The Sublime Roundabout

(Given yesterday AM at a Stake Priesthood Leadership Meeting) Good morning, brethren. I am not sure what I did to earn the coveted 6:30 AM speaking time, but I am sure that you are all so very jealous of my opportunity. Don’t worry, your time will come. Hymn number 320 reads: 1. Brethren, pow’r by earthly standards Comes by rank or wealth or sword; But the pow’r above all others Is the priesthood of our Lord. 2. It is ours, the total armor— Priesthood held by Christ, our Lord— If, as brethren, we are worthy Of the Spirit’s whispered word. 3. Let us venture forth in freedom With the priesthood as our guide— Deacons, teachers, priests, and elders, Seeking virtue side by side. As usual with hymns, there are many wonderful gems of doctrine contained within these words. Our power comes not by rank, wealth, or sword, but by the divine investiture of authority that is the priesthood of our Lord. We spend much time in the Church speaking about the priesthood and its ro...

There are moments that you look forward to all your life. When I contemplated having my own family, one of the things I looked forward to most was using the Priesthood I hold to bless my children. It is a special privilege and honor to be able to serve my family in this way. It has never been something I have ever taken lightly. It is why I have lived the way I have, seeking the blessings that are available in the service of the Lord. My son turned 12 on Tuesday. In Latter-Day Saint circles, this is a big one. Turning twelve for young men means that they are given the opportunity to hold the Aaronic Priesthood. As a holder of that Priesthood myself, I was able to confer it on my son. Words cannot describe my feelings in this matter. First, that my son would choose such a path is amazing. He's old enough now to realize a portion of the import of such decisions and he takes them seriously. He is now no longer the same. He has chosen a path that will set him apart from his peers fore...

I am sad today. I got some news last night that really disturbed me. Without going into details, I have been disappointed in the performance of someone I thought I knew. He wasn't close to me, but I was proud to see the progress he was making towards turning his life around. Then, in a moment of weakness, his life took a drastic change for the worse. And I am left wondering what leads to these momentary lapses in judgement. I know there are medical reasons - chemical imbalances, for example - that lead people to do things they might not otherwise have done. For some reason, this seems to absolve people of a lot. If you are physically unable or unstable, people tend to forgive a lot easier. I also know there are psychological reasons for people behaving badly. People have had atrocities happen to them or around them, which affects their ability to perceive and conduct their lives. They make judgements based on faulty input - their very input mechanism has been skewed towards distrus...

I have mentioned before that I love to read. I am not particularly choosy about books - if it can keep my interest, I will read it. And I am not really into taking books apart for how noir the detective story is, how accurate the history is, or how the various fantasy creatures control elements in their world. I am willing to suspend my perceptions of reality, time, space, natural physical needs like food or bathroom trips, etc. When I read a book, I become so into the book that I am unable often to think of anything else, hear things asked of me, or other usual things like hygiene or food. Dick Francis does this for me. He's total book candy. He writes about horses and horse racing, things I know nothing about except what I've read in his books - so I actually know a surprising amount. Like the fact that you can't detect unusual amounts of adrenaline in horses - at least not in normal drug testing they don't check for that. I've said that I don't dissect thes...

So... Ever go on a perfect vacation? Me neither. But this one was pretty darn close... Here's a travelogue : First off, I spent two weeks flying solo because my family was already gone. Sad. I am one of those people who doesn't mind spending time by myself, but two weeks without my wife and kids is a long time. Really. So Monday the 27 th I fly out of here. The flight was uneventful - Larry Aldrich drove me to the airport and the actual flight was smooth. More on that later. Got to Utah all right and found Grandma waiting for me. We stopped in Orem to pick up the rest of the fam and headed down to Fairview . The grandparents and Jim live in a place called Hideaway Valley, which is just over the border into Sanpete County. It's a small little area tucked back into some rolling hills and mountains. You can see Mount Nebo from there, but just the tip. It's lovely - the stars out there are so bright and it's so quiet and peaceful... Tuesday AM - we got up and had b...