SALT LAKE CITY -- It's been known that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a longer life expectancy, but even researchers are surprised at how much longer Church members live than the general population.
Researchers at UCLA are constantly reviewing data from a 25-year-long survey that followed actively-practicing LDS Church members in California starting in late 1979.
Professors James Enstrom and Lester Breslow found that members who don't smoke, attend church weekly, have 12 years of education and are married had the lowest total death rates and the longest life expectancies ever documented.
"The life expectancy for the males was 84 years, and for the females it was 86 years," Enstrom said.
That's more than five years longer for women and nearly 10 years longer for man than the national average.
Enstrom says Church members have been hearing this for a long time, but the rest of the world hasn't as much.
"None of this had ever been done in a scientific journal until I started working on it in the ‘70s," he said.
Enstrom says he expected a lack of cigarette smoking to be the biggest reason for the longer life expectancy, but he says that would only add a few years to someone's life.
Both authors believe the findings suggest a model for substantial disease prevention in the general population.
Showing posts with label General. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General. Show all posts
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Want to live longer?
I found this article on-line this morning and thought I'd share.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Take no offense
I was serving my mission in Montreal when my companion and I knocked on the door of a woman. We gave one of our standard door approaches when she said that she was a member of the church. She went on to explain that she had been baptized about ten years ago but had gone inactive shortly afterward. The Branch President's wife said something that offended her. I didn't know who was the Branch President ten years ago, but as she explained the situation I knew exactly who she spoke of.
The woman that offended her was about the nicest person you could ever meet. She always had a warm heart and kind words for others. She also lacked the ability to process thoughts before words would stream out of her mouth. She had a heart of gold but I could see where she would say things that could be construed as offensive if you didn't really know her well. She would never knowingly offend anyone and if she knew that this other woman had stayed away from church for a decade because of something she said, she would be the first one knocking on her door to apologize.
My companion and I were now confronted with a situation where a daughter of God had cut herself off from the blessings she could've received because of what someone else said. What's more, she had a thirteen year old daughter who hadn't been raised in the church. As we spoke with her she said that she had been fairly miserable for the last ten years and knew that she would continue like that until she came back to church.
We worked with this sister for a while and both she and her daughter became excited to come back to church. She was a little fearful that first week back. Guess who was the first person to throw her arms around her and welcome her back? Yes, it was the sister who had unintentionally offended her so many years back.
In 2nd Nephi chapter 2 it states, "In the grand division of all God's creations, there are things to act and things to be acted upon."
We have each been granted the gift of agency, the ability to choose what we will do and how we will respond to the actions of others. When we allow the actions or words of another to dictate how we will live our lives we are choosing to be acted upon.
Let me share a story from my own life. Almost two decades ago I encountered a very unhappy man. He was very unhappy before I ever met him. He took an instant dislike to me and my family. Shortly after, the police knocked on our door regularly with some unsubstantiated claim. Over the course of two years we had incurred almost $50K in legal bills defending ourselves from frivolous lawsuits. It wasn't until the authorities threatened to bring him up on charges of false reporting that he slowed down.
This was an intense and difficult time for me. For longer than I would like to admit I stewed in bitterness and anger over the non-stop onslaught of false accusations and financial ruin that was being inflicted on me.
I need to say right here that I am grateful to a loving Father in Heaven that stood by me through these trials and waited patiently for me to fully turn to him for help. It was a process and not a single epiphany for me, but eventually over time I saw more and more clearly that what I considered to be my justified anger, wasn't hurting my adversary at all. More importantly, I began to see that it wasn't helping me. Just the opposite was true. I became short tempered and impatient with others. My bitterness had a negative impact on my life that affected those around me. I finally realized that I needed to choose a better path. I needed to choose to act and not to be acted upon. I couldn't control what my adversary would do next but I could control how I responded to it.
I had to find a better place for myself. I had to turn to the Savior to find the peace that only He could bring me.
In his book, As a Man Thinketh, James Allen states:
"Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.
A man becomes calm in the measure that he understands himself as a thought-evolved being, for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought. As he develops a right understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, he ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve, and remains poised, steadfast, serene.
The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others; and they, in turn, reverence his spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of him and rely upon him. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good.
The strong calm man is always loved and revered. He is like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm. Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite poise of character which we call serenity is the last lesson culture; it is the flowering of life, the fruitage of the soul. It is as precious as wisdom, more to be desired than gold - yea, than even fine gold. How insignificant mere money-seeking looks in comparison with a serene life - a life that dwells in the ocean of Truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the Eternal Calm!"
When it comes to offenses that we receive, either intentional or unintentional we have two paths we can choose. We can choose to act and use our agency to not become offended, or we can choose to be acted upon and allow our agency to be controlled by someone else's words or actions.
Discussing the choices we make in life and the different paths they will take us down Robert Frost wrote:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
So what do we do if we find ourselves stewing in our own broth of bitterness and anger? How do we find that serenity that we seek that sometimes can feel elusive?
Perhaps I can give some thoughts by sharing another experience I had growing up.
I was born and raised in Southern California. My favorite thing to do on the weekends was to go surfing with my oldest brother. Yeah, I know that I don't look much like a surfer anymore. My late teens and early twenties is what I like to refer to as my Greek god phase of life. I have since moved into a more Asian deity phase of life. Anyway, I had recently acquired a custom made surfboard. The surfboard maker, without my consent, had placed a rubber tip on the nose of my board. In effect, he had turned my sleek surfboard into an emasculated sissy-stick.
There was a huge swell pounding the Southern California coast. My oldest brother and I eagerly strapped our boards to the top of his car and drove down to Huntington Beach anticipating an epic day of shredding waves.
We had been surfing for about an hour and as was always the case we had become separated from each other. This was no big deal because even though I couldn't see him, I always knew that he was somewhere close by. As I sat on my surfboard I saw the entire horizon rise up and knew that wave had my name written all over it. I paddled furiously to get into position and then pointed my board towards the shore and dug my arms deeply into the water to gain the necessary momentum to catch the wave. The monster wave lifted me up and as I rose to the crest it began its descent down the face of the wave. I pushed hard on my surfboard to pop to my feet when the inexplicable happened. I don't know if it was fatigue or what but as I pushed on my board my hands slipped off the front. Momentum carried my body forward in front of my board and my body twisted so just as my head sunk beneath the surface of the water, I was facing my board as it slid down the wave and walloped me right below my right eye.
Pain exploded in my head and my only thought was, "This is it. I'm going to lose consciousness and die." I got churned up by the spin cycle of mother nature's washing machine but eventually my head broke the surface of the water. I quickly put my hand briefly to my face and as I pulled it away it was stained crimson. I was still alive but I was in serious trouble.
I saw another surfer about twenty feet away and I called out to him for help. The look of horror on his face confirmed my fears. However, he made no move to paddle in my direction. It was then that I realized that I was in the kill zone. That spot where the waves break and where you really wouldn't want to be in a big swell. Then I remembered my oldest brother and I called out at the top of my voice to him. He was my oldest brother and I knew that if he heard my cries for help that he would paddle right into the kill zone to rescue me because I knew he loved me.
After getting pounded by a few more waves I finally worked my way back to shore. My brother materialized shortly afterward and got me quickly to the nearest hospital. He told me that he hadn't heard my plea for help but did feel an intense need to find me.
An interesting side note to this story is that the rubber tip on my board saved my life. Without it, my surfboard would've buried itself deep into my skull and I wouldn't be here today. I called the surfboard maker to thank him for putting it on. He told me that no longer added them because too many people complained about having a sissy-stick.
I bear you my testimony that we have a loving Father in Heaven who is very aware of us. And even though we can't see Him, we can call out to Him in our times of need. He loves us unconditionally and will surely paddle right into our spiritual kill zones to rescue us.
As we pray for the help we need to overcome offense and bitterness, we can also pray sincerely for those that are afflicting us. As I have done that in the past the Lord has graciously allowed me to see others as He sees them, not as one deserving of my anger, but rather as a child of God that is possibly lost and needing help too.
It helps me to remember that once the Savior of mankind was reviled, hit, and spat upon by those that should've been worshiping Him. Rather than choosing to be offended He said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
I pray my brothers and sisters that we can all learn to seek that peace and serenity that comes only from the Lord by choosing not to become offended.
The woman that offended her was about the nicest person you could ever meet. She always had a warm heart and kind words for others. She also lacked the ability to process thoughts before words would stream out of her mouth. She had a heart of gold but I could see where she would say things that could be construed as offensive if you didn't really know her well. She would never knowingly offend anyone and if she knew that this other woman had stayed away from church for a decade because of something she said, she would be the first one knocking on her door to apologize.
My companion and I were now confronted with a situation where a daughter of God had cut herself off from the blessings she could've received because of what someone else said. What's more, she had a thirteen year old daughter who hadn't been raised in the church. As we spoke with her she said that she had been fairly miserable for the last ten years and knew that she would continue like that until she came back to church.
We worked with this sister for a while and both she and her daughter became excited to come back to church. She was a little fearful that first week back. Guess who was the first person to throw her arms around her and welcome her back? Yes, it was the sister who had unintentionally offended her so many years back.
In 2nd Nephi chapter 2 it states, "In the grand division of all God's creations, there are things to act and things to be acted upon."
We have each been granted the gift of agency, the ability to choose what we will do and how we will respond to the actions of others. When we allow the actions or words of another to dictate how we will live our lives we are choosing to be acted upon.
Let me share a story from my own life. Almost two decades ago I encountered a very unhappy man. He was very unhappy before I ever met him. He took an instant dislike to me and my family. Shortly after, the police knocked on our door regularly with some unsubstantiated claim. Over the course of two years we had incurred almost $50K in legal bills defending ourselves from frivolous lawsuits. It wasn't until the authorities threatened to bring him up on charges of false reporting that he slowed down.
This was an intense and difficult time for me. For longer than I would like to admit I stewed in bitterness and anger over the non-stop onslaught of false accusations and financial ruin that was being inflicted on me.
I need to say right here that I am grateful to a loving Father in Heaven that stood by me through these trials and waited patiently for me to fully turn to him for help. It was a process and not a single epiphany for me, but eventually over time I saw more and more clearly that what I considered to be my justified anger, wasn't hurting my adversary at all. More importantly, I began to see that it wasn't helping me. Just the opposite was true. I became short tempered and impatient with others. My bitterness had a negative impact on my life that affected those around me. I finally realized that I needed to choose a better path. I needed to choose to act and not to be acted upon. I couldn't control what my adversary would do next but I could control how I responded to it.
I had to find a better place for myself. I had to turn to the Savior to find the peace that only He could bring me.
In his book, As a Man Thinketh, James Allen states:
"Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.
A man becomes calm in the measure that he understands himself as a thought-evolved being, for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought. As he develops a right understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, he ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve, and remains poised, steadfast, serene.
The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others; and they, in turn, reverence his spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of him and rely upon him. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good.
The strong calm man is always loved and revered. He is like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm. Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite poise of character which we call serenity is the last lesson culture; it is the flowering of life, the fruitage of the soul. It is as precious as wisdom, more to be desired than gold - yea, than even fine gold. How insignificant mere money-seeking looks in comparison with a serene life - a life that dwells in the ocean of Truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the Eternal Calm!"
When it comes to offenses that we receive, either intentional or unintentional we have two paths we can choose. We can choose to act and use our agency to not become offended, or we can choose to be acted upon and allow our agency to be controlled by someone else's words or actions.
Discussing the choices we make in life and the different paths they will take us down Robert Frost wrote:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
So what do we do if we find ourselves stewing in our own broth of bitterness and anger? How do we find that serenity that we seek that sometimes can feel elusive?
Perhaps I can give some thoughts by sharing another experience I had growing up.
I was born and raised in Southern California. My favorite thing to do on the weekends was to go surfing with my oldest brother. Yeah, I know that I don't look much like a surfer anymore. My late teens and early twenties is what I like to refer to as my Greek god phase of life. I have since moved into a more Asian deity phase of life. Anyway, I had recently acquired a custom made surfboard. The surfboard maker, without my consent, had placed a rubber tip on the nose of my board. In effect, he had turned my sleek surfboard into an emasculated sissy-stick.
There was a huge swell pounding the Southern California coast. My oldest brother and I eagerly strapped our boards to the top of his car and drove down to Huntington Beach anticipating an epic day of shredding waves.
We had been surfing for about an hour and as was always the case we had become separated from each other. This was no big deal because even though I couldn't see him, I always knew that he was somewhere close by. As I sat on my surfboard I saw the entire horizon rise up and knew that wave had my name written all over it. I paddled furiously to get into position and then pointed my board towards the shore and dug my arms deeply into the water to gain the necessary momentum to catch the wave. The monster wave lifted me up and as I rose to the crest it began its descent down the face of the wave. I pushed hard on my surfboard to pop to my feet when the inexplicable happened. I don't know if it was fatigue or what but as I pushed on my board my hands slipped off the front. Momentum carried my body forward in front of my board and my body twisted so just as my head sunk beneath the surface of the water, I was facing my board as it slid down the wave and walloped me right below my right eye.
Pain exploded in my head and my only thought was, "This is it. I'm going to lose consciousness and die." I got churned up by the spin cycle of mother nature's washing machine but eventually my head broke the surface of the water. I quickly put my hand briefly to my face and as I pulled it away it was stained crimson. I was still alive but I was in serious trouble.
I saw another surfer about twenty feet away and I called out to him for help. The look of horror on his face confirmed my fears. However, he made no move to paddle in my direction. It was then that I realized that I was in the kill zone. That spot where the waves break and where you really wouldn't want to be in a big swell. Then I remembered my oldest brother and I called out at the top of my voice to him. He was my oldest brother and I knew that if he heard my cries for help that he would paddle right into the kill zone to rescue me because I knew he loved me.
After getting pounded by a few more waves I finally worked my way back to shore. My brother materialized shortly afterward and got me quickly to the nearest hospital. He told me that he hadn't heard my plea for help but did feel an intense need to find me.
An interesting side note to this story is that the rubber tip on my board saved my life. Without it, my surfboard would've buried itself deep into my skull and I wouldn't be here today. I called the surfboard maker to thank him for putting it on. He told me that no longer added them because too many people complained about having a sissy-stick.
I bear you my testimony that we have a loving Father in Heaven who is very aware of us. And even though we can't see Him, we can call out to Him in our times of need. He loves us unconditionally and will surely paddle right into our spiritual kill zones to rescue us.
As we pray for the help we need to overcome offense and bitterness, we can also pray sincerely for those that are afflicting us. As I have done that in the past the Lord has graciously allowed me to see others as He sees them, not as one deserving of my anger, but rather as a child of God that is possibly lost and needing help too.
It helps me to remember that once the Savior of mankind was reviled, hit, and spat upon by those that should've been worshiping Him. Rather than choosing to be offended He said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
I pray my brothers and sisters that we can all learn to seek that peace and serenity that comes only from the Lord by choosing not to become offended.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Friday, November 7, 2008
Random Thoughts on the Passing Political Scene
Election season 2008 is over. Well, except for pending court battles which will be waged by those that lost and felt they should’ve won…
Some of the most eagerly contested issues had to do with same sex marriage. Three states, California, Arizona, and Florida had ballot initiatives to amend their state constitutions to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. My views on this subject are well known, just scroll through my recent posts and you’ll see where I blogged frequently in favor of these initiatives.
There has been a fair amount of vitriol spewed over these initiatives. Several on-line news organizations today showed protests outside the LDS temple in Los Angeles and I’ve heard that plans are underway to hold more protests at other temples as well.
We are a country of laws, of the people, by the people, and for the people. In 2000, the people of California voted by a 61% margin to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. Four activist judges decided that the will of the people should not be followed in this case and overruled the voice and will of the people.
Here again the voice of the people has expressed its will. 52% of Californians believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman. The population of California is near 38 million. The LDS population in California is about 750,000. A fair amount of those are under voting age. Our voting population makes up less than 2% of the state’s population. I’m guessing that it was more than just LDS people that passed this initiative.
Notwithstanding, we seem to be on the receiving end of most of the venom. Here is a commercial that was run by the No on 8 crowd.
Isn’t it interesting that those that scream how intolerant I am are so mind numbingly intolerant? The opponents to the proposition spoke about how deceptive our claims were, i.e. it would impact what would be taught in schools, it would impact how churches could operate, etc. Here is an article by NPR (a fairly liberal news organization) that gleefully shows where religious organizations are getting beaten back on same sex issues. There is my documentation to support my concerns over this issue. In return, the same sex crowd used lies and distortions to instill fear and paranoia in the masses.
Despite protestations to the contrary, defining marriage as being between a man and a woman is not about hating gay people.
I know that God lives and that he loves all of His children. Yes, both the straight and the gay ones. We are on earth for a purpose. God wants to bless all of His children. He has provided commandments that if we follow, we will be blessed. There are more commandments than just homosexuality by the way, and I freely admit that I am not perfect. However, I don’t expect people to accept my faults and sins and simply pat me on the back and say, “That’s okay. You just be who you are.”
Society does not accept it when we break man’s law. When we catch criminals they are prosecuted. Apparently God’s laws don’t seem to carry the same weight by some.
Clearly the difference of opinion on this issue was only settled for a while. Those in favor of same sex marriage will try to overrule the passed proposition in the courts. Three lawsuits in California have already been filed. Will they be successful? Time will tell. I would expect the cases to find their way back to the California Supreme Court, which is the same court that overruled the last law in California passed by the voters against same sex marriage.
If the cases are not resolved in favor of gay marriage proponents I would expect it to show up on ballot after ballot until it does win. As society drifts farther and farther away from God’s teachings, I would expect it to pass someday. Does that mean that I should just stop fighting? No.
President Boyd K. Packer recently said, “Some work through political, social, and legal channels to redefine morality and marriage into something unrestrained, unnatural, and forbidden. But they never can change the design which has governed human life and happiness from the beginning.”
“We do not set the standards, but we are commanded to teach them and maintain them. The standard remains abstinence before marriage and total fidelity in marriage. However out of step we may seem, however much the standards are belittled, however much others yield, we will not yield, we cannot yield.”
Also, When I think of unfair and false attacks on the church I am reminded of these words from Elder Bruce R. McConkie,
“Now, I have what every true disciple has. It is called the testimony of Jesus. In our day it includes the revealed knowledge that the earthly kingdom—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—will triumph. In this connection may I set before you this illustration:"
"The Church is like a great caravan—organized, prepared, following an appointed course, with its captains of tens and captains of hundreds all in place.
What does it matter if a few barking dogs snap at the heels of the weary travelers? Or that predators claim those few who fall by the way? The caravan moves on.
Is there a ravine to cross, a miry mud hole to pull through, a steep grade to climb? So be it. The oxen are strong and the teamsters wise. The caravan moves on.
Are there storms that rage along the way, floods that wash away the bridges, deserts to cross, and rivers to ford? Such is life in this fallen sphere. The caravan moves on."
"Ahead is the celestial city, the eternal Zion of our God, where all who maintain their position in the caravan shall find food and drink and rest. Thank God that the caravan moves on!"
Finally, I think of the words in Moroni 9:6
And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God.
So I will continue to fight for what I know to be true. And between now and the time that gay marriage is fully legalized I will be stocking up on my food storage.
Some of the most eagerly contested issues had to do with same sex marriage. Three states, California, Arizona, and Florida had ballot initiatives to amend their state constitutions to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. My views on this subject are well known, just scroll through my recent posts and you’ll see where I blogged frequently in favor of these initiatives.
There has been a fair amount of vitriol spewed over these initiatives. Several on-line news organizations today showed protests outside the LDS temple in Los Angeles and I’ve heard that plans are underway to hold more protests at other temples as well.
We are a country of laws, of the people, by the people, and for the people. In 2000, the people of California voted by a 61% margin to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. Four activist judges decided that the will of the people should not be followed in this case and overruled the voice and will of the people.
Here again the voice of the people has expressed its will. 52% of Californians believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman. The population of California is near 38 million. The LDS population in California is about 750,000. A fair amount of those are under voting age. Our voting population makes up less than 2% of the state’s population. I’m guessing that it was more than just LDS people that passed this initiative.
Notwithstanding, we seem to be on the receiving end of most of the venom. Here is a commercial that was run by the No on 8 crowd.
Isn’t it interesting that those that scream how intolerant I am are so mind numbingly intolerant? The opponents to the proposition spoke about how deceptive our claims were, i.e. it would impact what would be taught in schools, it would impact how churches could operate, etc. Here is an article by NPR (a fairly liberal news organization) that gleefully shows where religious organizations are getting beaten back on same sex issues. There is my documentation to support my concerns over this issue. In return, the same sex crowd used lies and distortions to instill fear and paranoia in the masses.
Despite protestations to the contrary, defining marriage as being between a man and a woman is not about hating gay people.
I know that God lives and that he loves all of His children. Yes, both the straight and the gay ones. We are on earth for a purpose. God wants to bless all of His children. He has provided commandments that if we follow, we will be blessed. There are more commandments than just homosexuality by the way, and I freely admit that I am not perfect. However, I don’t expect people to accept my faults and sins and simply pat me on the back and say, “That’s okay. You just be who you are.”
Society does not accept it when we break man’s law. When we catch criminals they are prosecuted. Apparently God’s laws don’t seem to carry the same weight by some.
Clearly the difference of opinion on this issue was only settled for a while. Those in favor of same sex marriage will try to overrule the passed proposition in the courts. Three lawsuits in California have already been filed. Will they be successful? Time will tell. I would expect the cases to find their way back to the California Supreme Court, which is the same court that overruled the last law in California passed by the voters against same sex marriage.
If the cases are not resolved in favor of gay marriage proponents I would expect it to show up on ballot after ballot until it does win. As society drifts farther and farther away from God’s teachings, I would expect it to pass someday. Does that mean that I should just stop fighting? No.
President Boyd K. Packer recently said, “Some work through political, social, and legal channels to redefine morality and marriage into something unrestrained, unnatural, and forbidden. But they never can change the design which has governed human life and happiness from the beginning.”
“We do not set the standards, but we are commanded to teach them and maintain them. The standard remains abstinence before marriage and total fidelity in marriage. However out of step we may seem, however much the standards are belittled, however much others yield, we will not yield, we cannot yield.”
Also, When I think of unfair and false attacks on the church I am reminded of these words from Elder Bruce R. McConkie,
“Now, I have what every true disciple has. It is called the testimony of Jesus. In our day it includes the revealed knowledge that the earthly kingdom—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—will triumph. In this connection may I set before you this illustration:"
"The Church is like a great caravan—organized, prepared, following an appointed course, with its captains of tens and captains of hundreds all in place.
What does it matter if a few barking dogs snap at the heels of the weary travelers? Or that predators claim those few who fall by the way? The caravan moves on.
Is there a ravine to cross, a miry mud hole to pull through, a steep grade to climb? So be it. The oxen are strong and the teamsters wise. The caravan moves on.
Are there storms that rage along the way, floods that wash away the bridges, deserts to cross, and rivers to ford? Such is life in this fallen sphere. The caravan moves on."
"Ahead is the celestial city, the eternal Zion of our God, where all who maintain their position in the caravan shall find food and drink and rest. Thank God that the caravan moves on!"
Finally, I think of the words in Moroni 9:6
And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God.
So I will continue to fight for what I know to be true. And between now and the time that gay marriage is fully legalized I will be stocking up on my food storage.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Of Maps and Friends
I recently had a short story published on-line called Of Maps and Friends. The tale relates the account of two early teens, their quest for treasure and the ramifications their adventure had on their friendship. Ultimately it discusses those things in life that matter and those that don’t.
Please click here to read it. I’d love to hear your feedback.
The website is called Stories that Lift and caters to family friendly writing. I hope that you enjoy it.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
From Chandler, AZ to Provo, UT...and still pedaling
Back in July I started riding a bike to work. My intentions were twofold. First, skyrocketing gas prices were taking a toll on my finances. Second, I thought it would be a good way to get some exercise, and perhaps drop a few pounds.
Living in the greater Phoenix area, starting such an endeavor in late July proved interesting. The temperatures were typically over 90 degrees when I started my ride in the morning and had climbed to about 110 degrees by the time I decided to go home. I carried 50 oz of water both to and from work and drank most of it.
After about a month of riding I stopped getting dizzy as I rode and acclimated a bit to the challenge. My trip is a tad over 13 miles round trip each day and I ride Tuesday through Friday. On Monday, I drive all of my clothes into work for the week.
The first day after buying the bike I went on a short 2.5 mile ride. I hadn’t ridden a bicycle since my mission which was about two decades ago. Anyway, my bike has this really cool odometer/speedometer on it. On that first ride I averaged 10.5 mph and reached a top speed of 12.63 mph.
When I wrote about this on my blog I bravely suggested that someday I’d like to ride with an average speed of 14 mph. That seemed a bit unrealistic to me, but I wanted to set a high goal.
I now regularly average over 14 mph on my ride. Once I even maintained an average of 16.2 mph with a top speed of 22.92 mph. I now tend to pass the beginner riders on the road. They’re easy to spot because they look a lot like me. However, the hard core bikers, you know the ones with the bike shorts and shirts, and a bicycle that probably cost as much as my car, still pass me. It’s all good though as I simply enjoy the ride.
This afternoon the total miles ridden on my odometer said 634 miles. Curious to see how far that would be if I rode in one direction I went into Yahoo maps and started playing around.
If I road my bicycle from my home in Chandler and headed west I would hit Los Angeles and then head north. I’m currently about 20 miles past Fresno. The distance from Chandler, AZ to Las Vegas, NV is 317 miles, so I have ridden there and back. If I just head north, Provo is 634 miles from Chandler, so I just made it to my old Alma Mater.
With the savings in gas, the bike has pretty much paid for itself. Ironically, I haven’t really lost a lot of weight. However, there is muscle definition on my legs that I haven’t seen since the last time I was a student at BYU and played on their club Water Polo team.
Unfortunately, I think that I still look more like a water buoy, than the water boy I used to be. I tell friends and acquaintances (and now complete strangers in cyberspace) that I used to look like a greek god, but have since traded that body in for a more Asian deity…
Here’s the good news though. Before I started riding my bike I was on high blood pressure medicine. I was taking 60 mg of Lipitor a day to lower my cholesterol, and my sodium levels were high.
Now, my blood pressure without any meds is 120 over 68. My resting heart rate is 66 (better than average). My cholesterol meds have been decreased to 20 mg a day, and my sodium levels are normal. So I now have the Buddha body on the outside, but the sleeping athlete is starting to wake up on the inside.
Living in the greater Phoenix area, starting such an endeavor in late July proved interesting. The temperatures were typically over 90 degrees when I started my ride in the morning and had climbed to about 110 degrees by the time I decided to go home. I carried 50 oz of water both to and from work and drank most of it.
After about a month of riding I stopped getting dizzy as I rode and acclimated a bit to the challenge. My trip is a tad over 13 miles round trip each day and I ride Tuesday through Friday. On Monday, I drive all of my clothes into work for the week.
The first day after buying the bike I went on a short 2.5 mile ride. I hadn’t ridden a bicycle since my mission which was about two decades ago. Anyway, my bike has this really cool odometer/speedometer on it. On that first ride I averaged 10.5 mph and reached a top speed of 12.63 mph.
When I wrote about this on my blog I bravely suggested that someday I’d like to ride with an average speed of 14 mph. That seemed a bit unrealistic to me, but I wanted to set a high goal.
I now regularly average over 14 mph on my ride. Once I even maintained an average of 16.2 mph with a top speed of 22.92 mph. I now tend to pass the beginner riders on the road. They’re easy to spot because they look a lot like me. However, the hard core bikers, you know the ones with the bike shorts and shirts, and a bicycle that probably cost as much as my car, still pass me. It’s all good though as I simply enjoy the ride.
This afternoon the total miles ridden on my odometer said 634 miles. Curious to see how far that would be if I rode in one direction I went into Yahoo maps and started playing around.
If I road my bicycle from my home in Chandler and headed west I would hit Los Angeles and then head north. I’m currently about 20 miles past Fresno. The distance from Chandler, AZ to Las Vegas, NV is 317 miles, so I have ridden there and back. If I just head north, Provo is 634 miles from Chandler, so I just made it to my old Alma Mater.
With the savings in gas, the bike has pretty much paid for itself. Ironically, I haven’t really lost a lot of weight. However, there is muscle definition on my legs that I haven’t seen since the last time I was a student at BYU and played on their club Water Polo team.
Unfortunately, I think that I still look more like a water buoy, than the water boy I used to be. I tell friends and acquaintances (and now complete strangers in cyberspace) that I used to look like a greek god, but have since traded that body in for a more Asian deity…
Here’s the good news though. Before I started riding my bike I was on high blood pressure medicine. I was taking 60 mg of Lipitor a day to lower my cholesterol, and my sodium levels were high.
Now, my blood pressure without any meds is 120 over 68. My resting heart rate is 66 (better than average). My cholesterol meds have been decreased to 20 mg a day, and my sodium levels are normal. So I now have the Buddha body on the outside, but the sleeping athlete is starting to wake up on the inside.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Angels among us
Like many others, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to General Conference last weekend. I have a close friend that told me of an experience he had last week that reminded me of Elder Holland's talk. With his permission, I share his story:
I saw a wonderful thing this morning that God had done that I wanted to share with all of you.
I was on my weekly commute back up to Portland on the 6am flight out of Sacramento. While I am not someone to eavesdrop on a conversation I could not help but hear the two people seated behind me. This was on Horizon and thus the seats are quite close. Before we took off I could tell that the two people behind me were not together but they were talking with each other about families and such. The lady (Susan) was traveling to visit a friend in Portland though she was afraid to fly. Seated next to her was Ted from Alaska who had been in Sacramento attending a wedding. Early on Ted told her that he is a pilot of small planes so he knew about flying. He also made comment to her that he liked it when the flight was a little bumpy. Maybe in retrospect that was to comfort Susan with her anxiety about flying.
When Susan asked Ted about what he did, he said that he and his wife run a Christian camp for kids in Alaska. In the rest of the conversation they had I heard her tell him of challenges she was having with her adult son and she did not know how to help with the problems. At that point I could tell that Ted was sharing the gospel with her and telling her about Jesus. Susan was open to what he was saying throughout the conversation. When we were descending into Portland I heard Ted ask Susan if he could pray for her. We were going through a pretty good cloud layer but it was not too rough. In his prayer he asked God for help for Susan and the challenges with her son and also to be with her as she felt anxiety on the flight (and also for her flight home on Wednesday). The whole time I could hear Ted praying I was saying my own prayer not only for her but thanks to God for putting the two of them together on the flight.
After we landed I heard Susan thank Ted for praying for her. As we left the plane I had to stand in the jet way to wait for my second bag which they put in baggage on Horizon. When Ted came by I stopped him and said that I don’t normally listen in to other’s conversations but I had heard what he said and how wonderful I thought it was what he did. Ted asked if I was a believer to which I answered “Oh yes I am.” He responded with “isn’t it great what He does?”
I don’t do the send this to 10 people kind of thing, but here is what I would ask each of you to join me in doing. Please tell God thank you for a messenger like Ted and that he had the courage to reach out to a stranger with God’s word. I pray that I would someday be able to do what he did in serving God.
One last thing that shows even more of God’s hand all over this. Last night when I checked in for the flight I was looking to change seats as I saw 2 seats together and I had hoped to get an arrangement like that so I could work on a spreadsheet on my laptop during the flight. I didn’t make the change as I had a feeling I can’t really describe that told me to not make the change. If I had done the change I would have taken the seat that Ted had.
God bless Ted and I pray that what took place this morning at 30,000 feet will lead Susan to Jesus!
In Christ’s name,
Scott
Thank you Scott for sharing that with me, and allowing me to share it with others.
In Elder Holland's talk he said:
I have spoken here of heavenly help, of angels dispatched to bless us in time of need. But when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind. Elder James Dunn, from this pulpit just moments ago, used that word in his invocation to describe this Primary choir—and why not? With the spirit, faces, and voices of those children in our mind and before our eyes, may I share with you an account by my friend and BYU colleague, the late Clyn D. Barrus. I do so with the permission of his wife, Marilyn, and their family.
Referring to his childhood on a large Idaho farm, Brother Barrus spoke of his nightly assignment to round up the cows at milking time. Because the cows pastured in a field bordered by the occasionally treacherous Teton River, the strict rule in the Barrus household was that during the spring flood season the children were never to go after any cows who ventured across the river. They were always to return home and seek mature help.
One Saturday just after his seventh birthday, Brother Barrus’s parents promised the family a night at the movies if the chores were done on time. But when young Clyn arrived at the pasture, the cows he sought had crossed the river, even though it was running at high flood stage. Knowing his rare night at the movies was in jeopardy, he decided to go after the cows himself, even though he had been warned many times never to do so.
As the seven-year-old urged his old horse, Banner, down into the cold, swift stream, the horse’s head barely cleared the water. An adult sitting on the horse would have been safe, but at Brother Barrus’s tender age, the current completely covered him except when the horse lunged forward several times, bringing Clyn’s head above water just enough to gasp for air.
Here I turn to Brother Barrus’s own words:
“When Banner finally climbed the other bank, I realized that my life had been in grave danger and that I had done a terrible thing—I had knowingly disobeyed my father. I felt that I could redeem myself only by bringing the cows home safely. Maybe then my father would forgive me. But it was already dusk, and I didn’t know for sure where I was. Despair overwhelmed me. I was wet and cold, lost and afraid.
“I climbed down from old Banner, fell to the ground by his feet, and began to cry. Between thick sobs, I tried to offer a prayer, repeating over and over to my Father in Heaven, ‘I’m sorry. Forgive me! I’m sorry. Forgive me!’
“I prayed for a long time. When I finally looked up, I saw through my tears a figure dressed in white walking toward me. In the dark, I felt certain it must be an angel sent in answer to my prayers. I did not move or make a sound as the figure approached, so overwhelmed was I by what I saw. Would the Lord really send an angel to me, who had been so disobedient?
“Then a familiar voice said, ‘Son, I’ve been looking for you.’ In the darkness I recognized the voice of my father and ran to his outstretched arms. He held me tightly, then said gently, ‘I was worried. I’m glad I found you.’
“I tried to tell him how sorry I was, but only disjointed words came out of my trembling lips—’Thank you . . . darkness . . . afraid . . . river . . . alone.’ Later that night I learned that when I had not returned from the pasture, my father had come looking for me. When neither I nor the cows were to be found, he knew I had crossed the river and was in danger. Because it was dark and time was of the essence, he removed his clothes down to his long white thermal underwear, tied his shoes around his neck, and swam a treacherous river to rescue a wayward son.”12
My beloved brothers and sisters, I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “[N]or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved.”13 On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal.
May we all believe more readily in, and have more gratitude for, the Lord’s promise as contained in one of President Monson’s favorite scriptures: “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, . . . my Spirit shall be in your [heart], and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”14 In the process of praying for those angels to attend us, may we all try to be a little more angelic ourselves—with a kind word, a strong arm, a declaration of faith and “the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.”15 Perhaps then we can be emissaries sent from God when someone, perhaps a Primary child, is crying, “Darkness . . . afraid . . . river . . . alone.” To this end, I pray in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
I am grateful for heavenly help that is frequently manifested by mortal angels living among us.
I saw a wonderful thing this morning that God had done that I wanted to share with all of you.
I was on my weekly commute back up to Portland on the 6am flight out of Sacramento. While I am not someone to eavesdrop on a conversation I could not help but hear the two people seated behind me. This was on Horizon and thus the seats are quite close. Before we took off I could tell that the two people behind me were not together but they were talking with each other about families and such. The lady (Susan) was traveling to visit a friend in Portland though she was afraid to fly. Seated next to her was Ted from Alaska who had been in Sacramento attending a wedding. Early on Ted told her that he is a pilot of small planes so he knew about flying. He also made comment to her that he liked it when the flight was a little bumpy. Maybe in retrospect that was to comfort Susan with her anxiety about flying.
When Susan asked Ted about what he did, he said that he and his wife run a Christian camp for kids in Alaska. In the rest of the conversation they had I heard her tell him of challenges she was having with her adult son and she did not know how to help with the problems. At that point I could tell that Ted was sharing the gospel with her and telling her about Jesus. Susan was open to what he was saying throughout the conversation. When we were descending into Portland I heard Ted ask Susan if he could pray for her. We were going through a pretty good cloud layer but it was not too rough. In his prayer he asked God for help for Susan and the challenges with her son and also to be with her as she felt anxiety on the flight (and also for her flight home on Wednesday). The whole time I could hear Ted praying I was saying my own prayer not only for her but thanks to God for putting the two of them together on the flight.
After we landed I heard Susan thank Ted for praying for her. As we left the plane I had to stand in the jet way to wait for my second bag which they put in baggage on Horizon. When Ted came by I stopped him and said that I don’t normally listen in to other’s conversations but I had heard what he said and how wonderful I thought it was what he did. Ted asked if I was a believer to which I answered “Oh yes I am.” He responded with “isn’t it great what He does?”
I don’t do the send this to 10 people kind of thing, but here is what I would ask each of you to join me in doing. Please tell God thank you for a messenger like Ted and that he had the courage to reach out to a stranger with God’s word. I pray that I would someday be able to do what he did in serving God.
One last thing that shows even more of God’s hand all over this. Last night when I checked in for the flight I was looking to change seats as I saw 2 seats together and I had hoped to get an arrangement like that so I could work on a spreadsheet on my laptop during the flight. I didn’t make the change as I had a feeling I can’t really describe that told me to not make the change. If I had done the change I would have taken the seat that Ted had.
God bless Ted and I pray that what took place this morning at 30,000 feet will lead Susan to Jesus!
In Christ’s name,
Scott
Thank you Scott for sharing that with me, and allowing me to share it with others.
In Elder Holland's talk he said:
I have spoken here of heavenly help, of angels dispatched to bless us in time of need. But when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind. Elder James Dunn, from this pulpit just moments ago, used that word in his invocation to describe this Primary choir—and why not? With the spirit, faces, and voices of those children in our mind and before our eyes, may I share with you an account by my friend and BYU colleague, the late Clyn D. Barrus. I do so with the permission of his wife, Marilyn, and their family.
Referring to his childhood on a large Idaho farm, Brother Barrus spoke of his nightly assignment to round up the cows at milking time. Because the cows pastured in a field bordered by the occasionally treacherous Teton River, the strict rule in the Barrus household was that during the spring flood season the children were never to go after any cows who ventured across the river. They were always to return home and seek mature help.
One Saturday just after his seventh birthday, Brother Barrus’s parents promised the family a night at the movies if the chores were done on time. But when young Clyn arrived at the pasture, the cows he sought had crossed the river, even though it was running at high flood stage. Knowing his rare night at the movies was in jeopardy, he decided to go after the cows himself, even though he had been warned many times never to do so.
As the seven-year-old urged his old horse, Banner, down into the cold, swift stream, the horse’s head barely cleared the water. An adult sitting on the horse would have been safe, but at Brother Barrus’s tender age, the current completely covered him except when the horse lunged forward several times, bringing Clyn’s head above water just enough to gasp for air.
Here I turn to Brother Barrus’s own words:
“When Banner finally climbed the other bank, I realized that my life had been in grave danger and that I had done a terrible thing—I had knowingly disobeyed my father. I felt that I could redeem myself only by bringing the cows home safely. Maybe then my father would forgive me. But it was already dusk, and I didn’t know for sure where I was. Despair overwhelmed me. I was wet and cold, lost and afraid.
“I climbed down from old Banner, fell to the ground by his feet, and began to cry. Between thick sobs, I tried to offer a prayer, repeating over and over to my Father in Heaven, ‘I’m sorry. Forgive me! I’m sorry. Forgive me!’
“I prayed for a long time. When I finally looked up, I saw through my tears a figure dressed in white walking toward me. In the dark, I felt certain it must be an angel sent in answer to my prayers. I did not move or make a sound as the figure approached, so overwhelmed was I by what I saw. Would the Lord really send an angel to me, who had been so disobedient?
“Then a familiar voice said, ‘Son, I’ve been looking for you.’ In the darkness I recognized the voice of my father and ran to his outstretched arms. He held me tightly, then said gently, ‘I was worried. I’m glad I found you.’
“I tried to tell him how sorry I was, but only disjointed words came out of my trembling lips—’Thank you . . . darkness . . . afraid . . . river . . . alone.’ Later that night I learned that when I had not returned from the pasture, my father had come looking for me. When neither I nor the cows were to be found, he knew I had crossed the river and was in danger. Because it was dark and time was of the essence, he removed his clothes down to his long white thermal underwear, tied his shoes around his neck, and swam a treacherous river to rescue a wayward son.”12
My beloved brothers and sisters, I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “[N]or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved.”13 On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal.
May we all believe more readily in, and have more gratitude for, the Lord’s promise as contained in one of President Monson’s favorite scriptures: “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, . . . my Spirit shall be in your [heart], and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”14 In the process of praying for those angels to attend us, may we all try to be a little more angelic ourselves—with a kind word, a strong arm, a declaration of faith and “the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.”15 Perhaps then we can be emissaries sent from God when someone, perhaps a Primary child, is crying, “Darkness . . . afraid . . . river . . . alone.” To this end, I pray in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
I am grateful for heavenly help that is frequently manifested by mortal angels living among us.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
X-Rays of my left elbow - 6 months post op
six months ago yesterday I was in a horrific accident that broke both of my elbows. My right elbow suffered only a hairline fracture, but I destroyed my left elbow.
This is what my elbow looked like 2 months post-op:
This is what my left elbow looks like today:
Though I still have quite a bit of hardware in my arm, the bone has healed very well. My suppination and pronation are about equal in both arms. I still feel a bit of a stretch in my left arm when I fully suppinate it, i.e. turn it palm side up, but even that is lessening over time.
I am grateful to a very skilled orthopedist, Dr. Matthew Hansen,
and the entire staff at The Core Institute, and Mercy Gilbert Hospital.
When I first broke my elbows I posted about it here.
Ironically, that post gets more traffic than anything else I've ever written. Just in case you were curious about how much traffic it gets, go into Google and type, "X-Rays of my left elbow." I have been the number one hit in google for that going back to April 2008.
I'm not sure why everyone is so interested in my left elbow, because no on ever posts a comment to that thread..., but for some reason it seems to be very popular. I'm not scheduled to get any more x-rays of my elbow for another six months. At that time they won't be checking to see if the arm has healed, but rather to make sure that the added hardware still looks good.
This is what my elbow looked like 2 months post-op:
This is what my left elbow looks like today:
Though I still have quite a bit of hardware in my arm, the bone has healed very well. My suppination and pronation are about equal in both arms. I still feel a bit of a stretch in my left arm when I fully suppinate it, i.e. turn it palm side up, but even that is lessening over time.
I am grateful to a very skilled orthopedist, Dr. Matthew Hansen,
and the entire staff at The Core Institute, and Mercy Gilbert Hospital.
When I first broke my elbows I posted about it here.
Ironically, that post gets more traffic than anything else I've ever written. Just in case you were curious about how much traffic it gets, go into Google and type, "X-Rays of my left elbow." I have been the number one hit in google for that going back to April 2008.
I'm not sure why everyone is so interested in my left elbow, because no on ever posts a comment to that thread..., but for some reason it seems to be very popular. I'm not scheduled to get any more x-rays of my elbow for another six months. At that time they won't be checking to see if the arm has healed, but rather to make sure that the added hardware still looks good.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Beautiful Sandy, UT home for sale
We own a house in Sandy, UT that we have decided to sell. The house is freshly remodeled. The house is located in the High Point subdivision at 1171 Lodgepole Dr. Sandy, UT. At only $299,900 it is the lowest priced home per square foot in the High Point subdivision.
The countertops, tile, dishwasher, and microwave are all new. The realtor is Scott Robbins. He can be reached at (801) 209-1120 or scott.robbins@utahhomes.com
The house is a lovely 2 story split level home in the High Point Subdivision. Home sits at end of quiet side lane and is a very private location. There are three large bedrooms upstairs including a master bedroom with master bath. The main level is very open with a large kitchen, dining nook in a bay, and large front living room. The family room is very large and has a gas burning fireplace. Off the back of the home is a large custom deck that has been built around a large shade tree.
If you, or anyone you know, is looking for a immaculate 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home on a private cul-de-sac should give Scott a call and set up a time to go look at the house.
Other particulars include:
Lot size: 10,454 sq ft. or a full quarter acre.
2,236 sq ft house
The neighborhood has a great central location just off of 1300 East in northern Sandy. There is easy access to the major freeways and loads of great stores near by. Four major ski resorts are a mere 30 minutes away, and Park City is only 40 minutes away. In and out access to the main 1-15 corridor is easy and near by.
Neighborhood: High Point
School District: Jordan School District
Elementary School: East Sandy
Middle School: Union
High School: Hillcrest
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Interviewing 101
I am the Ward Employment Specialist in my ward. With the economy taking a nosedive and the cost of gas and other comodities going up, I have started having seminars at our chapel to help people find a new job, upgrade from a current job, or simply develop job finding skills if the need arises.
Tonight's seminar was on interviewing. Many people are very nervous about interviewing for a new job. A good point to remember is that while they're interviewing you, you are also interviewing them. With a few helpful hints and a little bit of practice anyone can come across very polished. Here are some of my thoughts on interviewing. Please post your thoughts in the comments section. Any interesting or humorous interviewing stories, please share.
Steps to follow:
1. Make eye contact throughout the interview.
2. Understand the importance of a good hand shake. Most Mormons don’t have a problem with this, but I have interviewed several people that just didn’t get past the “wet fish” handshake. A wet fish does not exude confidence.
3. Research the company on-line. Nothing impresses me more than someone that can tell me about my company. Remember, you are interviewing them at the same time they are interviewing you. Come prepared.
A person should expect to be asked, "What are your greatest strengths?" It is important to know what the interviewer is looking for and to make that the person's greatest strengths. Typically this can be found in the job ad.
A person should also expect, "What is your greatest weakness?" People really struggle with that question. Sometimes when I've asked it, people hem and haw and then don't answer the question. Here's the answer to that question..."People have told me that I'm a perfectionist. I like things to be done right and sometimes I can get a little frustrated when they aren't."
Do you see how I just used a strength and called it a weakness? It's very clever of me I know. ;-)
An always asked question, “Why are you looking to leave your current job?” The worst answer is, “Because I hate my boss and the company stinks.” That may very well be the reason, but if you throw your current employer under the bus, the company interviewing you will expect you to do it to them. Good possible answers include, “I don’t have any more upward mobility at this job. I like the company that I’m working for, but I feel the need to move on.” “I like the company that I’m working for but the job is not very challenging. I have gone to my supervisor and asked if there was more that I could do, but unfortunately, there isn’t. I’d like to feel that my work is not only challenging but actually makes a significant contribution to the company’s success.”
When answering the above question, just like answering any question, it is important to tell the truth. So don’t use the above answers if they aren’t true. Insincerity or contradictory answers will sink you in an interview quicker than anything else. The point is, don’t throw your previous employer(s) under the bus. Find a better way to answer the question.
The interviewer will ask if you have any questions. That absolute worst thing you can say is, "No. You explained everything very well." Nothing says, "I'm really not that interested" more than not having any questions to ask the interviewer.
Questions that you should ask the person that is interviewing you:
"Can you tell me who the ideal person is for this job?" The interviewer will tell you exactly what he/she's looking for, and after he/she has finished you will interject into the conversation how you have done the things he/she uses to describe the perfect employee. "Oh you like someone that is a team player? I think that's important too. In fact when I worked at..."
"How will be I best be able to help you right away? How will I be able to help you 6 months to a year from now?" This helps the interviewer see you in the position.
"How am I doing in this interview? What questions or concerns do you have that I haven't resolved yet?" People are afraid to ask that, but it needs to be asked. When you are sitting with the interviewer you want to know if there are lingering questions. I've interviewed people where their answers contradicted other things they have said. However, I never mention it to them. If one of them would've asked that questions though, I would've told them about my concerns regarding their flip-flops and given them a second chance to answer the question. If the interviewer has no concerns or questions, it helps them see that you are an ideal candidate for the position.
I can't tell you how many people I have interviewed and at the end of the interview I wasn't really sure if they wanted the job or not. If you don't want the job then no worries, but if you do, the last words out of your mouth should be something like, "I really appreciate the time that you have taken to speak with me. Before I leave your office I want you to know that I'm very interested in this position. It sounds like it would be both challenging and rewarding. I think that I would fit in well with your team and could make a great contribution to your organization. What are the next steps you will go through to find the best candidate?"
If the person you are interviewing with has a business card, get one. After the interview send them a follow up thank you note. Thank you notes are nice if they are handwritten, so if the interviewer is going to take a week or so to get to the next step then send the thank you note in the mail. However, if the company is looking to fill the position right away, send the thank you note that evening in an e-mail.
The thank you note could say something like, “Dear ____, I want to thank you again for the time you took to meet with me the other day. (name of company), sounds like a very exciting place to work. I really liked how well we seemed to mesh as we interviewed each other, i.e. your interview of me as a possible candidate for the job, and my interview of you as a possible employer. I believe that we would work well together. I would like the opportunity to bring my skills to the team and contribute in a meaningful way. If you have any questions about me or my qualifications since we met, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, (Your name).”
Tonight's seminar was on interviewing. Many people are very nervous about interviewing for a new job. A good point to remember is that while they're interviewing you, you are also interviewing them. With a few helpful hints and a little bit of practice anyone can come across very polished. Here are some of my thoughts on interviewing. Please post your thoughts in the comments section. Any interesting or humorous interviewing stories, please share.
Steps to follow:
1. Make eye contact throughout the interview.
2. Understand the importance of a good hand shake. Most Mormons don’t have a problem with this, but I have interviewed several people that just didn’t get past the “wet fish” handshake. A wet fish does not exude confidence.
3. Research the company on-line. Nothing impresses me more than someone that can tell me about my company. Remember, you are interviewing them at the same time they are interviewing you. Come prepared.
A person should expect to be asked, "What are your greatest strengths?" It is important to know what the interviewer is looking for and to make that the person's greatest strengths. Typically this can be found in the job ad.
A person should also expect, "What is your greatest weakness?" People really struggle with that question. Sometimes when I've asked it, people hem and haw and then don't answer the question. Here's the answer to that question..."People have told me that I'm a perfectionist. I like things to be done right and sometimes I can get a little frustrated when they aren't."
Do you see how I just used a strength and called it a weakness? It's very clever of me I know. ;-)
An always asked question, “Why are you looking to leave your current job?” The worst answer is, “Because I hate my boss and the company stinks.” That may very well be the reason, but if you throw your current employer under the bus, the company interviewing you will expect you to do it to them. Good possible answers include, “I don’t have any more upward mobility at this job. I like the company that I’m working for, but I feel the need to move on.” “I like the company that I’m working for but the job is not very challenging. I have gone to my supervisor and asked if there was more that I could do, but unfortunately, there isn’t. I’d like to feel that my work is not only challenging but actually makes a significant contribution to the company’s success.”
When answering the above question, just like answering any question, it is important to tell the truth. So don’t use the above answers if they aren’t true. Insincerity or contradictory answers will sink you in an interview quicker than anything else. The point is, don’t throw your previous employer(s) under the bus. Find a better way to answer the question.
The interviewer will ask if you have any questions. That absolute worst thing you can say is, "No. You explained everything very well." Nothing says, "I'm really not that interested" more than not having any questions to ask the interviewer.
Questions that you should ask the person that is interviewing you:
"Can you tell me who the ideal person is for this job?" The interviewer will tell you exactly what he/she's looking for, and after he/she has finished you will interject into the conversation how you have done the things he/she uses to describe the perfect employee. "Oh you like someone that is a team player? I think that's important too. In fact when I worked at..."
"How will be I best be able to help you right away? How will I be able to help you 6 months to a year from now?" This helps the interviewer see you in the position.
"How am I doing in this interview? What questions or concerns do you have that I haven't resolved yet?" People are afraid to ask that, but it needs to be asked. When you are sitting with the interviewer you want to know if there are lingering questions. I've interviewed people where their answers contradicted other things they have said. However, I never mention it to them. If one of them would've asked that questions though, I would've told them about my concerns regarding their flip-flops and given them a second chance to answer the question. If the interviewer has no concerns or questions, it helps them see that you are an ideal candidate for the position.
I can't tell you how many people I have interviewed and at the end of the interview I wasn't really sure if they wanted the job or not. If you don't want the job then no worries, but if you do, the last words out of your mouth should be something like, "I really appreciate the time that you have taken to speak with me. Before I leave your office I want you to know that I'm very interested in this position. It sounds like it would be both challenging and rewarding. I think that I would fit in well with your team and could make a great contribution to your organization. What are the next steps you will go through to find the best candidate?"
If the person you are interviewing with has a business card, get one. After the interview send them a follow up thank you note. Thank you notes are nice if they are handwritten, so if the interviewer is going to take a week or so to get to the next step then send the thank you note in the mail. However, if the company is looking to fill the position right away, send the thank you note that evening in an e-mail.
The thank you note could say something like, “Dear ____, I want to thank you again for the time you took to meet with me the other day. (name of company), sounds like a very exciting place to work. I really liked how well we seemed to mesh as we interviewed each other, i.e. your interview of me as a possible candidate for the job, and my interview of you as a possible employer. I believe that we would work well together. I would like the opportunity to bring my skills to the team and contribute in a meaningful way. If you have any questions about me or my qualifications since we met, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, (Your name).”
Saturday, July 19, 2008
My new fuel efficient vehicle
In my effort to go green and cut down on my fuel bill, I acquired a more fuel efficient means of transportation...
I haven't really ridden a bike since my mission, 22 years ago. I'm failry out of shape, though I keep trying to convince people that I still have the finely tuned athlete in me. I just keep him well hidden under several layers of fat...
Anyway, gas prices are too high, I need to lose some weight, my sodium levels are too high, blah, blah, blah. Here's my answer. The cost of the bike should pay for itself within six months. It's a Specialized Expedition Sport. I bought it at Global Bike Shop in Gilbert, AZ.
Tim and Scott did a great job of helping me put together a good bike. They're very friendly. They answered all of my questions and made sure that I had every thing I needed. Since I purchased racks, a bag, an odometer/speedometer, and a rear view mirror, they threw in a few other things for free. If you need a new bike you should go and see them.
I rode the bike this morning for 2.5 miles. My commute to work is 7 miles each way. I will definitely need to spend a week getting my riding muscles acclimated before travelling to work.
On this morning's ride I averaged 10.5 mph. My top speed was 12.63 mph, and the trip took me about 19 minutes. I'm hoping to get my average speed up to about 14 mph over time.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Phoenix Writers Wanted
Like many of you, I enjoy writing. In kindergarten I wrote the epic tale, Mully, Mully the Monster, which was critically acclaimed by my mother, who I think still has this story in her hope chest some thirty five years later. Since then, I have been unable to find a good 12 step program to overcome my need to put pen to paper. Well ok, fingers to keyboard now, but you get the idea.
Writing is an act of creation. A rather insightful friend told me that writing was a gift of the spirit that falls under the gift of tongues.
I enjoy writing fiction, fantasy in particular. I am looking at putting together a writers’ group in the Phoenix, AZ area. I live in Chandler, and another person that has expressed interest in this lives in Glendale, so we’re covering a fairly large part of the valley. If you are interested and live in this area, please let me know by adding a comment to this posting.
Your current writing skill is not as important as a desire to want to become better and a willingness to help others around you improve as well.
My resume as a writer is brief:
I entered a short story in the 74th Annual Writers’ Digest contest and won an honorable mention. Over 17,000 stories were entered. In the general fiction category I placed in the top 100. I had another story accepted for publication by a small magazine that unfortunately went belly up before I got published. I currently have a small anecdotal experience under consideration for a humorous LDS book. Long story short, since writing Mully, Mully the Monster, more people than just my mom have expressed an interest in my writing, but as of right now, I am unpublished.
Whether you are a published writer, or simply want to be one some day, if you live near Phoenix, we’d like to have you in our group. When I first started writing as an adult I was really, really bad. With diligent effort and a willingness to let others tell me what my weaknesses are, I think that I have improved to at least mediocre. Back then, passive verbs were some of my best friends. If you don’t know why they shouldn’t be, then this writers’ group would help. If you do know why they should be avoided, you can help the rest of us get even better.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Over $1 Billion
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints conducts humanitarian activities worldwide. From 1985 to 2007 Humanitarian Services provided more than $1.01 billion in total assistance to needy individuals in 165 countries.
In 1996 the Church organized Latter-day Saint Charities as a non-governmental organization to facilitate humanitarian activities in selected countries.
In 1996 the Church organized Latter-day Saint Charities as a non-governmental organization to facilitate humanitarian activities in selected countries.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Sandy, UT Home for Sale
We own a house in Sandy, UT that we have decided to sell. The house is freshly remodeled. The house is located in the High Point subdivision at 1171 Lodgepole Dr. Sandy, UT. At only $319,000, it is the lowest priced home per square foot in the High Point subdivision.
The countertops, tile, dishwasher, and microwave are all new. The realtor is Jim Carlson. He can be reached at (801) 560-0147 or jcarlson@rexut.com
The house is a lovely 2 story split level home in the High Point Subdivision. Home sits at end of quiet side lane and is a very private location. There are three large bedrooms upstairs including a master bedroom with master bath. The main level is very open with a large kitchen, dining nook in a bay, and large front living room. The family room is very large and has a gas burning fireplace. Off the back of the home is a large custom deck that has been built around a large shade tree.
If you, or anyone you know, is looking for a immaculate 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home on a private cul-de-sac should give Jim a call and set up a time to go look at the house.
Other particulars include:
Lot size: 10,454 sq ft. or a full quarter acre.
2,236 sq ft house
The neighborhood has a great central location just off of 1300 East in northern Sandy. There is easy access to the major freeways and loads of great stores near by. Four major ski resorts are a mere 30 minutes away, and Park City is only 40 minutes away. In and out access to the main 1-15 corridor is easy and near by.
Neighborhood: High Point
School District: Jordan School District
Elementary School: East Sandy
Middle School: Union
High School: Hillcrest
New kitchen countertops and dishwasher
Kitchen picture #2
Main Living Room w/fireplace
Fireplace and bookshelf
There is brand new tile in the hallway, kitchen and bathrooms.
Master Bathroom
Back Patio
Front Bedroom with bench seat windows
Front Room with bench window seats
Stairs leading up to Master Bedroom and two other bedrooms
Saturday, May 17, 2008
How the California Supreme Court got it wrong
On Thursday, May 15, 2008 That California Supreme Court overruled the state statute, voted on and approved by the citizens of California, that legally defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. The recent history of this issue in California is as follows:
On March 7, 2000, the people of California passed an initiative stating that “[o]nly marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”
In February 2004, the mayor of San Francisco gained international attention and ignited controversy when he directed city officials to ignore the law and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. He justified his actions by claiming the California Constitution requires the government to allow same-sex couples to marry.
The California Supreme Court intervened and voided the illegal licenses on the ground that the mayor had no authority to disregard state law. However, the court did not decide whether the California Constitution requires the state to allow same-gender marriage. That issue became the subject of additional litigation.
In March 2005, a state trial court judge ruled that the state must allow same-gender marriage. That decision was later overturned by the Court of Appeal. The case is now before the California Supreme Court, which will make the final decision on the issue.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has joined with the California Catholic Conference, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of American in filing a brief to the California Supreme Court defending the established definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The
Brief is available on Newsroom.
Some of the interesting points of the brief are as follows:
APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO FILE AMICI CURIAE BRIEF
AND AMICI CURIAE BRIEF OF
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS,
CALIFORNIA CATHOLIC CONFERENCE,
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EVANGELICALS, AND
UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA
IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENT STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Justice Stephen G. Breyer recently emphasized these themes: “[T]he Constitution [is] centrally focused upon active liberty, upon the right of individuals to participate in democratic self-government.” (Breyer, Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution (2005), p. 21.) In his view, “courts should take greater account of the Constitution’s democratic nature when they interpret constitutional and statutory texts.” (Id. at 5.) Judicial restraint – i.e, “judicial modesty in constitutional decision-making” – is essential. (Id. at 37; see also id. at 17.)
Nowhere is judicial deference to democratic self-government more appropriate than in California. Here, the people have zealously retained their sovereign right to set public policy. The California Constitution places unique emphasis on democratic participation in policymaking. That emphasis represents a constitutional lens through which this Court should view its role in adjudicating these cases.
More specifically, on no subject is judicial restraint more warranted than in the present challenge to the time-honored definition of marriage. “[T]he structure of society itself largely depends upon the institution of marriage.” (Marvin v. Marvin (1976) 18 Cal. 3d 660, 684.) Like generations of Californians, when penning those words in 1976, this Court understood “marriage” to be the union of a man and a woman. It understood that marriage is a social “institution,” not merely a private arrangement between two people. And it understood that what is at stake in marriage is no less than the wellbeing “of society itself.” Page 28 of 73
A. The Judiciary Is Ill-Suited to Make Basic Public Policy
Decisions. The marriage debate turns on conflicting social and moral values and competing visions of how society should be ordered. Courts are not the right forum for this far-reaching discussion. As Professor Bickel explained, the judiciary is inherently ill-equipped to make such defining public policy choices:
The judicial process is too principle-prone and principlebound – it has to be, there is no other justification or explanation for the role it plays. It is also too remote from conditions, and deals, case by case, with too narrow a slice of reality. It is not accessible to all the varied interests that are in play in any decision of great consequence. It is, very properly, independent. It is passive. It has difficulty controlling the stages by which it approaches a problem. It rushes forward too fast…
For all these reasons, it is, in a vast, complex, changeable society, a most unsuitable instrument for the formation of policy. (Bickel, The Supreme Court and the Idea of Progress (1978), p. 175.) B. California’s Constitution Places Heavy Reliance on the Active Involvement of the People in Fashioning Public
Policy. Deference to the democratic process in matters of bedrock public policy is particularly appropriate in California, where the Constitution places heavy emphasis on the reserved powers of the people and democratic decision-making.
1. The California Constitution reserves “all political power” to the people.
The California Constitution represents “the highest expression of the will of the people of the state” (Ex Parte Braun (1903) 141 Cal. 204, 211), and “the preeminent expression of California law enacted by the people.” (American Academy of Pediatrics v. Lundgren (1997) 16 Cal. 4th 307, 314.) Article 2 § 1 of the Constitution declares, “All political power is inherent in the people.” (Cal. Const., Art. II, § 1 (emphasis added).) The three branches of California’s government have only as much power as the people have delegated to them under the Constitution.
Unlike the United States Constitution, which has “no mechanism for lawmaking directly by the people” (Mannheim & Howard, A Structural Theory of the Initiative Power in California (1998) 31 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 1165, 1167), California’s Constitution reserves to the people powerful means of directly exercising their political power. Indeed, California is “at the radical end of the direct democracy spectrum.” (Id. at 1173.) The people have reserved to themselves the right to legislate directly through the initiative process by simple majority vote. (Cal. Const., Art. II, §§ 8 & 10.) They can “approve or reject” legislation, in whole or part, through the referendum process and recall their elected officials mid-term. (Id. §§ 9 & 13.) By these and other means, the people have constitutionally placed themselves at the center of policymaking.
This constitutional emphasis on the people’s right to directly decide policy issues is an interpretive lens through which this Court should view its role in the marriage debate. It is not the function of the judiciary to create new constitutional rights or to expand existing rights beyond what the people intended. Courts have no authority to create a new constitutional right and thereby limit an arena where the people have decided to govern themselves through the ordinary democratic process. All constitutional change, including the creation of new rights, must come from the people. The people and the legislature, to the extent the people have delegated power to it, are “the creative element in the government.”
(Nougues v. Gouglass (1857) 7 Cal. 65, 70.)
2. California courts and members of this Court have repeatedly emphasized the importance of deferring to democratic bodies in matters of public policy. California courts have repeatedly emphasized the importance of allowing democratic bodies to create and implement public policy. “The determination of public policy of states resides, first, with the people as expressed in their Constitution and, second, with the representatives of the people − the state Legislature.” (Jensen v. Traders & General Ins. Co. (1959) 52 Cal. 2d 786, 794.)
CONCLUSION
Plaintiffs ask this Court to alter the basic definition of marriage and thereby change our shared understanding of this vital social institution. That would be a momentous change, one with serious consequences for married couples, children, and families. With deepest respect for this Court, when it comes to the definition of marriage the stakes are simply too high for the issue to be decided by a handful of judges, no matter how able or learned. As a matter of democratic legitimacy and judicial prudence, any such change should come from the people and their legislative representatives.
The people of California and their political institutions are fully engaged in a democratic conversation about the nature and meaning of marriage. In the best of the American democratic tradition, “we the people” are talking, deliberating, deciding. Whatever the outcome, the conversation about this basic social institution should be allowed to continue without a profoundly divisive, judicial short-circuiting of the democratic process.
Page 71 of 73
By overturning the will of the people this week, the State of California’s Supreme Court has started on a slippery slope that will lead to the break down of our moral compass, and as a consequence, the weakening of our very society.
Consider the following article that explains the benefits children receive that are raised in a home with a father and a mother that reads in part:
To be concerned with proper child development is to be concerned about making sure that children have daily access to the different and complementary ways mothers and fathers parent.
If Heather is being raised by two mommies and Brandon is being raised by Daddy and his new husband-roommate, Heather and Brandon might have two adults in their lives, but they are being deprived of the benefits found in the unique influences found in a mother and father’s differing parenting styles. Much of the value mothers and fathers bring to their children is due to the fact that mothers and fathers are different. And by cooperating together and complementing each other in their differences, they provide these good things that same-sex caregivers cannot. The important value of these gender-based differences in healthy child-development will be explored here.
The fathering difference is explained by fathering scholar Dr. Kyle Pruett of Yale Medical School in his book Fatherneed: Why Father Care is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child. Pruett says dads matter simply because “fathers do not mother.” Psychology Today explains, “Fatherhood turns out to be a complex and unique phenomenon with huge consequences for the emotional and intellectual growth of children.” A father, as a male parent, brings unique contributions to the job of parenting that a mother cannot.
Likewise, a mother, as a female parent, uniquely impacts the life and development of her child, as Dr. Brenda Hunter explains in her book The Power of Mother Love: Transforming Both Mother and Child. Erik Erikson explained that father love and mother love are qualitatively different kinds of love. Fathers “love more dangerously” because their love is more “expectant, more instrumental” than a mother’s love.
The following are some of the most compelling ways mother and father involvement make a positive difference in a child’s life. The first benefit is the difference itself.
“Children need mom's softness as well as dad’s roughhousing.”
Mothers and Fathers Parent Differently
This difference provides an important diversity of experiences for children. Dr. Pruett explains that fathers have a distinct style of communication and interaction with children. Infants, by 8 weeks, can tell the difference between a male or female interacting with them. Stanford psychologist Eleanor Maccoby, in her book The Two Sexes, explains mothers and fathers respond differently to infants. Mothers are more likely to provide warm, nurturing care for a crying infant. This diversity in itself provides children with a broader, richer experience of contrasting relational interactions —more so than for children who are raised by only one gender. Whether they realize it or not, children are learning at earliest age, by sheer experience, that men and women are different and have different ways of dealing with life, other adults and their children.
The above article also shows the importance of married couples striving to improve their marriages and to consider divorce as the last option as opposed to the all too frequent first option in dealing with challenges and struggles inherent in most marriages.
This post is not my intent to write an anti-gay rant. Homosexuality is not a sin that I have had to struggle with, but I’m pretty sure that I shouldn’t be casting stones at others until I am without sin. I’m not there yet, and I have this sneaking suspicion that if I do get there, I’m not going to want to cast stones anyway.
The LDS churches official position on the decision of the California Supreme Court is as follows:
“SALT LAKE CITY 16 May 2008 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognizes that same-sex marriage can be an emotional and divisive issue. However, the Church teaches that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is the basic unit of society. Yesterday’s California Supreme Court decision is unfortunate.”
When I started researching for this post, I went to several religious websites that discussed homosexuality. Most of them said that gays will burn in hell. My thoughts were, “yeah ok maybe, but I will to if I don’t keep the commandments as well, and the last time I checked, that’s not the only commandment.” I was left wondering if the people that wrote these articles on their websites then went home kicked their dog and yelled at their wife and children. I could be wrong, but a lot of them seemed very angry. It’s always rubbed me the wrong way when people adopt an, “I’m going to heaven because I’m a (fill in your religious organization here – including Mormons, because I’ve definitely met some that feel this way), but you’re going to be miserable for eternity because you’re not like me.”
Point being, I wanted to quote more than just “LDS” thoughts on this subject. However, the best thoughts I could find were from the church’s own website. Feel free to comment and add your findings if they differ from mine.
I did find an interview with Elder Dallin H. Oaks that I liked, it reads in part:
PUBLIC AFFAIRS: At the outset, can you explain why this whole issue of homosexuality and same-gender marriage is important to the Church?
ELDER OAKS: This is much bigger than just a question of whether or not society should be more tolerant of the homosexual lifestyle. Over past years we have seen unrelenting pressure from advocates of that lifestyle to accept as normal what is not normal, and to characterize those who disagree as narrow-minded, bigoted and unreasonable. Such advocates are quick to demand freedom of speech and thought for themselves, but equally quick to criticize those with a different view and, if possible, to silence them by applying labels like “homophobic.” In at least one country where homosexual activists have won major concessions, we have even seen a church pastor threatened with prison for preaching from the pulpit that homosexual behavior is sinful. Given these trends, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must take a stand on doctrine and principle. This is more than a social issue — ultimately it may be a test of our most basic religious freedoms to teach what we know our Father in Heaven wants us to teach.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Let’s say my 17-year-old son comes to talk to me and, after a great deal of difficulty trying to get it out, tells me that he believes that he’s attracted to men — that he has no interest and never has had any interest in girls. He believes he’s probably gay. He says that he’s tried to suppress these feelings. He’s remained celibate, but he realizes that his feelings are going to be devastating to the family because we’ve always talked about his Church mission, about his temple marriage and all those kinds of things. He just feels he can’t live what he thinks is a lie any longer, and so he comes in this very upset and depressed manner. What do I tell him as a parent?
ELDER OAKS: You’re my son. You will always be my son, and I’ll always be there to help you.
The distinction between feelings or inclinations on the one hand, and behavior on the other hand, is very clear. It’s no sin to have inclinations that if yielded to would produce behavior that would be a transgression. The sin is in yielding to temptation. Temptation is not unique. Even the Savior was tempted.
The New Testament affirms that God has given us commandments that are difficult to keep. It is in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
I think it’s important for you to understand that homosexuality, which you’ve spoken of, is not a noun that describes a condition. It’s an adjective that describes feelings or behavior. I encourage you, as you struggle with these challenges, not to think of yourself as a ‘something’ or ‘another,’ except that you’re a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and you’re my son, and that you’re struggling with challenges.
Everyone has some challenges they have to struggle with. You’ve described a particular kind of challenge that is very vexing. It is common in our society and it has also become politicized. But it’s only one of a host of challenges men and women have to struggle with, and I just encourage you to seek the help of the Savior to resist temptation and to refrain from behavior that would cause you to have to repent or to have your Church membership called into question.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS: If somebody has a very powerful heterosexual drive, there is the opportunity for marriage. If a young man thinks he’s gay, what we’re really saying to him is that there is simply no other way to go but to be celibate for the rest of his life if he doesn’t feel any attraction to women?
ELDER OAKS: That is exactly the same thing we say to the many members who don’t have the opportunity to marry. We expect celibacy of any person that is not married.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS: So you are saying that homosexual feelings are controllable?
ELDER OAKS: Yes, homosexual feelings are controllable. Perhaps there is an inclination or susceptibility to such feelings that is a reality for some and not a reality for others. But out of such susceptibilities come feelings, and feelings are controllable. If we cater to the feelings, they increase the power of the temptation. If we yield to the temptation, we have committed sinful behavior. That pattern is the same for a person that covets someone else’s property and has a strong temptation to steal. It’s the same for a person that develops a taste for alcohol. It’s the same for a person that is born with a ‘short fuse,’ as we would say of a susceptibility to anger. If they let that susceptibility remain uncontrolled, it becomes a feeling of anger, and a feeling of anger can yield to behavior that is sinful and illegal.
We’re not talking about a unique challenge here. We’re talking about a common condition of mortality. We don’t understand exactly the ‘why,’ or the extent to which there are inclinations or susceptibilities and so on. But what we do know is that feelings can be controlled and behavior can be controlled. The line of sin is between the feelings and the behavior. The line of prudence is between the susceptibility and the feelings. We need to lay hold on the feelings and try to control them to keep us from getting into a circumstance that leads to sinful behavior.
In another article President Gordon B. Hinckley said:
“Nevertheless, and I emphasize this, I wish to say that our opposition to attempts to legalize same-sex marriage should never be interpreted as justification for hatred, intolerance, or abuse of those who profess homosexual tendencies, either individually or as a group. As I said from this pulpit one year ago, our hearts reach out to those who refer to themselves as gays and lesbians. We love and honor them as sons and daughters of God. They are welcome in the Church. It is expected, however, that they follow the same God-given rules of conduct that apply to everyone else, whether single or married" (“Why We Do Some of the Things We Do,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 54).
After initially creating this post, I found this article that I also liked.
In conclusion, The State of California overstepped its bounds with its latest ruling. They should have abided by the will of the people. If the will of the people was in support of gay marriage, then that should’ve been respected as well, and my personal opinions on the subject should’ve been ignored. The vast majority of Californians justifiably could feel disenfranchised by this latest ruling, which will breed contempt for government as a whole, and the judiciary in particular.
Marriage should be defined as a union between a man and a woman. Any other definition cheapens the status that has been held by society going back to the beginning of time.
Children are best served by having a male father and a female mother. Their needs should not become subject to the whims of those that want to live in a gay lifestyle but feel that they should raise children as well. If nature doesn’t allow two men or two women to conceive between them, there’s probably a good reason for it.
On March 7, 2000, the people of California passed an initiative stating that “[o]nly marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”
In February 2004, the mayor of San Francisco gained international attention and ignited controversy when he directed city officials to ignore the law and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. He justified his actions by claiming the California Constitution requires the government to allow same-sex couples to marry.
The California Supreme Court intervened and voided the illegal licenses on the ground that the mayor had no authority to disregard state law. However, the court did not decide whether the California Constitution requires the state to allow same-gender marriage. That issue became the subject of additional litigation.
In March 2005, a state trial court judge ruled that the state must allow same-gender marriage. That decision was later overturned by the Court of Appeal. The case is now before the California Supreme Court, which will make the final decision on the issue.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has joined with the California Catholic Conference, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of American in filing a brief to the California Supreme Court defending the established definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The
Brief is available on Newsroom.
Some of the interesting points of the brief are as follows:
APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO FILE AMICI CURIAE BRIEF
AND AMICI CURIAE BRIEF OF
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS,
CALIFORNIA CATHOLIC CONFERENCE,
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EVANGELICALS, AND
UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA
IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENT STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Justice Stephen G. Breyer recently emphasized these themes: “[T]he Constitution [is] centrally focused upon active liberty, upon the right of individuals to participate in democratic self-government.” (Breyer, Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution (2005), p. 21.) In his view, “courts should take greater account of the Constitution’s democratic nature when they interpret constitutional and statutory texts.” (Id. at 5.) Judicial restraint – i.e, “judicial modesty in constitutional decision-making” – is essential. (Id. at 37; see also id. at 17.)
Nowhere is judicial deference to democratic self-government more appropriate than in California. Here, the people have zealously retained their sovereign right to set public policy. The California Constitution places unique emphasis on democratic participation in policymaking. That emphasis represents a constitutional lens through which this Court should view its role in adjudicating these cases.
More specifically, on no subject is judicial restraint more warranted than in the present challenge to the time-honored definition of marriage. “[T]he structure of society itself largely depends upon the institution of marriage.” (Marvin v. Marvin (1976) 18 Cal. 3d 660, 684.) Like generations of Californians, when penning those words in 1976, this Court understood “marriage” to be the union of a man and a woman. It understood that marriage is a social “institution,” not merely a private arrangement between two people. And it understood that what is at stake in marriage is no less than the wellbeing “of society itself.” Page 28 of 73
A. The Judiciary Is Ill-Suited to Make Basic Public Policy
Decisions. The marriage debate turns on conflicting social and moral values and competing visions of how society should be ordered. Courts are not the right forum for this far-reaching discussion. As Professor Bickel explained, the judiciary is inherently ill-equipped to make such defining public policy choices:
The judicial process is too principle-prone and principlebound – it has to be, there is no other justification or explanation for the role it plays. It is also too remote from conditions, and deals, case by case, with too narrow a slice of reality. It is not accessible to all the varied interests that are in play in any decision of great consequence. It is, very properly, independent. It is passive. It has difficulty controlling the stages by which it approaches a problem. It rushes forward too fast…
For all these reasons, it is, in a vast, complex, changeable society, a most unsuitable instrument for the formation of policy. (Bickel, The Supreme Court and the Idea of Progress (1978), p. 175.) B. California’s Constitution Places Heavy Reliance on the Active Involvement of the People in Fashioning Public
Policy. Deference to the democratic process in matters of bedrock public policy is particularly appropriate in California, where the Constitution places heavy emphasis on the reserved powers of the people and democratic decision-making.
1. The California Constitution reserves “all political power” to the people.
The California Constitution represents “the highest expression of the will of the people of the state” (Ex Parte Braun (1903) 141 Cal. 204, 211), and “the preeminent expression of California law enacted by the people.” (American Academy of Pediatrics v. Lundgren (1997) 16 Cal. 4th 307, 314.) Article 2 § 1 of the Constitution declares, “All political power is inherent in the people.” (Cal. Const., Art. II, § 1 (emphasis added).) The three branches of California’s government have only as much power as the people have delegated to them under the Constitution.
Unlike the United States Constitution, which has “no mechanism for lawmaking directly by the people” (Mannheim & Howard, A Structural Theory of the Initiative Power in California (1998) 31 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 1165, 1167), California’s Constitution reserves to the people powerful means of directly exercising their political power. Indeed, California is “at the radical end of the direct democracy spectrum.” (Id. at 1173.) The people have reserved to themselves the right to legislate directly through the initiative process by simple majority vote. (Cal. Const., Art. II, §§ 8 & 10.) They can “approve or reject” legislation, in whole or part, through the referendum process and recall their elected officials mid-term. (Id. §§ 9 & 13.) By these and other means, the people have constitutionally placed themselves at the center of policymaking.
This constitutional emphasis on the people’s right to directly decide policy issues is an interpretive lens through which this Court should view its role in the marriage debate. It is not the function of the judiciary to create new constitutional rights or to expand existing rights beyond what the people intended. Courts have no authority to create a new constitutional right and thereby limit an arena where the people have decided to govern themselves through the ordinary democratic process. All constitutional change, including the creation of new rights, must come from the people. The people and the legislature, to the extent the people have delegated power to it, are “the creative element in the government.”
(Nougues v. Gouglass (1857) 7 Cal. 65, 70.)
2. California courts and members of this Court have repeatedly emphasized the importance of deferring to democratic bodies in matters of public policy. California courts have repeatedly emphasized the importance of allowing democratic bodies to create and implement public policy. “The determination of public policy of states resides, first, with the people as expressed in their Constitution and, second, with the representatives of the people − the state Legislature.” (Jensen v. Traders & General Ins. Co. (1959) 52 Cal. 2d 786, 794.)
CONCLUSION
Plaintiffs ask this Court to alter the basic definition of marriage and thereby change our shared understanding of this vital social institution. That would be a momentous change, one with serious consequences for married couples, children, and families. With deepest respect for this Court, when it comes to the definition of marriage the stakes are simply too high for the issue to be decided by a handful of judges, no matter how able or learned. As a matter of democratic legitimacy and judicial prudence, any such change should come from the people and their legislative representatives.
The people of California and their political institutions are fully engaged in a democratic conversation about the nature and meaning of marriage. In the best of the American democratic tradition, “we the people” are talking, deliberating, deciding. Whatever the outcome, the conversation about this basic social institution should be allowed to continue without a profoundly divisive, judicial short-circuiting of the democratic process.
Page 71 of 73
By overturning the will of the people this week, the State of California’s Supreme Court has started on a slippery slope that will lead to the break down of our moral compass, and as a consequence, the weakening of our very society.
Consider the following article that explains the benefits children receive that are raised in a home with a father and a mother that reads in part:
To be concerned with proper child development is to be concerned about making sure that children have daily access to the different and complementary ways mothers and fathers parent.
If Heather is being raised by two mommies and Brandon is being raised by Daddy and his new husband-roommate, Heather and Brandon might have two adults in their lives, but they are being deprived of the benefits found in the unique influences found in a mother and father’s differing parenting styles. Much of the value mothers and fathers bring to their children is due to the fact that mothers and fathers are different. And by cooperating together and complementing each other in their differences, they provide these good things that same-sex caregivers cannot. The important value of these gender-based differences in healthy child-development will be explored here.
The fathering difference is explained by fathering scholar Dr. Kyle Pruett of Yale Medical School in his book Fatherneed: Why Father Care is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child. Pruett says dads matter simply because “fathers do not mother.” Psychology Today explains, “Fatherhood turns out to be a complex and unique phenomenon with huge consequences for the emotional and intellectual growth of children.” A father, as a male parent, brings unique contributions to the job of parenting that a mother cannot.
Likewise, a mother, as a female parent, uniquely impacts the life and development of her child, as Dr. Brenda Hunter explains in her book The Power of Mother Love: Transforming Both Mother and Child. Erik Erikson explained that father love and mother love are qualitatively different kinds of love. Fathers “love more dangerously” because their love is more “expectant, more instrumental” than a mother’s love.
The following are some of the most compelling ways mother and father involvement make a positive difference in a child’s life. The first benefit is the difference itself.
“Children need mom's softness as well as dad’s roughhousing.”
Mothers and Fathers Parent Differently
This difference provides an important diversity of experiences for children. Dr. Pruett explains that fathers have a distinct style of communication and interaction with children. Infants, by 8 weeks, can tell the difference between a male or female interacting with them. Stanford psychologist Eleanor Maccoby, in her book The Two Sexes, explains mothers and fathers respond differently to infants. Mothers are more likely to provide warm, nurturing care for a crying infant. This diversity in itself provides children with a broader, richer experience of contrasting relational interactions —more so than for children who are raised by only one gender. Whether they realize it or not, children are learning at earliest age, by sheer experience, that men and women are different and have different ways of dealing with life, other adults and their children.
The above article also shows the importance of married couples striving to improve their marriages and to consider divorce as the last option as opposed to the all too frequent first option in dealing with challenges and struggles inherent in most marriages.
This post is not my intent to write an anti-gay rant. Homosexuality is not a sin that I have had to struggle with, but I’m pretty sure that I shouldn’t be casting stones at others until I am without sin. I’m not there yet, and I have this sneaking suspicion that if I do get there, I’m not going to want to cast stones anyway.
The LDS churches official position on the decision of the California Supreme Court is as follows:
“SALT LAKE CITY 16 May 2008 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognizes that same-sex marriage can be an emotional and divisive issue. However, the Church teaches that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is the basic unit of society. Yesterday’s California Supreme Court decision is unfortunate.”
When I started researching for this post, I went to several religious websites that discussed homosexuality. Most of them said that gays will burn in hell. My thoughts were, “yeah ok maybe, but I will to if I don’t keep the commandments as well, and the last time I checked, that’s not the only commandment.” I was left wondering if the people that wrote these articles on their websites then went home kicked their dog and yelled at their wife and children. I could be wrong, but a lot of them seemed very angry. It’s always rubbed me the wrong way when people adopt an, “I’m going to heaven because I’m a (fill in your religious organization here – including Mormons, because I’ve definitely met some that feel this way), but you’re going to be miserable for eternity because you’re not like me.”
Point being, I wanted to quote more than just “LDS” thoughts on this subject. However, the best thoughts I could find were from the church’s own website. Feel free to comment and add your findings if they differ from mine.
I did find an interview with Elder Dallin H. Oaks that I liked, it reads in part:
PUBLIC AFFAIRS: At the outset, can you explain why this whole issue of homosexuality and same-gender marriage is important to the Church?
ELDER OAKS: This is much bigger than just a question of whether or not society should be more tolerant of the homosexual lifestyle. Over past years we have seen unrelenting pressure from advocates of that lifestyle to accept as normal what is not normal, and to characterize those who disagree as narrow-minded, bigoted and unreasonable. Such advocates are quick to demand freedom of speech and thought for themselves, but equally quick to criticize those with a different view and, if possible, to silence them by applying labels like “homophobic.” In at least one country where homosexual activists have won major concessions, we have even seen a church pastor threatened with prison for preaching from the pulpit that homosexual behavior is sinful. Given these trends, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must take a stand on doctrine and principle. This is more than a social issue — ultimately it may be a test of our most basic religious freedoms to teach what we know our Father in Heaven wants us to teach.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Let’s say my 17-year-old son comes to talk to me and, after a great deal of difficulty trying to get it out, tells me that he believes that he’s attracted to men — that he has no interest and never has had any interest in girls. He believes he’s probably gay. He says that he’s tried to suppress these feelings. He’s remained celibate, but he realizes that his feelings are going to be devastating to the family because we’ve always talked about his Church mission, about his temple marriage and all those kinds of things. He just feels he can’t live what he thinks is a lie any longer, and so he comes in this very upset and depressed manner. What do I tell him as a parent?
ELDER OAKS: You’re my son. You will always be my son, and I’ll always be there to help you.
The distinction between feelings or inclinations on the one hand, and behavior on the other hand, is very clear. It’s no sin to have inclinations that if yielded to would produce behavior that would be a transgression. The sin is in yielding to temptation. Temptation is not unique. Even the Savior was tempted.
The New Testament affirms that God has given us commandments that are difficult to keep. It is in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
I think it’s important for you to understand that homosexuality, which you’ve spoken of, is not a noun that describes a condition. It’s an adjective that describes feelings or behavior. I encourage you, as you struggle with these challenges, not to think of yourself as a ‘something’ or ‘another,’ except that you’re a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and you’re my son, and that you’re struggling with challenges.
Everyone has some challenges they have to struggle with. You’ve described a particular kind of challenge that is very vexing. It is common in our society and it has also become politicized. But it’s only one of a host of challenges men and women have to struggle with, and I just encourage you to seek the help of the Savior to resist temptation and to refrain from behavior that would cause you to have to repent or to have your Church membership called into question.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS: If somebody has a very powerful heterosexual drive, there is the opportunity for marriage. If a young man thinks he’s gay, what we’re really saying to him is that there is simply no other way to go but to be celibate for the rest of his life if he doesn’t feel any attraction to women?
ELDER OAKS: That is exactly the same thing we say to the many members who don’t have the opportunity to marry. We expect celibacy of any person that is not married.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS: So you are saying that homosexual feelings are controllable?
ELDER OAKS: Yes, homosexual feelings are controllable. Perhaps there is an inclination or susceptibility to such feelings that is a reality for some and not a reality for others. But out of such susceptibilities come feelings, and feelings are controllable. If we cater to the feelings, they increase the power of the temptation. If we yield to the temptation, we have committed sinful behavior. That pattern is the same for a person that covets someone else’s property and has a strong temptation to steal. It’s the same for a person that develops a taste for alcohol. It’s the same for a person that is born with a ‘short fuse,’ as we would say of a susceptibility to anger. If they let that susceptibility remain uncontrolled, it becomes a feeling of anger, and a feeling of anger can yield to behavior that is sinful and illegal.
We’re not talking about a unique challenge here. We’re talking about a common condition of mortality. We don’t understand exactly the ‘why,’ or the extent to which there are inclinations or susceptibilities and so on. But what we do know is that feelings can be controlled and behavior can be controlled. The line of sin is between the feelings and the behavior. The line of prudence is between the susceptibility and the feelings. We need to lay hold on the feelings and try to control them to keep us from getting into a circumstance that leads to sinful behavior.
In another article President Gordon B. Hinckley said:
“Nevertheless, and I emphasize this, I wish to say that our opposition to attempts to legalize same-sex marriage should never be interpreted as justification for hatred, intolerance, or abuse of those who profess homosexual tendencies, either individually or as a group. As I said from this pulpit one year ago, our hearts reach out to those who refer to themselves as gays and lesbians. We love and honor them as sons and daughters of God. They are welcome in the Church. It is expected, however, that they follow the same God-given rules of conduct that apply to everyone else, whether single or married" (“Why We Do Some of the Things We Do,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 54).
After initially creating this post, I found this article that I also liked.
In conclusion, The State of California overstepped its bounds with its latest ruling. They should have abided by the will of the people. If the will of the people was in support of gay marriage, then that should’ve been respected as well, and my personal opinions on the subject should’ve been ignored. The vast majority of Californians justifiably could feel disenfranchised by this latest ruling, which will breed contempt for government as a whole, and the judiciary in particular.
Marriage should be defined as a union between a man and a woman. Any other definition cheapens the status that has been held by society going back to the beginning of time.
Children are best served by having a male father and a female mother. Their needs should not become subject to the whims of those that want to live in a gay lifestyle but feel that they should raise children as well. If nature doesn’t allow two men or two women to conceive between them, there’s probably a good reason for it.
Friday, May 16, 2008
8 weeks post-op x-rays on left elbow
This is an x-ray taken earlier today on my left elbow. Doctor/Brother Matthew Hansen explained the important aspects, which I have noted on the image.
In short, the places where I broke my elbow, are still broken. However, to the left of my new radial head you can see a slight hazy cloud. That would be bone that is forming on my arm that wasn't there before. If that bone continues to form over the radial head and somehow connects to the upper arm, that would be bad. It would necessitate another surgery to get rid of it, as it would prevent my arm from bending. Dr. Hansen, if you're reading this, please feel free to click on the comment section at the bottom of this post and eloborate further, if you'd like.
I have complete confidence that I am in good hands. I have received blessings from worthy priesthood holders that my arm will heal, and if you haven't read the bio on my orthopedist, Matthew Hansen, click on his name above. Dude is seriously brilliant. He specializes in elbows and shoulders. He was mentored by the man that created Tommy John surgery.
If you have elbow or shoulder issues and are anywhere near Gilbert, AZ, i.e. the Western United States, he's the guy to go to.
This is the same x-ray, but I blacked out everything but the bone.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Sweet Dreams
Most of my postings on this blog are religiously oriented. However, I love to write and probably don't share enough of my writing with others. Here is a short story I wrote a while ago called Sweet Dreams. Please feel free to post comments telling me you liked it, hated it, how it could be better, etc. Enjoy.
“Doc, you just don’t realize how much pressure the average accountant is under. The never-ending deadlines make me crazy. You know we really have very little to do with a company’s revenues, however, when it comes to financial reports we’re expected to do magic. My boss always tells me that he expects me to make two plus two equal whatever he needs it to be. Keeping the shareholders happy is always stressed. When our stock price takes a dip, you just know that if it doesn’t turn around soon that layoffs can’t be far behind. Accountants are often considered nothing more than a necessary evil at any company. Most executives wish they could survive without us, but they know they can’t. The bankers and investors want us around, which is the only reason most of us have a job. I come home mentally exhausted everyday.”
Dr. Sayer remained impassive with his patented stoic gaze, lounging in his burgundy leather chair as he replied, “And you think this is what’s creating the dreams Colby?”
Glaring up at his psychiatrist’s white ceiling panels from the comfort of the tan leather couch he laid on, Colby replied, “How else would you explain it, Doc? I mean, it’s the same dream night after night. Very little change. Do you think that I’m crazy?”
Chuckling, which was unusual for Doctor Sayer, he looked down his wire rimmed glasses at his middle aged, haggard looking patient and stated, “I think that it means you have a healthy imagination Colby. Dreams are a part of life. Some are very vivid and we remember them for a long time. Most people will dream all night long and wake up without remembering a thing about them. Just because you remember your dreams doesn’t mean you’re suffering from some neuroses. Tell me more about your dreams. Do they frighten you? Are they violent? Are you at your job naked? What is it about your dreams that concern you?”
Sighing as he looked out the window on the Phoenix skyline, he noticed a heat shimmer creating a subtle wavy appearance that struck him as rather dream-like in nature. Colby turned back to his psychiatrist and responded, “Haven’t you been listening? It’s the same dream every time. Clearly my subconscious is trying to tell me something. Violent? No, I don’t remember anything violent in them. They’re about as far from being frightening as you can imagine. Naked? Now that you mention it, I’m not really sure. I don’t think so, but I don’t recall anyone wearing a lot of clothing. Not myself, not anyone. Does that mean something Doc?”
“Do you think that it means something Colby? How does it make you feel when no one is wearing much clothing? Please Colby. Just humor me and tell me your dream one more time.”
Running his hands through his hair, as if he was being asked to do something he really would rather not, he started in a mere whisper, “I can’t exactly remember how they begin, but once I become conscious of my dream and my surroundings I’m frequently flying. I have thin gossamer wings on my back. Everybody flies. It’s how we get around. The place is a tropical paradise. Multi-hued flowers bloom year round and waterfalls are everywhere.” Sighing again as he looked out onto the desert landscape just outside the window, he continued, “Imagine the most beautiful rainforest you can think of. Then multiply that thought by a thousand. The green of the trees is greener than anything I can describe; the blues, bluer, the reds, redder. Am I making any sense, Doc?”
Nodding his head, Doctor Sayer, waived his hand in a forward rolling motion and said, “Continue.”
The air conditioner hummed in a soft, monotonous, high-pitched drone. Colby found it near hypnotic as he continued without really thinking, “My life there is much different than here, Doc. I’m going nowhere fast here. I have my job, which I go to every day, sit in my cubicle and desperately hope that I can do my work without getting yelled at by my boss. When work is done, I go home, pop a frozen dinner into the microwave, vegetate for a while in front of the T.V., and then go to bed just so I can do the same thing tomorrow.”
Trying not to be intrusive, Doctor Sayer interjected, “Let’s go back to your dream, Colby. Tell me more about what it is like in the rainforest. Do you have friends? If you have a job there, what do you do? Does this tropical paradise have a name?”
“Right, right. I’m sorry Doc; I got a bit distracted there for a moment. It’s just the difference between my dreams and my existence here is so opposite that in an odd way I feel that I’m describing either place in the same sentence. One is black and the other white. My dreams are the opposite of my life. Now you really are going to think that I’m crazy, I’m important there. I’m like a…I’m a king. Ok, there you have it. Here I’m nobody, and there I’m loved and respected by everyone. The people, or creatures, or whatever that live there are my subjects. Oh, did I mention that I have a wife there. She’s gorgeous. She’s slender, with blond hair and milky, white skin. She has an ever-so-slightly high pitched voice, and when she speaks it’s as if she is singing the sweetest song you’ve ever heard.”
Colby wiped away a tear that started to form just under his eyes. He faked a cough to cover his movement as he struggled to regain his composure. “She’s a vision from heaven Doc and she loves me unconditionally. Her porcelain features give a fragile appearance and yet, she’s fiercely loyal and strong. I’ve never even had a dog that would protect me like she would. We’re madly in love with each other without a care in the world.”
“Many people would consider being a king a rather difficult job with a ton of responsibilities, Colby. Do you have any responsibilities as king, or do you see your sole reason of existence to be so others can cater to your every whim?”
“Huh, what? Responsibilities? Yes, I believe so, but really everything seems to take care of itself. People there aren’t my slaves. I’m the king, but we all live in perfect harmony. We don’t have any cares. Why should we? Everything we need is provided in the rainforest. Can you imagine Doc, no deadlines? Nobody screaming at me to reconcile their bank accounts, no one demanding that I need to find a creative way to increase bottom-line profits, no one asking me to compromise my ethics because of my profession. We sing, dance, flit here and there, no one’s worried about appeasing shareholders. The rainforest provides our food and though I’m the king, it’s almost a figurehead position. I get the chief seat at our nightly feast, that’s my job. I tell the performers and food servers what a wonderful job they do. Not too much stress there.”
Even Dr. Sayer couldn’t help but sigh in envy at the idyllic scene just described by his overly paranoid, but quite clearly healthy patient. Looking at Colby with his patented concerned, yet slight smile, he responded, “I hate to disappoint you Colby, but you sound very healthy to me. You’re not wild about your job here. You find your life to be somewhat bland. Your dreams are providing you with an outlet, an escape from the pressure and stress that you feel here. It’s all very healthy. Do you sometimes fantasize about being in your paradise even when you’re awake?”
Colby’s jaw dropped to his chest in disbelief, as he exclaimed, “Yes, I do. All of the time.” His eyes wide open in wonderment he queried, “How did you know that? You’re really good as a psychiatrist, Doc,”
Unable to contain his amusement, Doctor Sayler chortled and snorted as he replied, “Don’t be that impressed Colby. We all daydream. Me, you, and probably every person that you’ve ever come in contact with I hope spends a fair amount of time daydreaming. You see we all have our dreams. We all have our secret alter egos that can do things we as mere mortals cannot. Now if you were dressing up like the person in your dream, or if you were dancing around my office feverishly flapping your arms, screaming, ‘look at me fly, I’m flying,’ then I think that we would have issues to deal with.” The broad smile still etched on his features the psychiatrist continued, “Have you ever done any of those things, Colby?”
With a bit of dejection etched into his features, Colby responded, “No Doc, I’ve never done anything quite as crazy as that. It’s just…how do I describe it. The dreams seem so real, but that’s not all of it. I wish they were real, Doc. I really do. I wish that I could live the carefree life of my dreams.”
Almost in unison, they gazed out the window. Both seeing a heat shimmer on the skyline that made it look both liquid and otherworldly at the same time. “Yes Colby, we all feel like that sometimes.”
Just then, Colby looked back at his therapist, squinting his eyes and cocking his head to the side. The high-pitched humming sound of the air conditioner grew ever louder. For his part, Doctor Sayler just smiled as he looked back at Colby waiting to see what he would say next.
Lost in thought, all Colby could do was fixate on the sound of the air conditioner as it grew louder and louder. Hypnotic he thought again. In the middle of the high-pitched sound reverberating throughout the room he heard a crystal-clear voice calling out, calling to him, “My lord, my lord Sythyx. Wake up my beloved. The day-dawn is breaking. The night shadows are racing from the rising sun. Be up and doing my love, your people anxiously await you in the Greenwood Gardens.”
Confused, lost in a thick haze of uncertainty, Colby rubbed his eyes and slowly re-opened them.
Sythyx, High Lord of Greenwood, Kingdom of the Faeries, yawned as he pulled his hands away from his eyes and stretched his arms wide. He smiled as he saw his beloved wife, sitting at his bedside next to him; her porcelain features and striking beauty still amazed him, despite their fifty years of marriage.
Contented to see recognition in his eyes, Amerelia, Queen of the Faeries, gazed down on her husband. “Did you sleep well sweet lord? You had a fearful look of concern on your features that I did not fancy. What unspoken terrors trouble you my darling? Did you have a disturbing dream, my love?”
She stretched out her hands and took a firm hold of his. Lord Sythyx brought his hand to his chin and thought hard for just a moment before saying, “I had the strangest dream my queen. I lived in a world of constant confusion. I felt empty and lost, hollow like a seashell whose owner has long deserted it. I feared and fretted about everything. Worst part of all, I was a human, unable to hie away from the horrors that haunted me. I shared my worries with a man. He seemed quite kindly, but he too was stuck in this world without merriment and mirth.”
With a protective and loving smile, Queen Amerelia peered down on her lover and stated, “T’was but a dreadful dream my love. Banish such baneful thoughts. Let’s sing and dance and play with our people, while the morning sun shines. Your nocturnal nightmare will quickly become a distant memory and then simply disappear.”
Gazing into her penetrating blue eyes, he said, “You’re right my love. T’was naught but a nightmare.”
With that said, he sprung from his bed of leaves and flowers, and grabbing his wife’s hand, together they flew out into the new day, contented with the songs of their people greeting them as they entered their garden. Not even once, did Lord Sythyx think back on his dream ever again.
“Doc, you just don’t realize how much pressure the average accountant is under. The never-ending deadlines make me crazy. You know we really have very little to do with a company’s revenues, however, when it comes to financial reports we’re expected to do magic. My boss always tells me that he expects me to make two plus two equal whatever he needs it to be. Keeping the shareholders happy is always stressed. When our stock price takes a dip, you just know that if it doesn’t turn around soon that layoffs can’t be far behind. Accountants are often considered nothing more than a necessary evil at any company. Most executives wish they could survive without us, but they know they can’t. The bankers and investors want us around, which is the only reason most of us have a job. I come home mentally exhausted everyday.”
Dr. Sayer remained impassive with his patented stoic gaze, lounging in his burgundy leather chair as he replied, “And you think this is what’s creating the dreams Colby?”
Glaring up at his psychiatrist’s white ceiling panels from the comfort of the tan leather couch he laid on, Colby replied, “How else would you explain it, Doc? I mean, it’s the same dream night after night. Very little change. Do you think that I’m crazy?”
Chuckling, which was unusual for Doctor Sayer, he looked down his wire rimmed glasses at his middle aged, haggard looking patient and stated, “I think that it means you have a healthy imagination Colby. Dreams are a part of life. Some are very vivid and we remember them for a long time. Most people will dream all night long and wake up without remembering a thing about them. Just because you remember your dreams doesn’t mean you’re suffering from some neuroses. Tell me more about your dreams. Do they frighten you? Are they violent? Are you at your job naked? What is it about your dreams that concern you?”
Sighing as he looked out the window on the Phoenix skyline, he noticed a heat shimmer creating a subtle wavy appearance that struck him as rather dream-like in nature. Colby turned back to his psychiatrist and responded, “Haven’t you been listening? It’s the same dream every time. Clearly my subconscious is trying to tell me something. Violent? No, I don’t remember anything violent in them. They’re about as far from being frightening as you can imagine. Naked? Now that you mention it, I’m not really sure. I don’t think so, but I don’t recall anyone wearing a lot of clothing. Not myself, not anyone. Does that mean something Doc?”
“Do you think that it means something Colby? How does it make you feel when no one is wearing much clothing? Please Colby. Just humor me and tell me your dream one more time.”
Running his hands through his hair, as if he was being asked to do something he really would rather not, he started in a mere whisper, “I can’t exactly remember how they begin, but once I become conscious of my dream and my surroundings I’m frequently flying. I have thin gossamer wings on my back. Everybody flies. It’s how we get around. The place is a tropical paradise. Multi-hued flowers bloom year round and waterfalls are everywhere.” Sighing again as he looked out onto the desert landscape just outside the window, he continued, “Imagine the most beautiful rainforest you can think of. Then multiply that thought by a thousand. The green of the trees is greener than anything I can describe; the blues, bluer, the reds, redder. Am I making any sense, Doc?”
Nodding his head, Doctor Sayer, waived his hand in a forward rolling motion and said, “Continue.”
The air conditioner hummed in a soft, monotonous, high-pitched drone. Colby found it near hypnotic as he continued without really thinking, “My life there is much different than here, Doc. I’m going nowhere fast here. I have my job, which I go to every day, sit in my cubicle and desperately hope that I can do my work without getting yelled at by my boss. When work is done, I go home, pop a frozen dinner into the microwave, vegetate for a while in front of the T.V., and then go to bed just so I can do the same thing tomorrow.”
Trying not to be intrusive, Doctor Sayer interjected, “Let’s go back to your dream, Colby. Tell me more about what it is like in the rainforest. Do you have friends? If you have a job there, what do you do? Does this tropical paradise have a name?”
“Right, right. I’m sorry Doc; I got a bit distracted there for a moment. It’s just the difference between my dreams and my existence here is so opposite that in an odd way I feel that I’m describing either place in the same sentence. One is black and the other white. My dreams are the opposite of my life. Now you really are going to think that I’m crazy, I’m important there. I’m like a…I’m a king. Ok, there you have it. Here I’m nobody, and there I’m loved and respected by everyone. The people, or creatures, or whatever that live there are my subjects. Oh, did I mention that I have a wife there. She’s gorgeous. She’s slender, with blond hair and milky, white skin. She has an ever-so-slightly high pitched voice, and when she speaks it’s as if she is singing the sweetest song you’ve ever heard.”
Colby wiped away a tear that started to form just under his eyes. He faked a cough to cover his movement as he struggled to regain his composure. “She’s a vision from heaven Doc and she loves me unconditionally. Her porcelain features give a fragile appearance and yet, she’s fiercely loyal and strong. I’ve never even had a dog that would protect me like she would. We’re madly in love with each other without a care in the world.”
“Many people would consider being a king a rather difficult job with a ton of responsibilities, Colby. Do you have any responsibilities as king, or do you see your sole reason of existence to be so others can cater to your every whim?”
“Huh, what? Responsibilities? Yes, I believe so, but really everything seems to take care of itself. People there aren’t my slaves. I’m the king, but we all live in perfect harmony. We don’t have any cares. Why should we? Everything we need is provided in the rainforest. Can you imagine Doc, no deadlines? Nobody screaming at me to reconcile their bank accounts, no one demanding that I need to find a creative way to increase bottom-line profits, no one asking me to compromise my ethics because of my profession. We sing, dance, flit here and there, no one’s worried about appeasing shareholders. The rainforest provides our food and though I’m the king, it’s almost a figurehead position. I get the chief seat at our nightly feast, that’s my job. I tell the performers and food servers what a wonderful job they do. Not too much stress there.”
Even Dr. Sayer couldn’t help but sigh in envy at the idyllic scene just described by his overly paranoid, but quite clearly healthy patient. Looking at Colby with his patented concerned, yet slight smile, he responded, “I hate to disappoint you Colby, but you sound very healthy to me. You’re not wild about your job here. You find your life to be somewhat bland. Your dreams are providing you with an outlet, an escape from the pressure and stress that you feel here. It’s all very healthy. Do you sometimes fantasize about being in your paradise even when you’re awake?”
Colby’s jaw dropped to his chest in disbelief, as he exclaimed, “Yes, I do. All of the time.” His eyes wide open in wonderment he queried, “How did you know that? You’re really good as a psychiatrist, Doc,”
Unable to contain his amusement, Doctor Sayler chortled and snorted as he replied, “Don’t be that impressed Colby. We all daydream. Me, you, and probably every person that you’ve ever come in contact with I hope spends a fair amount of time daydreaming. You see we all have our dreams. We all have our secret alter egos that can do things we as mere mortals cannot. Now if you were dressing up like the person in your dream, or if you were dancing around my office feverishly flapping your arms, screaming, ‘look at me fly, I’m flying,’ then I think that we would have issues to deal with.” The broad smile still etched on his features the psychiatrist continued, “Have you ever done any of those things, Colby?”
With a bit of dejection etched into his features, Colby responded, “No Doc, I’ve never done anything quite as crazy as that. It’s just…how do I describe it. The dreams seem so real, but that’s not all of it. I wish they were real, Doc. I really do. I wish that I could live the carefree life of my dreams.”
Almost in unison, they gazed out the window. Both seeing a heat shimmer on the skyline that made it look both liquid and otherworldly at the same time. “Yes Colby, we all feel like that sometimes.”
Just then, Colby looked back at his therapist, squinting his eyes and cocking his head to the side. The high-pitched humming sound of the air conditioner grew ever louder. For his part, Doctor Sayler just smiled as he looked back at Colby waiting to see what he would say next.
Lost in thought, all Colby could do was fixate on the sound of the air conditioner as it grew louder and louder. Hypnotic he thought again. In the middle of the high-pitched sound reverberating throughout the room he heard a crystal-clear voice calling out, calling to him, “My lord, my lord Sythyx. Wake up my beloved. The day-dawn is breaking. The night shadows are racing from the rising sun. Be up and doing my love, your people anxiously await you in the Greenwood Gardens.”
Confused, lost in a thick haze of uncertainty, Colby rubbed his eyes and slowly re-opened them.
Sythyx, High Lord of Greenwood, Kingdom of the Faeries, yawned as he pulled his hands away from his eyes and stretched his arms wide. He smiled as he saw his beloved wife, sitting at his bedside next to him; her porcelain features and striking beauty still amazed him, despite their fifty years of marriage.
Contented to see recognition in his eyes, Amerelia, Queen of the Faeries, gazed down on her husband. “Did you sleep well sweet lord? You had a fearful look of concern on your features that I did not fancy. What unspoken terrors trouble you my darling? Did you have a disturbing dream, my love?”
She stretched out her hands and took a firm hold of his. Lord Sythyx brought his hand to his chin and thought hard for just a moment before saying, “I had the strangest dream my queen. I lived in a world of constant confusion. I felt empty and lost, hollow like a seashell whose owner has long deserted it. I feared and fretted about everything. Worst part of all, I was a human, unable to hie away from the horrors that haunted me. I shared my worries with a man. He seemed quite kindly, but he too was stuck in this world without merriment and mirth.”
With a protective and loving smile, Queen Amerelia peered down on her lover and stated, “T’was but a dreadful dream my love. Banish such baneful thoughts. Let’s sing and dance and play with our people, while the morning sun shines. Your nocturnal nightmare will quickly become a distant memory and then simply disappear.”
Gazing into her penetrating blue eyes, he said, “You’re right my love. T’was naught but a nightmare.”
With that said, he sprung from his bed of leaves and flowers, and grabbing his wife’s hand, together they flew out into the new day, contented with the songs of their people greeting them as they entered their garden. Not even once, did Lord Sythyx think back on his dream ever again.
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