Along with the good, however, came a certain theological virus that infected the Christian doctrine of God, making it ill and creating the sorts of problems mentioned above. The virus so permeates Christina theology that some have come to take the illness for granted, attributing it to divine mystery, while others remain unaware of the infection altogether.” [Clark Pinnock, Richard Rice, John Sanders, William Hasker and David Basinger, The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God (Downer Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1994), 9–10.]

A quote given from Joseph Smith in the article.

Why should it be thought a thing incredible that the Lord should be pleased to speak again in these last days for their salvation? Perhaps you may be surprised at this assertion that I should say ‘for the salvation of his creatures in these last days’ since we have already in our possession a vast volume of his word [the Bible] which he has previously given. But you will admit that the word spoken to Noah was not sufficient or Abraham. … Isaac, the promised seed, was not required to rest his hope upon the promises made to his father Abraham, but was privileged with the assurance of [God’s] approbation in the sight of heaven by the direct voice of the Lord to him. … I have no doubt but that the holy prophets and apostles and saints in the ancient days were saved in the kingdom of God. … I may believe that Enoch walked with God. I may believe that Abraham communed with God and conversed with angels. … And have I not an equal privilege with the ancient saints? And will not the Lord hear my prayers, and listen to my cries as soon [as] he ever did to theirs, if I come to him in the manner they did? Or is he a respecter of persons? (Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, comp. Dean C. Jessee (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1984), 297–301; spelling and punctuation corrected.)

I loved the story of the beginning of the dialog Robert Millet has had with evangelical Christians.

A number of years ago a colleague and I traveled with two Evangelical Christian friends to another part of the country to meet with a well-known theologian, author and pastor/teacher in that area. We had read several of his books and had enjoyed his preaching over the years. As a part of an outreach effort to better understand those of other faiths (and to assist them to understand us a little better), we have visited such institutions as Notre Dame, Catholic University, Baylor, Wheaton College and various religious colleges and seminaries. We met this particular pastor and then attended his church services on both Sunday morning and Sunday evening and in both meetings were impressed with the depth and inspiration of his preaching.

The next day we met for lunch and had a wonderful two-hour doctrinal discussion. I explained that we had no set agenda, except that we had admired his writings and wanted to meet him. We added that we had several questions we wanted to pose in order to better understand Evangelical theology. I mentioned that as the dean of religious education (at that time), I oversaw the teaching of religion to some 30,000 young people at Brigham Young University and that I felt it would be wise for me to be able to articulate properly the beliefs of our brothers and sisters of other faiths. I hoped, as well, that they might make the effort to understand our beliefs so as to represent accurately what we teach.

Early in our conversation the minister said something like: “Look, anyone knows there are big difference between us. But I don’t want to focus on those differences. Let’s talk about Christ.” We then discussed the person of Jesus, justification by faith, baptism, sanctification, salvation, heaven, hell, agency and predestination, premortal existence and a number of other fascinating topics. We compared and contrasted, we asked questions and we answered questions. In thinking back on what proved to be one of the most stimulating and worthwhile learning experiences of our lives, the one thing that characterized our discussion, and the one thing that made the biggest difference, was the mood that existed there — a mood of openness, candor and a general lack of defensiveness. We knew what we believed, and we were all committed to our own religious tradition. But we were eager to learn where the other person was coming from.

Jesus is the "prototype of all saved beings, the standard of salvation" see Lectures on Faith, 7:9

How should we react to those who do not consider us Christian?

Knowing what I know, feeling what I feel and having experienced what I have in regard to the person and power of the Savior, it is difficult for me to be patient and loving toward those who denounce me as a non-Christian. But I am constrained to do so in the spirit of Him who also was misunderstood and misrepresented. While it would be a wonderful thing to have others acknowledge our Christianity, we do not court favor nor will we compromise our distinctiveness.

"through Christ which strengtheneth me"

2011-09-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a good lesson from "Believing Christ: A Practical Approach to the Atonement" by Stephen E. Robinson May 29, 1990. (mp3)

Sometimes the weight of the demand for perfection drives us to despair. Sometimes we fail to believe that most choice portion of the gospel that says he can change us and bring us into his kingdom. Let me share an experience that happened about ten years ago. My wife and I were living in Pennsylvania. Things were going pretty well; I'd been promoted. It was a good year for us, though a trying year for Janet. That year she had our fourth child, graduated from college, passed the CPA exam, and was made Relief Society president. We had temple recommends, we had family home evening. I was in the bishopric. I thought we were headed for "LDS yuppiehood." Then one night the lights went out. Something happened in my wife that I can only describe as "dying spiritually." She wouldn't talk about it; she wouldn't tell me what was wrong. That was the worst part. For a couple of weeks she did not wish to participate in spiritual things. She asked to be released from her callings, and she would not open up and tell me what was wrong.

Finally, after about two weeks, one night I made her mad and it came out. She said, "All right. You want to know what's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong. I can't do it anymore. I can't lift it. I can't get up at 5:30 in the morning and bake bread and sew clothes and help my kids with their homework and do my own homework and do my Relief Society stuff and get my genealogy done and write the congressman and go to the PTA meetings and write the missionaries . . ." And she just started naming one brick after another that had been laid on her, explaining all the things she could not do. She said, "I don't have the talent that Sister Morrell has. I can't do what Sister Childs does. I try not to yell at the kids, but I lose control, and I do. I'm just not perfect, and I'm not ever going to be perfect. I'm not going to make it to the celestial kingdom, and I've finally admitted that to myself. You and the kids can go, but I can't lift it. I'm not 'Molly Mormon,' and I'm not ever going to be perfect, so I've given up. Why break my back?"

This is one of my favorite talks ever. It brings me hope. I came to recognize that the Savior is called this because he saves. Robinson uses a funny illustration, "What good is it to have a savior if no one is saved? It's like having a lifeguard that won't get out of the chair. 'There goes another one down. Try the backstroke! Oh, too bad, he didn't make it.' "

I particularly like the analogy of a merger. Me as a bankrupt small business and the Savior as a large corporation with much assets. We merge and my liabilities merge with His assets and together we are solvent. The merging is the covenant he uses another analogy that fits even better, Marriage.

He proposes to us a covenant relationship. I use the word "propose" on purpose because it is a marriage of a spiritual sort that is being proposed. That is why he is called the Bridegroom. This covenant relationship is so intimate that it can be described as a marriage. I become one with Christ, and as partners we work together for my salvation and my exaltation. My liabilities and his assets flow into each other. I do all that I can do, and he does what I cannot yet do. The two of us together are perfect.

I love the Savior. I know that I am ever in need of His help. As I work the plan of His proposal I overcome the effects of sin. If I fall and stumble, He is there for me, if I will allow the covenant relationship to work. If I allow Him to help me to save me from the less than good in me.

Update: I changed the title of this post from "I can't do it" to "through Christ which strengtheneth me" from Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me". I like focusing on the positive the reality of what my covenant relationship with Christ enables. Not the inaccurate negative of the original title. I used the original title because surrender to God is so important.

"three things are necessary"

2011-09-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

From the Lectures on Faith 3:2-5:

Let us here observe, that three things are necessary, in order that any rational and intelligent being may exercise faith in God, unto life and salvation:
First, the idea that he actually exists.
Second, a correct idea of his character, perfections and attributes.
Third, an actual knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing, is according to his will.

I have quoted this passage many times on my blog. It is center to my faith and walk with God.

"Today I will be a follower of Jesus Christ"

2011-09-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

"Today I will be a follower of Jesus Christ"

It is this quote from Richard Bushman that caused me to write about him today. He has been called the "Mormon Explainer". And I really liked the way he responded to a question about The Book of Mormon musical on broadway, "'The Book of Mormon' is like looking into a fun-house mirror; the reflection is hilarious but not really you"

Deseret News recently wrote and article about Bushman. I recommend it to you. "Being a Mormon in a Mormon Moment"

"the great question which is in your minds"

2011-09-09T01:22:00.000-07:00

What is the great question?
"whether the word be in the Son of God, or whether there shall be no Christ" Alma 34:5

Amulek goes on to say that Alma, his teaching companion along with Zenos, Zenoch and Moses had "proved unto you, in many instances, that the word is in Christ unto salvation."

He then goes on to teach and testify from his own witness. Before going on to teach of the proper use of prayer he ends with this.

14 And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.

15 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.

16 And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.

17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;

This is such a powerful testimony to me of Christ. Such clarity that I have found about the doctrine of the fall, of justice and mercy and grace and exercising faith unto repentance. What a gift!

Come Unto Christ

2011-09-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

Over the last 24 hours it seems like a message has been coming through.

Last night as we read as a family, "And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God." Ether 12:18

This morning as I read I came across this, "my brother has proved unto you, in many instances, that the word is in Christ unto salvation" Alma 34:6

As I drove to work this morning I saw this on a window of a car next to me. The reverence and submission to God touched me. It made me think of the "I am a Mormon" campaign that will be starting in my home town soon. It made me think of what I would put on my car. The bumper sticker I came up with was one with the words "Come unto Christ". To me is it filled with hope, challenge and healing.

The phrase "Come unto Christ" appears 4 times in the Book of Mormon and once in the Doctrine and Covenants. It is in this message that my hope has grown. I am invited as Nathanael, come and see. He pleads with me to look and live. As I offer up my whole soul unto Him, I am changed. I become, inch by inch, what I most want to become, a son of God. A son by adoption, through His blood.

And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved. (Omni 1:26)

What greater message is there?

Life, so what's it all about anyway

2011-08-31T14:34:00.000-07:00

From my sister in law Jessi, thanks.

Inspirational Quotes

2011-08-24T07:57:00.001-07:00

A Facebook friend of mine asked, "Your favorite/most inspiring quote. Go!" Here are my favorites from among them.

If you do not quarrel, no one earth will be able to quarrel with you...Recompense injury with kindness...To those who are good I am good, and to those who are not good I am good; thus all get to be good. To those who are sincere I am sincere, and to those who are not sincere I am also sincere, and thus all get to be ...sincere...The softest thing in the world...overcomes the hardest.
-Lao Tze

"The unexamined life is not worth living."
--Socrates, as quoted by Plato in The Apology of Socrates

‎"From the cowardice that shrinks from new truth, from the laziness that is content with half truth, from the arrogance that thinks it has all truth-O God of Truth, deliver us." - Unknown

"We cannot be saved until we have risen above all our enemies, not the least of which is ignorance." - Joseph Smith

Learn to like what doesn't cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.
Learn to like people,
even though some of them may be different . . .
Different from you.
Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction
of doing your job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the songs of birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening,
puttering around the house, and fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and sunset,
the beating of rain on the roof and windows,
and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day.
Learn to keep your wants simple and
refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.
--Lowell Bennion

We are the music makers, and the dreamer of dreams. --willy wonka

From V for Vendetta:
Creedy: Die! Die! Why won't you die?... Why won't you die?
V: Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.

You can't force people to approve of you, agree with you, be impressed with you, love you or even like you. Stop trying!...and Remember 3 things and save yourself lots of unneeded heartache: You're not God. This ain't heaven. Don't act like a jerk.- Fr. James Martin, SJ

"You can get a lot further with a kind word and a gun, than just a kind word"

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson

‎"Question with boldness even the very existence of god. because if there be one, he must more approve of the homage to reason than that of blindfolded fear." Thomas Jefferson

‎"If the cosmos could create butterflies and Einstein's mind with a chemistry set that contained hydrogen, oxygen, sodium, and fewer than a gross of other elements, we may be able by mastering the elements of love to perform the alchemy that will change our lives from gross matter to gold." -Sam Keen

As I have loved you, love one another. - Jesus Christ

"It would seem that among those who vigorously pursue the life of the mind in particular, who are committed to the scholarly pursuit of knowledge and rational inquiry, faith is as often a casualty as it is a product. The call to faith is a summons to engage the heart, to attune it to resonate in sympathy with principles and values and ideals that we devoutly hope are true, and to have reasonable but not certain grounds for believing them to be true. I am convinced that there must be grounds for doubt as well as belief in order to render the choice more truly a choice—and, therefore, the more deliberate and laden with personal vulnerability and investment. The option to believe must appear on our personal horizon like the fruit of paradise, perched precariously between sets of demands held in dynamic tension. One is, it would seem, always provided with sufficient materials out of which to fashion a life of credible conviction or dismissive denial. We are acted upon, in other words, by appeals to our personal values, our yearnings, our fears, our appetites, and our egos. What we choose to embrace, to be responsive to, is the purest reflection of who we are and what we love. That is why faith, the choice to believe, is, in the final analysis, an action that is positively laden with moral significance." ~"Lightning Out of Heaven": Joseph Smith and the Forging of Community
Terryl Givens

"There is no victory without honor", from my son's history class in Sep 2011

"a religion which will not help a man in this life will not likely do much for him in the life to come" (Joseph F. Smith quoted by Gordon B. Hinckley Apr 2001 "The Perpetual Education Fund") From a FB friend Sep 2011

"The human soul, like a charioteer, must drive two horses as it progresses toward Heaven. The horses must work together or the chariot will just go round and round. …It would be unfortunate if either should outstretch the other. Over-emphasizing intellect to the neglect of spirituality, and over-emphasizing faith without the application of reason are both unworthy of practicing Latter-Day Saints. We cannot achieve spiritual excellence without intellectual rigor, and intellectual excellence is hollow without active spirituality. We need to have the spirit as we learn, and we need to have learning as we build faith. Working together, faith and intellect help us achieve the Latter-day Saint goal of eternal progression." (Reflections of a Mormon Historian p.229)

Here is what I posted, ‎"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed" D&C 123:17

Korihor's Philosophical Tapestry

2011-08-17T00:26:00.001-07:00

I found a great series of posts that explains so much about this story in the Book of Mormon at ldsphilosopher.com. I was reading Alma 30 about Korihor who taught that "Ye cannot know of things which ye do not see". I remembered reading something about it online and found this series. I posted about an article he refers to in 2007.

I really like how he explains why Alma doesn't refute every claim Korihor makes. He also explains why Korihor was arrested when it seems he is only exercising free speech. He refers to "Candle of the Lord" by Boyd K Packer. That has the story of trying to explain a testimony as trying to describe the taste of salt to someone who has never tasted it.

I loved the series. I love this story in the Book of Mormon and the lessons I have gotten from it.

The Most Correct of Any Book

2011-08-09T06:56:00.008-07:00

Joseph Smith is quoted in the introduction of the Book of Mormon, "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."

The way I see "most correct" is that it has teachings that will get a person nearer to God if they live by them than any other book.

I like the statement Moroni makes about mistakes in the Book of Mormon.

Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been. (Mor 9:31)

Merlin

2011-08-04T00:38:00.000-07:00

Our family has been watching a TV series Merlin made by BBC. It is so fun. I don't remember anything that I felt uncomfortable with.

Our experience reminds me a little of A Thomas Jefferson Education.This is a book a friend of mine inspired me to buy. The legend of Merlin is a classic. This series definitely seems like a classic interpretation of the legend even if it does not follow many of the classic elements.

There are themes of courage, determination, patience, overcoming prejudice and more I am sure. My wife already came up with an idea to challenge our children to find their quest. And to write about it.

I am so excited.
.

Yearning for God

2011-07-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

On Sunday my friend Bruce shared his testimony to our congregation. There was a part that resonated with me. He talked about how he had left the church. Later he had remarried. He thought he should be happy. Yet he felt a deep loneliness. He described it as being because the Spirit had left him.

There have been a few times that I felt that. I felt a yearning for God and a life God would bless. For me these times serve as a warning. That a life lived only for myself will ultimately be empty. When I forget myself and serve others as I think God would, then the Holy Presence comes into my life. Then I feel an abundance of life and love. My Yearning has turned to Surrender. Surrender to God and how I feel he wants me to live. Now it is only to practice those truths. To work each day to keep the presence of the Spirit in my life and to serve the Savior of my soul.

"Sunday Morning Coming Down", Lyrics

It was this song by Johnny Cash that helped me remember that feeling I had and that I feel Bruce described.

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The Angels Envy Men

2011-06-29T00:11:00.000-07:00

I love this quote from Hugh Nibley:

We're just sort of dabbling around, playing around, being tested for our moral qualities, and above all the two things we can be good at, and no two other things can we do: We can forgive and we can repent. It's the gospel of repentance. We're told that the angels envy men their ability both to forgive and to repent, because they can't do either, you see. But nobody's very clever, nobody's very brave, nobody's very strong, nobody's very wise. We're all pretty stupid, you see. Nobody's very anything.
(Emphasis is mine "The Faith of an Observer," 2 from Of All Things! Classic Quotations from Hugh Nibley by Gary P. Gillum )

Giving Ourselves in Love

2011-06-27T15:17:00.003-07:00

I read a good article today on the difference between covenants and contracts. In it, Jeffrey Thayne points out that covenant is not a word in regular use today. Sometimes an economic contract is used to try to explain what a covenant is.

A contract is formed when two parties, each with particular needs or wants, make an agreement to supply the other’s wants in exchange for their own... If conditions change significantly so that one member of the contract can no longer hold up their end of the deal, the agreement is dissolved.

One example he gives to contrast the meanings of covenant and contract is how I approach my marriage relationship. If I am consumer-oriented or if I approach my marriage as primarily about personal fulfillment, I may take a 50-50 approach. I expect my wife to contribute 50% and I the other half. On the other hand, if I treat my marriage appropriately, as a covenant, I think of what I may do to serve her. My focus is on her and not myself. I like the quote he gives from David Lapp:

In courting and choosing whom to marry, we would do well to focus on the person and to remind ourselves that marriage is about giving ourselves in love to another person, and not primarily about individual fulfillment. … Marriage isn’t necessarily a ticket to our own version of individual fulfillment. What if your future wife becomes severely paralyzed? What if your child has Down syndrome? I suspect we have not adequately wrapped our minds around the meaning of marriage until we have considered the possibility that at any moment, whether during the honeymoon or in mid-life or in old age, tragic circumstances could call us to give up almost everything—our dream career, our comfort, our “happiness” — for the sake of the beloved.

I love the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and the phrase "But if not, … we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up"* Jeffery concisely put this principle as,

The only blessings that are unequivocally promised us in this lifetime for strict obedience are peace of conscience, companionship of the Spirit, and discernment.*

The sermon of King Benjamin describes very well how our covenant relationships are not always profitable. There is something of a pay it forward principle that is not included in a strictly contractual relationship.

I covenant because I am grateful to God and his mercy and his generosity. I trust that He will continue to bless me in His own time and in His own way to my eternal benefit. I love the way Jeffrey closes.

When we truly understand the nature of a covenant, we will realize that the first solution to difficulties in our covenantal relationships is not renegotiation or even communication (which connotes a two-way contractual agreement). It is to realign our hearts towards service, compassion, commitment, forgiveness, and love. Each of these terms connote a one-way submission of the self to the Other, which is what I believe covenants are all about.

Emotional Bank Account

2011-06-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

My good friend Buzzz shared this recently. I don't want to forget it.

"For any relationship to succeed, five positive things need to be said to every one negative. There are NO exceptions!"

Another friend said that this particularly applies in conflict. I have also heard it described as an emotional bank account. You need to be focused on deposits and withdraw less. Not that you use it as a score board. Just thinking about what can I do to make this experience more meaningful and positive.

Learning to Hope

2011-06-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

Steph and I met Mariama Kallon on our trip to Utah. She is from Sierra Leone. She told an incredible story from her life in Learning to Hope in the New Era of Nov 2006 pdf.

It was a great reminder of how blessed I am with the security and clothes and home and food I have readily available to me.

Gratitude and Paying it Forward

2011-06-12T06:54:00.001-07:00

A few years ago I watched Pay It Forward. It has had a profound effect on my life. In it, a boy growing up in a less than ideal situation is challenged by a grade school teacher on the first day of school with an assignment on how they would make the world a better place. (Spoiler alert: I don't think the following spoils the movie but perhaps you may)

He takes the assignment to heart. He decides to do something for three people that they cannot do for themselves. Something that is meaningful to them. When the person wants to pay them back, you have to tell them that they cannot pay it back. You have to pay it forward. The person is then challenged to so the same. Pick three people and do something meaningful for them that they cannot do for themselves. And the chain continues.

The boy only has a mom at home. He finds a homeless, heroine addict and invites him to his home and feeds him. The man sleeps in the bed of the truck in the garage. His mom finds the man and just about shoots him with her shotgun. The man ends up fixing up the truck for his mom. The movie actually starts with a few of these meaningful acts of kindness. At the beginning of the movie, a reporter has one of these things done to him. The movie is about how the reporter traces these acts of kindness back to the boy.

To me this movie was a power story of the principles of gratitude and paying it forward. I first learned of these principles from the sermon of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon. One of the things he teaches his people is that all are beggars before God. That He has granted us our life and that He blesses us when we obey His commandments. He always blesses us. We are forever in His debt because of this. We cannot pay him back. The only way we can try to pay him pack is to pay it forward. Bless the lives of those around us in meaningful ways.

It is one of the geniuses of the plan of salvation. God provided that we could live on earth where there is the opportunity to choose between good and evil. When each of us (except Jesus) chooses evil we place ourselves in eternal jeopardy. We separate ourselves spiritually from God. It is only through the grace and power of God that we have the opportunity to accept His salvation. His plan is the ultimate pay it forward story.

A Law of Increasing Returns

2011-05-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

I just listened to "A Law of Increasing Returns" by Henry B. Eyring. It is a fireside talk he gave March 28, 1982. I love to hear him talk. I have been touched by so many of his talks. He spoke about his father,

He just had a general bias toward putting in hard work up front and letting the rewards take a long time to come, even forever.

Even in the confusion of the last night I spent with him, he gave me some advice. I was helping him walk. I’m not even sure he knew I was there. But very clearly, almost with a booming voice, he said, “Well, let’s just do the homework tonight, and we’ll see how the exam goes in the morning.” He’s getting the grade now, and he spent a life doing as much homework as he could. Most of us could move profitably toward a little more homework and leave the grades for tomorrow.

There are so many people I know that fit this. That put in more than they take. Not the least of them if my sweet wife. She is so patient and persistent and loving and hard working.

Henry Eyring went on to share some hints on how to be better at working and waiting.
- Finding humor in the present
- Seeing the blessing of the present
- Keep my eye on the distant goal
- Remember the blessings that will come

The Civility Experiment

2011-05-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

This literally brought me to tears. I have been a part of a few online groups where we have torn each other up. There are also times when through the messiness of all our backgrounds there at least comes understanding. Even if there is not agreement.

I think we may be judged by how we treat those we passionately disagree with. Do we vilify them, or do we seek understanding? Do we allow ourselves to be stirred up to anger or do we extend the true love of Christ?

Holy Thursday

2011-04-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

From Tarzana Joe

I am sitting at the table
Waiting for dinner to be served
It’s a big traditional spread
Someone brings out bread
It looks good but I’m told to wait for the blessing

It’s been a great week.
The crowds were big and steady
Why can’t we eat, already?

We’re all here but we’re waiting for Him
And no one seems to know the hour He’s coming

Wine is poured; but again, I’m told to wait for the blessing

Then He comes in; He says a prayer and finally we eat
(Someone says something about feet.)

Everyone is talking and having a good time
Until He says, Tonight, I will be betrayed by one of you.”

And suddenly, I am certain that he is talking about me.

-Tarzana Joe Easter 2011

Debates on the Reality of God

2011-04-18T03:28:00.000-07:00

A link on the side of berry blurbs gave me the opportunity to stay up way too late watching a debate on the existence of God. I may have more to say about this here but for now I just want to remember how to get to it again.

Dinesh D'Souza Debates Daniel Dennett

I Can't Do It All At Once

2011-04-10T03:45:00.000-07:00

"I can't do it all at once", that is the title to a Kenneth Cope song. One of my all time favorite songs. It speaks to me. I seem to go at two speeds, full force forward and comatose. Berry Blurbs posted recently on how most people resist large changes. I am no different.

I look back on the last several decades and sometimes I don't see much. It is the patterns of behavior that I see that have of late disheartened me. Like either taking on too much or becoming a sluggard. There has to be a happy middle ground. I can relate to the feeling Nephi had of himself. Perhaps we all look too harshly (and sometimes too leniently) at ourselves. (Maybe all sin comes at the extremes of behavior)

In 2009, I referred to a talk be Jorge Zeballos.

Immediately after teaching that “it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength,” King Benjamin indicated that “it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize." (Jorge F. Zeballos, “Attempting the Impossible,” Ensign, Nov 2009, 33–34)

This seems to teach a perfect balance. Do not run too fast, but be diligent. Papa D wrote yesterday a very good post on balance.

All these things make me think of the time I decided to teach myself to tie my shoes differently. I had always made the first cross knot by putting the right string over the left. I then proceeded to tie with the loop starting in the right hand. This produces an adequate knot. I learned from my wife many years ago that it also is not as pretty and balanced. When I would tie a ribbon around one of my daughter's waist in the same way I tied my shoes, it produced a knot that leans one way.

So I decided to change how I tie my shoes, partly so it would be more automatic for me when I tied my daughter's bows. More so, I wanted to practice changing. In the spirit of this post, I wanted to just change one little thing. So I started tying my shoes by putting the left string over the right. Then I continued as I did before with the loop in the right hand. I now tie a much more balanced knot and my daughters have prettier bows (though I am sure I can further improve my technique).

Anyway, here is to a late, not new years resolution. To change a few things in my life, just a few, maybe I will start with one. I haven't decided what it is yet, but I commit to change even a little for the better. To be diligent as King Benjamin suggested but not at a pace that winds me too much.

"not to endure storms, but to choose the right while they rage"

2011-03-31T01:26:00.002-07:00

Sometimes life gets too busy. There have been times when I go through the motions because that is what must be done. If I don't refresh my own well, if I don't take the time to drink deeply of the living waters, the precious plant of testimony will wilt and with continued neglect it will die.

I often think of the vision of the tree of life. Sometimes I have found myself away from the rod. Bumbling in the mists of darkness. The true danger is that once blinded I may not want to return. Doubt can be a poison that affects my spiritual reasoning so that I cannot see what is real.

This afternoon I listened to "Start Early and Be Steady" by Henry Eyring. He gave this talk in Oct 2005. I think about the changes that have happened in my life in the last five and a half years. I think about several individuals and families and how their lives are so different, for what I see towards the worse. I think about those that have remained healthy both spiritually and otherwise. What has made the difference? I do not know the hearts of others, but I do know mine.

Elder Eyring gave this talk several months after hurricane Katrina. Many were in the mindset of what they could do to be physically prepared. A few weeks ago, one of the most strong earthquakes ever recorded hit Japan. I understand that the Japanese were more prepared than most. Elder Eyring spoke of spiritual preparation:

That preparation must be started far in advance because it takes time. What we will need then can’t be bought. It can’t be borrowed. It doesn’t store well. And it has to have been used regularly and recently.

What we will need in our day of testing is a spiritual preparation. It is to have developed faith in Jesus Christ so powerful that we can pass the test of life upon which everything for us in eternity depends. That test is part of the purpose God had for us in the Creation.
...
So, the great test of life is to see whether we will hearken to and obey God’s commands in the midst of the storms of life. It is not to endure storms, but to choose the right while they rage. And the tragedy of life is to fail in that test and so fail to qualify to return in glory to our heavenly home.

So have I prepared? I guess I have somewhat. Perhaps the worst storms of my life have not yet come. What I do know is that I want to be prepared for whatever comes. Sister Clark on Sunday referred to this talk by Ronald Bartholomew. He quotes Elder Ballard,

some parents become so expert at filling every physical desire for their children that they begin to suppose that all is well in this life and that their eternal stewardship is progressing right on schedule. … I believe that we must pause and take a careful inventory to determine how well our families are doing spiritually. We could ask how well are we feeding, nurturing, training, and exercising the spirits of our children; or how well have we taught, trained, loved, and inspired our children to build their spiritual muscles and strength? … Remember, eternity is now, not a vague, distant future. We prepare each day, right now, for eternal life. If we are not preparing for eternal life, we are preparing for something else, perhaps something far less.

I don't want less. I want what Abraham wanted,

And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers. (Abr 1:2)

So what do I do to be prepared? I am not to trifle with sacred things, like my testimony. I won't consider it a mere experiment I am trying out, I am to hold it dear and nourish it by the good word of God. I am to add to my oil that cannot be bought or borrowed. By obedience to what the Holy Ghost has confirmed to me. I am to pray. With earnestness, with patience, with trust. I am to build up a hedge around my family and friends. I am to listen to the watchmen on the tower, the Seers. I am to rejoice in the promise and evidence of continuing revelation.

I will start early, and be steady. I have seen the blessings of those who have. I have seen the results of those who have not.
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If everyone cared

2011-03-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

I noticed this Nickeback song for the first time today as I brought Sam home from his baseball game. It has great lyrics. Now to think and act upon myself and my family, those on which I have influence. If I cared, If my family cared.

From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you'd be mine
But here we are, we're here tonight

Singing, "Amen I, I'm alive"
(I'm alive)
Singing, "Amen I, I'm alive"

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

And I'm singing
Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I
(I'm alive)

And in the air the fireflies
Our only light in paradise
We'll show the world they were wrong
And teach them all to sing along

Singing, "Amen I, I'm alive"
(I'm alive)
Singing, "Amen I, I'm alive"

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died
When nobody died

And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

We'd see the day, we'd see the day
(When nobody died)
We'd see the day, we'd see the day
(When nobody died)
We'd see the day
(When nobody died)

Start Early and Be Steady

2011-03-29T05:25:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Sister Clark gave a great talk. I think she was referencing Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady by Henry Eyring. I loved this talk and it has been quite a while since I listened to it. I am noting it here so I remember it with my "talks I picked" tag. Here is a link to the MP3.

Do I have Root in Myself?

2011-03-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we studied the parable of the sower from Matthew 13 in Sunday school. One phrase that stood out to me was in verses 20-21.

20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

To have root in myself is to provide the Lord fertile ground in my heart. Are there parts that are hard within me? Are the places I don't trust that the Lord can heal?

I love the song Broken by Kenneth Cope. The Lord love when we break up the soil of our heart. When we gently plant the seed of his word into more and more areas of our soul. That we might have joy in the growing and in the fruit his grace offers us. Yet only I can break up the soil of my heart. Only I can invite the Word in my soul. The Lord will never violate the sacred boundary of the heart. We are agents unto our selves. Only we can do that sacred work.

The Parable of the Bicycle

2011-03-14T06:06:00.000-07:00

Last night I shared the parable of the bicycle with our children. I read it first when I was an older teenager. I read Believing Christ by Stephen Robinson. He gave a speech about it in 1990. There was an article in the Ensign about it in 1992. It is one of the things that truly changed my life. Because I planted the seed it had. I invited it into my own heart and tried its goodness. More than any other seed in my life it has grown up to bear fruit in my life. I know with out any doubt it is true.

Sometimes in our lives we can think that we need to be as perfect as we can be, then the Lord will save us. It is possible to get caught up in the gospel of the checklist. That we go down the check list and say am I reading my scriptures daily, am I have FHE every week, Do I date my wife every week? Am I doing my home teaching? Etc etc etc. We can go on and on and on.

That is why I love the parable of the bicycle and the other principles that is taught by Stephen Robinson and others that teach the power of the Atonement of Christ. He saves us before we even hear the word. He saves us as we first hear the word. He saves us as we decide to bring that precious seed into our heart. He saves us as we nourish it with great care. He saves us as we continue in persistence in caring for the tree. He saves us when we have great joy in the fruit.

He also saves us as we get up off the ground when we fall. Even if it is the upteen, thousand, millionth time. He saves us when we are discouraged with "How many more times will thou forgive me for this sin?" Or when we think "I am never going to get it all right", I can't be a perfect Latter-day saint. We only have to surrender our heart to Him. We have to trust that He can do what He says He can do. That he can make us Celestial material. The humble in heart know that they will never be Celestial on their own. Our own measly 61 cents will never carry us all the way. Yet my 61 cents means a lot to me. It means that I am fully committed to my covenant relationship with Him.

One of my sons asked me yesterday as we were re-planting the irises in our new flower bed, "Dad, I've been thinking lately. When do you and mom ever find time to have fun?" I answered, "This is fun to me. I love to plant things and see them grow." As I grew up I know that I thought of that as I thought of my parents. We always seemed to be doing one project or another. There was always work, work and more work. As I think back on if though. They are my best memories. I remember building the shed with my dad. I remember when it was so hot in the summer when my mom and us were doing the paper route that my mom got sick. We had to pull over to the side of the road and she opened the door and she had to vomit in the road. Did she stop? No. We kept at it. because we were helping keep my brother out on his mission.

Is our work hard, yes. The Lord required all from us. He gave nothing less. When I think of the price Jesus pays for me I am so grateful. I want to get up and keep going. Just thankfully do my part. My measly 61 cent part. The part that I have put my back and heart and soul into. The part I hope to continue to work to freely give as my offering to the Lord. But what happens if I only earn 60 cents. Or my I make a bad investment or lose it because of my foolishness? The Lord knows our hearts. He knows what we really want. What we have put our efforts into. He is Just and He is Merciful. All will be worked out. We just need to keep getting up and humble asking for forgiveness.

If we lose sight of the saving grace of the Lord we can too easily give up. We must be careful to retain the hope that we once held. We must not let imperfection we find in the church from keeping us from honoring the covenants we made with God. He is able to make us holy.

"Many things which they cannot understand"

2011-03-08T00:15:00.003-07:00

I wrote in January that I did not want to stumble. I found the following passage from Jacob 4:14 very interesting.

But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble.

The Jews desired for many things that they did not understand. The Lord provided these things to them that they may stumble. I remember reading that before and thinking how foolish they were to seek for things that they cannot understand. I have been guilty of this.

I must be seeking for that which satisfies. Nephi prayed that he would be strict in the plain road. I know that satisfying understanding comes from following what I know to be true. I am confident that those things that I cannot understand will be answered eventually.

To face the war with sin

2011-03-08T00:03:00.001-07:00

More strength in shoulders
To face the war with sin

These lyrics fanned fire in me. It seems that the one war it is always just to wage is with sin.

From “Fire of God”

Lighted words sent to purge my soul

Holy feeling, impressions to mark the road

There’ve been staggering signs, and I’ll watch for more.

When I’m caught up in the fire, immersed in the fire of God.

I’m living in the fire, Longing for the fire;

Swept up in the fire, can’t live without the fire

Its a power that I can’t explain; as it grows, and it shows, and it shapes my faith;

There’ve been thousands of moments I won’t deny; forged in the fire …

Alive in Christ

2011-02-25T07:09:00.002-07:00

There are so many resources on the Internet for those searching the ways of God. One good place I have found is Ldsaliveinchrist.com. He is writing an Internet Book called Alive in Christ. He focuses on receiving a witness and companionship of the Holy Ghost. I heartily agree.

Mormon Messages Videos and Profiles

2011-02-25T06:29:00.001-07:00

There are a few new Mormon Messages videos and profiles that I found this morning. They are inspiring.

Hi, I'm Nadja
I'm a wife, a mother, a partner, a teacher, a translator, a child at heart, and I'm a Mormon.

Sally Marks
With Christ-like compassion and understanding a woman helps those recovering from addiction and works to get the homeless off the streets.

Families Can Be Together Forever
Increase your understanding of the Lord's purpose for families and of the blessings He makes available to them. Visit http://mormon.org/family/ to learn more.

Unselfish Service
The Savior has taught us to follow His example and serve others. Learn more about service at http://www.mormon.org/service

What I Thought I Knew about Spiritual Death

2011-02-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

There is a series at ldsphilosopher.com on spiritual death. He has described it in a way that makes good sense to me. I look forward to the other post(s) in the series.

The Doctrine of the Family

2011-02-23T00:50:00.004-07:00

I read an article in the March Ensign tonight,”Teaching the Doctrine of the Family”. It is taken from an address of Julie B. Beck General Relief Society President at the BYU Women’s Conference held May 1, 2009. As I read, I could feel strength come into me. I believe in the doctrine of the family as much as I believe in Jesus Christ. I could see how it needs to be upheld. To be taught and lived and felt deeply. I am so grateful for it.

Many of the social restraints which in the past have helped to reinforce and to shore up the family are dissolving and disappearing. The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us (Spencer W. Kimball, "Families Can Be Eternal," Ensign, Nov. 1980, 4).

Here are some more talks that I read that she references. They are very good.
Ezra Taft Benson, "What I Hope You Will Teach Your Children about the Temple", Ensign, Aug. 1985, 6. From an address given at the Logan Temple Centennial, 17 May 1984.

Dallin H. Oaks, "The Great Plan of Happiness," Ensign, Nov. 1993, 73

My Book List

2011-02-18T17:51:00.003-07:00

There are a few books that have really changed my life besides the scriptures. Here is my list of them.

Believing Christ: The Parable of the Bicycle and Other Good News by Stephen E. Robinson.

The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes by James L. Ferrell. He uses the the story of Abigail and David to describe our relationship between the sinner the sinned against and Jesus. It really opened my eyes.

The Holy Secret by James L. Ferrell.

Bonds That Make Us Free: Healing Our Relationships, Coming to Ourselves by C. Terry Warner. He describes the collusion or the dance we dance with our closest relationships and how to make them healthy.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

2011-02-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

I listened to "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ," by Kevin W. Pearson again this morning. I noted it about a year and a half ago. I was uplifted and encouraged by it.

Truth Will Prevail

2011-02-12T09:45:00.004-07:00

I have a friend Randy I have known in my LDS ward for several years. I have been serving in the primary for about a year and a half. I did not notice or did not take the time to find out when I did first notice to see why he and his family had stopped coming to church. This week I saw a post on facebook about how he is an atheist now. Here is a link to an audio interview he had with mormonstories.com. His story is in part one.

I have had some friendly email exchange with him in the last few days. He (and I hope I) have been respectful of each other’s convictions. I do not pretend to understand why he has made such a leap in his world view in the last few years. I did not know he was undergoing such a change. I hope to understand more fully what has prompted this change for him. I want to share with you my own journey with some of the hard histories of the LDS Church. And why I continue to believe in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

For Christmas 2009, I got Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. It is a biography of Joseph Smith by a historical scholar that is a faithful member of the church. He does, however seem to try and give the history of Joseph Smith an even hand. He tells the facts as best they are known. He does admit that he does approach the history from a faithful LDS perspective. I got so much out of the book. It is worth anyone’s reading especially if they want to understand the roots of Mormonism. There were several parts that gave me concern but none more than the description of Joseph’s practice of polygamy. I am not sure why or what can explain what seems to be evident.

This and other concerns even before reading this book have caused me to rethink what I do believe and why. I went back to my childhood. The first thing I can remember knowing for sure is that my parents love me. I respect them and trust what they taught me. Another experience I had was in reading the Book of Mormon in my freshmen year in high school. I came to understand the doctrine of Christ. The experiences of Alma the Elder, the Younger. The teachings of King Benjamin. They all rang true. I came to peace and forgiveness as I practiced the teachings I learned. As a husband I have felt the bliss and blessing of forgiveness from my wife. She has been an incarnation of what I have read of how the Savior will and does forgive.

I am not sure what to make of Joseph Smith. I believe in all the doctrines we continue to teach from him. That God the Father is a perfect, physical man. That Jesus Christ is separate from Him and his literal, physical Son (JS-Hist). That the Holy Ghost is also separate and that He has the power to lead to all truth. I believe in the plan of salvation and the universal access all men have at gaining it (D&C 76). I believe that the fall of Adam was a necessary part of that plan and that moral agency is a key to the plan (2 Ne 2). I believe that only Christ can save us from our sins before, while and after we make our best effort to follow him (“After All We Can Do”). I believe that God will change me as I partner with Him. From a fallen, broken man to receive all that He has (D&C 84:33-41).

There are many, more doctrines than is easy to list here that ring true to me. I have felt it emotionally, spiritually, and as a clarity in my mind that seems extraordinary. As I have lived the teachings of the church, I am happy. When I have failed, I have been miserable. I am grateful for the practical structure of the church that helps me become who I am to become. To cast off the base and selfish nature of my self. To glory in the lifting of others that somehow lifts me.

How do I reconcile Joseph and the other hard histories of my church? If I were alive in Joseph’s time and I knew what I know now, I would ask him to help me understand. But I am in my own time. I know that history may not paint the picture fully. If what I have read is true, there are still some things I do not understand. I am not being asked today to practice what is reported Joseph did. I do know that there are many teachings from Joseph that clarify what God is like and what he wants us to become.

What I see in my church today is nothing short of miraculous. I see women and men serving voluntarily in all sorts of capacity. I see people being called to positions of authority that would never choose it. And are increased because of it and those that they serve. I see in the centuries that the church has been here, a clearing away of the branches which bring forth bitter fruit (Jacob 5:64-65). I see the Restoration continuing until the church and its people are wholly acceptable to the Lord.

I choose to be charitable to the history of my church when I look with 21st century eyes on those in the 19th and 20th century and even now. I believe God sends angels to prophets to declare the good news. Those prophets in all their weakness ask us to believe their words. We have the Holy Ghost and the fruits of the Restoration to verify their words. The following passage rarely fails to stir my heart.

Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free. (D&C 128:22)

What do I make of Randy and the other good atheists that I know? What do I make of the countless others with different faith or of no faith? Those that are often better examples of a Christ-like life than my own or the members of the church I have known?

I believe truth will prevail. Randy quoted J. Reuben Clark in one of his emails, "If we have the truth, it cannot be harmed by investigation. If we have not the truth, it ought to be harmed." Truth will prevail in more than in the factual “what is real” questions. It will prevail in the hearts of honest women and men. Those who wish to live by truth will continue to receive truth upon truth. Whether that path leads them into and eventually out of atheism. Whether that leads me out of my currently held and even most cherished beliefs. If I am courageous enough and really want it, the truth will prevail in me.

There is a calculus that occurs in all our lives whether we want it to or not. We eventually get what we want. The trick is to choose that which will bring lasting happiness instead of only immediate pleasure. As any person truly seeks to find and follow truth, truth is inevitable to come and that truth will make us into what only God can imagine.

Lark Rise to Candleford

2011-02-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I lay down after the children were in bed to find my wife watching Lark Rise to Candleford. I did not give it much of a chance at first. After an episode or two my wife compared it to Little House on the Prairie. I agreed. I esteem it as the best show I have ever seen. It is never crude. It is historical. It makes me laugh and cry and teaches important life lessons. Of love found and lost. Of the pride of the man of the house. Of meddling in other's lives. Of evolution and how to treat an estranged sibling. Of how to treat the faith of other's when it is not your own. Of owning my own faith. Any many, many more.

It is only $1 an episode on Amazon.com.

Taking Away Stumbling Blocks

2011-01-17T01:00:00.001-07:00

1 Nephi 14:1 "And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks"

This smacked me in the face as I read it this evening. I really don't want to stumble in my faith, so what must I do keep from tripping over them? I must "hearken unto the Lamb of God". The first place my mind went was that I must follow the doctrine of Christ. There are a couple of places in the scriptures that I remember the doctrine of Christ being detailed. 2 Nephi 31-33 and 3 Nephi 11

What the doctrine of Christ is:
- Repent 3 Ne 31:11 " become as a little child" 3 Ne 11:37 and 38
- Be baptized 2 Ne 31:5, 3 Ne 11:33, 2 Ne 31:13 "follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism"
- Receive the Holy Ghost 2 Ne 31:13, 3 Ne 11:35
- Endure to the end 2 Ne 31:16, "Pray always" 2 Ne 32:9,

The doctrine of Christ is Not:
Contention 3 Ne 11:28-29

There have been several things in the last several months and years that I have wondered about in the teachings of the LDS church. The last thing I want are stumbling blocks. This scripture makes it clear that the Savior will manifest himself to me in word, power and deed unto the taking away from me the stumbling blocks before me.

What a promise!

"How is it that ye have forgotten..."

2011-01-17T00:19:00.000-07:00

My co-teacher in primary, Matt Bejot, first read the Book of Mormon when he was 11 years old because a teacher challenged him to. He extended the same challenge to the boys in our 10-11 year old classroom for this year. I think it is a great idea. I couldn't very well have the boys do it and not me. So I am going to read the Book of Mormon this year with them. The last time I "read" it was when President Hinckley challenged everyone to read it by the end of 2005. I lot of what I did though was listen to it on CD. As a family we have been slowly reading through it for years now. I feel so excited to read it again. I had caught up with our goal of 2 pages a day. At that rate you finish it in September.

Today, as I was catching up I read the following phrase three times in 1 Nephi 7:10-12, "How is it that ye have forgotten?" There have been many times that I have forgotten the goodness of the Lord in my life. It is such a good reminder to me the remember the blessings of the Lord in my life. To remember my testimony. My experiences. Sometimes it doesn't make sense intellectually. But my spirit feels it. There is a knowledge that comes from receiving Love. From feeling forgiveness. From relationships where healing occurs where I never hoped there could have.

Trust God, Be Happy and Work Hard

2011-01-10T21:15:00.003-07:00

I found this quote at LDS Alive in Christ.

“Instead of worrying or grumbling that our prayers have gone unanswered, we should delight ourselves in the Lord. Be grateful. Be happy. Know that the Lord, in His time, will bring about all your righteous desires—sometimes in ways we predict, sometimes in ways we could not have possibly foreseen.” (Emphasis Added. Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Improving Our Prayers,” Ensign, Mar 2004, 24–31, MP3)

It reminds me of the But If Not talks given in General Conference not too long ago. It also reminds me of my short list of things to remember when I feel overwhelmed or discouraged, Trust God, Be Happy and Work Hard.

I trust God when I remember that I do believe that in His time, the Lord will bring about all my righteous desires.

I am happy when I remember to give thanks both specific and general. When I am grateful for all that I have been blessed with.

When I work hard I feel a satisfaction I get no where else. It seems I get this feeling when I make my work a part of the sanctification plan of the Lord. (3 Nephi 27:20)

Leadership isn't a crown, it's a shovel

2011-01-07T06:42:00.001-07:00

I remember coming across a phrase a few months ago, "The priesthood isn't a crown, it's a shovel." I may have read it here. It reminds me of King Mosiah as he describes he does not want to be a burden to the people he serves so he tills the ground for his own food. Many of the principles of leading as God leads are given in D&C 121:34-46.

As I searched for this phrase this morning, I also found this post. What a great example of lifting where I stand.

How can I question without losing the Spirit?

2011-01-06T08:15:00.003-07:00

This is a question that Elder Robert Hales asks in "Gifts of the Spirit", Ensign, Feb. 2002, page 12 (MP3). Underlining added.

How can I question without losing the Spirit? This is a question often asked of me by young people. All of us have questions at times in our lives on policies, procedures, or even principles. The best way to find the answers we seek is to search out the solution for ourselves.

How do we go about it?

First and foremost, it is our attitude, or how we ask the question, that is very, very important. If it is a demand, one loses the opportunity for an answer.

Second, if we have strong feelings about the way something should be and are unwilling to listen, we may lose the opportunity to get an answer.

One only has to remember when Martin Harris wanted to take home pages of the Book of Mormon translation to show to others. Joseph Smith prayed to the Lord a number of times to finally be allowed to let the man do it. The Lord knew that the pages would be lost. But sometimes we want something so much and keep praying about it that the Lord lets us do it for our learning experience.

Sometimes we are drawn into seeking and giving answers that bring recognition or notoriety to “our” thinking and to “our” opinion. Don’t look for signs or answers that build you up. Humility and submissiveness to God will always be fundamental in receiving direction from Him.

Others operate in a spirit of gratitude to the Lord for the gospel and concentrate on correcting their own imperfections. We can develop the ability to discern what spirit is influencing others and ourselves. We should seek and pray for this gift lest we be deceived.

The gift of discernment is like the rod of iron; it will keep us on the path toward the tree of life, which means eternal life.

Elder Hales also gives some words of caution. It seems this talk was given in August 1993. He is speaking from his direct experience with leading church councils starting as an assistant to the quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1975, First Quorum of the Seventy in 1976, presiding bishop in 1985. He was then called as an apostle in 1994. (See Wikipedia) (Underling added)

May I take a moment to talk of some cautions taught me by experiences that I have observed regarding the gifts of the Spirit.

Too often people feel that answers to their prayers and their pleading for guidance and direction will be given in dramatic manifestations or through a direct voice giving specific directions from a heavenly host. My personal experience and my observation of the Brethren as they guide and direct the Church and solve problems has taught me that the answers come oftentimes over an extended period of time with almost a natural solution whereby people take actions on the feelings of their hearts—which bring them peace and comfort—rather than through dramatic revelation.

Let me give you an example of how I learned this lesson. As a regional representative, I was traveling with President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988) to a stake conference for the selection of a new stake president. We had been driving in a car for more than an hour discussing the Church and priesthood administration. For some reason, I asked a question that, at the moment I asked it, I realized was inappropriate.

The question I asked President Romney was “What is the most spiritual experience you have had as an Apostle of the Lord?” There was a pause. It seemed like an eternity. Then he said, “I believe what Joseph Smith and Brigham Young taught, that if we would keep our spiritual experiences to ourselves, many more spiritual experiences could be shared with us.”

It seemed like there was a long period of silence after that remark, and then he said to me, “I owe you a better answer.” Then he gave me great counsel. He said the greatest spiritual experiences of his life had been when he had been on assignment from the President of the Church or the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, as we were that day. He said: “We will interview 25 or 30 priesthood brethren, and there will be more than one who will be qualified to be the stake president. But after we have done all we can do, we will get on our knees and pray to our Heavenly Father. We will tell Him of our feelings of who the new stake president ought to be and the reasons why. We will tell Him of the needs of the stake at this time. Then He will give us a confirmation.”

It was interesting that he said “us,” because it was true on that occasion that as we knelt and prayed, we both were able to receive a confirmation.

This is one of the best examples that I have had of what the gifts of the Spirit are and how they are manifest in our life’s work. Apply the principles taught by President Romney to understand that you can have discernment and confirmation of the concerns that confront you, such as choosing a companion or choosing a career that is best for you.

Isn’t it interesting that President Romney was sent to interview 25 or 30 men to choose one stake president rather than being told directly who it should be before his arrival? This is what the Lord means when He tells us to study it out in our own minds. Too often we want to be given answers to questions and problems that, if they were given in the manner we ask for them, would take away our agency and the blessings that come from reaching out to the Lord for answers and direction.

Some think it would be nice to have “spiritual fortune cookies” we could open to find the answers to life’s challenges. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a labeled jar we could reach into for our answers? But that is not the way it is meant to be.

I would like to express my love for my companion. I would not be what I am without her. I love her dearly. She has gifts of the Spirit. We study the scriptures together, and many of the concepts I teach have come because we have had companion study and prayer. That is why I am who I am, and I must acknowledge that.

The Hand of God Reaching Out

2011-01-03T07:33:00.001-07:00

I remember hearing this talk by Elder Eyring now over three years ago. Perhaps someday I will be as good about recording the hand of the Lord in my life.

When our children were very small, I started to write down a few things about what happened every day. Let me tell you how that got started. I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the front door of my house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work clothes. I knew that he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property.

He smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: “I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.”

I went inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family. Grandpa didn’t have to do what he was doing for us. He could have had someone else do it or not have done it at all. But he was serving us, his family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote it down, so that my children could have the memory someday when they would need it.

I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened.

The years have gone by. My boys are grown men. And now and then one of them will surprise me by saying, “Dad, I was reading in my copy of the journal about when …” and then he will tell me about how reading of what happened long ago helped him notice something God had done in his day.

My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done. You remember that song we sometimes sing: “Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done." (Henry B. Eyring, "O Remember, Remember", Ensign, Nov. 2007, 66–69)

Lucky In Love

2011-01-03T07:07:00.002-07:00

I am so lucky to have my sweet wife. She is so patient and persistent and oh so fun to be with.

Do you hear me,

I'm talking to you

Across the water across the deep blue ocean

Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying

Boy I hear you in my dreams

I feel your whisper across the sea

I keep you with me in my heart

You make it easier when life gets hard

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where I have been

Lucky to be coming home again

Ooohh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

They don't know how long it takes

Waiting for a love like this

Every time we say goodbye

I wish we had one more kiss

I'll wait for you I promise you, I will

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where I have been

Lucky to be coming home again

Lucky we're in love every way

Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed

Lucky to be coming home someday

And so I'm sailing through the sea

To an island where we'll meet

You'll hear the music fill the air

I'll put a flower in your hair

Though the breezes through trees

Move so pretty you're all I see

As the world keeps spinning round

You hold me right here right now

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where I have been

Lucky to be coming home again

I'm lucky we're in love every way

Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed

Lucky to be coming home someday

Ooohh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

Ooooh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

He saved you, anyway

2011-01-03T06:53:00.001-07:00

From Sara

You're drowning. And no one is there to care.

Trapped under the ice. You pound on it, desperate to break free.

But all you do is crack the ice. It does not break.

That always happens. You come so close to being free, but regardless

You're still stuck. Miserable, lonely, crying.

You start to sink lower and lower. Looking side to side, wanting help.

But finding none. Only seeing darkness.

You look down. Darkness. Reminder of your misery. Reminder of your

Longing to be happy. Reminder of the path you are heading to.

The path that you do not want to take.

You keep pounding on the ice. It does not break.

You try to not take the path you so desperately hate, but you sink

Further and further.

You reach as far as you can towards the ice. Your fingers touch it.

You gather strength enough to pound once more. But to no avail.

Why can you not break free? Are you not good enough?

Thoughts of worthlessness. They are the death of you. Pulling you

Even lower than you were before.

You are ready to give up. Just follow the inevitable, follow the path

You do not want to take.

You stop yourself from glancing down again. You almost look side-to-side.

Then you remember that you have not truly looked up. Only to pound on the ice.

But if pounding has not worked in the past, why would it work now?

You look up anyway. You do not pound on the ice. You see the cracks that

Your seemingly futile efforts have made. And beyond the cracks, there is light.

You wish you had the strength to break the ice.

To go beyond this place of darkness. To a place of warmth and comfort.

But you do not pound. You think about how worthless you are.

But then you think about how there was no light before you started pounding.

Maybe your efforts were not worthless after all.

You realize that you can not break out on your own.

And when you stop trying to do it on your own, and you look at the light,

You realize there is a hand stretched out.

He breaks the ice for you. He pulls you out of the darkness.

He provides you with warmth you never imagined.

And that is when you realize that you tried your best,

and although your best was not enough to save yourself, He saved you, anyway.

Because despite your loneliness, He was there. He was always there.

You stopped trying to save yourself, and learned to trust Him, who loves us all.

Say Nothing but Repentance

2010-12-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

Papa D just had a great post, Repentance As a Liberating Movement Toward the Ideal. He concisely, states one of the things I love best about Mormonism. The Lord wants all heights and depths for us, every joy to its fullest. He denies us nothing.

I am so grateful that the Lord takes the burden of that I cannot handle. He frees me to look at myself with new eyes. To see where I am in error. To see where I am not yet fully developed. His grace frees me to progress. He liberates me so I can grow and change and flourish.

This is why the Lord said, "Say nothing but repentance unto this generation; keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my commandments, and you shall be blessed." D&C 6:9

Staying on Safe Ground

2010-12-01T21:05:00.001-07:00

From the Lectures on Faith 3:2-5:

Let us here observe, that three things are necessary, in order that any rational and intelligent being may exercise faith in God, unto life and salvation:

First, the idea that he actually exists.
Second, a correct idea of his character, perfections and attributes.
Third, an actual knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing, is according to his will.

How can I know that the the life I am leading is according to God's will? I have the scriptures. I have prayer. I have the Holy Ghost. I have priesthood leaders.

I searched lds.org/scriptures for rock foundation. There is a list of interesting scriptures it returns.

2 Nephi 28:27-28 "Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more! And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall." We should expect that more revelation will come. If we are founded on the rock, we will receive it with gladness.

After declaring the doctrine of Christ, Jesus says this, "And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them." 3 Nephi 11:40

This makes me think of these scriptures on what is the priority:

"Say nothing but repentance unto this generation; keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my commandments, and you shall be blessed." D&C 6:9

"And of tenets thou shalt not talk, but thou shalt declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism, and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost." D&C 19:31

"And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen." D&C 16:6

As I focus on repenting of those things I know of. As I exercise faith in Jesus Christ. I will be on safe ground.

Talks I Picked

2010-11-29T11:07:00.004-07:00

For a few years now I have found inspiring talks from several sources to listen to as I commute. There are several that I have thought about since the Oct general conference. Here are a few.

Patrick Kearon, “‘Come unto Me with Full Purpose of Heart, and I Shall Heal You’,” Ensign, Nov 2010, 50–52

Dallin H. Oaks, “Two Lines of Communication,” Ensign, Nov 2010, 83–86

Larry R. Lawrence, “Courageous Parenting,” Ensign, Nov 2010, 98–100

Juan A. Uceda, “He Teaches Us to Put Off the Natural Man,” Ensign, Nov 2010, 53–55

- Ezra Taft Benson, "What I Hope You Will Teach Your Children about the Temple", Ensign, Aug. 1985, 6. From an address given at the Logan Temple Centennial, 17 May 1984.
- Dallin H. Oaks, "The Great Plan of Happiness," Ensign, Nov. 1993, 73
- Spencer W. Kimball, "Families Can Be Eternal," Ensign, Nov. 1980, 4

BYU Devotionals
Henry B. Eyring. "A Law of Increasing Returns" March 28, 1982

Worldwide Leadership Training

2010-11-29T10:56:00.003-07:00

I have been enjoying the LDS Worldwide Leadership Training that was broadcast earlier this month. It teaches me about some of the changes in the new Church Handbook on Instructions. Handbook 2 is available to read online.

I am so happy to be led by inspired leaders.

Reasonable but not certain grounds

2010-11-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

"...principles and values and ideals that we devoutly hope are true, and have reasonable but not certain grounds for believing to be true." (Testimony of Terryl L. Givens as found from Clean Cut)

This quote highlights what I have come to understand. That faith is a choice. The Lord gives us reasonable grounds for believing in Him and His principles. Yet they are not certain ground. Our life is an exercise of our faith which begins as a desire to believe. As Terryl said, there is also grounds for doubt.

I am reminded of Moroni where he says that I can know of spiritual truth as surely as I can distinguish between the daylight and the dark night. I know this is true for the most important things. The things that cause us to progress or to be damned. I know clearly that I am to be kind to my wife and children. I am to work hard and trust God. I am to be meditative and prayerful. I am to seek truth in the scriptures and from other good sources. I am to listen to the still small voice. I am to seek the Spirit of God and discipline myself to follow it. So I can establish trust between my Father and I. So I can enjoy the delicious joy He brings into my life.

We have reasonable but not certain ground to believe God. Yet He always respects our choice. He will force no man to heaven. The reward is greater than any other thing. It is worth any effort to receive it.

Antidote for anxiety, ointment for sorrow, a doorway to possibility

2010-11-08T15:02:00.001-07:00

"Work is an antidote for anxiety, an ointment for sorrow, and a doorway to possibility."
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Two Principles for Any Economy,” Ensign, Nov 2009, 55–58

Watching with All Perseverance

2010-10-18T11:30:00.002-07:00

David A Bednar gave a talk in Apr 2010 that I want to listen to again, “Watching with All Perseverance”, MP3

A summary of the talk by the speaker.

I pray for the guidance of the Holy Ghost as I describe a spiritual early warning system that can help parents in Zion to be watchful and discerning concerning their children. This early warning system applies to children of all ages and contains three basic components: (1) reading and talking about the Book of Mormon with your children, (2) bearing testimony of gospel truths spontaneously with your children, and (3) inviting children as gospel learners to act and not merely be acted upon. Parents who do these things faithfully will be blessed to recognize early signals of spiritual growth in or challenges with their children and be better prepared to receive inspiration to strengthen and help those children.

"Immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you"

2010-10-09T08:26:00.001-07:00

"Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you." Alma 34:31

This is the scripture that came to my mind as I read the talk by Vaughn J. Featherstone in Oct 1980, "Forgive Them, I Pray Thee". I just found it from the comment of R. Gary in this post by Clean Cut.

The Lord is merciful. He requires our heart. He is mighty to save.

Voice-of-the-Spirit

2010-10-06T08:55:00.004-07:00

There is nothing like the sweet influence of the Holy Spirit. I must pare off those branches that would choke out the ones that will bear good fruit. I must choose the best things in my life, leaving behind the better and the good. I am so grateful for prayer and the scriptures. For good songs and the welcome of home. God is great. He is mighty to save.

The Man I Want To Be

2010-09-05T23:52:00.001-07:00

I heard this on the radio yesterday for the first time. Lyrics below.

God, Im down here on my knees
Cause its the last place left to fall
Beggin for another chance
If theres any chance at all
That you might still be listenin
Lovin and forgivin guys like me
Ive spent my whole life gettin it all wrong
And I sure could use your help cause from now on

I wanna be a good man
A do like I should man
I wanna be the kind of man the mirror likes to see
I wanna be a strong man
And admit that I was wrong, man
God Im asking you to come change me
To the man I wanna be

Theres anyway for her and me to make another start
Could you see what you could do
To put some love back in her heart
Cuz it going to take a miracle
After all Ive done to really make her see

That I wanna be a statement
I wanna be a great man
I wanna be the kind of man that she shes in her dreams
God, I wanna be your man
And I wanna be her man
God, I only hope she still believes
In the man I wanna be

Well, I know this late at night that talk is cheap
Lord, dont give up on me

I wanna be a givin man
I wanna really start livin man
God, Im asking you to come change me
To the man I wanna be

When I Do Good...

2010-08-11T00:40:00.001-07:00

“When I do good I feel good, when I do bad I feel bad, that’s my religion.” Abraham Lincoln

Lord, I Believe; Help Thou Mine Unbelief

2010-08-09T07:41:00.001-07:00

Last night my wife shared the lesson of Sunday School with me. (I teach primary so I don't get to attend.) They learned about Naaman. I was impressed that an outsider to Israel would have enough faith to come to Israel to be healed of his leprosy. He was willing to go on the word of one of the servants of his wife. He was willing to listen to his own servant when the experience did not go as he expected it to. He humbled himself to go and wash in Jordan. He received his reward.

This morning I dropped off my oldest son and some of his friends to their first day of seminary. I have fond memories of attending seminary. I have four older brothers and sisters. For me it was a coming of age; a cool thing to do. It was during my seminary years that I gained my own testimony of Jesus Christ and his church.

I have been reflecting on whether or not I would have the faith I have now if it were not for my upbringing and nurturing. Where else can I find a belief system that challenges me as the Mormon one does? It asks me to obtain my own answers to the fundamental questions. It asks me to commit to God and my fellow believers through baptism and other covenants. It asks me to serve and give and grow. I get callings that I would not have had the disposition to do otherwise. The Lord has given his all. He asks nothing less of us.

There was a man that brought his mute son to the disciples of Jesus to be healed.

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. (Mark 9:14-29)

Like the father, like Naaman, I must step out with faith. This life is for us to see if we will do what God wants us to do in the face of not knowing. So I cry out to God, "I believe; help thou mine unbelief".

Opening Our Hearts

2010-07-26T23:34:00.003-07:00

Lately, I have been thinking about testimony. How it is obtained and retained and increased. My mind went to a talk I thought Elder Bednar gave. When I searched, I found this talk.

Gerald N. Lund, “Opening Our Hearts,” Ensign, May 2008, 32–34 MP3

"Because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost" Moroni 8:26

Elder Lund refers to Elder Bednar's talk. The one he gave to Church Educational System educators given on February 3, 2006.

"Please notice how the power of the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart. … Ultimately, … the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter."

David A. Bednar, “Seek Learning by Faith,” Liahona, Sep 2007, 16–24

To have the comfort of the Spirit of the Lord I must yield to His enticings. He will never force my heart.

Blessed By Adversity

2010-07-15T08:00:00.003-07:00

It is hard to feel sorry for myself when I hear a story like Gary Ceran.

Early in the morning of one Christmas Eve, Gary Ceran’s life was drastically and forever altered. On this day, a terrible traffic accident took the lives of his wife and two of his children. Who was the at-fault driver of the other vehicle? What would your reaction be toward this person? How would you deal with this tragedy on a personal level?

From Conversations on the Mormon Channel. Download the MP3 here.

Some pressing appointment, perhaps?

2010-06-24T07:40:00.004-07:00

We all have the same amount of time in each day. Each person is equal in this. What is it we use our time for?

I am reminded of a scene in the Count of Monte Cristo. Edmund has been in a political prison for five years when a floor stone pops up and Abbe Faria comes up. He has been in prison for 11 years. For the last five years he has been digging a tunnel to what he thought was the external wall. Abbe had narrowed down the possible directions to the external wall to two and had chosen the wrong one. This is where the clips (0:45-1:30) picks up.

"With two of us, we could dig in the opposite direction. And with both of us together, then of course we could possibly do it in um...oh...8 years. [Edmond laughs] Ohh... and does something else demand your time? Some pressing appointment, perhaps?" Edmund helps Abbe dig for years in return for lessons in reading, writing and more advanced learning.

What does it matter if I decide to take up a project that takes 20 years? As long as it is worthwhile. There is a calculus that occurs in my life whether I want it to or not. I eventually get what I want. The trick is to choose that which will bring lasting happiness instead of only immediate pleasure. 1 2

"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;" D&C 58:27

Mercy Claimeth That Which Is Her Own

2010-06-13T23:59:00.008-07:00

By Jonathon Linton (View Full Image)

I saw this painting in the General Conference Center a couple of weeks ago. Then twice the next week I remembered it.

Alma 42:24 "For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved."

How Do I Measure Success?

2010-04-20T13:48:00.003-07:00

"We know we are successful if we live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit."

Julie B. Beck, Apr 2010.

More Fierce Desire

2010-04-15T09:58:00.012-07:00

From Kenneth Cope's song "More" from All About You. This inspired me on the drive to work this morning. Here are the lyrics.

More steady

More sure

More trusted

More Pure

Some say it doesn't matter

More trained and more aware

More aim to get me there

I climbed this far

You raise the bar

You want my heart

(Chorus)

More fierce desire

To stand against the wind

More blazing fire

When dark is closing in

More love-inspired change within

So there's more and more of me to give

More words to learn and know

More etched upon my soul

Some say it doesn't matter

More tried

More true

Less me and much more You

I've stretched this tall

You sound the call

You want my all

(Chorus)

You keep reaching out Calling out to me for

More strength in shoulders

To face the war with sin

More wise and bolder

To save the souls of men

A more faithful soldier to the end

You want more and more of me to give

More and more of me to give

More love

More light

More purpose

More serve with all my might

I need more hope

more faith

more patience

Each day I pray for more

More and more of me to give

More fire

More zeal

More spirit

To know what's real

More courage

More joy

More and more of me to give

More grateful

More true

More humble

To trust in You

You cal

I hear

I'll walk the path that's set in stone

My heart is fixed on getting home

And what on earth could matter more

More and more of me to give

Acceptable Service

2010-04-09T09:33:00.003-07:00

This article from the Ensign touched my heart this morning.

He walked into a little classroom in the Philippines to be interviewed in preparation for receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood. I didn’t know how old he was, but even the older members of the branch called him Tatay (father).

When I asked whether he would be able to understand my English, he smiled warmly and replied with careful diction, “Yes, I will.”

After our interview I asked him if there was any reason he should not be ordained to the priesthood. After a moment he said, “Perhaps I should not receive the priesthood.”

Puzzled, I asked, “What do you mean?”

“I have only one tooth,” he replied. “I know I don’t look very good to receive the priesthood. It is all right if you tell me I cannot have the priesthood.”

We sat for a moment while I pondered his comment, tears welling up in my eyes. Then I put my hand on his hand and told him that I had seen many wonderful priesthood holders who had lost their hair, but he had beautiful, thick black hair. I also told him of priesthood holders who had only one ear or one eye, but he had both of his eyes and ears.

I then told him of a friend of mine who had lost his arm to cancer. When that brother had prayed in our home and had asked Heavenly Father to bless my wife and children, I knew he was a great servant of the Lord. I told Tatay how this friend had placed his only hand on the head of a little girl to bless her because she was dying and that I had felt the power of the priesthood that day.

This elderly Filipino smiled and said, “I hope my service to God will also be acceptable.”

We are all flawed in some significant way, and we all know the feelings of inadequacy that come with a new calling. But God accepts the humblest offering of the humblest Saint, and each of us can make a difference. We need not be embarrassed or ashamed; we need only give our best effort to the Lord. In turn He will bless us and magnify us and, in a marvelous way, make us whole.
(David E. LeSueur, “Acceptable Service,” Ensign, Mar 2010, 26, PDF)

I think of how blessed I am to be living in the USA. Of all the opportunities I have. I have never had to go hungry. I have all my teeth. I have air conditioning. I have a temple within a hour from me. The list goes on and on. I hope to be more humble so that I need not to be compelled to be humble (Alma 32:6-25)

Preserving the Heart’s Mighty Change

2010-03-05T06:31:00.006-07:00

A great talk about holding on to my mighty change of heart.

A heart transplant can prolong life for years for people who would otherwise die from heart failure. But it is not “the ultimate operation,” as Time magazine called it in 1967. The ultimate operation is not a physical but a spiritual “mighty change” of heart.
Dale G. Renlund, “Preserving the Heart’s Mighty Change,” Ensign, Nov 2009, 97–99, Mp3

Ultimate Knowledge

2010-02-27T08:02:00.003-07:00

My mother in law directed me to a talk Dallin Oaks gave at Harvard Law School

Thus, while Latter-day Saints rely on scriptural scholars and scholarship, that reliance is preliminary in method and secondary in authority. As a source of sacred teaching, the scriptures are not the ultimate but the penultimate. The ultimate knowledge comes by personal revelation through the Holy Ghost.
("Fundamental Premises of Our Faith", Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Harvard Law School, 26 February 2010 )

I had to look up penultimate. I liked this description of our sources of revelation.

It was very enjoyable. I would love to be able to see of hear him give this speech.

I Know That My Savior Loves Me

2010-02-23T05:01:00.008-07:00

There is a new and touching song that Primary is singing this year, "I Know That My Savior Loves Me" (sheet music, mp3)

1. A long time ago in a beautiful place,
Children were gathered ’round Jesus.
He blessed and taught as they felt of His love.
Each saw the tears on His face.
The love that He felt for His little ones
I know He feels for me.
I did not touch Him or sit on His knee,
Yet, Jesus is real to me.

Chorus
I know He lives!
I will follow faithfully.
My heart I give to Him.
I know that my Savior loves me.

2. Now I am here in a beautiful place,
Learning the teachings of Jesus.
Parents and teachers will help guide the way,
Lighting my path ev’ry day.
Wrapped in the arms of my Savior’s love,
I feel His gentle touch.
Living each day, I will follow His way,
Home to my Father above.

Chorus

It has such a simple message. I have felt the Spirit each time I have heard it. As each child puts their heart with these words they will gain a testimony of Jesus, and strengthen their personal relationship with Him. I am so happy that the Primary chose this song!

Origin of God Agnostic

2010-02-14T14:11:00.007-07:00

Last summer, I had an interesting discussion about the origin of God. Before that, I did not know of a faithful LDS perspective that was different than the infinite regress of Gods. It was one of those topics that I heard theories from people I trusted. It made sense to me and so I did not pursue it.

Clean Cut emailed me a couple of weeks ago asking me about my post. He asked if my thoughts or feeling on the topic had changed at all. I had mentioned to him that I was looking forward to reading Rough Stone Rolling. I was given it for Christmas. I am about halfway through it.

While laying down for a Sunday nap I picked up the book. Richard Bushman quotes D&C 93:29-34 and then adds,

In later years, Joseph would elaborate these hints into a doctrine of the free intelligence. Human beings in their essence were uncreated intelligences as eternal as God, and so radically free... The idea of free intelligence combined the moral being of the Bible with the reasoning individual of the Enlightenment. In Joseph's revelations, truth could not be discovered in rebellion and wickedness. "That wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience." [D&C 93:29] The test of one's humanity was not whether one would abide by the independent dictate's of one's own reason, in accord with the Enlightenment ideal, but whether one would accept the light coming from God.

As to the origin of God, I am satisfied putting it in the "we'll find out someday" category. I also put discussions on the topic in the "danger of looking past the mark" category. It is much more important to me to practice the truth I know. I am confident that the Lord will grant me more light and knowledge on His origin later on. It is much more important to becoming more Christ like. More diligent, more patient, more loving, more thoughtful.

On a final note, one of the best parts of LDS doctrine is the focus on learning truth from whatever source it may come. I look forward to more light and knowledge on many subjects. I will also do my best to give them their due attention. Focusing on "right practice" will never fail. Focusing on "right doctrine" brings a possibility of diverting my energy to that which will not have lasting satisfaction.

What Shall We Give?

2009-12-23T13:02:00.001-07:00

More at Mormon Messages

The Christmas Spirit

2009-12-23T12:56:00.003-07:00

Find more Mormon Messages

Half of something

2009-12-21T02:14:00.009-07:00

My wife bought me the Sunshine on Leith album by The Proclaimers for me recently. I love it! I remember around five years ago, I came home. Stephanie was gone for some reason. I put this cassette in and danced to it with the kids for at least an hour. It was one of those moments that you don't forget. How happy I was to be with my kids and the joy of dance and music.

On the way to work I was listening again. One line from the "Then I Met You" track is,

Thought that I was whole instead of being half of something

My dear wife is so strong, so persistent. She works hard and then keeps on giving. She is passionate. One recent example is the fortieth wedding anniversary she helped to organize for her parents. She gave it her all. I tell you what, I am so glad to have all of her back again. Her parents are worth it. It was only a limited time. I did miss her.

I think of this scripture when I think of my sweetheart,

...I salute you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant, in which covenant I receive you to fellowship, in a determination that is fixed, immovable, and unchangeable, to be your friend and brother through the grace of God in the bonds of love, to walk in all the commandments of God blameless, in thanksgiving, forever and ever. Amen. D&C 88:133

I am so grateful to have her. She is my better half. With her I am complete. As we continue to keep our covenants with God, we will become whole. We will fill the measure of our creation. Having her at my side gives me added confidence that I will continue in the path of God. She is a gift.

The Lord does not expect that we do what we cannot achieve. The command to become perfect, as He is, encourages us to achieve the best of ourselves, to discover and develop the talents and attributes with which we are blessed by a loving Eternal Father, who invites us to realize our potential as children of God. He knows us; He knows of our capacities and our limitations. The invitation and challenge to become perfect, to achieve eternal life is for all mankind.
Immediately after teaching that “it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength,” King Benjamin indicated that “it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize." God will not require more than the best we can give because that would not be just, but neither can He accept less than that because that would not be just either. Therefore, let us always give the best we can in the service of God and our fellowmen. Let us serve in our families and in our callings in the Church in the best manner possible. Let us do the best we can and each day be a little better. (Jorge F. Zeballos, “Attempting the Impossible,” Ensign, Nov 2009, 33–34, [Emphasis is mine])

I am grateful to have such a devoted, loving and kind wife as my partner in creating heaven on earth.

"Beware of False Prophets and False Teachers"

2009-10-13T22:14:00.003-07:00

I read a great post at Scriptorium Blogorium about a Oct 1999 General Conference Talk by M. Russell Ballard called "Beware of False Prophets and False Teachers".

I used the Mini-Stream Ripper to convert the asx file to an mp3. I look forward to listening to it again.

What is your most compelling reason for believing in God?

2009-09-07T13:10:00.003-07:00

A post at ldstalk.wordpress.com prompted the following comment from me.

The most compelling reason I have for believing in God is the fruit of God I see in people around me. I start with my mom and dad. They are not perfect but they are faithful and happy and contented and busy. I see what being at work for God has done for them and I want the same for myself. I recall several other that I have gotten to know well enough to prove that their life is not just superficial happiness. I have seen hearts change and forgiveness bringing peace. I remember every day kind of people doing simple things that bring joy into their life and those they serve.

To be honest, I also can remember a couple of atheists that fit quite well into this description. I am satisfied that if they truly are being honest in their heart, they will be where any faithful believer is.

Another scripture comes to mind, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." John 7:17 When I have exercised my faith by doing what I know to be true, I feel the fruits of God in me. I have a clarity of mind. I feel good and right. It is when I am most obedient that I am most confident in God and His plan.

Hide Footnote Indicators on Scriptures.lds.org

2009-09-07T09:00:00.002-07:00

I while ago I found the "Hide footnote indicators" option on scriptures.lds.org. It hides the footnote indicators within the text of the scriptures so that I can copy them without removing them myself. You get to it from the "options" in the upper right of the page. It is quite useful.

Paradox of Choice and Delighting in Fatness

2009-09-07T08:01:00.008-07:00

A few days ago, a friend recommended that I watch Barry Schwartz on the paradox of choice.

I remember hearing his story of being less satisfied with his purchase of jeans today than years ago when there was only one kind of jeans. In his experience, he ended up with a pair of jeans that fit far better than when there was only one kind. He was disappointed because he had concluded (I think unconsciously) that because there were so many choices there must have been one that fit perfectly. When he noticed something not perfect about the new pair, it was easy to think that he chose the wrong one.

He started his talk with a dogma of western civilization. It goes like this
- We should maximize welfare
- This means maximize freedom
- This means maximize choice
- More choice means more freedom
- More freedom means more welfare

Here are some more of some notes I took:

The secret to happiness is low expectations

Why Choice Makes People Miserable
1. Regret and anticipated regret
2. Opportunity Costs
3. Escalation of expectations
4. Self blame

We do better and feel worse

He concludes that income redistribution will make everyone better off because those that have too much choice will give more choice to those who have too little.

His perspective was very enlightening. I agree that I can easily slip into unhappiness by not being conscious of the choices I make. I do not, however, agree with his redistribution conclusion. I do think we are happier when we are charitable and give voluntarily of what we have been blessed with. "capitalism is the least worst system available to us — until Zion can be achieved" (Geoff B.)

If I allow myself to be consumed with these kinds of consumer-centric choice I will lead an unsatisfying life. This reminds me of what Nephi said,

Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness. (2 Ne 9:51)

Yesterday, my elder's quorum president gave a lesson on submitting our will to our Heavenly Father. He recently got a puppy, a mix between a lab and a pit bull. He has watched the Dog Whisperer. Following the teachings of that show, he recently held the dog down with his hand after it was trying to nip at his children. He gently but firmly held the dog to the floor with his hand. He had to hold it there for about five minutes until the dog finally relaxed and submitted.

His wife asked him if he was just breaking the spirit of the dog. I don't think he was. I have seen the show. It is a little disconcerting to watch him or the owners hold their dogs down like that. Yet this is what will bring the dog happiness. Dogs are happiest when they are submissive. They just need to be shown true leadership in a way dogs understand. Then they are so happy and they willingly live by the rules of the house.

The Lord is wise to allow me to work out my destiny here on earth outside of His presence. If I tried to get comfortable choosing the right in His house, I would need swift and perhaps final judgment on my behavior. Instead He planned a way for me to work out my salvation. Adam fell so that evil came into our world. Jesus came and provided for every good thing. So I find myself in this world where I learn very well between good and evil. The Lord is gratefully not present while I figure this out. When I choose badly, I experience pain and emptiness. Hopefully I learn and choose better. I feel the freedom that comes from entering into a covenant relationship with God. That I really can be forgiven. That I really can have another chance. I can choose to come closer to Father in Heaven. I can draw closer by obeying the Light the Lord shows me.

I am not talking about choosing a pair of jeans that fits, but following that voice that says, "why don't you get up and let Steph sleep this morning". Or the many many other messages about living according to the truth I know. This kind of choice is necessary and much more satisfying that mere consumer decisions. Real joy comes from submitting my will to that of my Heavenly Father.

Things as They Really Are

2009-08-25T22:00:00.002-07:00

Our bishop has chosen "Things as They Really Are" by Elder David A. Bednar at the May 2009 CES fireside for our fifth Sunday lesson. He gives a powerful warning and brought to my attention some things I had not considered.

... a simulation or model can lead to spiritual impairment and danger if the fidelity is high and the purposes are bad—such as experimenting with actions contrary to God’s commandments or enticing us to think or do things we would not otherwise think or do “because it is only a game.”
Today I raise an apostolic voice of warning about the potentially stifling, suffocating, suppressing, and constraining impact of some kinds of cyberspace interactions and experiences upon our souls. The concerns I raise are not new; they apply equally to other types of media, such as television, movies, and music. But in a cyber world, these challenges are more pervasive and intense. I plead with you to beware of the sense-dulling and spiritually destructive influence of cyberspace technologies that are used to produce high fidelity and that promote degrading and evil purposes.
If the adversary cannot entice us to misuse our physical bodies, then one of his most potent tactics is to beguile you and me as embodied spirits to disconnect gradually and physically from things as they really are. In essence, he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal, unembodied state. And, if we let him, he can cunningly employ some aspects of modern technology to accomplish his purposes. Please be careful of becoming so immersed and engrossed in pixels, texting, ear buds, twittering, online social networking, and potentially addictive uses of media and the Internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and miss the richness of person-to-person communication. Beware of digital displays and data in many forms of computer-mediated interaction that can displace the full range of physical capacity and experience.

Contrast that with this.

To feel the warmth of a tender hug from an eternal companion or to see the sincerity in the eyes of another person as testimony is shared—all of these things experienced as they really are through the instrument of our physical body—could be sacrificed for a high fidelity fantasy that has no lasting value. If you and I are not vigilant, we can become “past feeling” (1 Nephi 17:45), as did Laman and Lemuel long ago.

I had not considered that misusing technology could minimize the importance of my body.

He makes it clear that technology can also be used for good.

Brothers and sisters, please understand. I am not suggesting all technology is inherently bad; it is not. Nor am I saying we should not use its many capabilities in appropriate ways to learn, to communicate, to lift and brighten lives, and to build and strengthen the Church; of course we should. But I am raising a warning voice that we should not squander and damage authentic relationships by obsessing over contrived ones.

He gives us two questions to help us evaluate our use of technology:

For your happiness and protection, I invite you to study more diligently the doctrine of the plan of salvation—and to prayerfully ponder the truths we have reviewed. I offer two questions for consideration in your personal pondering and prayerful studying:
1. Does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life?
2. Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?

I recommend the whole talk. You can get audio or video of the talk here.

Four Steps to Memorize the Articles of Faith

2009-08-23T08:29:00.003-07:00

As part of the faith in god program, LDS children memorize the articles of faith. I used ldsscripturetools.com to create a document to help memorize them.

4StepstoMemorizeArticlesOfFaith.doc

4StepstoMemorizeArticlesOfFaith.pdf

"Thank you, thank you for my life"

2009-08-14T22:56:00.008-07:00

I love, love Joe Vs the Volcano. I watched it with a bunch of friends that were in "South Pacific" with me my senior year in high school.

"Dear God, whose name I do not know. Thank you for my life. I forgot how BIG. Thank you, thank you for my life."

Another quote I like is, "My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement." Patricia Graynamore

“I Love the Lord”

2009-08-07T12:04:00.005-07:00

At Be Not Weary, I found this video of the last song of the 2007 Priesthood session of General Conference. I love the tune from "Be Still My Soul"

“I Love the Lord”

I love the Lord. In him my soul delights.
Upon his word, I ponder day and night.
He’s heard my cry, brought visions to my sleep,
And kept me safe o’er deserts and the deep.
He’s filled my heart with his consuming love,
And borne me high on wings of his great dove.

Yet oft I groan,”O wretched man am I!”
My flesh is weak and I’m encompassed by
A world of sin, which holds me in its thrall,
If I give in and to temptations fall.
Then strength grows slack, I waste in sorrow’s vale.
My peace destroyed, my enemies prevail.

Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin.
Rejoice, my heart! And let me praise again
The Lord my God, who is my rock and stay
To keep me strict upon his straight, plain way.
O let me shake at the first sight of sin
And thus escape my foes without and in.

Breaking the unhealthy dance

2009-08-07T08:10:00.004-07:00

My sister in law sent me a link to Those Aren’t Fighting Words, Dear. It reminded me of my Arbinger Institute training I did many years ago. If I am not careful, I can contribute to unhealthy attitudes in my relationships. I can dance with them so that they feel justified in bad behavior. Their behavior fits into my deception so I can also behave badly.

This story reminded me of the way to break that cycle. She didn't dance that unhealthy dance. She got out of the way of the issues her husband was having. She was patient and loving and independent. I like how she summed it up at the end,

My husband tried to strike a deal. Blame me for his pain. Unload his feelings of personal disgrace onto me.
But I ducked. And I waited. And it worked.

I also like this bit.

it’s not a spouse or land or a job or money that brings us happiness. Those achievements, those relationships, can enhance our happiness, yes, but happiness has to start from within. Relying on any other equation can be lethal.

Softly and Tenderly

2009-08-05T05:08:00.003-07:00

I love Randy Travis. Because of Playlist.com, I found out that he is a gospel singer too. I love "Softly and Tenderly" from his Worship & Faith album. It reminds my of "Bring back my Bonnie to me" that my mom used to sing to me. Here are the lyrics.

Softly and tenderly
Jesus is calling
Calling for you and for me
See on the portals
He's waiting and watching
Watching for you and for me.

Come home, come home
Ye who are weary, come home
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling
Calling, Oh sinners come home.

Why should we tarry
When Jesus is pleading
Pleading for you and for me
Why should we linger
And heed not his mercies
Mercies for you and for me.

Come home, come home
Ye who are weary, come home
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling
Calling, Oh sinners come home.

Come home, come home
Ye who are weary, come home
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling
Calling, Oh sinners come home.

Calling, Oh sinners come home...

Orthopraxy over Orthodoxy

2009-07-28T05:40:00.005-07:00

It is aha moments like I found reading this comment by Seth R. that I love the bloggernacle, and evangelical-mormon blogs.

I think the reason for the “it’s not doctrine” line is that you’ve got Mormons who spend a lot of time wrestling with the formalized theology and dealing with its criticisms. Then you have all the other everyday church-going Mormons who don’t go in much for theological inquiry and frankly, don’t care much. The latter are far and away the majority in the LDS Church, and in most any other church, I would argue.

The question is how you deal with that divide.

In Protestantism, which emphasizes orthodoxy first and foremost, the solution is to put the thinking class in the leadership posts and charge them with bringing everyone else up to speed theologically.

In Mormonism, which de-emphasizes orthodoxy and instead pushes orthopraxy (”right practice”), the solution is to place the academically average LDS member in positions of leadership – even all the way to the top. The theologians are not put in charge, but are rather shunted off to a limited corner of Mormon life. A Mormon will typically almost always emphasize personal spiritual life over theological training as desirable qualities in a minister.

I think this approach is probably the main reason that Mormons can be so careless and unconcerned about the philosophical integrity of their religion. It’s also why it’s taking so freaking long to get Bruce R. McConkie and Joseph F. Smith out of our system, and why it took so long to get Brigham Young out of the system earlier.

You get someone with a strong vision of Mormonism, like those men, and if it’s serviceable in the day-to-day worship life of the average LDS, the thinking is – why not use them? Even when the theologically trained Mormons point out some problems with the paradigm, it still remains useful for most Mormons, and there just isn’t much sense of urgency about changing it. After all, the main concern is with ethical and spiritual living. Debatably, you don’t need a perfect theology for that.

Mormon theologians, on the other hand, recognize this emphasis within Mormon life and they don’t want to “kick over the beehive” just to make an esoteric theological argument. Building Zion comes first for Mormons – whether you are theologically minded or not. We’re not going to sabotage that just to score theological points.

I had never heard of Orthopraxy before. I also believe that "right practice" is much more important than having the "right opinion". I include in right practice my belief that Jesus Christ is my savior.

On the Impossibility of Genuine Self-interest

2009-07-24T18:10:00.003-07:00

I just read "On the Impossibility of Genuine Self-interest" by Jeffrey Thayne. Years ago, I attended some seminars based on the work of Terry Warner. While and after I attended, I read a manuscript of Bonds That Make Us Free. About a year ago read Atlas Shrugged.

Atlas Shrugged makes some compelling arguments for objectivism. Jeffrey Thayne makes a more compelling argument for altruism. I particularly like how he describes our moral decisions as either an expression of love or malice, "altruism is not disguised self-interest. Rather, self-interest is disguised malice."

“Give the horse the reins, and he will get you to camp.”

2009-07-21T16:58:00.005-07:00

Elder F. Michael Watson spoke in the April 2009 General Conference on "His Servants, the Prophets". It is telling that he has served as assistant secretary or secretary to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency from 1970 until 2008 when he was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy.

This quote has more meaning when considering his first hand experience over the last 39 years.

During my growing-up years in the small farming community of Spring City, Utah, an opportunity afforded itself each summer to be with my father alone for two weeks herding sheep in the mountain range of the Manti-La Sal. On one occasion the fog rested heavily in the area to the extent that you could not see your outstretched hand in front of you, and the evening was drawing nigh.
My father suggested that I return to camp, and he would soon follow. I remember questioning how I would be able to find the camp amidst the fog. My father simply said to me, “Give the horse the reins, and he will get you to camp.” Following this counsel, I loosened my grip on the reins, and with encouragement to the horse, the journey began. At times I would be struck in the face by a low-hanging limb I couldn’t see or have my leg brush close to a tree. Eventually, the horse came to a complete stop, and the silhouette of the camp was in view.
Sometimes we may not always be able to immediately find the desired way before us, but the wisdom of those who have gone before, coupled with the wisdom of those who are with us still, will be our guide if we let them have the reins.

This also stood out to me.

Prior to his passing in December 1973, President Lee, speaking to an assembled group of Church employees and their families, posed the question after giving a history of the Church’s welfare program: “Do you believe these prophets knew what they were talking about?” Later in the same address, concerning the Brethren’s counsel to guard against the permissiveness invading the home through inappropriate literature and television, he asked, “Are you too close to the Brethren [so that you] think of them not as prophets but as men just guessing [such counsel] might be a good thing?”

Exaltation

2009-07-17T08:18:00.008-07:00

The comment thread of Divide? Maybe not so much — Part 2 has prompted me to express what I believe exaltation to mean. Clean Cut commented

I believe in deification and becoming a god; sharing in God’s divine nature is fully scriptural. But I do not believe in being an independent God (as if we’ll become our own Godhead to other planets), and I don’t find scriptural support for it nor any evidence for it in the teachings of Joseph Smith. However we end up sharing in God’s power, it will be an extension of His power–”joint heirs”–not our own.

Until recently, I was not aware of this belief within orthodox LDS faith. It does not fit with what I see is taught in our scriptures.

In the oath and covenant of the priesthood it says, "And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him." (D&C 84:38) If I receive all that my Father has, wouldn't that also include being able to create what he has created?

D&C 132:20 says,

Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.

To be from everlasting to everlasting seems the same as being Eternal like God is. To have all power seems pretty clear.

Clear Cut summarized himself, "I do not believe I will become a “worshiped” God. Only the one true God (or Godhead) is worshiped–not all the gods whom He made so through His grace and the grace of His Son."

This reminds me of the time when Jesus was called Good Master and he replied, "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." (Mark 10:18) We will defer honor to God the same way Jesus did. Any honor or power the Lord gives to us will only be because of the grace of God, because of the atonement. Any worship we may receive eventually will only serve to increase the glory and honor of God.

I have progressed spiritually very much in the last 14 years because I of my marriage to a kind, forgiving and persistent wife. She has helped me to repent and grow. I have thought about how is it that I can really become like Jesus is, to be perfect as He is. Perhaps our relationships with others who are also increasing in faith and honor of their covenants will help us to reach what God wants us to have. D&C 88:133 is a passage I have often been drawn to.

Art thou a brother or brethren? I salute you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant, in which covenant I receive you to fellowship, in a determination that is fixed, immovable, and unchangeable, to be your friend and brother through the grace of God in the bonds of love, to walk in all the commandments of God blameless, in thanksgiving, forever and ever. Amen.

What if we actually kept a covenant like this? As we grow in our faith and obedience to the Lord we will be able to.

Now I go on to my own thought. What if God's power comes from a covenant He has with other perfect beings? He is perfectly supported by those around Him. He perfectly supports the others in the covenant. Maybe God is preparing us to become part of this covenant that is perfectly kept and allows those who have grown to be able and willing to also keep this covenant perfectly.

Does this mean that all in this covenant are equal? I will always acknowledge where my strength comes from. It is only through His grace that I able to continue to work out my salvation. Any honor I receive will be given from Him and to His greater glory. Mathematics are different when you deal in the infinite. Even if the Lord gives us an infinite amount of power and authority and ability, it does not take away from His. Since anything we have we get from Him, it actually increases His dominion and power and glory.

Update 2009-07-19

I am putting some more comments from the original post for my own reference. Eric Nielson commented (#20),

Clean Cut:

For starters, I do not believe that God institutes the laws. These laws are eternal and must be obeyed, even by God.

Further, some questions:

What is your view of the purpose of eternal marriage?
What is your view of the purpose of eternal gender?
Do you believe that exlted couples will be able to experience a continuation of the ’seed’? i.e. have their own spirit children?

If so, do you believe the relationship between such spirit children and spirit parents would be the same relationship between us and our spirit parents? And if so, what does this have to do with gods and Gods?

Clean Cut responded (46),

Eric (#20), I just got back from a family trip; sorry I didn’t respond sooner. It’s unclear whether you were disagreeing with me or with Joseph Smith in terms of having the power to create the laws by which we advance and become exalted. I was merely quoting Joseph Smith. I’m not sure he’s talking about all laws of science or what not, but he IS specifically talking about God creating the laws by which we become “gods”, and I still maintain a distinction between God and subordinate gods.

I do believe that God intends Christ to be an example of what we can become through His atonement. Christ intends to make us what He is, if we will allow it. However, what does that really mean? What does it not mean? For one thing, I know it does NOT mean that we will somehow have to perform our own “atonement” and/or relive a mortality with 23 chromosomes from a mortal mother and 23 from an immortal Father. So whatever it means to become like Him and share in all he has, there will still be a distinction between us. Christ was the Savior; I was not. He was already God when he took upon himself flesh and became a mortal; I’m not God, and I need His grace to become divine and exalted.

The Father and the Son invite us to be “one” with Them (see John 17), but we’re left to speculate on what that really means. I believe that it will be glorious and a relationship of unity based on love. But I don’t go so far to speculate that being one with Them will make us an independent God of our own world. That would be a contradiction! Yes, He will share with us all that he has. This may even include powers of creation and participation in creating other planets or what not, but like I said–it will be an extension of God’s power, not my own.

As to your other questions:
“What is your view of the purpose of eternal marriage?”

Broad question here. Hmmm. I’ll keep this one short and sweet: To bring us joy and exaltation–the kind of quality of life God enjoys.

“What is your view of the purpose of eternal gender?”

Beyond what the Proclamation on the Family says, I don’t really have any other views to add.

“Do you believe that exalted couples will be able to experience a continuation of the ’seed’? i.e. have their own spirit children?”

I’m not really sure how to interpret D&C 132:19 and the “continuation of the seeds”. You seem to interpret it to mean having spirit children after the resurrection. I’m not sure that we can definitively say we know what it means or how it will work. Heck, I’m not even sure precisely how we’re “spirit children” of God and how that actually works–especially when you remember that Joseph Smith taught that spirits are co-eternal with God and uncreated.

I do know there’s more than one way to understand “Father” and even “Mother” (including in an adoptive sense, or simply nurturing an advancement of our intelligence, etc.), and the truth is we simply don’t know exactly how we became children of heavenly parents. I do know more, however, about how we are begotten children of God through the atonement of Jesus Christ (see, for example, Mosiah 5:7).

I personally don’t believe in a viviparous “spirit birth”, especially when Joseph Smith said over and over again that spirits are uncreated and eternal. I know that a lot of people synthesize these conflicting ideas by believing in the Tripartite model of existence (from intelligence to spirit to mortality), but Joseph never made any distinctions between eternal intelligence and spirit, and there are other concerns with the Tripartite model.

Whatever the “continuation of seeds” means, I don’t believe it involves a viviparous “spirit birth”. There are still too many unknowns, so I think I’ll simply decide to stop while I’m on firm doctrinal ground and not skate out on thin speculatory ice.

Clean Cut (46),

I agree that we can move out into speculatory thin ice. It is interesting to see your point of view.

My ten year old son has for a while been trying to grasp an eternal regression of Gods, with quite a bit of emotional angst. He, and I, have a hard time getting our minds around it. I also remember mentally struggling with it. I have settled in myself that it is something that I will fully understand only after this life. It is enough to accept the love and help of my Father in practicing the life he would have me walk.

Some say that the most important thing they learned in school was how to learn. The most important thing I can learn while in my school on earth is how to repent. I will exercise my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I will be willing to accept the teachings I get from Him. I will practice what I learn to obtain attributes God has like patience, kindness, service, hard work and love. Everything else I will learn and obtain if I have learned to turn to God.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

2009-07-07T17:53:00.003-07:00

I loved the talk by Elder Kevin W. Pearson the April Conference, "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ"

“Faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith” (Bible Dictionary, 669; see also Romans 10:14–17). Do your children know that you know? Do they see and feel your conviction? “Strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ” (Bible Dictionary, 669).
Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness. It is always given when righteousness is present, and the greater the measure of obedience to God’s laws the greater will be the endowment of faith” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 264). If we desire more faith, we must be more obedient. When we teach our children by example or precept to be casual or situational in obeying God’s commandments, we prevent them from receiving this vital spiritual gift. Faith requires an attitude of exact obedience, even in the small, simple things.

He reviews "Six Destructive Ds—doubt, discouragement, distraction, lack of diligence, disobedience, and disbelief" and how we can build our faith by avoiding them.

The Spirit of Home Teaching

2009-07-04T10:11:00.002-07:00

I can remember looking down at the ball in my hands on one freezing winter day and seeing my bloody fingerprints on the ball. I’d been outside so long that the cold had cracked the skin on my fingertips, but my mind and my eye were on the orange rim. I can still remember it, including the chipped paint on the front edge of the rim where you’d lock your eye and know the ball would fall just past that spot into the dirt-stained net. I can still remember the mark on the driveway I’d dribble to and know I was at the top of the key. I’d spin and jump for that last second shot, with the score tied. And I’d do it again and again, sometimes for hours, feeling neither time nor the cold.

You may have learned endurance playing a trumpet, or throwing a football, or riding a bucking horse, or drawing a picture. But you learned what we all did. Effort only “now and then” didn’t take you far. The dreams that turned into reality stuck with you nearly all the time. You worked at them, either in fact or in your thoughts, every day and almost every hour.

Henry B. Eyring, “Because of Your Steadiness,” Ensign, May 1988, 39

I love home teaching. I know that when done in the right spirit with persistence, lives change. I found this talk from Henry B. Eyring that captures the spirit of home teaching. He continues:

It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that the Lord has said to you and to me, “Watch over the church always, and be with and strengthen them” (D&C 20:53). God loves us, and he intends for us to become like him. He doesn’t ask us now to worry about all his children in all the world, as he does. Instead, he begins with a call to watch over just a few families, just a few people. But he knows that to visit thirty minutes every month with the same lesson for every family would never produce the progress he wants for us.

My favorite Mormon blogs

2009-07-03T05:10:00.008-07:00

There are a few Mormon related blogs I like to follow. I plan to make this post a list of them.

One is Clean Cut. Here he gives an explanation of how grace fits into my belief and how it is sometimes misunderstood by other Christians. It fits my belief also.

Another I follow is ClobberBlog. She is married to an active LDS man. I have appreciated her candor in speaking about the difficulties she has had in this relationship. Here you can get an overview of what she is about.

Things of My Soul

None Were with Him

2009-07-03T04:18:00.008-07:00

I just listened to "None Were with Him" by Jeffrey R. Holland as I took a walk. I am amazed how much more I get from General Conference because they are made available in mp3 format. You can download it here.

I do not remember a talk that spoke more to my heart of the deep loneliness that I have felt especially when I have turned away from His guiding light.

Brothers and sisters, my Easter-season message today is intended for everyone, but it is directed in a special way to those who are alone or feel alone or, worse yet, feel abandoned. These might include those longing to be married, those who have lost a spouse, and those who have lost—or have never been blessed with—children. Our empathy embraces wives forsaken by their husbands, husbands whose wives have walked away, and children bereft of one or the other of their parents—or both. This group can find within its broad circumference a soldier far from home, a missionary in those first weeks of homesickness, or a father out of work, afraid the fear in his eyes will be visible to his family. In short it can include all of us at various times in our lives.

He goes on to tell of how Jesus knows perfectly how to succor us in this loneliness, not because he also has sinned and has cut himself off from divine support; but because his father allowed for it when he removed his influence from Jesus. He had been abandoned and removed from the support of his followers. Yet, it seems that Jesus did not understand on every level what it would be like to be completely severed from the influence of God.

Now I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to Atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; emphasis added)

The loss of mortal support He had anticipated, but apparently He had not comprehended this. Had He not said to His disciples, “Behold, the hour . . . is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me” and “The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him”? (John 16:32; 8:29)

...

For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone.

...

When the uttermost farthing had then been paid, when Christ’s determination to be faithful was as obvious as it was utterly invincible, finally and mercifully, it was “finished.” Against all odds and with none to help or uphold Him, Jesus of Nazareth, the living Son of the living God, restored physical life where death had held sway and brought joyful, spiritual redemption out of sin, hellish darkness and despair.

I am so grateful for the influence of Jesus Christ in my life. He has saved me from the lonely hell I had created for myself. Because of Him, I was enabled to put myself in a position to meet and fall in love with my wonderful wife. His grace has continued to strengthen me over the last 14 and a half years. He has ministered to me through his willing servants, most of all my angel wife through her patience, forgiveness and persistence. I will praise His name forever and our Father who sent Him.

Valiant in the testimony of Jesus

2009-06-09T06:07:00.006-07:00

During Sunday school last week we learned about the plan of salvation. After reviewing the kinds of people that will inherit the Terrestrial Kingdom, I felt to share what I had heard from Stephen E. Robinson as my son and I were on a road trip recently.

When our twin daughters were small, we decided to take them to the public pool and teach them how to swim. I remember starting with Rebekah. As I went down into the water with Rebekah, I thought, "I'm going to teach her how to swim." But as we went down into the water, in her mind was the thought, "My dad is going to drown me. I'm going to die!" The water was only three and a half feet deep, but Becky was only three feet deep. She was so petrified that she began to scream and cry and kick and scratch and was unteachable.
Finally, I just had to grab her. I threw my arms around her, and I just held her, and I said, "Becky, I've got you. I'm your dad. I love you. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you. Now relax." Bless her heart, she trusted me. She relaxed, and I put my arms under her and said, "Okay, now kick your legs." And we began to learn how to swim.
Spiritually there are some of us who are similarly petrified by the questions "Am I celestial? Am I going to make it? Was I good enough today?" We're so terrified of whether we're going to live or die, or whether we've made it to the kingdom or not, that we cannot make any progress. It's at those times when the Savior grabs us and throws his arms around us and says, "I've got you. I love you. I'm not going to let you die. Now relax and trust me." If we can relax and trust him and believe him, as well as believe in him, then together we can begin to learn to live the gospel. Then he puts his arms under us and says, "Okay, now pay tithing. Very good. Now pay a full tithing." And so we begin to make progress.

My Sunday school teacher went on to read at least part of a talk by Bruce R. McConkie. I think it balanced the grace that I expressed.

Now what does it mean to be valiant in the testimony of Jesus?

It is to be courageous and bold; to use all our strength, energy, and ability in the warfare with the world; to fight the good fight of faith. “Be strong and of a good courage,” the Lord commanded Joshua, and then specified that this strength and courage consisted of meditating upon and observing to do all that is written in the law of the Lord. (See Josh. 1:6–9.) The great cornerstone of valiance in the cause of righteousness is obedience to the whole law of the whole gospel.

To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him”; it is to deny ourselves “of all ungodliness,” and “love God” with all our “might, mind and strength.” (Moro. 10:32.)

To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to believe in Christ and his gospel with unshakable conviction. It is to know of the verity and divinity of the Lord’s work on earth.

But this is not all. It is more than believing and knowing. We must be doers of the word and not hearers only. It is more than lip service; it is not simply confessing with the mouth the divine Sonship of the Savior. It is obedience and conformity and personal righteousness. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21.)

To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.” It is to “endure to the end.” (2 Ne. 31:20.) It is to live our religion, to practice what we preach, to keep the commandments. It is the manifestation of “pure religion” in the lives of men; it is visiting “the fatherless and widows in their affliction” and keeping ourselves “unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27.)

To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to bridle our passions, control our appetites, and rise above carnal and evil things. It is to overcome the world as did he who is our prototype and who himself was the most valiant of all our Father’s children. It is to be morally clean, to pay our tithes and offerings, to honor the Sabbath day, to pray with full purpose of heart, to lay our all upon the altar if called upon to do so.

To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to take the Lord’s side on every issue. It is to vote as he would vote. It is to think what he thinks, to believe what he believes, to say what he would say and do what he would do in the same situation. It is to have the mind of Christ and be one with him as he is one with his Father.

Our doctrine is clear; its application sometimes seems to be more difficult. Perhaps some personal introspection might be helpful. For instance:

Am I valiant in the testimony of Jesus if my chief interest and concern in life is laying up in store the treasures of the earth, rather than the building up of the kingdom?

Am I valiant if I have more of this world’s goods than my just needs and wants require and I do not draw from my surplus to support missionary work, build temples, and care for the needy?

Am I valiant if my approach to the Church and its doctrines is intellectual only, if I am more concerned with having a religious dialogue on this or that point than I am on gaining a personal spiritual experience?

Am I valiant if I am deeply concerned about the Church’s stand on who can or who cannot receive the priesthood and think it is time for a new revelation on this doctrine?

Am I valiant if I use a boat, live in a country home, or engage in some other recreational pursuit on weekends that takes me away from my spiritual responsibilities?

Am I valiant if I engage in gambling, play cards, go to pornographic movies, shop on Sunday, wear immodest clothes, or do any of the things that are the accepted way of life among worldly people?

If we are to gain salvation, we must put first in our lives the things of God’s kingdom. With us it must be the kingdom of God or nothing. We have come out of darkness; ours is the marvelous light of Christ. We must walk in the light.

"There is a calculus that occurs in my life whether I want it to or not. I eventually get what I want. The trick is to choose that which will bring lasting happiness instead of only immediate pleasure." 1, 2

The grace of Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ enables me to keep moving, keep working. I am free from being overwhelmed by the perfect example I am striving to follow. It is miraculous in that I am forgiven of my sins. I do not have to be burdened by the effects of my sin and the sin of others. I am free to progress, to grow, to ultimately become like my Father is.

Christ: The Light, The Life, The Way

2009-05-11T08:17:00.009-07:00

My brother in law sang recently in a musical presentation called "Christ: The Light, The Life, The Way" in the LDS Boise Idaho Mission. My father in law was looking for a way to share it with family and friends. I tagged and ripped it to mp3.

I think the best way to share it is through Amaze.fm. Here is my user page on the site. I uploaded the whole program to it. You can listen to it online. It looks like it puts the most recent song on the top of the list, so everything is in reverse order except for "Amazing Grace".

You can also download the mp3 files, 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3.

Righteous Warriors: Lessons from the War Chapters in the Book of Mormon

2009-05-10T11:35:00.005-07:00

This is a talk given by John Bytheway for BYU Education Week on August 23, 2006. My wife is giving this talk to her Sunday School class. I wanted an easy way to find this talk again.