Application

I would like to submit my application for the position of Secretary of Defense Against Booers. As Secretary of Defense Against Booers I will ensure that swift and consistent justice is applied to all people who boo at inappropriate times. All those booing at inappropriate times shall face the consequences of a partial justice system, which in layman’s terms means a nice kick to the pants. In order to carry out these measures we will have Professional Pantskickers who are six sigma, alpha beta epsilon, omega 3, blackbelt, and Kung Fu Panda qualified to fulfill these important positions.  We will begin poring through applications immediately upon designation and expect to have all positions filled by the time we leave office in 4 to 8 years, GST (Government Standard Time).

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Parables from a Mother

Parables from Moab

 

Parable #1 – If you splash through the mud in an open vehicle, you are bound to get dirty.

Mud is an irresistible playground for children. In spite of failed commands to “stay out of the mud” from a parent’s voice of warning, children naturally gravitate to the enticing, fun, and inviting mud. Perhaps, the mud squishing between fingers and toes is soothing. Perhaps, the plastered mud feels cool and refreshing. At any rate, children and grown up children are tempted by the mud. With all of the seemingly benefits of mud, the result is that you will get dirty.

While meandering on the open road of the beautiful Chicken Corner’s trail, we encountered a mud hole where previous torrential rains had washed out the road. To reach the other side of the trail, we had to cross the mud hole. To most of the party, crossing through the mud and getting dirty was an exciting adventure and the real reason for adventuring on the trails in razors.

Splashing through the mud hole was entertaining, amusing, and harmless in this case; however, some mud holes in life which initially appear inviting and enjoyable are not harmless. Temptations to engage in muddy waters of drinking or smoking or stealing or skipping church or watching R rated movies may initially appear enticing and pleasant, but in reality filthy our souls and make us spiritually dirty.

Temptations are part of our mortal existence; however, if we want to avoid getting dirty, the best and safest practice is to avoid finding the mud. Satan is cunning and deceitful. If he can lead us to the mud, we may become as children and the mud is too enticing and too irresistible. We may foolishly believe that we can eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us (2 Nephi 28:7).” Remember if you splash through the mud in an open vehicle, you are bound to get dirty.

 

Parable # 2 -If you are climbing a steep rock, you have to thrust the throttle forward or you will slide backwards.

We may choose to splash through the mud and cover ourselves in dirt as Cody and Mina did at the conclusion of our razor run on the Fin and Things course. Fin & Things was quite the name for an ATV trail along the east side of Moab. “Fins” are the Navajo Sandstone slickrock formations northeast of Moab, and the “things” are what remains as the fins erode. The fins started as wind-blown sand dunes some 200 million years ago, they got cemented into sandstone, and they are now going full circle back to sand blowing in the wind.  Eight couples if four razors decided to tackle a more challenging trail than we had covered earlier in the day. The three mile trail appear innocuous until we encountered steep hill and boulder ascents, narrow passages, steep hill and rock descents and bumpy hardened sand dunes.

Needless to say the trail was sufficiently challenging and scary for me to elicit a cardio workout; especially when observing a four wheeler sliding backwards down the steep rocky trail. Not having enough momentum and too much weight to reach the crest, the driver of the four wheeler had to allow the vehicle to gently and slide down the trail, remove his passenger, and thrust the throttle forward with you enough power to keep the four wheeler steadfastly climbing.

I likened the experience to our journey in life. We are either thrusting the throttle to move forward as we climb the hills of mortality or we are sliding backwards down life’s trail. What are the elements that provide the power necessary to ascend to our eternal home? The ingredients seem simple, redundant, and perhaps mundane and yet they are the fuel to prevent us from sliding backwards. We are counseled to hold daily individual and family prayer, daily individual and family scripture study, to attend the temple regularly, and to keep the Sabbath Day Holy. In 2 Nephi 31: 20 Nephi admonishes, “Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ having a perfect brightness of hope….”

We can climb the hills no matter how challenging or how steep if we thrust our throttle forward centered in the daily practices of the gospel.

 

Parable #3 – If you think you are in control, think again.

Often times we encounter situations in life that are beyond our control. We did not choose the situation and the situation was not of our own doing and yet there we are in the middle of a violent rain and hail storm and we can use our agency to choose whether we stop or whether we “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ.” We can blame God or become angry with others or we can use our agency to submit to Heavenly Father’s will and accomplish His purposes. We can choose the path that emulates the Savior and leads to our eternal home or we can choose Satan’s plan of misery. We “are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself (2 Nephi 2:27).”

None of us is in control of every situation in life; however, we are in control of our response and we are given the gift of agency to choose how we respond. Will we respond in the Lord’s way or will we respond in the way of misery? If you think you are in control, think again because while you are not always in control of what happens to you, you are in control of the choices you make.

 

Parable #4 – If you think someone is watching you, you are right.

By Sunday evening the children were ready to be uncaged from the house and the adults were ready to be uncaged from the children and so we decided to take a walk. The intended long walk was abbreviated due to that enticing mud, the retention pond full of water from the previous night’s downpour, and the rocks waiting to be thrown into the water. The instructions to “stay out of the mud” were futile and soon children and adults were walking on the muddy sand and throwing rocks into the pond.

After five minutes or so of observing everyone throwing rocks, Soren, decided he would not miss out. I took him from his stroller and this thirteen month old knew exactly what to do. He walked across the sidewalk, across the rocks, and was headed directly for the mud. I restrained him from crossing into the mud, but left him standing on the rocks. Soon he picked up a rock in each hand and threw the rocks in the direction of the pond. Of course, he did not have enough strength to land the rocks in the pond, but this did not deter him. He continued to pick up rock after rock and fling the rock as far as his little hand had capability.

Intrigued by this whole process of watching a thirteen month observing those around him and determining to join in, his little brain knew exactly what to do. He modeled the behavior of those around him. He walked immediately to the rocks, bent down and picked one up, and threw it. “Remarkable!” I thought as I watched this scene unfold and then I contemplated the profundity that someone is watching you, even if you are not aware. What kind of model do you want to be?

The Lord instructed the Sons of Mosiah to be examples to the Lamanites. “Go forth among the Lamanites thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls (Alma 17:11).” If you think someone is watching you, you are right.

 

Parable #5 – The end is closer than you think.

Riding razors across rough terrain was not the only wheeling adventure we had in Moab. We also rented bikes and rode from the bike shop on Main Street to the head of the Colorado River Pathway. Little did I realize that the route from the bike shop to the bike path was two miles and the bike path was an additional 2.5 miles one way.

Though we biked in the morning, the sun was shining in a cloudless sky and the temperatures were warm. Riding to Lion’s Park located at the head of the bike trailhead was a sufficiently demanding ride; however, our bike ride along the Colorado River would be denied if we did not continue to ride another 2.5 miles.

The pathway was not difficult, but we were tired and hot. We stopped to gather our physical strength as well as to admire the amazing sheer cliffs and other beautiful rock formations surrounding the river. At this point, I think most in our biking party were ready to turn around and return home.

I wondered how far we had come and how far we had to go. I knew the paved path ended after 2.5 miles, but had no idea how far we had travelled; however, Mina had a pedometer and could tell us approximately how far we had travelled. She calculated that we had covered about two miles and only had a half-mile remaining. With this knowledge, everyone agreed to press forward to the end of the path.

We hopped on our bikes and began pedaling along the path only to discover that just around the bend was the end of the path and we were only a couple of blocks from the path’s termination. I thought about how disappointed I would have been if we had not finished the path; especially knowing how close to the end we were.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is comprised of five steps: faith, repentance, baptism, confirmation, and enduring to the end. The Lord Jesus Christ promised in 3 Nephi 15:9, “Behold I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.”

We endured to the end and finished the trail. How great was our reward for finishing the trail and how dissatisfied we would have been if we had learned we were only blocks away and we did not finish the trail.

When we are discouraged, frustrated, beaten down, and think we cannot ride another block, we may be closer to the end than we think and how great will be the reward for enduring to the end and finishing the ride to end of the trail. The end may be closer than we think.

Parable #6 – There’s no place like home.

In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy follows the direction of the Good Witch Glinda and clicks her ruby red slippers together three times and repeats, “There’s no place like home.”  She repeats the line in the final scene after returning home from Oz and cries, “Oh Auntie Em, there’s no place like home.” For me, there is no place like home, but home is not my house where I live, or the cabin I stay in, or the condo I rent. Home is my family.

Home was five days in Moab with all twenty members of our family. Webster’s Dictionary defines home as, “the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household. I disagree. Sometimes people want to sell their house and post a “home for sale” sign. My home is not for sale and will never be for sale because my home is my family.

If we were asked to sell our house and live in a tent, I would still own my home because my family is an eternal unit sealed together through the power of the priesthood. There’s no place I would rather be than with my family and that truth was reinforced on our family vacation in Moab. There’s no place that brings me greater joy than having each possible family member gathered in the temple or on the temple grounds.

Our ability to gather as a family and experience the joy of “no place like home” extends beyond this life. In D&C 130:2, the Lord teaches, “And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.” Indeed, there’s no place like home.

 

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How the Parable of the Trekker Taught Me about the Purpose of Life

Our Savior often taught with parables. These short stories drew spiritual parallels with common tasks or activities to which people could relate. President Packer described a parable as, “….a true-to-life example used to teach a principle or a doctrine that is invisible or intangible.”(1) A recent true-to-life example that I experienced helped me better understand the purpose of life. This experience was stake youth pioneer trek. Every four years, our stake holds these treks, and several adults throughout the stake are asked to help in various capacities. For the most recent stake trek, my wife and I were asked to serve and go along. I felt I had a reasonable expectation of what the venture would be like, but what I didn’t realize is that, for me, this experience would turn into a true-life parable.

On the last night of trek our stake presidency held a fireside. When our stake president shared his thoughts, he mentioned that the next day we would be headed home. He described how we might be anxious and excited to get clean, sleep in our beds, and see our families, and how good all those things will be. Then, he commented that returning home to our Heavenly Father would feel a billion-million times better than that. At that moment, the parallels between youth pioneer trek and our Earthly experience flooded my mind. At that moment, trek, for me, turned into a parable. And the need for a direct purpose for life sunk into my heart. In other words, life really isn’t just an aimless passing of time without purpose or direction. There is purpose to why we are here, and there is sense to how our Earthly life has been established.

A broad summary of our trek experience could be described like this: We met early morning on the first day to depart to the church ranch where trek would take place. Once we arrived at the ranch, we parked our vehicles, gathered our families, filled our handcarts and set off for our first campsite. Each morning, we set off for a new campsite until finally on the last day we returned to our vehicles and drove home. Each day brought new experiences along the way, including spiritual experiences, physical hardship, pioneer games, meals, family and inter-family interactions, and tender moments and memories.

So, if I could write out a parable of our experience on youth pioneer trek it would probably end up something like the following (please note that the term “man” in the parable also could be interpreted as “woman” as well):

“The intent of life can be likened unto a man who, with his family, was asked by a Wiseman to leave the comforts of his current surroundings and travel in the wilderness only to return home in due time. If the man chose to travel, the Wiseman promised fulfilling opportunity and growth, and an increase in comfort upon returning home. But the man was hesitant, fearing the uncertainty of the wilderness and clinging to the current comforts of his home. Nevertheless, trusting the Wiseman, the man gathered his family and a few of his belongings and headed into the wilderness. Now, there was one appointed as a trail leader who was to lead the man during the time of travel. The trail leader explained that his path was not the easy one and that hardships would undoubtedly ensue, but ultimately he would show man the way back home. And so, while man traveled, the weather turned burdensome, shelters became difficult to construct, sores and blisters afflicted man’s skin, and irritating insects tormented man. Nevertheless, man remembered the promise of the Wiseman and chose to continue traveling with the trail leader that he may return home. Now, upon the conclusion of man’s travel in the wilderness, having experienced pain and joy, hardship and peace, and frustration and love, but also having followed the trail leader to the end, man returned home with an increase in stature, gladness in his heart for having chosen to travel, and with an abundant appreciation for the comforts that home provided.”

So, just like each of us was asked by our stake president to attend trek and were led by our trail boss to show us the way to return home, we were asked by our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to come to Earth and follow the prophet to return safely to our Heavenly home. During our time on Earth, along with the joys, would also come hardships, but the promise exists that if we will follow the prophet, we will experience fulfilling opportunity and growth, and an increased level of comfort is waiting for us once we return home to our Father in Heaven. In the end, we will be glad that we made the choice to travel.

Trek brought to mind the story of Lehi and his family: “And it came to pass that [Lehi] departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness.”(2) Lehi was commanded to leave the comforts of his home and depart into the wilderness. I now have a greater appreciation for how hard that must have been for him and his family, but Lehi made the choice to travel. What a great example.

Now, there are some in the world who would suggest that there is no defining purpose to life and that there is no need for a purpose to life – that we are here to simply live then die with no continuation afterwards. But I disagree. In the parable of the trekker, we understand that there was a home that was left and returned to. In other words a starting point and a destination that are one in the same. But without the faith and belief that there is a home that we came from and are returning to then is one just left wandering aimlessly around the wilderness? Perhaps, so. And if one wanders in the wilderness, especially for too long, the odds of survival, I fear, are unfortunately slim. But, there is a purpose, and there is a destination, and there is no need to wander aimlessly.

On our youth trek, the kids in our family knew one speed for pulling the handcart – fast. I might even venture to say that if they entered their handcart in the Indy 500 they’d have a good chance of placing in the top three. But despite their frequent desires to go faster than that which the company was traveling, with a little guidance and understanding they ultimately knew that if they hurried pass the trail boss who was leading them, they risked eventually ending up lost. Similarly if they chose to fall too far behind they could also lose their way. This can be likened to the need to follow the prophet with a sense of exactness and perseverance knowing that he is setting the proper pace for us spiritually. Doing more or less than the prophet asks, can lead to us become spiritually lost. Our Savior taught this concept in relation to the doctrine of the Gospel while among the Nephites in the Americas following His resurrection: “And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine … is not built upon my rock.”(3) As much as the kids on trek wanted to set the pace of the handcarts, in the end, they knew it was better to let the trail boss do the pace setting.

As a final note, perhaps an obvious difference between our Earthy existence and the parable of the trekker is that in the parable of the trekker there is memory of home life during that time. How would our perspective of trek have changed had we not had memory of our home life? What if we went only with a promise that we could return to a home which existed and would be worth working towards? How would that have changed the trek experience? I know, personally, there were moments during trek where I longed for my Earthly home for various reasons, but for the most part when I forgot about home and immersed myself in the current events of trek, I could better focus on personal growth, building my testimony, serving those around me, and generally enjoying my current experiences. Perhaps then, for these same reasons, while we are living our Earthly life, we need to have no memory of our Heavenly home.

Like in the parable of the trekker, I had my hesitations and concerns about going, but I knew that in the end it would be worth it. It was something I knew I should do. And, I knew that it was important to trust my stake president and follow his call to go. I’m glad that I went. Undoubtedly, I’m glad that I went. I’m appreciative to the fantastic trek family that made it all worth it and with whom I could share the trek experience. I know that our Earthly life has a purpose, and I know that if we will follow the pace of our prophet we will make it back home. Let us not wander aimlessly, but with exactness and perseverance in following our prophet. If we do, I know that, in the end, each of us will be glad that we made the choice to travel.

References:

  1. https://www.lds.org/liahona/2005/04/the-light-of-christ?lang=eng
  2. 1 Nephi 2:4
  3. 3 Nephi 11:40
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For Your Consideration

We are all well aware that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the leading candidates for President of the United States, but please take a step back and consider another candidate, one who is better qualified to serve as our Commander-in-Chief.  His name is the Real Donald, and as the first and only person to unify the Continental Divide, quantify the English language, and extract aloe vera form a maple tree, he is at least worth your consideration. Thank you.

 

Vote the Real Donald!!

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Non-Sizable Digits

We have a major issue in our society today, and we must take action to bring awareness to others about the need for social change.  As President Obama recently stated in a town hall meeting in the UK, “..change takes time.” However, we cannot stress how urgent this issue is.  For a long time now we have referred to the big toe as the “big toe”. However, this is discriminatory.  Do you know how the big toe feels when you call it the big toe?  That’s right, it feels big and clunky. Do you know how the other toes feel, when you imply that they are little?  That’s right, small and insignificant.  We cannot allow this discriminatory behavior anymore.  It is time for social change. We must now, therefore, refer to all our toes as Non-Sizable Digits. Thank you.

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