More Lewis family connections

As I get time, I continue to work on Lewis family history.  For about the last year, I have been researching the descendants of Theophilus Lewis who was probably the brother of our ancestor John Lewis. Theophilus was the direct ancestor of Guy Lewis.  Guy had planned to publish a book on that family when he died unexpectedly around 1990 and there are quite a few materials about Theophilus' descendants in the records Wendy and I copied while in NC.  My tentative plans have been to add some more volumes to The Lewis Family books that I was able to publish in 2011 covering Theophilus’ descendants.  Theophilus had 10 children, 8 of whom lived to maturity and I have just completed my research on the 6th of the 8, whose name was Robert Pinckney Lewis.  When I find out as much as I can about a family, I then run the names of those born 110 years of more ago for temple work.  I have been getting 20 or so names for each of these families.

It was fun to make contact with a descendant of Robert P. Lewis.  Her name is Kathie Pagan Shanno.  She is a direct descendant of Kate Lewis Cahill, who wrote the letter in 1935 that I quoted from recently in a blog about the early Lewis's in Rockignham NC.  Kathie was born in 1943, and is married to a retired Rudgers U professor.  She had submitted a bunch of information on her immediate ancestors to Ancestry.com.  We have talked on the phone and are in the process of sending each other details of what we know about tha part of the family.

Not too far distant in the family of Robert P. Lewis from the Shannos is Peggy Ann Rayburn (born 1939) , who is married to a scholarly Chinese National named Te-Hsui Ma (born 1924).  I found a some fascinating things about him on the web.  He escaped from China on the last boat to Taiwan (about 1949-50) just ahead of the take-over by the Communist army, and eventually was able to come to America, earned his doctorate at the U of Virginia in biology and has become an internationally known expert on pollution monitoring.  Here are write-ups about him, first, his own account of his early life and then a bio on of his scholarly attainments:
     Note about his escape from mainland China ahead of the Communist army--http://www.ntueg.com/Memoir/PDF/AMa.pdf
The most memorable events in the journey to National Taiwan University during the retreat of the government of the Republic of China were:  Taking the last boat from Tian Jin sea port to Taiwan island, the danger in a poorly equipped small freight vessel converted into a passenger boat, the broken engine incidence at sea, the lack of living facilities in the newly repossessed National Taiwan University campus, depreciation of new currency and potential starvation during the period of revolt at the first anniversary of ROC invasion, taking a part-time teaching job to survive during the graduate study.  Luckily I got a highly paid job as a Research Assistant in the Taiwan Sugar Company for me to save enough money to buy a one-way ticket to the University of Virginia.
     Biography, Te-Hsiu  Ma, accessed 13 Mar 2013   http://www.ntueg.com/Memoir/PDF/BMa1.pdf 
Te-Hsiu Ma was born in suburbs of Tianjin and Beijing.  After elementary school, he attended “Jefferson Academy” in Tong Hsian city and completed high school in Beijing.  He received BS degree from The Catholic University of Peking (Fu-Jen University) and went to National Taiwan University with a Scholarship in the Research Institute of Botany and graduated with a MS degree in Genetics and Ecology.  He worked in Taiwan Sugar Experiment Station (5 years) as Research Assistant.  He received scholarship from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA and completed Ph D in Biology.  He taught at Emory and Henry College, Emory, VA (5 years), Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL (33 years) with a three-year leave to work at Radiation Biology Laboratory of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.  During his teaching years, he carried out collaborative research works with Oak Ridge (ORNL), Argonne (ANL) and Brookhaven National Laboratories (BNL) in environmental science and radiation biology.  He developed an environmental monitoring system, using germ cells of Tradescantia plant while working at BNL, and established an International Environmental Monitoring Organization to carry out global environmental monitoring project with the support of World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and NATO/Environment Science and Technology (EST) Programs to detect pollution in the air, water and soil around the world.  Currently, more than 40 countries are partners of this global environmental protection network.  This global environmental protection work is continuing during his retirement years.  
     Article on his work as a Bio-med researcher, regarding Environmental Pollutant Detection
Co-chair of conference July 7, 2004
MACOMB, IL - - More than 30 scientists from 14 world nations gathered July 6 at Western Illinois University for the opening ceremonies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Advanced Study Institute (ASI) on Plant Bioassay on the Genotoxicity of Contaminated Water, Air and Soil.
The institute, which runs through July 16, deals with the detection of genetic damage from common pollutants, radioactive pollutants and the contaminants from warfare in water, air and soil through biological tests on onion (Allium) and spiderwort (Tradescantia) plants. Participants receive hands-on learning through daily laboratory sessions, tutorial instruction and experimentations.
"Genetic materials in plant cells are more sensitive to pollutants than those of animal cells because there is less protection in plant tissues from the impact of pollutants," said Te-Hsiu Ma, Western Illinois University biological sciences professor emeritus, who serves as co-director of the institute along with Professor Rouben Aroutiounian from Armenia, under the directorship of Dr. Alain Jubier, NATO Science Affairs Division.
"These genetic tests which are highly sensitive, simple and economical have been used in more than 40 countries across five continents for more than 30 years."
"Special emphasis for the Institute will be aimed at radioactive and warfare contaminants in the environment in the eastern European area, and reports of the follow-up studies will be published to show the status of pollution level in these countries and the potential genetic damage to the ecosystem and human health," Ma said. "In the long run, this monitoring program could contribute to homeland security of this area."
Eight international scientists are joining Ma in presenting specialized evening lectures which highlight collaborative studies including chemassay (chemical analysis), bio-indicators (tangible data), ecology (ecosystem and human health), epidemiology (human disease), meteorology (ozone depletion, UV-B radiation, cosmic rays and solar flare), pharmacology (genotoxicity of drugs), agricultural sciences (soil contamination) and homeland security (in situ monitoring to provide first alert of hazards).

Article on marital success #2: Lower marital conflict in 21 minutes a month

In this article published in the Deseret News 9 Mar 2013, Lois Collins reports on a study of marital satisfaction by researchers at Northwestern and Villanova Universities.  In this study, married persons were asked to individually spend seven minutes, three times a month, writing about the most recent conflict with their spouse, from a neutral perspective.  This meant not just listing grievances or venting, but trying to think about the spat from both sides, as if one were an observer who simply wanted the best for everyone.

It did not appear from that article that these persons were necessarily required to share their conclusions directly with their partner.

When this procedure was implemented, the researchers saw significant differences in marital satisfaction for these persons.  While the couples fought as often as before, they did not seem to become as distressed as before and a number of other indicators of marital satisfaction showed improvement.

These positive effects were present no matter whether the couples had been married one month or 50 years.  According to one of the authors, “there is nothing magical about seven minutes– except it is long enough to really engage someone in the activity of doing an appraisal and not so long it’s cumbersome.”

Article on marital success #1: Forgiveness in Marriage

I call your attention to a significant article in the Church News of March 3, 2013 on “Forgiveness in Marriage: Researcher shares tools to create healthier relationships,” a Marjorie Pay Hinckley lecture at BYU given by Dr. Frank Fincham of Florida State University’s Family Institute.  He stated, “A happy marriage is a union of two good forgivers.”  (These ideas would seem to me to have implications, in addition to our marriages, for all of our relationships as we try to implement Christ’s commandment to be forgiving to all, including our enemies.)

Here are some of his conclusions:
– Forgiveness is a process, not an event.  We should develop forgiveness as a way of life.
– One the top five attributes of long-term happy marriages is the ability to grant and receive forgiveness.
– According to Dr. Fincham, forgiveness
     1) Is NOT forgetting (“forgetting is just a passive removal of the offense from your consciousness” and may continue to bother you and cause a destructive response at some time when you least expect it.).
     2) Does NOT include a lack of consequences for the perpetrator.
     3) Is NOT about pretending that unacceptable behavior is acceptable.
     4) Does NOT necessarily require that you have to be reconciled to the person.
– Rather, forgiveness is “more like giving up the perceived right to get even...a response to being wronged that entails a change in which justified anger and resentment are freely given up...  It’s not something that just happens easily, because you have to overcome the negative feelings engendered by the transgression...  In forgiveness the transgressor receives an undeserved gift [from you]... forgivenss [is] an altruistic act.”

Dr. Fincham suggested that forgiveness is a learned skill.  He  offered six ways for individuals to become more forgiving:
1) Pray for the other person.  (This is an interesting first suggestion, coming as it was from a non-LDS academic person.)
2) Have a structured plan (for yourself): See things through the other’s eyes. Accept that the other persons’s views and memory may differ from yours.  You don’t have agree on details to forgive.  See them as a whole person, more than just the offending behavior.
3) Be patient, both with yourself and the other person.
4) Set an agenda, to work on the issue with the other person.  This may not be a one-time discussion.
5) Apologize and ask for forgiveness.
6) Remember times when you were the offender.     

Some early Lewis history

Here are some excerpts from a letter written in 1937 by Kate Lewis Cahill (b. 1866 - d. 1955) who was a granddaughter of Theophilus Lewis, the latter probably a brother of our John Lewis who married Elizabeth Sams:
Lewis Family
Early Pioneers of North Carolina –
    Descending from ancestors of Wales England, the Forefathers of the Lewis Family of North Carolina came over from Wales to the States for Homes of freedom, Liberty and Social privileges – the right to education and religious beliefs – Arriving first at Charleston South Carolina, they naturally lifted their eyes to the Hills –  The Blue Ridge Mountains –This in the early part of 1700.  Loading their families and meager baggage in covered wagons, drawn by teams of horses, they journeyed to the State of North Carolina and when getting to one of the foothills of Carolina’s mountains in Rockingham Co., four miles from Madison in East– horses given out – some of the wagons broken down, they decided to go no further, here “the Lord seems to be in this place” was their cry.  So trees were felled, houses built, and from these sturdy Pioneers came my present day family of Lewises – Heads for the first to arrive was that of John and Thomas – my Great ancestors from which came my Grandfather – Theophilus Lewis – whose wife was Nancy PATSY Thomas – to them were borne 8 children – four boys – Robert Lewis was my father – Thomas, John and William and four daughters, Mary Lewis, Nancy Ray, Sally Baughn and Martha Laudenslager – these raised large families except Mary who never married, was an early teacher and mantuamaker and milliner of Madison.
    These Sturdy Lawabiding people took their places in various industries and trades – Serving their country in war as well as peace times.  The old cemetery in which these early Settlers are buried is located upon Baughn mountain, under the shadow of an old Poplar Tree which in time past might be seen like a Sentinel of History – just above the Home of the Late Lee Lauden on the Leaksville Road East of Madison about four miles – Some graves marked with Soapstone markers while others with granite dates and names, while some not marked at all – no other graveyards near as I know of except family plot near Stoneville NC at old Homestead of John Lewis of this family and the Stoneville Cemetery – served descendants buried there – none any nearer to Mayodan that I know.
    One branch of the Lewis family lived up near Sandy Ridge – Hugh JOHN Lewis, wife Sally Lewis whose sons and daughters lived and reared families which have spread out into Stokes and Forsyth Co.  Sons of this family Lafayette and “Poet” Powhaton both served in Confederate war.  “Fayette” carried a bayonet wound in his back as long as he lived – To their family Pleasant Webster first 3rd wife belonged called Susan Lewis Webster.
    Characteristics of Lewis –
Industry, Honesty and eminent piety – many preachers of the gospel –Tom and John licensed to preach – The late Dr. Calvin John Jones of Leaksville, prominent Baptist Theological Student and Pastor in State; and with an eager striving for education, many responsible Callings were theirs – One [OR Our] prominent Dr. Ray, MD, now living at Leaksville NC.  The finger of history points to many others even to Senator Hamilton Lewis of Ill.

More on guilt

In my book for my grandchildren on the Gospel ("Nearer to God: the Book of Mormon and the Good News of Christ–Scriptural studies on the experience of redemption"), in a chapter that addressed what I consider to be one of the most significant topics, I considered the matter of guilt:
“Guilt is both abstract and personal, or both fact and feeling, as suggested by this dictionary definition: 1) the fact of having committed a breach of conduct, esp. violating a law and involving a penalty, and 2) the feeling of culpability for offenses.” (pp. 143-144)

I described in some detail my understanding of the eternal sense of the first meaning and how the atonement of Christ addresses this problem.  Now I have found some interesting notions regarding the second meaning, that of how personal guilt is experienced, in the writings of the Givens (“A God Who Weeps”).

In discussing the moral awareness that we have as adults, the authors assert that “we sense we are responsible for our own choices.  And the reason we know we are is because we feel guilt when we do something wrong.” 

In defining guilt, they differentiate between “legitimate” guilt and the “oppressive, destructive self-loathing or self hatred that masquerades as conscience: by guilt we mean the inward call to be truer to our better selves.  Legitimate guilt is to the spirit what the sharp protest of a twisted ankle is to the foot: its purpose is to hurt enough to stop you from crippling yourself further.  Its function is to prevent more pain, not expand it.  This kind of guilt comes from the light and beckons us to follow; its counterfeit takes us only deeper into the darkness of despair.” (pp. 48-49)

They explain that there are modern notions that explain away legitimate feelings of guilt “but no rationalization can allay the insistent knowledge that we all confess in moments of secret honesty: we do wrong because we make a decision to do so, and we feel guilty because we know we could have acted differently.“ (p. 49)

“Sin...is a condition we assume when we place ourselves in opposition to those moral laws that undergird the structure of reality.  This condition is naturally one of alienation from God, from those we love, and from “the better angels” of our own nature. Sin is not an arbitrary category God imposes.  And it is not synonymous with simple error or misjudgment.  This is a truth, like others we are examining, that is best revealed in the searchlight of honest introspection.  We know the difference between regret and remorse.  We regret giving erroneous directions that get the stranger lost.  We feel remorse for the slander deliberately spoken.  We regret an action that leads to harm.  We feel remorse for choosing that action to inflict harm.  Legitimate guilt, the kind we cannot explain away or therapeutically resolve, involves more than bad judgment or human error.  The degree of guilt we experience is proportional to the deliberateness with which we cause hurt.” (pp. 79-80)

A sinful action is “a gesture of permanent self-definition.  What is always at stake in any decision we make is what that the choice turns us into.  We may suffer the unfortunate consequences of other peoples’ choices.  People may honor or abuse us, harm or nourish us.  But for the most part, it is our own choices that shape our identity.” (p. 81)

Therefore, real guilt is a spiritual warning that we have made a choice, if left uncorrected, that will make us less than we could be and should be.

VOA members at training retreat

VOA members at the Venturing Leadership Skills Course (VLSC) retreat.  Paper tower building for the planning session and the Potato City Council for the session on leadership styles. (the latter: Dallin, Jory, Zach, Dillon, and Max).  And we had three wonderful meals there, thanks to Wendy.

Cabin week

We had our first week at the Borg family cabin this past week.  We actually had the place from Monday morning Feb11th through Monday evening Feb 18th, due to a family rule that holiday Mondays attach to the prior week.  This is the first time we have had the 8-day week, because there are other couples who snatch these weeks up when the selection meeting is held.  We happened to take this particular week on our first turn because I had a Venturing training retreat planned for Friday and Saturday.

There were several pretty sunrises and we saw three deer early one morning that appeared to have spent the night under our overhang.

I or we made lots of trips back and forth.  We went there first on Monday by way of Salt Lake, because Wendy had a birthday lunch with her sisters.  I drove back and forth to Spanish Fork Tuesday evening for 11 year old scouts.  On Wednesday night Wendy and I returned to Spanish Fork to get ready for our temple assignments.  We were home Wednesday and Thursday nights and went back up to the cabin Friday afternoon after our temple shift (6 am to 11 am) and doing an endowment session.  There was a transportation mix-up that caused me to drive a couple of the VOA back to Spanish Fork early Saturday afternoon.  I went back to the cabin immediately but drove back to Spanish Fork after the BYU basketball game broadcast to be at a meeting of the Stake YM Presidency Sunday morning at 7:15 am that I conducted since the President was out of town.  I got back to Midway at about 10 am, and we went to a Church meeting at 11.

We had company most of the time we were there.  Michael was there from Monday through Wednesday.  We had 5 guys form our stake VOA there Friday evening through Saturday early afternoon plus Richard K my assistant advisor.  Hilary and kids came about the time the VOA was leaving and stayed until Sunday afternoon and then Sunday evening, Wendy’s long-time friends, Jill and Gavin, from her old SL ward came up Sunday evening and stayed until Monday afternoon.

We went to church Sunday at the Midway stake building.
(Pictures: Sunrise scenes, deer, VOA)

A God who weeps

Wendy and I have been reading together from a little book by Terryl and Fiona Givens, “A God Who Weeps” and are being touched by the insights there.  It is sort of a tract on Mormonism, but more than this, a remarkably sensitive and refined statement of why we choose to believe what we believe.  Here is part of a passage about our belief in God and what we believe about him, which raises my appreciation for Him and also gives some insights into the way He works:

"The most remarkable religious document published in the nineteenth century may well be the ascension narrative in which the prophet Enoch is taken into heaven and records his ensuing vision [in P of G P, Moses, chapter 7].  He sees Satan’s dominion over the earth, and God’s unanticipated response to a world veiled in darkness: “The God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains? And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep?
 
"The question here is not about the reasons behind God’s tears.  Enoch does not ask, why do you weep, but rather, how are your tears even possible, “seeing thou are holy, and from all eternity to eternity?”  Clearly, Enoch, who believed God to be “merciful and kind forever,” did not expect such a being could be moved to the point of distress by the sins of His children.  And so a third time he asks, “how is it thou canst weep?”
 
"The answer, it turns out, is that God is not exempt from emotional pain.  Exempt?  On the contrary, God’s pain is as infinite as his love.  He weeps because he feels compassion.  As the Lord explains to Enoch, “unto thy brethren I have said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood . . . and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?”

"It is not their wickedness, but their “misery,” not their disobedience, but their “suffering.” that elicits the God of Heaven’s tears.  Not until Gethsemane and Golgotha does the scriptural record reveal so unflinchingly the costly investment of God’s love in His people, the price at which He placed His heart upon them.  There could be nothing in this universe, or in any possible universe, more perfectly good, absolutely beautiful, worthy of adoration, and deserving of emulation, than this God of love and kindness and vulnerability.  This is why a gesture of belief in His direction, a decision to acknowledge His virtues as the paramount qualities of a divided universe, is a response to the best in us, the best and noblest of which the human soul is capable.  A God without body or parts is conceivable.  But a God without passions would engender in our hearts neither love nor interest.  In the vision of Enoch, we find ourselves drawn to a God who prevents all the pain He can, assumes all the suffering He can, and weeps over the misery He can neither prevent nor assume." 
(Terryl Givens and Fiona Givens, “The God who Weeps: How Mormons Make Sense of Life,” Ensign Peak, 2012, pp. 24-25)

I take it that we need to follow this example in order to grow in our ability to love, and be willing to experience both the joy and vulnerability of love.

Cold, cold, cold

This is a sunset scene looking eastward down our street toward Spanish Fork Peak/Sierra Bonita/Maple Mountain.  We have had our fill of snow and cold.  There are piles of snow several feet high where people have pushed the snow when clearing their driveways with their little ATVs or riding mowers (Johnny Deere) with plow blades.  I still am feeling not "in the mode" having only now a snowblower to manage the snow on our property.  What an injustice--I have to walk behind my machine.

And the cold continues.  We think that we are approaching three weeks since the last time that the temperature was above 32 degrees.  And we had a huge snowstorm in the middle of this cold spell.  It reminds me of my mission winter in Dauphin, Manitoba, where we had more than 90 days of freeze-up.  The temperature dipped below 32 degrees mid November and we didn't see a day with thawing until late February.

We had another pipe-freeze episode a few days ago.  We got home about 11:30 pm from a get-to-gether with Wendy's sibs in SL, having been away since about 3 pm, and there was again no water flowing in the house.  We knew just what to do--get out the hairdryer and warm the inlet pipe that is in the cold west wall of the house.  After about 25 minutes the water flowed again.  What a relief!!  We resolved that with the temperature well below freezing that we would never again go away for an extended time (maybe more than three hours?) or go to bed without leaving the kitchen faucet dripping.

Our Eagle tradition continues

We have now added stars to our family Eagle display for Jeremy and Justin.  Hopefully, we will be able to add many other stars.

This of course is Grandma JoAnn’s Eagle Mother scarf.  I am confident that she is very pleased by these accomplishments of her grandsons and is happy to donate her scarf for this purpose. 

I recall a time after Nathan had finished his Eagle when she came through the door into our ward cultural hall wearing this scarf.  Earl Mullennax was present and he jumped to attention, gave her military salute, and said, “Here comes a four star mother.”  Very true.

Now she is a four star mother and an eight star grandmother– and counting...

Frozen pipes

It has been very cold here.  Our car thermometer said as low at minus 4 degrees as we drove to the temple Friday morning, starting about 5:30 am.  The daytime highs have been below 20 degrees.  When we got home from the temple at about at about 2:45 pm, we had no running water.  I talked this through with Matthew, then first checked with a couple of neighbors to find that they had running water in order to rule out that the city had shut down our water line.  Since none of the faucets were delivering water, it was apparent that there was blockage in the water line before it reached the distribution point which is in the wall in our laundry room.  The water line to our house comes in from 820 East to the east side of our house, and there is an inside shutoff valve low in the west wall of the downstairs family room.  Matthew reasoned that the most likely place for the intake line to freeze would be in the pipe beyond the shutoff valve that first rises to basement ceiling level then travels along the out side wall for a few feet until it turns inward at the middle of the house to go to the distribution point.  The line in from the street is buried under several feet of soil and would not be exposed to the cold temperature. 

We decide to get a plumber to our house to restore water and were able to find one who arrived by about 5 pm.  He said that he was confident that the freezing was in the main shutoff valve out by the street.  In their experience, this is by far the most common place for water line freezing, as there is only a metal plate to protect the line from cold temperatures.  We located valve cover under the snow.  He removed the cover, then stretched a power cord out to the place and plugged in a hair blow dryer and started the de-freezing process.  After about an hour of heating this valve, he looked further inside at the line that beyond the inside shutoff that Matthew had fingered as the problem area.  Wendy loaned him her hair dryer and he began to heat that line up from the inside shutoff valve.  Apparently both the line at the outside valve and the line along the cold wall beyond the inside valve were frozen.  Eventually the blockage in the outside line thawed and then added some pluggage to the inside freeze-up.  At about 7:30 pm we heard a roaring noise at the kitchen faucet that we had kept wide open and then the water appeared. 

We were quite relieved to have water again.  It was a good reminder of how precarious and essential this kind of resource is and of the need to store water, food, and other supplies, for emergencies of all sorts.

Our plumber thought that the freeze-up probably started at the outside valve and then with no movement in the line the inside freeze-up followed.  He suggested that we get some insulation (of the kind that goes in walls) and use it to fill up the cavity between the cover and the outside shutoff valve as a way to help prevent this from happening again.

Added temple shift

Wendy and I have added a second temple shift in the Provo Temple, early mornings on Friday (Shift 1).  It takes 21 shifts to operate the temple, four each for Tuesday through Saturday and an early morning shift on Monday.   Each shift requires perhaps 60-70 men and 70-80 women to cover all the needed assignments.  Most all of the shifts are shorthanded, and we felt we were capable of doing more. 

Before Wendy’s assignment as Asst. Shift Coordinator for the women on Thursday Shift 2, we did both Shift 1 and Shift 2 on Thursdays.  She had a couple of hours of preparation meetings for her assignment on Shift 2, so we had to give up Shift 1.  On Thursdays Wendy needs to arrive at the Temple  before 9 am preparing for the shift which covers the hours 11 am to 4 pm.  I sometimes use the extra two hours to make a visit to Nathan and Gloria, to do family initiatories, or go up to third floor and help Shift 1 with officiating at the veil.

For Friday Shift 1, we need to be at the temple and dressed for a 6:20 preparation meeting.  The shift ends at 11 am.  After finishing the shift, we had lunch in the temple cafeteria and then did our weekly family endowment session.

This shift is very low on numbers of workers, compared to either of our Thursday shifts.  We are needed.

Also, we were a little surprised at how different the procedures were for Friday Shift 1 compared to what we have been used to.  The comparison is quite interesting to us.  I have always been a kind of a procedures person, interested in what ways of doing things are most efficient and effective.  Wendy and I have lots to talk about.

Coping with youth dance music

As an assignment in connection with my calling as a member of the Stake Young Mens Presidency, Wendy and I served as chaperones for an area youth New Years Eve dance last evening.  We were pleased to see Megan, Erin, and Jeremy in attendance. 

The music was very loud, which made me grateful to be a wearer of hearing aids.  I found a simple way to cut the volume down to a level that I could tolerate without pain–I simply turned the hearing aids off.

A record-setting year for books as gifts

This Christmas set the records for me for the number of books I was given as gifts, eight, counting two puzzle books.  I look forward to a rich year of reading.  Thank you all.

Doctrine and Covenants Reference Companion, edited by Dennis Largey and Larry Dahl.  This is a very large encyclopedic dictionary of the D&C reference made up of 885 topical entries by top LDS scholars, mostly BYU religion faculty.  It has some personal attraction, as we have gotten to know well and appreciate Larry Dahl who is currently serving as a counselor in our Provo temple Presidency.

The American Covenant: One Nation Under God, Vol. II, by Timothy Ballard.  This is Valerie’s recommendation.  The author is LDS and a retired CIA agent, who presents his research on the spiritual bases for this county, its constitution, and the lives of its founders and leaders.

Dews of Heaven: Answers to Life’s Questions from the Doctrine and Covenants, by Breck England.  The author is Franklin-Covey’s writer-in-chief, who presents insights from the D&C about various challenges that are common to persons.

Temple and Cosmos (The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol 12)
Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple (The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol 17)
I am setting out to do more study of the temple, and these two volumes contain major writings of Brother Nibley about temples.

Act in Doctrine: Spiritual Patterns for Turning from Self to the Savior, by David A. Bednar.  The latest book by my favorite general authority.

Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America’s Eagle Scouts, by Alvin Townly.  Recommended by Matthew, this book gives stories of contributions to this country by men who are eagles scouts.

Two Sudoku books

I was also able to pull together some things I have written mostly based upon study of the Book of Mormon which have a focus on how the redemptive power of the Saviour is experienced and to present this as a sort of legacy document for our family.  I hope my love for the gospel, the Book of Mormon, and for each member of our family is evident. 

Selling of Grandma's house

JoAnn and I were given Grandma and Grandpa Evan's house in Spanish Fork as an inheritance ten or so years ago and I have been renting it out since then.  On Tuesday, we closed on the sale of the house to a construction company that will likely build a couple more homes on the property.  

I have been working toward this for most of 2012.  I hired a surveyor who laid out a three lot subdivision, a small lot north of the house where Grandma Evans had her garden, and a larger lot on the east side of the property.  I worked with the real estate agent, Dallin Nelson,  who helped Nathan and Gloria purchase their house, to plan the subdivision.  I went through hearings with Spanish Fork city to get approvals and had lots of contacts with city officials to get the details right and meet city requirements.  I got the electricity installed to the lots.  I had dialog with several contractors who might potentially have installed lateral sewer, water, and pressurized irrigation lines to the two new lots.  

Once the new subdivision was approved and recorded with Utah County, a few weeks ago, Dallin began to market the places for sale, and a builder, Icon homes, came along and wanted to buy the properties as a package, as is.  So we sold it at a price that seemed fair to both of us.  My efforts to create a subdivision gave us a fairly good gain over just selling the house alone, but still will leave Icon with the ability to profit from their construction.  Selling it now means we won’t have to come up with money to finish installing the laterals (possible about $30,000) and I will never have to manage a rental property again in my lifetime.  I had lots of discussion with my tax CPA about whether to invest in another property to avoid paying capital gains taxes on the sale, but decided, based on his input, that the potential amount of these taxes would not outweigh other risks or advantages of putting the money in another rental property.

When the money for the sale actually appeared yesterday in our bank account, I was surprised at the great feeling of relief that came over me.

Van Noy 12, BYU Offense 11, SDSU 6

BYU's Kyle Van Noy--have you seen a greater game by a defensive football player ever? A blocked punt, causing a game-changing fumble and recovery for a touchdown, a pick-six, numerous tackles, hurries of the q-back, constant disruptions to the SDSU offense.  Wow, another game for the ages, for viewing on re-run Friday on KBYU.  The whole game was a Van Noy highlight reel!

Advisers of Young Men who are leaders

I had a great conversation with Quin about the problem that occurs repeatedly in the AP/YM programs, that the adults who are called to work with young men cannot seem to get out of the way and let the boys practice leadership.  Whether this is due to ignorance (never been trained otherwise), laziness (it takes more effort to prepare a boy to lead than to do it yourself), or not being able to stand to see things done in a less than perfect way (most adults know better than a boy how to plan, organize, instruct, etc.), the result is that opportunities for the boy to prepare for future leadership responsibilities is stifled.  We have heard a statement that reflects the desires of the general authorities and the goals of AP/YM program for the adults who have AP/YM callings: “You are not called as leaders of young men, you are called as advisers of young men who have been called as leaders of young men.”

Quin suggested that I look at a couple of videos on lds.org that teach that principle: One shows a young man conducting a Teachers quorum presidency meeting and then a quorum meeting.  I especially liked the presidency meeting, where the quorum president takes the presidency  through all their business and then at the very end turns to the Adviser (who until this time we have not seen and who has not said a word) and asks, Bro. ____, do you have anything to add?” as the video fades out.

It is interesting to me that the 15 year old quorum president, a big blonde curly-haired kid, confident but humble, is none other than Tyler Haws, of current BYU basketball excellence.  I was excited that his presence may make the message of the videos more persuasive to adults and youth alike.  I have been hoping to be able to use these videos to present this message in a training meeting in January.

Interestingly, as Wendy and I were on the BYU campus yesterday to buy something at the BYU bookstore, waiting to cross the street from the parking lot to the Student building, a fairly tall young man, with blonde curly hair, walked up to the stop.  I said to him, “You’re Tyler Haws,” and he said he was.  I explained that I was in a Stake YM Presidency and we were previewing the videos he made as a Teachers President about 7 years ago.  I thanked him for the power in those videos to help us promote good leadership training and experience for young men in the Church.  He thanked me in a humble way.  He said that when they filmed these meetings there was no preparation or rehearsals–he was asked to just conduct the meeting the way that he normally did.

Another eagle in the family

I am proud of Justin who had his eagle board of review this past Thursday and is now an eagle scout.  I was amused at the preparations his ward made to help him do well at the board.  I saw a 2-page paper that someone had prepared that contained a list of possible questions that an eagle board might ask.  Justin and Scott had gone through the list, and Justin had answers ready.

How would you answer this question: "If Scouting wanted to add another point to the Scout law, what would be your recommendation?"  After I hear from several of your as to your response, I will tell you what Justin's recommendation was.  I thought it was quite astute.

Mormon moment in sports

Talk about “Mormon Moments.”  There is a young Latter-day saints athlete who is absolutely the top prospect in their sport  in each of the sports of baseball, football, and basketball:

Baseball: Bryce Harper,
20 years old, from Los Vegas, NV
6'3", 215 lbs.
Outfielder for the Washington Nationals of the American League, 2012 American League All-star (youngest player ever selected), 2012 AL rookie of the year, 22 home runs, batted .270.

While many young Mormons take two years in their early 20s to perform a mission trip for the church, the author of a Harper biography writes that Harper chose baseball as his mission.
“I feel I can be a walking Book of Mormon and help people on the baseball field and off it,” Harper told Miech.  In college, Harper inscribed his bat and the tape around his wrists with Scripture verses, including 2 Samuel 22:33-34, which encompasses a song from the Jewish hero David after an epic battle with King Saul. “God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect,” the song says. “He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me on high places.”
The verse is fitting for a rocket-armed rookie who is one of the fastest runners on his team.
(Dan Gilgoff - CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor)

Football: Manti Te’o, senior linebacker for Notre Dame
21 years old, from Laie, Hawaii,  6'2", 255 lbs.
Was the most highly recruited athlete for any sport, in the history of the state of Hawaii.  Awarded the HS Butkus award as best Prep linebacker in the US.
In college, 2009 Freshman All-American, 2010 Second Team All-American (as a sophmore), 2011 Second Team All-American and 2011 Second Team Academic All-American (as a junior).
Projected top NFL draft pick, but turned down NFL offers to complete his senior college year. Emotional leader for team and top tackler with interceptions and fumble recoveries
Heisman trophy candidate

Te'o is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2009, when Te'o was being recruited by 29 college football teams, it was his belief in prayer that led him to ultimately chose Notre Dame.  Recently, his Mormon faith has helped him overcome the tragedy of losing both his grandmother and girlfriend within a matter of hours.  On Sept. 12, Te'o received two phone calls. The first came from his parents telling him his grandmother had died of an extended illness. The second, just six hours later, came from his brother. Te'o's girlfriend had died after a battle with leukemia.  In this video from ESPN, Te'o talks about the recent losses and how tragedy hasn't kept him from playing, and succeeding, in his football games.  After Notre Dame's win the following weekend, Te'o said, "They were with me. I couldn't have done it without them. ... I miss them, but I know I'll see them again.
(Katie Harmer, Deseret News)

Basketball: Jabari Parker, Senior at Simeon High School, Chicago, IL
6' 8" 225 lbs
As a junior, he was named  Gaterade HS basketball player of the year.  Led his tam to state HS championship.  Top ranked prospect by various rating services.
Father, Sonny Parker, played in the NBA.  Mother of Tongan ancestry and reurned LDS missionary.
Active Priest in his ward.  Attends early morning seminary, carries a Book of Mormon in his backpack.
Earlier this year Jabari Parker told Sports Illustrated that he "talked a lot about" missionary service when his elder brother, Christian, came home from his full-time mission.
"I want to go (on a mission)," Jabari said. "But I have doubts. The NBA is the biggest dream of basketball players, and I'm no different."

Third cousin of grandchildren is chess champ

According to a Deseret News article on 23 Nov 2012, at age 14 a young relative has become an international chess celebrity.  He is Kayden Troff of West Jordan, UT.  He just won won the World Youth Chess Championship Held in Slovenia, making him the highest ranking 14-year-old chess player in the world.

Undoubtedly he is a grandson of Patricia Johnson who married Arno Troff.  Pat was a cousin of Grandma JoAnn.  Her mother was LaVern Gourley Johnson and her grandmother was Bessie Gourley

You can find the article at http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865567404/Utah-chess-prodigy-wins-world-title-shares-his-Mormon-beliefs.html, which also contains interesting blogspot, facebook, and twitter links for Kayden.

I'm proud of Jeremy

     Jeremy asked if I would write a letter of recommendation for his Eagle application.  Its a pretty save bet that I would recommend him highly.  Here is my letter:

     "I believe that Jeremy is sincerely trying to implement the Scout Oath and Law in his life.  He is a conscientious young man who tries very hard to be obedient to leaders, family, etc, and to do what is right.  He takes responsibility for himself.  He is motivated to accomplish good things in school, in scouting, and in other aspects of his life.  He is uniformly kind and protective of his younger siblings and others.  He is respectful to adults and to sacred and patriotic things.  His attitude toward life and people is positive and he brings a quiet happy influence with him to everything that he does.  I believe he will be a credit to Scouting and to everything with which he becomes associated."

About noon Saturday I got a call telling me that Britain’s dad had briefly come to town and they had decided to bless the baby.  So I got dressed and participated in the blessing of Arthur William Soderquist, age 2 weeks, born 27 Oct 2012, by his dad.  I got this picture of the blessee and blesser.

Big storm

As I started to wake up Saturday at about 8 am but then to roll over and try to sleep some more, I suddenly remembered that it was supposed to have snowed during the night.  I had the thought that it might be timely to break out the snow blower that I got for Christmas a year ago and never used.  I opened the curtain, and what to my wondering eye should appear but 12 inches of fresh white stuff.

I got dressed in warm clothes, put on the snow boots that I also got last year for ice fishing but never used, and went to the garage to dig out the snowblower which was in the back of the storage side of the garage.  With some difficulty I got it past the car and pointed ready to attach the snow.  I checked and found it still had gasoline from when I tested it last year.  I strung an extension cord and plugged it in the snow blower socket (it has an electric start option).  I managed to find the starting instructions plate on the machine.  Going down the list, I set the throttle on high-choke as required, then depressed the choke button for step two.  Step three called for me to insert the key in the key slot.

I wondered, where did I leave the key, after I had tested it almost a year ago?  Wendy might remember, I thought.  But she is in Newport Beach with her girl-friends and would certainly still be asleep (it would be only about 7:15 am there).  So I started my search of the house, the key box, the cabinet file where the guarantee should be (it wasn’t), various kitchen and office drawers.  No sign of the key.  After 30 minutes I find it.  It was on my bedroom dresser, under receipts that had been accumulating for a year.  Someday I need to get organized.

Anyway, I was then able to start  the machine.  I did our driveway and sidewalks and also did the sidewalks around the corner to the east to Howard Peterson’s property and then to the west and up 820 east for 5 houses clear to the vacant lot past Young’s.  That part was easy and the machine handle the deep snow without a problem.

(Pictured: the snow blower in position this morning to go to work again, the foot of snow on Wendy’s flower pot on the patio and on the truck (this morning), and the top of a pine tree in Howard’s back yard with the top branches still weighed down with snow and a cute little top-knot sticking up.)

Capitol Reef Album--Scenic Drive

Capitol Reef Album--Deer near camp grounds

Tasty bush

Capitol Reef Album--Canyons

Capitol Wash

Capitol Wash varnish

Grand Wash

Grand Wash narrows