Judging Signs

So this week has been difficult keeping my goal as I have a lot going on at work. Exciting things, but a lot of work. I submitted one paper yesterday and am hoping to submit another one tomorrow. At this stage the papers are tedium, getting them into the correct format, a comma here or there, and filling out lots of information fields. Ugh. Hopefully I will have something more substantial this weekend. Till then I have been thinking about these scriptures in Helaman 9, which is part of this Sunday's Sunday School lesson:

2 [Five men sent to verify Nephi's words say] Behold, now we will know of a surety whether this man be a prophet and God hath commanded him to prophesy such marvelous things unto us. Behold, we do not believe that he hath; yea, we do not believe that he is a prophet; nevertheless, if this thing which he has said concerning the chief judge be true, that he be dead, then will we believe that the other words which he has spoken are true.

...

18 And it came to pass that the five were liberated on the day of the burial. Nevertheless, they did rebuke the judges in the words which they had spoken against Nephi, and did contend with them one by one, insomuch that they did confound them.

19 Nevertheless, they caused that Nephi should be taken and bound and brought before the multitude, and they began to question him in divers ways that they might cross him, that they might accuse him to death—

Some were willing to accept a sign (the five men), others wanted to condemn Nephi anyways (the judges).

Pres. Monson's Temple Advice

This is a pretty neat and funny story from Pres. Monson about a year ago (the funniest part is in bold).  It reminds me of my own bishop's push for our ward to get to the temple.

Many years ago in the ward over which I presided as the bishop, there lived a couple who often had very serious, heated disagreements. I mean real disagreements. Each of the two was certain of his or her position. Neither one would yield to the other. When they weren’t arguing, they maintained what I would call an uneasy truce.

One morning at 2:00 a.m. I had a telephone call from the couple. They wanted to talk to me, and they wanted to talk right then. I dragged myself from bed, dressed, and went to their home. They sat on opposite sides of the room, not speaking to each other. The wife communicated with her husband by talking to me. He replied to her by talking to me. I thought, “How in the world are we going to get this couple together?”

I prayed for inspiration, and the thought came to me to ask them a question. I said, “How long has it been since you have been to the temple and witnessed a temple sealing?” They admitted it had been a very long time. They were otherwise worthy people who held temple recommends and who went to the temple and did ordinance work for others.

I said to them, “Will you come with me to the temple on Wednesday morning at 8:00? We will witness a sealing ceremony there.”

In unison they asked, “Whose ceremony?”

I responded, “I don’t know. It will be for whoever is getting married that morning.”

On the following Wednesday at the appointed hour, we met at the Salt Lake Temple. The three of us went into one of the beautiful sealing rooms, not knowing a soul in the room except Elder ElRay L. Christiansen, then an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve, a General Authority position which existed at that time. Elder Christiansen was scheduled to perform a sealing ceremony for a bride and groom in that very room that morning. I am confident the bride and her family thought, “These must be friends of the groom” and that the groom’s family thought, “These must be friends of the bride.” My couple were seated on a little bench with about a full two feet (0.6 m) of space between them.

Elder Christiansen began by providing counsel to the couple who were being married, and he did so in a beautiful fashion. He mentioned how a husband should love his wife, how he should treat her with respect and courtesy, honoring her as the heart of the home. Then he talked to the bride about how she should honor her husband as the head of the home and be of support to him in every way.

I noticed that as Elder Christiansen spoke to the bride and the groom, my couple moved a little closer together. Soon they were seated right next to one another. What pleased me is that they had both moved at about the same rate. By the end of the ceremony, my couple were sitting as close to each other as though they were the newlyweds. Each was smiling.

We left the temple that day, and no one ever knew who we were or why we had come, but my friends were holding hands as they walked out the front door. Their differences had been set aside. I had not had to say one word. You see, they remembered their own wedding day and the covenants they had made in the house of God. They were committed to beginning again and trying harder this time around.

Elder Packer: Trusting in the Lord

I found this quote in my email draft folder:

"The scriptures say that it will be given at the very minute that portion which shall be meeted out to every man. Thats very comforting. There's not much fear involved. Once you know the Lord, and know the process of revelation, [and ah] he never fails to tell you what to do." - Pres. Packer

I found it a while back from a video, which I have since lost. So no source, but to add to its authenticity I even included my transcription of his under breath pause speaking :) It wasn't a general conference talk, but one of those News Cast videos on lds.org where he is speaking to a smaller group. I don't think it says anything controversial, but I don't like giving quotes without a source. If anyone can find it let me know: materialmiracles@gmail.com

I do like the sentiment. Pres. Packer is a strong leader and his faith comes across confidently here. All we have to do is trust the Lord and eventually (could be decades) any revelation, personal or otherwise, will make sense.

Traveling while disabled

The BBC's Frank Gardner recounted some of his experiences flying while in a wheelchair (source). I do not use a wheelchair, but when I fly I usually ask for assistance (a person pushing me in a wheelchair through the airport) as I cannot stand very long and the lines are brutal. So far I am happy to report that I have not had the difficulties he has, but I have had a few instances where things have been difficult.

My favorite thing is to compare the service between airports. Some have a professional, dedicated service providing the assistance, and others use the normal staff of the airlines. The best I have experienced is in Detroit. They apparently hire a bunch of college freshman (from multiple universities) to push you through at a quick speed. They knew where they needed to go and were efficient (though still checking their phones :).

JFK on the other hand was horrible. I had a connecting flight with a 6 hour layover and they still barely got me on the plane. They forgot about me from the get go and after multiple requests and 2hrs they finally came to help me.  They transported me to a different terminal where I waited a few more hours. Then about 1.5hrs before my departure they switched the gate of my plane, back to the terminal I had originally come from. Again, after more requests for help, they got me to the plane just before boarding was about to end. Not happy that day.

Over all the experience is great and I can attest to Gardner's statement of "almost VIP status". It is nice to board early and skip past security and customs lines. But I have only traveled to developed countries. I get nervous about how it would be to other parts of the globe.

My other big worry is that now I have a big metal device in my back that will set off sensors. This could seriously delay security checks which are already difficult standing without shoes on, a cane, and my trousers almost falling down. Now I will have to have a metal detector survey my whole body while I stand looking like a weirdo.  I'll let you know how it goes next time I travel.

The Artist and his Friends

Painter's Honeymoon by Lord Frederic Leighton

An artist had a stroke of inspiration; he would start a new painting. He wanted three of his friends: a gallery owner, a curator, and an art lover, to enjoy the project from start to finish so he invited them over, but refused to describe his vision in advance.

As he started the gallery owner decided he only wanted to see the end product, so as not to spoil the surprise. The remaining two joined the artist in his studio and watched as he mixed the colors he would use. He tenderly dipped his brush and made stroke after stroke. Some sweeping, some intricate, all intentional to his conception. Finally, he ended and left the paint to dry.

After it was done, all three companions viewed the painting and the artist tentatively asked what they thought of the work. The gallery owner, who had not stayed, thought it was good and worthy of an honorable place in his gallery. The curator was disappointed. For him the process was more interesting and the final product uninspiring. But the art lover had enjoyed learning about the process the artist used and it helped him to understand the artist a little bit more. He was able to glimpse the intensity and care the painter had devoted to a masterpiece.



This was my first attempt, in a while, to write a symbolic story. I view it like writing poetry, but I’m doing it as a way to express myself more than because I think I’m any good. 

Here, the story centers on an artist who is a symbol for the great Creator. The three friends all represent different kinds of people in the world. Some who believe in the Creator and his art/miracles and some that don’t see the miracles. Many who don’t believe, think that since something can be explained it is less miraculous, less indicative of a Creator. Others believe that God’s miracles can or should never be explained, only possible by supernatural law. 

The gallery owner represents those who honor God, and marvel at his creation, but are uninterested or unwilling to understand how He made the world. They are quick to assume a supernatural intervention that “designed” the world and that if it is explained it cannot be termed a miracle. The curator represents those who are interested in how the world is created and how it works. Unfortunately they believe that once something is explained in removes the divinity of it. The art lover represents those who want to see how things were created and gains a greater understanding of God through that knowledge. They understand God through faith and science.

Do not run faster than you have strength: How fast is that?

The BBC recently reported that a locally valued fresco of the Savior was "restored" by an 80 year old woman with "good intentions", but apparently with less talent than she thought. The kicker is that the original painter's granddaughter had just donated money to have it professionally restored.

Speaking generally, I don't think this is unusual for us humans. It is so easy to overestimate our own abilities: think American Idol tryouts. It requires a constant self-reflection and people whom we can trust who are willing to give us an honest assessment.

I find this in myself quite often. I was recently called to teach in the Elder's Quorum. I really enjoy sharing comments in class, teaching, and speaking at church and other venues, but I have difficulty assessing my actual abilities. I ask people I trust for constructive criticism after class, but at church the culture is one of only stating uplifting compliments. I understand this. We want people to feel comfortable no matter what their best is. It is sometimes easy to see through by asking the follow up question: "So what did you like specifically?" or a similar derivative. Which is (sometimes) followed by a waffle.

With our talents, abilities, finances, and resources we are told not to "run faster than [we have] strength", but sometimes we can't know that without a friend telling us what we can improve. It's just got to be done with the right balance of support and insight.

Google Maps Ads

OK, I think these videos are way cool!! Talk about a good use of technology to 1) help your fellow man,

 and 2) learn about our past.