Our week in Massachusetts

We spent last week in Massachusetts with David and Rebecca and their family, and was a beautiful trip in about every regard. We flew back their on Friday April 13th and returned home on Thursday April 19th. The flights on SWA were uneventfully good. Both ways we had one stop in Chicago but didn’t have to change planes.

On Saturday, we worked on installing a basketball standard, by cementing in the base. We were disappointed Monday when we tried to finish the job, however, and found that the wrong backboard had been included in the package. In the afternoon, we drove with the family to see Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury. We toured an old but working grist mill which was part of the display.

On Sunday, we went to church in their ward. We spied Danny Ainge (he’s bishop of the neighboring ward that shares this building) and also his son Austin. In the evening, Wendy and I made our Martha Ann Lufkin Townsend witness to the Mantle of Joseph miracle presentation to the family.

Monday was Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts (a State holiday comparable to our Pioneer Day), which features the running of the Boston Marathon. We drove to the marathon route at Welsley, MA, about half-way through the race, and watched the mass of runners going by for a few minutes. Then we found a park with an extensive children’s play area and had a picnic.

Tuesday we all drove to a beach on Cape Cod. We sat on the samd and watched the boys play.

Wednesday David dropped Wendy and me off at the Boston Temple while he worked for a while. His office is not very far from the temple. Then in the later afternoon, we stayed with the boys while David and Rebecca went to the temple and dinner.

We sure enjoyed this visit and appreciated how generous and thoughtful David and Rebecca were as they hosted us. We loved seeing their new home and especially admired the large back yard, which seemed to be wonderfully suited as a place to raise boys. We especially loved being able to get better acquainted with Ben and Henry who were much smaller the last time we spent time with them.

New Church callings

As I approach age 75, I now have two Aaronic Priesthood-Scouting callings, 11 year old Scout leader in the ward, and First Counselor in the Stake Young Mens Presidency. Is this extraordinary, or what?

The latter seems to be coming with a directive to lead out in strengthening Venturing in our stake.

The whole process of these calls has taken 2 ½ months and I don’t fully understand the goings on behind the scenes that finally resulted in extending both of these callings. It started with my being asked to lead the 11 year old scouts in our ward in late January. I was sustained in Sacrament Meeting and set apart. That evening, Wendy and I attended a rehearsal for a stake choir that was going to sing in Stake Conference the next week. Sitting in the choir seats, the row behind where I was sitting was empty and at the last minute President Blair, the youth counselor in the Stake Presidency, and his wife, came in to sing and took seats immediate behind me. When the practice ended, I turned to say “Hello” and he said something like, “I feel impressed that I need to talk something over with you.” We found an empty classroom, and he revealed that the Stake Young Mens presidency needed to change its counselors and that its President had requested that I serve in one of these positions. The motivation behind the request was that I could be give leadership to help our stake improve its ward Venturing programs. However, our ward Bishop had refused to let me go because they had just installed me in the 11 year old scout leader position. He asked me if I thought I could do both, to talk it over with Wendy, and get back to him.

So we talked and my sense of wanting to work with Venturing in this capacity was very strong, so I concluded that if working with both programs was necessary to be able to receive the Stake calling, I would try to do both. I felt like this proposal would go noplace without some softening of the position on the part of our bishopric, so I talked the whole matter over with my good friend Lynn Hunter, the youth counselor in our Bishopric, and then the two of us talked with Bishop West. In those discussions I emphasized my strong desire to be able to utilize my long Venturing experience in this way and my willingness to try to do both callings. I took over two months for it all to get sorted out, but Tuesday evening President Blair extended to me the YM Counselor call (with no release as 11 year old leader). He apologized for how long this took to work through, and told me that he had gotten in some trouble over what he did in January in informing me about the “turned down” call and that the Stake President had had him apologize to Bishop West for the irregularities. He didn’t seem too remorseful about his actions, however, and I am taking this whole business as indicating that the Hand of the Lord was involved in the process, and looking forward to making a difference in the training and preparation of the young men of our stake.

The Church--"the most progressive force for women in the world today"

Here is powerful instruction about the relationship between men and women in the Gospel, that feels good to me. It is by Valerie M. Hudson, writing in the book, WHY I AM A MORMON, (Joseph A. Cannon, Ed., Ensign Peak, 2012, pp. 168-176). Sister Hudson is the Latter-day Saint sociologist that has made a name for herself in her publications analyzing the dangers in societies that have imbalances where numbers of men cannot find women to marry (Polygamous Moslem countries, and India and China where a disproportionate number of girl babies are aborted).

In this book chapter, Sister Hudson affirms the eternal importance of marriage and families: “marriage is forever; we will have children forever; and the life of being a woman married to my sweetheart and having children forever is the life that will bring me the fullest joy in the eternities–as it has here on earth.” (p. 171)

She uses the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden and the two trees to explore the ideal status of men and women in marriage as co-equals with differing contributions to make to each other and their family. The first tree (Eve’s contribution) symbolizes the doorway leading from heaven to earth, while the second tree (Adam’s contribution) symbolizes the doorway back to heaven. The fruit of the first tree given by the daughters of God is birth and nurturance to the family. The Church is the gift given to the family by priesthood holders through the ordinances and covenants of the Gospel. “Priesthood is a man’s apprenticeship to become like his Heavenly Father, and women have their own apprenticeship to become like their Heavenly Mother.” (pp.174-175)

“[The Gospel] ...restores not only right relations between man and God but right relations between men and women, making it the strongest, most progressive force for women in the world today.” (p. 175)

Shh--beavers at work

A few weeks ago, while were walking along the River Trail from the Tree Road to the golf course, we noticed what appeared to be some beaver workings in the Spanish Fork River, about half a mile in from the Tree Road. There was a pile of limbs in the water and two or three downed trees with cuts by beavers and one log about half cut through. We have continued to watch for progress. It seems slow but we think we notice the pile is bigger and a little further out into the main stream of the river. We told Michael, Wendy's son, about the project and a few days ago while he was here with us, he rode by on his bike, and thought he actually saw one of the critters.

The pile looked like this earlier this afternoon. It now extends about 1/3 of the way across the stream.

I recall the work of some Beavers a few years ago in Salt Lake’s City Creek. I used to jog by the place of this construction project several times a week, which was about 2/10ths of a mile above the Upper Gate. By the time the beavers were discovered by City Water people, they had managed to get a full dam in the creek. The back-water totally filled the channel, probably to the depth of 4-5 feet and stopped the current. It would have been a lovely place to raise little beavers. However, the City Water department was not amused. They set out traps, caught the little critters, and moved them to some far-away place. They had to dynamite the dam to get rid of it.

Let’s not say anything to the authorities in Spanish Fork, and see if these beavers can get the dam clear across the River. It is pretty swift and wide in the spot they are working. I am not sure they can do it. We'll continue to check on their progress.

Blossoms in the snow

We had 6 inches of snow yesterday, a real good storm. Here are our peach trees and our Bradford pears this morning. Our low last night was 32 degrees and the temperature was at 60 this afternoon, with warmer weather coming, so we are hopeful that the fruit will be OK.

And look at the blue of the Utah sky!

A religion of miracles

Belonging to that weird Mormon religion that believes in the possibility of miracles and that God is able to and does communicate with persons on this earth, I was pondering our position in relation to other Christian churches. I thought about Jesus Christ, the object of all Christian faiths, of the extraordinary events surrounding his life on earth as described in the New Testament, and how absolutely central these miraculous happenings were to the message and meaning of Christianity. Should a person be counted Christian who does not accept and testify of these miracles detailed in the Bible?

--Old Testament prophets knew and prophesied accurately of Christ’s mission many years before his birth

--Angels appeared to mortals with messages about his birth:
Zacharias
Mary
Shepherds

--Miraculous conception of Jesus:
His mother, Mary, was a virgin when he was born
He was conceived through the Holy Ghost as the Son of God
He existed and was God before his birth in the flesh

--Mortals had revelations from God (dreams) to protect Jesus, when he was a baby:
Joseph (twice)
Wise Men

--There were numerous miracles during Christ’s ministry, including:
He brought 3 people back to life who had died
There were at least 22 instances in which he healed a sick person
He calmed a tempest on the Sea of Galilee
He walked on water
Draught of fish (twice)
He fed large multitudes (twice) without any preparation
He changed water to wine

--(And especially that) His suffering, death and resurrection were real and have divine benefits to mankind:
His suffering and death were substitutionary for the price of the sins of mankind and made divine forgiveness possible
Three day after his death, he came to life again (resurrected) and was seen by over 500 witnesses
His resurrection broke the bands of death and made the resurrection available to mankind

--He was seen ascending through the air into heaven by many witnesses

It seems to me that our Church is being singled out increasingly for opposition/mocking, etc. by secular non-believing critics. In doing so, these criticisms also attack the true foundations of all Christianity. I think that it is only right that other Christian churches step up to the plate in our defense. Or, are they in denial of the miraculous basics of their own faith?

Surely it cannot be true what Parley Pratt once concluded about the mainstream Christian churches, when speaking of their creedal definition of the nature of God: “Oh, pious name for atheism.” Could it be possible that we have non-believing enemies on both our left and our right?

Wendy's new flag stand and Ace is the Place

Jack and Olivia were here for 3 days on their Spring Break, and they are having their pictures taken showing off Wendy's new flag stand. She has wanted a way to display her decorative banners since the time we got married. But we couldn't determine a good way to attach a holder to the vinyl siding on our house. Finally we worked with a metal welding company in Springville to design a free-standing flag holder. It is made of iron and stands 6 feet tall (which is about the maximum height Wendy can reach without a stepladder). The vertical shaft has a decorative knob on top. Then it has a 32 inch horizontal bar (which we overlaid with a piece of PVC) with a screw-on decorative knob on the end. Right at the front SE corner of the house, I poured a concrete base and installed 4 bolts in the concrete and through a plate at the bottom of the vertical bar to hold it upright. I got it finished Tuesday just in time to display this Easter Bunny flag.

Happy flag displaying!

Then yesterday my plumbing prowess was on display. Ha-Ha. The toilet in the hall bathroom was keeping Wendy awake because the water intake would not completely shut off. So,
1) I went to our little Ace Hardware store down on Center street near Main and bought a shut-off replacement kit and installed it.
2) However the old riser pipe on the drain inside the tank cracked and broke off, so I went back to Ace Hardware and bought a new drain fixture. In order to do this installation I had to remove the tank from the bowl. I did this installation successfully and replaced the tank.
3) However, now there was a leak from the bottom of the tank whenever the toilet was flushed, which seemed to indicate that the old O-ring which is supposed to make a seal between the tank and bowl was now defective. Therefore, I went back a third time to Ace Hardware and bought an O-ring kit. I had to remove the tank again in order to install the O-ring but did this successfully.
4) However, when I hooked up the water line this time, I was not able to fully stop a leak where the inlet water line attaches to the shut-off valve below the tank. It is dripping at the rate of about a cup every eight hours. The fact that we can measure the amount indicates that we were smart enough to place a sizeable bowl below the drip. We are now waiting for Spanish Fork's hard water to gradually seal up this leak. Ha-Ha again. No, we're not. I am going to have to take step #5 tomorrow and hope that there isn't a #6, #7, or #8.

Conference gathering at Blakes

There was something satisfying about the family General Conference Sunday evening at Emilie and Scott’s. Even though the Soderquists and the Stanfords were mostly missing (Soderquist boys had come down with the fifth disease and Angela was not feeling well), not to mention David and Valerie and families, we had a happy level of support from the 3rd generation. Andrew and Britain came bringing Ryan, and also Troy and Trina brought from South Weber a carload that included Staci, Krysta, and Tricia. Attendance by this group gave me a lot of satisfaction because they seemed so happy to be together and to have internalized the value of our family attempts to underscore the importance of paying immediate attention to the messages of conference.

Here are some of the major themes I sensed, along with talks that I thought were especially worthy of more study:
STRENGTHENING OUR FAMILIES, TEACHING OUR CHILDREN
Pres Eyring (Priesthood)
Sister Esplin

HEALING OUR RELATIONSHIPS
Elder Holland
President Uchtdorf (Sunday am)

RECOGNIZING AND RESPONDING TO THE SPIRIT
Elder Scott

RESCUING THE LESS-ACTIVE AND OTHERS
Bishop Edgley

RESPONDING TO THE CALL OF DUTY
Pres Monson (Priesthood, closing)
Elder Bednar
Pres Uchtdorf (Priesthood)
Pres Eyring (Priesthood)
Elder Hallstrom

(Ryan was our photographer.)

Brandon and me

Great things and small things

Wendy and I have been presenting a Family Home Evening lesson to our various families, which demonstrates in our opinion the Book of Mormon truism that “by simple and small things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6; I Nephi 16:29). I’ll write more about the details after we get clear around the family, but for now I will say that it relates to having direct ancestors who were witnesses of one of the special spiritual manifestations that formed a foundation for the restoration of the Gospel in this day–in this case the mantle of Joseph falling on Brigham in a meeting in August 1844 in Nauvoo IL. We are making biscuits with the grandchildren, recognizing that the testimony involved in this story was transmitted by its recipient, great-grandma Martha Ann Townsend, while making biscuits with one of her granddaughters. Thus, in this small, mundane activity a great legacy was transmitted to our family.

We started with our Utah County families. Here are some pictures from the evenings we spent with Matthew’s and Emilie’s families.

Here is our backyard orchard after having completed their spring trimming. And see our apricot tree with popcorn popping. I think the three trees in front (Nectarine, Early Elberta peach, Late Elberta Peach) look like new marine recruits after their first military haircut.

Thanks to Alison (and Rachel) for coming down and overseeing the pruning. I don't know how well this would work without the collegial, thoughtful, cooperative arrangement we had. We discussed each cut thoroughly and generally only made a cut by common consent (How many peaches can this spur carry? Which bud should we save that will best promote growth in the direction we want?) And it was fortunate that the ward Relief Society had scheduled a temple trip, which took Wendy away, so that she didn't have to suffer along with the trees that were getting so royally carved and whacked.

We have started eating last year's bottled peaches from these trees. I have never eaten home-canned peaches that I enjoyed so much--all sweet, flavorful, firm fruit. I can hardly wait for this year's crop.

Republican caucus meeting

Last Thursday, Wendy and I attended the caucus meeting for our voting precinct. It was held at Spanish Fork HS along with many other precinct caucuses. I went with two objectives–to try to elect delegates to the state convention that would retain Orrin Hatch as a candidate and to try to urge civility on convention delegates. I didn’t want to see a repeat of two years ago, when a small but organized minority of right wingers got themselves elected delegates and were able to oust incumbent senator Bob Bennett at the State convention. They also treated Bennett quite rudely in the process.

There was a huge crown of people there. Eventually, we were able to find our meeting which was held in the band/chorus room. We estimate there might have been as many as 150 or 200 people present. There were not enough chairs for everyone to have a place to sit. People said that in other years perhaps a dozen people were all that attended this meeting. The extra publicity and especially the urging by our Church Leaders led to a lot more support that has been typical.

The meeting was run effectively by a young women. She allowed input but kept things moving. After reading the state Republican platform, which took 10 minutes or so and making some other announcement, we got down to electing precinct officers. The first nominated candidate for Precinct Chair announced that he was in favor of getting rid of Hatch. When the vote came, he was defeated by a man who favored retaining Hatch, by about a 60-40 % margin. And so went the whole evening. All of the elected officers including three state convention delegates were pro Hatch by about the same margin or greater.

I spoke once urging civility in the processes, especially at the conventions, saying that the treatment of Bob Bennett two years ago was an embarrassment to the party and the State.

At the conclusion, we felt that common sense had prevailed in our precinct caucus. The majority of Republicans who tend to be conservative, but somewhat moderate, had successfully reigned in an effort by more extreme partisans having outside of Utah assistance and moneys to dominate Utah politics.

However, I came away with reservations about the value and effectiveness of the caucus system. It gave us such a superficial look at candidates and platforms. We had a couple of minutes at best to evaluate candidates and their positions. In this case everything turned on whether they were pro-Hatch or anti-Hatch. All we did was prevent a bit stupidity in one race, which was significant, but left off from being able to give our input on all sorts of other important issues.

What's a good alternative? I don't know.

(Pictured: caucus meeting in Pleasant Grove)

Our Scotch-Irish heritage

Aunt Dorothy, in writing about her maternal ancestors, stated that Samuel Henry Lufkin left his home in Massachusetts and went to Nova Scotia. While there “he met and married an Irish girl, Eleanor Johnson. She as born in Nova Scotia but both of her parents [James Johnson and Eleanor O’Brien] were born in Ireland.”

Contrary to the impression given by the above, Eleanor Johnson’s roots were NOT from the romanticized Irish of St. Patrick’s Day, with the color green, shamrocks, leprechauns, etc. Her parents were born in Northern Ireland and were of a people sometimes called “Ulster Scots” or Scotch-Irish.” The Scotch-Irish were Scotch transplants who came to Ireland sometime before 1700. They were “lowland Scots” which means that they were also NOT the romanticized highland Scotch, with their kilts, bagpipes, representative plaids, etc.

So, what were the Scotch-Irish? (This is an important question, because a number of our Lewis ancestors also had Scotch-Irish roots.)

1) Lowland Scotland was to the south and east of the Scottish highlands, situated between the former and England

2) The people came from a poor, peasant class, living in small villages, under a system of feudalism. The land was unproductive and made worse by centuries of poor conservation methods, and denuded of trees. Families might own a few animals. Heat sources were peat or coal.

3) Most were members of the Kirk of Scotland (the national church, Presbyterianism). Repudiation of Catholicism and establishment of the Kirk by a Scottish parliament in 1560, introduced cultural changes, including increased commitment to religion, and education (but not too much) and began to raise the people out of what some have defined as barbarianism. The tenants of the Kirk were Calvinist, strict, dour, and intolerant of sin (and other things).

4) Society in Scotland tended to be chaotic and lawless. Many people lived by thieving. People banded together for self-protection.

5) Additionally, lowland Scotland had a long history of wars and fighting off invaders, going back to the time of the Romans. After that, they continually fought with the English and also with the highland Scots.

The culture seemed to produce people who were survivors, tough fighters, risk-takers, individualistic, quick to take offense and defend themselves, suspicious of higher authority and elites, responsive to charismatic local leaders. They did not distinguish themselves in the arts or scholarly pursuits.

Two additional points in the history of the Scotch-Irish:
1) England had an “Irish problem” and tried to use the lowland Scots as a solution. They had tried for centuries to subdue the Irish, with limited success. It became more difficult with the Protestant reformation, as the Irish remained Catholic and threatened to become an outpost for Spanish and French territorial expansion. When war with the English depopulated the northern part of Ireland, England created the Ulster Plantation in about 1610 with plans to re-populate this area with Protestants. Because of the nearness of lowland Scotland to Ulster and because of the opportunities it presented to escape poverty, lowland Scots came to dominate the numbers who relocated to the Ulster Plantation. Numbers swelled by refugees during the wars between England and Scotland (1670s). The Scotch-Irish settlers also battled the Irish in the 1640s. And even though the English promoted Scotch-Irish populating of Ulster, their support was very inconsistent and sometimes hostile. Economic restrictions from both the British and Irish parliaments and market fluctuations for products of Ulster manufacturing, plus continuing religious interference from the English, made living in Ulster less attractive.

2) Starting in 1717 and continuing until the start of the Revolutionary War (about 1774), there was mass migration of the Ulster population to America, perhaps as many as a quarter of a million people. Paradoxically, the English elites in the colonies from Virginia southward had an “Indian problem” and tried to use the Scotch-Irish as a solution. The Scotch-Irish were not welcome in New England and the middle colonies because of their cultural dispositions, but the English elites living in the tidewater areas of the southern colonies perceived that placing Scotch-Irish settlers in the edge of the Appalachians would provide a buffer against Indian attacks on their homes. The Scotch-Irish typically de-ported in Philadelphia and made their way southwest on the Great Wagon Trail along the Piedmont through Virginia, and the Carolinas and then filtered west into the mountains. There they established subsistence farms not unlike lowland Scotland. They honed their fighting skills in encounters with Native Americans and became experts with the long rifle.

At first, they were not especially sympathetic to the Revolutionary War, hating and distrusting both the British and the American tidewater elites, but were eventually drawn into the battle by Cornwallis’ and Tarleton’s threats. The “Overmountain Boys” brought their long rifles and Indian fighting tactics to Kings Mountain and Cowpens and destroyed the British army as a fighting force, paving the way for their surrender at Yorktown and American independence.

Post Script 1: The descendants of the Scotch-Irish settlers constituted the backbone of the Confederate army during the Civil War. Although greatly outnumbered and with inferior resources, their toughness and fighting spirit (sadly) prolonged the war and left the ultimate victor in doubt for a long time. Ironically, these were poor, mountain boys most of whom were not slave owners and may not have even seen a black person in their lifetime. Why did they fight? For their community, as they saw it, their homes, family, etc., like their ancestors fought the Indians, the Irish, the English, the Highlanders, the Romans.

Post Script 2: There remains in the southern states a military culture. Military colleges are common. Various wars in the 20th century have seen higher numbers of volunteers and casualties from the south than from other regions.

Post Script 3: Religion-wise, the Scotch-Irish allegiance to the Presbyterian Church did not stand, partly because its tradition was to have university trained pastors and such schools did not exist in America. By the 1800s, many of the descendants of the Scotch-Irish settlers had gravitated to the Baptist church.

References: James G. Leyburn, THE SCOTCH-IRISH: A SOCIAL HISTORY, University of North Carolina Press: Chapel Hill, 1962; Billy Kennedy, THE SCOTS-IRISH IN THE CAROLINAS, Ambassador House: Belfast, Ireland, 1997; James Webb, BORN FIGHTING: HOW THE SCOTS-IRISH SHAPED AMERICA, Broadway: NY, 2005.

Venturing vision

I taught Venturing Leader Specific Training last night in the Spanish Fork East Stake Little Philmont program to 12 men who have callings with Priests quorums (Advisers, Bishops). This is our old stake and Emilie's and Scott’s current stake. I had a special incentive to do this well, having five grandsons growing up in this stake who deserve the very best in Young Mens programs and training.

I presented some things differently from the first time I presented this course. I spent a part of the time early in the presentation on trying to help these men deepen their “Vision” of why we use the Venturing program with our Priests Quorums. I gave examples of organizations who have well-crafted mission statements that drive, energize, and focus the efforts of persons in the organization, that state in simple and powerful terms the difference the organization is trying to make in the world:
--To give people the freedom to fly (Southwest Airlines)
--A relentless ally for the individual investor (Charles Schwab)
--To defend America by dominating air, space, and cyberspace (U S Air Force)
--To save people money so they can live better (Wal-Mart)
--To be the flag bearer of Brigham Young University through football excellence, and to embrace truth, virtue, and honor as a beacon to the world. (BYU football team)

I then divided the participants into three groups and had them take a stab at writing a mission statement for the Venturing/Priests Quorum program. The resulting statements were a little wordy but all seemed to emphasize the preparation of leaders. While the groups were working on this project, this is a statement I composed, which I rather like:
–To prepare the next generation of incredible leaders in the Church
(Thanks to Greg for sharing some of the ideas above and also a book by Roy Spence, Jr., IT’S NOT WHAT YOU SELL, IT’S WHAT YOU STAND FOR)

Michael's birthday temple and pie

We had a wonderful family gathering on President’s Day, February 20th. A little of what made it wonderful was that it happened without my prompting or pushing. I have a pleasant feeling when members of our family seem committed and motivated to continue traditions that we have tried to establish. This event was our traditional February celebration of Michael’s birthday, with temple session and then gathering for pizza and cherry pie, his favorites.

We met this time at the Salt Lake temple at 9 am, and did sealings of family names. Besides Wendy and me, in attendance were Alison and Quin, Bruce and Angela, Matthew and Kim, Emilie (Scott was with the kids), Nathan and Gloria, and Andrew and Britain. Kim had made the arrangements and had also sorted the cards into families. I was surprised when the sealer performed the sealing of all the children to their parents in each family at the same time. The first family we did was for Robert Poor and Martha Barnes and involved eight children. Wendy and I were proxy for the parents, and we had enough family members present to enable the sealing of all of their eight children, three boys and five girls, as a single ordinance. As the ten of us knelt together at the alter, I felt such a spiritual rush, that I was impressed to conclude that this family welcomed our work to seal them togther as an eternal family, and I was also proud and happy regarding of our own family group.

I had never been a part of a sealing session before in which sealings of children to parents were performed in family groups rather than individually, and it was quite satisfying. We did sealings for a number of family groups in this manner. The sealer, Brother Richards, said that performing sealings in the way was an option given to temple presidents.

After the temple, we drove to South Weber to Angela’s for the pizza and pie. It was nice to see the grandchildren. Before we ate, Alison gave a nice tribute to Michael. A special treat was seeing Katrina and her fiancé, Troy. He seems like a fine young man. I am impressed that he seems motivated to be at our family gatherings. Other news: Alyssa reported that she has been accepted for college at BYU.
(Birthday pictures at ages 1,3,4,7,7,8,9,11)

We believe in Christ....

When I was a young LDS missionary beginning my service in Minnesota, I was puzzled by a response that the more experienced elders gave to a question sometimes asked by contacts: “Do you believe in being saved?” They had a ready answer: “ Yes, we are all saved from physical death through the resurrection of Christ. All mankind will be resurrected.”

Usually the questioner had a background from Calvinist or Augustinian doctrine (Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian), with teachings that all mankind are totally depraved, that God elects whom he will or will not save, that salvation comes as a gift from God and cannot be earned, and that once a person is committed to Christ (“saved” in their parlance), he or she cannot fall. Their question was not about the resurrection, but about being saved from sin and qualifying to live with God in heaven. The missionary answer begged the question.

The missionary then might continue, if pushed, to explain that we believe that we qualify for eternal salvation in heaven, by “obedience to the laws and ordinance of the gospel.” In my mind I had the thought, “Doesn’t the atonement and grace of Christ also play a part in our salvation?”

Retrospectively, I have come to the conclusion that our missionaries of earlier times might have arrived at a way of describing our doctrines that emphasized differences between our beliefs and those of other churches, a sort of layman’s “street doctrine” that developed more as a reaction to other churches than what our standard works actually taught.

Givens, in his wonderful BY THE HAND OF MORMON: THE AMERICAN SCRIPTURE THAT LAUNCHED A NEW WORLD RELIGION, (Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. 62-88) cites evidence that for many years the Book of Mormon was largely viewed by the Church as a sign or evidence of the Restoration and not utilized as a primary source of doctrine. Missionaries, early conference speakers (see Journal of Discourses), and even Joseph Smith, taught primarily from the Bible.

In my opinion, recent developments (President Benson’s challenge to us to immerse ourselves in the Book of Mormon, the use of the Book of Mormon as standard curriculum in seminary classes and Sunday School, publication of the missionary manual PREACH MY GOSPEL) that thrust the study of doctrines of the Book of Mormon upon Church members in a major way, has caused us to greatly deepen our understanding of doctrines of salvation, including:
– The central importance of Christ in our religion.
– The role of his atonement and of the grace of God in overcoming the effects of sin in our lives and in qualifying us for eternal life, including how Christ’s suffering meets the demands of justice and pays the price of our sins.
– The presence of the Spirit in our lives as a witness to us that we have been forgiven for our sins and are on the path to eternal life.

Journal, February 11, 2012

It was a pleasure to have David with us this week. It was a working trip, in which he spent time ever day with a testing person in the Provo Novell office, setting up a testing process on the software product that his is currently working on. He arrived late Sunday evening, and stayed nights with us until leaving for MA mid-Friday. He took the occasion to have a visit with each of his Utah County siblings and also with Rebecca’s family. (One of her brothers was entering the MTC on Wednesday,)

We appreciated having the chance to learn more about what is going on in their family and how the boys are developing. David and Rebecca are serving responsibly in their ward as counselors in the Elders Quorum and Primary. They are about fully occupied, like many in our family, in trying to meet and balance needs and expectations of parenting, work (in David’s case), and church. We are grateful to see evidence of what a fine, thoughtful, responsible, caring, and capable young man David has become.

We had another cabin week the week before last week. We had hoped to have family with us but delayed asking because of a predicted snowstorm that didn’t materialize. We spent an enjoyable afternoon on the Tuesday (1/31) with the Smedley’s, a Heber City couple that work in the temple with us. He is a (nearly) retired lawyer and patriarch of his stake. She preceded Wendy as the women’s coordinator for our Thursday pm shift. They raised a large and successful family. One of their family hobbies was backpacking in So Utah canyons, so we had a lot to reminisce about.

I was recently called as 11 year old scout leader. There is some kind of second calling possibly in the works also with the stake Young Men. I am waiting for more specifics about the latter.

I have been gradually picking up more duties in our scouting district in the Venturing area. I have been assisting with Venturing Round table. The RT Commissioner is Tracy Frandson, who is a local MD. He is a very effective Venturer Advisor and does a great job with the Round Table. He also is very busy. I help him organize each RT by arranging with Stake YM presidency member to help with parts of the RT and also have been leading a brief game or activity each month. I also taught Venturing Leader Specific training for our District a couple of Saturdays ago, and have a couple more appointments to repeat this training in two of our local stakes in the next few weeks.

The weather is still mild and dry. We had hoped to get an ice fishing day in, but the close-by reservoirs do not yet have good ice on them. We saw a handful of ice fishermen out on the very edge of Deer Creek near the inlet, but there was open water out beyond them. I would not feel very good about getting on that ice. Heber Valley had about 4-6 inches of snow on the ground. Here in Spanish Fork, the little snow that we had is all melted. Yesterday, the sun was out and the thermometer read 60 degrees mid-afternoon. Wendy and I have gotten into a better walking routine, and have gotten a 30 minute walk in almost every day for the last couple of weeks.
[Pictured: snow scenes from the cabin, including a couple of sunsets and the first morning sun shining on a snowman that someone built on the front deck.]

Rich, rewarding marriage relationship, #2

Wendy introduced me to the book THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGE, by Gary Chapman, and this author has some useful things to say about how to communicate love to a spouse. First, he suggests there might be five different ways (“languages”) in which love can be expressed. These are:
1) Words of affirmation (Complements, words of appreciation, encouragement, asking forgiveness, humble requests)
2) Quality time (Doing things together, empathetic listening, conversing on areas of interest)
3) Receiving gifts (Visual symbols of love)
4) Acts of services (Doing things that please your spouse)
5) Physical touch (Physical contact, holding hands, kissing, hugging, sexual intimacy)
(Note that each language also may “dialects”.)

Somehow, in our own developmental processes, from models we have or other experiences, we each develop individual patterns (languages) for expressing and identifying love. Typically persons learn to rely on one or two of the languages as primary. This may lead us to assume that when we are doing what we understand to be loving things (our language of love), that our partner is getting the message of our love for them. Likewise, it is possible that we may only credit our partner with expressing his/her love for us if they are doing these specific things that fit our way for identifying expressions of love (again, our language of love).

What if our partner has a different language of love and cannot recognize our efforts to express love? Or, what if we are unable to recognize his/her efforts to express love for us? Chapman suggests in these cases that each of us has a “love bucket” that remains unfilled. We are not experiencing the full rewards and fulfillment that marriage could have.

The solution: Each partner identify and share their particular language(s) of love (and dialects). Then each use those insights to improve their expressions of love by learning to speak (using) the other’s language.

How might one discover their own primary love language?
1) What does your spouse do or fail to do that hurts most deeply? The opposite probably is your love language.
2) What have you most often requested of your spouse? That thing is likely what would make you feel most loved.
3) In what way do you regularly express your love to your spouse? Your method may be an indication of that which would also make you feel loved.

“I want present salvation”

In our Gospel vocabulary, there are many words that communicate the ultimate blessings for an individual son or daughter of God which are provided in the Father’s Great Plan of Happiness, the eternal rewards that are available through the atonement and gift of Christ for those who obey his will on earth. Interestingly, almost of these blessings also have conditional meanings, in which an aspect of the blessing is also available to persons in the here-and-now. And most of these conditional blessings are evidenced by the presence of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul called this the “holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance...” (Eph. 1:14; 2 Cor. 1:22, 5:5), in other words a sort of “down payment” from God on the ultimate blessing of eternal life.

President Brigham Young taught this principle very clearly in regard to the term “salvation/saved”:
“If a person with an honest heart, a broken, contrite, and pure spirit, in all fervency and honesty of soul, presents himself and says that he wishes to be baptized for the remission of sins, and the ordinance is administered by one having authority, is that man saved? Yes, to that period of time. Should the Lord see proper to take him then from the earth, the man has believed and been baptized, and is a fit subject for heaven–a candidate for the kingdom of God in the celestial world, because he has repented and done all was required of him at that time....

“It is present salvation and the present influence of the Holy Ghost that we need every day to keep us on saving ground....

“I want present salvation. I preach, comparatively, but little about the eternities and Gods, and their wonderful works in eternity, and do not tell who first made them, not how they were made; for I know nothing about that. Life is for us, and it is for us to receive it today, and not wait for the Millennium. Let us take a course to be saved today, and, when evening comes, review the acts of the day, repent of our sins, if we have any to repent of, and say our prayers, then we can lie down and sleep in peace until the morning, arise with gratitude to God, commence the labors of another day, and strive to live the whole day to God and nobody else.

[Our work] is the work of the present. The salvation we are seeking is for the present, and sought correctly, it can be obtained and continually enjoyed. If it continues today, it is upon the principles that it will continue tomorrow, the next day, the next week, or the next year, and we might say, the next eternity.

“If we are saved, we are happy, we are filled with light, glory, intelligence, and we pursue a course to enjoy the blessings that the Lord has in store for us. If we continue to pursue that course, it produces just the thing we want, that is, to be saved forever and forever, which will amount to eternal salvation. (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 8:124-125; 6:278; 1:131, quoted in Robert Millet, “Joseph Smith and Calvinism”, BYU Studies, Vol. 50, No. 4, 2011, pp. 26-27)

Some scriptures which seem to refer to a person being “saved” or having “salvation” in the present include: 1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 6:2; Titus 3:4-7.

Here are some other examples of similar terms that have two meanings, both 1) eternal and absolute and also 2) able to be experienced conditionally in mortality, with a sampling of some scriptural references that may indicate the latter:

1) Enter into the rest of the Lord (Alma 12:37; Alma 13:3, 6; Moroni 7:3). In the conditional sense, this may be synonymous with receiving the companionship and peace of the Spirit or being born again.

2) Redeemed/Redemption (called “preparatory” in Alma 13:3). This refers to being bought by Christ (he paid the price of one’s sins), or having been forgiven.

3) Justified (blameless, or having forgiveness or a remission of sins through Christ and his Gospel, Mosiah 4:3; Moroni 10:32-33)

4) Sanctified (being holy, without spot, through the grace of Christ, beginning with the reception of the Holy Ghost, Moroni 10:32-33; called saints, meaning sanctified ones, 1 Cor 1:2)

5) Perfected (Moroni (chapter 10:32-33) speaks of being perfected in Christ through his grace and atonement by being joined with him).

6) Life (Salvation, having the Gospel, John 8:12; Acts 11:18; 1 John 3:14, 5:16; Alma 5:34)

Implications: For Church members, recognizing the present receipt of these heavenly blessings may increase our sense of appreciation for the gifts of God and may give us increased comfort and hope and sustain us as we try to continue on the path to eternal life.

Rich, rewarding marriage relationship, #1

Here are some thoughts about things I have learned that seem to help to maintain a rich, rewarding relationship in marriage:

1) Be extremely appreciative
Be quick to identify and gives thanks to your partner for specific things that he/she does for you and your family. Try not to miss anything, big or little. Try to credit every attempt at service to you or action toward you involving a good intention, even if it may have missed the mark in some way.

2) Give service constantly
Look for little ways (and big–but lots of little are better than occasional big) to serve your partner, to provide comfort, to make life easier or better for them. Surprises are good.

3) Fix problems fast
If you even have a hint that you may have given offense to your partner in some way, initiate an apology. Your relationship is generally more important than who is right and wrong. On the other hand, be slow to take offense. If you feel you must raise an issue needing to be resolved, try to present it in private, in a non-threatening way (as a specific action, not a trait), and bracketed with praise and appreciation. At the same time, be willing to hear criticism of your own actions.

Regarding all three of the above, try not to worry about how your partner performs. Concentrate on your own actions.

Also be patient. Recognize that there are stages in the life of a family or situations that arise in which parents may not have much energy and time to work on their relationship.

Dear Christopher

Dear Christopher:
Thank you for the letter. I was really impressed with your hand-writing. It was so clean and clear.
You asked that I tell you of a memory from my grade school. There was a time when Mrs. Berglund, who was my teacher in about the 4th or 5th grade, decided that she would introduce her class to some classical music. She knew that we were all farm kids, and I guess she thought we were all pretty ignorant of the better things of life. She brought some records to play on a phonograph. That was the way that you listened to recorded music in those days.
She started the music. It was a symphony orchestra playing. She asked the class if anyone had ever heard this music before. I raised my hand. I guess I might have been a sort of a Smart-Alec at times. I said, “It is The Toreador Song, from the opera Carmen, by Bizet.” I remember her surprised look, and kids in the class were impressed also.
This music was on a record that my Mother often played in our home.
Love, Grandpa Lewis

Dear Christopher,
Thank you for your letter. You have very nice penmanship.
My most favorite memory from elementary school was during the second grade when I was 8 years old.
My teacher told me it was okay to be left-handed. She helped me with things like scissors and rulers. She showed me how to hold a pencil so that I didn’t have to turn the paper or my arm and hand. Also, the way she showed me how to hold the pencil made it so that the pencil lead or ink didn’t smear on the paper or my hand. I will never forget her kindness and helpfulness. She taught me things that have helped me throughout my whole life. She taught me to do my very best.
Have a great day at school!
Love, Grandma Wendy

Unseasonably warm

When we arrived at the family cabin on Monday afternoon, the thermometer read 57 degrees. The Heber Valley landscape was devoid of any snow. There was a little ice around the edges of the upper part of Deer Creek reservoir, but it appeared to be thawing.

Good fortune in 2012

In deference and recognition of our time in rural North Carolina, we ate collards and black-eyed peas on this New Year's Day. It is said that by doing this, good fortune will be ours in the coming year.