Arches National Park--views of the LaSals

The LaSal Mountains have 12,000 foot peaks which are higher that any mountain in the Wasatch range.  They are a pretty spectacular backdrop to the red rock scenery in Arches.

Arches Natioinal Park--Windows area

North Window

South Window

Both Windows

Both Windows

Turret Arch

Double Arch

Double Arch

Easy access to an area with several interesting and spectacular arches.  It was on an elevation, so there were also nice views of other parts of the park and of the LaSal Mountains to the SW.

Arches National Park--north end

Landscape Arch

Landscape Arch

Sandstone Arch

Broken Arch

Landscape Arch, longer than a football field, was scary to think of, losing a portion of its rock in 1991.  I was there before that year and hiked all around and through and above, but no one is allowed that close anymore.  We stood behind a fence and tried to guess how much long this arch would exist.
We traded taking pictures with a couple of Chinese tourists at Sandstone Arch.  This would be a nice place for a family of small kids to play on a hot summer day, with lots of sand and shade.  One of favorites.

Charlie Steen house view

Charlie Steen was an impoverished uranium prospector, who struck it rich in the 1950s, and built his home on a bluff overlooking Moab.  His home is now a restaurant.

Dead Horse Point

LaSal Mountains in the background

Trip to SE Utah

Wendy and I took a 3-day trip to SE Utah last week  Wendy had never seen that pat of the State.  We arranged to stay in Moab on Monday and Tuesday nights.  The weather was warm, the sky was clear, and we had a very enjoyable trip.  Our first stop was at Dead Horse Point where we admired the huge view of the Colorado Rive canyons.  Then we spent a couple of hours at Arches NP in the late afternoon.  We got an overview of the scenery as we drove to  the end of the road, and then hiked to Landscape arch.

On Tuesday, we got up early and drove to Monticello for session at the temple.  This visit made me home-sick for our Raleigh Temple, since the architecture is so similar.  We got a nice summary of this temple's history from some worker.  It was the very first temple built and dedicated on the inspired plan of President Hinckley's.  It was kind of a test temple to see what worked.  Apparently there were some areas that were inadequate, so they made adjustments in the basic design from what they had learned, and used the new design in the construction of all of the remaining small temples that were built.  These included the 2-phase endowment rooms, larger celestial room, a second sealing room, larger dressing rooms, and more office space.  After a little while, the Church remodeled the Monticello temple also into the newer, slightly larger design.

Monticello has a population of about 2000.  It has one stake.  The temple also serves one stake in Blanding (21 miles) and one in Moab (54 miles), plus 2 stakes in Grand Junction CO (167 miles) and one in Durango CO (104 miles).  It is not exactly in the middle of a population mass.  According to our informants, when Pres. Hinckley dedicated this temple he told them that they didn't really need this temple (Manti was less than 4 hours away), but the Church needed it to learn how the design would work.  Anyway, the people were really nice, and there was a good spirit there.

We enjoyed a story about the remodeling.  When the temple was originally constructed, there were several stained glass window provided by a company in Istanbul, Turkey.  Oddly, when the workmen installed these windows, they found that there were several extra and so the extra ones were stored in a warehouse in back of the temple property and forgotten.  Then when the temple was enlarged some 3 years later, there was a need to order several more windows.  The builders tried to contact the Turkish company and found they were out of business.  Then someone remembered the windows in storage.  There was exactly enough to complete the new design.

We got back to Moab mid-afternoon, and started a drive up Rt. 128 along the Colorado River.  We only went a few miles however (to the start of Negro Bill canyon) , because this road was under construction and traveling was very slow.

In the evening, we had a dinner at a restaurant perched high over the Moab valley that was former house in the home of Charlie Steen, who was known as the "Uranium King."  The evening view was quite extraordinary and the steaks good.

On spent Wednesday on a return engagement with Arches.  We hiked around several arches in the Windows area, drove to the Delicate Arch and Fiery Furnace viewpoints, and hiked to Sandstone and Broken arches, before heading home.

My one disappointment was not feeling capable of making some of the more difficult hikes, like to Delicate Arch.  But I guess that goes with my age and I need to be content to do what we did. 

Manti temple visit for Wendy's birthday

Approaching the temple

Manti temple

Mt. Nebo from just north of Ephraim

Mt. Loafer from Birdseye area

We went to the Manti Temple for Wendy’s birthday.  It was snowing lightly as we left Spanish Fork and went over the summit past Salt Creek Canyon but then cleared as we approached the temple.  Then the skies were a brilliant blue.  I am using my new I-phone almost exclusively for pictures, and it performs nicely.

I am still enthralled by the beauty of this old edifice, especially the interior.  The dark woods in the handcarved stair-rails and door casings, contrasting with white walls, and touches of gold, in the chapel, the main entrance hall and other areas are exquisite.  The Minerva Teichert mural in the world room is a classic that cannot be matched anywhere else.  The blues in the decor of the Terrestrial room make it Wendy’s very favorite room in all of templedom.  We feel the influence and love for the temple in the work of the 19th century craftsmen who built this place.

We had an unusual experience with the Spirit there.  As we prayed before we began the trip, I caught myself asking for something I don’t typically do–I asked that we might be touched by the Spirit as we participated in the ceremonies.  When we arrive at the temple and were walking along the hallway from the recommend desk toward the dressing rooms, a worker steped forward and invited us to be the witness couple.  I believe this was the first time we had perform this duty in the Manti temple.  From the start, it seemed special as a way for Wendy to celebrate her birthday.  When we were dressed, the same brother introduced in a warm and personal way to the man who would be the initial officiator in the session.  The persons who performed the various roles all seemed confident and well-prepared.  During the session as this initial officiator addressed certain portions of the instruction which pertained to the suffering of the Savior, I detected an unusual pausing to gain emotional control and could feel that the atonement was something very personal for him, which feeling was also passed to me.

When Wendy and I had completed the session and were sitting together in Celestial Room, the session workers filtered into this room also.  This brother happened to look our way and I motioned for him to join us.  I thanked him and mentioned my perception that he had some unusually deep and personal feelings about the work of the Savior.  He ended up telling us much of the story of his life, how he had found the gospel after an unusually difficult childhood, placement or abandonment by parents twice to orphanages, deeply troubled by the divorce of LDS adoptive parents to whom he had been sealed, and peace in the knowledge that no matter what troubles one might have, the atonement of Christ makes up the difference.  I had tears and spiritual feelings from all of this and connected this experience to the prayer of the morning.  I sure love what the Gospel has done for me.

Inoculating our children against evil

Richard and Linda Eyre suggest this metaphor for parenting which seems to suggest that we cannot totally shield our children from exposure to disease-causing viruses of various societal ills and evils.  Rather, many of our teaching strategies must aim at trying to build immunities into our children.  It reminds me of an old Chinese proverb that has served me well, which says, “Nakedness is often seen, but never looked at.”

The Eyres address teaching children to avoid pornography in this manner in an article this morning in the D-News called “Inoculating kids against the evils of porn” (a slightly modified version is on-line: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865589915/Porn-is-the-villain-so-what-is-the-hero.html?pg=all)

Here is their suggestion for helping a young person transform a sexual thought from negative to positive.  Tell them,: “When you see or hear something sexual, just think for a moment how much more beautiful sex will be if you wait until marriage.  Until then, look away and get away from anything less beautiful.”

Their advice is that talking to kids about sex in a positive, love-oriented way is much easier than using fear tactics.  And when you keep it positive, you can have the “big talk” much earlier.  In fact, they recommend the eighth birthday.  “While it may seem counterintuitive, the fact is that the earlier and more frequently parents talk to their kids about sex, the later they will experiment or go to other sources.”

If you are interested, the Eyres provide more details about this approach on their website: www.valuesparenting.com/talktokids.php

Kitchen additions

I have been resuscitating my fix-it skills in our kitchen.  I got the replacement cabinet hung Saturday evening.  We are still finishing the doors so this job isn't finished.  We got a bigger cabinet than the original, a full 36 inches wide.  It still has only one stud to hang on, but I hope I attached it solidly.  Where the old one had only two screws both on the left-hand side, I put nine in this new cabinet.  There are seven in a vertical line down the middle and I also put in two molly bolts at the top toward the edges.

While we we were doing this work we got excited about improving the lighting in the kitchen (something we have been talking about for several years).  It has been dark in places that count--at the sink, and over the island.  Today, we replaced two lights that give us multiple lamps in these key places.   


We found a 5-bulb light fixture that matched the one over the kitchen table and swagged it so that it is more nearly over the island which is one of Wendy's main food  preparation spaces.  We also replaced the over-sink light, a little one bulb job, with a three bulb adjustable spotlight.

Kitchen disaster

We had this kitchen disaster yesterday afternoon.  While Wendy was standing on a stool doing some cleaning, a cabinet holding most of our dishes, plates, etc., fell off the wall.  Wendy got some bruises and scrapes (she made an attempt to catch it and hold it up), but thankfully was not in the direct path.  The cabinet had been anchored by only two screws near the top and the bottom but on the far left side of the cabinet.  At last 90% of all the items in this cupboard were broken.  It was such a mess.

Scott gave us the name of the builder and I called him complaining.  He was apologetic but was unwilling to give any recourse.  Today, we went shopping for a new cabinet and are beginning the “do it yourself” process of preparing the replacement.  Right now we are gluing the veneers on the cabinet.  Then comes staining and varnishing.  After that we need to hang it, then replace the doors.  It may take a few days.

We also will need to replace the whole set of dishes.

Autumn in Spanish Fork

Wendy and I took a walk today on the River Trail along the Spanish Fork River.  I love the fall leaves, especially those that are yellow.

We ended the walk near our favorite tree, an ancient cottonwood.  It is nearly 4 feet in diameter at the base and has great sprawling branches that come clear to the ground and are themselves putting down roots.  The City has located a picnic table right under the umbrella of this wonderful tree.  We say to each other “Wouldn’t this be a great place for a family picture?”

Payson temple topped off.

Wow! See our new Payson temple with its exterior nearly complete and that got its Angel Moroni on its spire on Thursday morning.  Our friends from Santaquin, etc., who work with us on our Thursday shift were all excited as they drove along the freeway and saw the crowd of people and the statue on the crane ready to go.  Only a year to a year and a half to go.

I am sorry that Pres. Monson do not announce the Bentonville temple again.  I think that more mission costs must have delayed the annoucement for a few months.

South and East faces

Long telephoto shot NE toward Provo Peak

Our Provo Temple

     Trying to learn more about temples, I have been reading a couple of volumes from Hugh Nibley on the subject of temples (The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley Volumes 12 and 17 Ancient History), and found these insightful personal references to the Provo Temple:
     “We strive to make our temples beautiful, but if in the eyes of many of us some turn out to something less than breathtaking, that doesn’t dampen our enthusiasm for what goes on in them.  My favorite temple is certainly the Provo temple, though as a building I give it very low marks indeed.  We are not attached to the building as such (it is but an endowment house)....
     “...we know that the gospel has been restored, and the temple is the center of things.  So we must repair there often.  I have gotten so I am almost an addict.  I cannot keep away from the temple.  I revel in it, the building I call an endowment house, lacking as it does in so many respects–but that doesn’t make any difference.  We can see the ordinances and the endowments.  It was built for practical purposes.
     “In a speech in the 1880s in St. George, Brother Erastus Snow said that every temple has a slightly different design, because it performs a different purposes.  The St. George Temple was built after the pattern of the Kirtland Temple, to emphasize certain things.  Our Provo Temple is built in a different way entirely.  It functions with a different thing in mind–efficiency in getting a lot of work done in a hurry, but also as a teaching tool.” (Vol. 12, “The Meaning of the Temple,” pp. 32, 35)
     Truly the Provo temple is a work-horse temple, built for high volume, like a well-oiled machine.  We like to think that it also retains the same spiritual values that smaller-volume temples have.  President Dahl, 1st Counselor in the temple presidency, has likened our work to a duck, with legs paddling furiously under the water, but with the water on the surface being perfectly calm with no evidence of the effort of the bird to propel itself along.
     Wendy and I have been ordinance workers in the Provo temple since 2006 and 2005 respectively and love this place.  We love the Spirit there.  It has been a House of Learning for us, in the deeper things of the gospel.  We love the friendships we have made.  We love the chance to serve the MTC missionaries who pour into the temple daily, and initiate them into the temple ordinances.  We love the association with college students who make up a significant minority of the temple worker staff (we must have the lowest average worker age of about any temple in the world) and project that these young people, as they graduate and establish employment and families in many other parts of the world, will be a great strength to the Kingdom.  We love the challenges of providing an orderly and spiritual tone in this high volume setting.  We understand that our temple completed about 3 million ordinances in 2012, being the highest volume temple in the world, and we hope to keep that record.
     We are proud of the vision and leadership exhibited by our temple presidency in the face of recent changes in the endowment film, which added about 12 minutes to its length.  They challenged us to maintain the schedule that has been in place for over 40 years, in which a new endowment session starts every 20 minutes, from 7 am or earlier to about 8 pm each day.  We have 6 endowment rooms, with a complete rotation every 2 hours.  This now means that, for all day and every day, we need to start all sessions on time and clear each room in 10–12 minutes, so the same room may then be loaded with the next set of patrons and start on time. 
     We understand that we are the only large film temple in the world that has been able to maintain its old regular schedule in light of the new film length.  President Daines reported that when the new film was presented in August, that members of the Church’s Temple Committee suggested that the temple might want to change to a 30 minute schedule.  However, members of the presidency felt that we should make the attempt to continue to accommodate the high volume of patrons who use the temple and keep the original schedule.  So far, this has worked.

Mean girls, mean women, mean grandmas

Who do you think you are
Loud mouth, cafeteria star
Maybe somebody was cruel to you
So you think that's what you're supposed to do
One day, it might be you
When you need a friend, but you no longer cool
When everyone leaves when you walk in the room
I just hope they forgive you
...Mean girls, mean girls
I'm a just comb you outta my curls
Mean girls, mean girls
You no longer run my world

A column in the Deseret News Mormon Times section brings back some old hurts (Ask Angela: Angela Trusty, “Burying the hatchet is often a good idea”, September 19, 2013, p. C4).  The author quotes a letter from a young woman who was asked to substitute as instructor for a single adults Sunday School class in her ward.  She had had a falling out with another member a couple of years before.  As she came into the classroom, the sister asked, “Who is teaching today?” When someone responded with her name, the lady “whispered “ to her group that they should “definitely go to a different class.”  As the writer was being introduced, the woman and about five of her friends noticeably arose and left the classroom.

Sister Trusty responds to this request for advice by saying that this was “a major mean girl move, and mean girls (mean women, mean grandmas) exist, and can be hurtful at any age.”  She then explores the suggestion of how to reach out to this woman and attempt to bury the hatchet, that is, become reconciled with her.  Of course this is the Christ-like thing to do, as taught by the Savior:

¶Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. (Matthew 18:15)

While your commitment as a disciple of Christ requires you to make this attempt at reconciliation, what if you are dealing with a sister who truly is caught up in mean girl psychology?  What if your apology and even apparent groveling in your attempt at reconciliation, feeds her need to be in a power position over you (queen bee syndrome)?  What if she lacks insight into her own behavior so that your attempts to reconcile further threaten her insecurities (“I couldn’t have done that--I love everybody”), so that her relationship aggression amplifies.

Relational aggression is “aggression intended to cause harm through damage in one’s relationship or social standing... [It is] a covert form of bullying more common among women... to backstab, gossip, stereotype, make fun of, and single out their target through rumors, isolation, or by totally excluding the person from the group as way of retribution.

The roots of relational aggression lie in personal insecurities.  “Often enough when a woman suffers from a strong sense of inadequacy, she clings to the very things that make her feel good with a certain fierceness and possessive passion.  Threatened, she turns to devious avenues to defend her place in the social food chain... Regardless of age, women of all walks are drawn together into a posse by their very need for constant reinforcement. As they thrive on the security of membership, they soon learn of the incredible power that acting on something together promotes.  Mean girls are defined by their collective strength.  They attack as a pack.  Perched high on the pedestals of solidarity, popularity, and influence, these women develop an insatiable need for control, and in the process, lose the ability to be compassionate towards the people outside their social group.  It is when they find reward in their subtle acts of aggression that the meanness persists.  However, as they continue to live up to their untouchable reputation outside their circle, they also grapple with power and politics within.  In every mean girl clique standing tall among them is the leader of the pack.  While she sets the rules of the game, the others follow without question out of fear of being ostracized or excluded from the group.”

Suggestions:
– Do not fight fire with fire.  
– Hold your head high.
– Deal with the matter at hand without physically fighting back. (Be prepared for the verbal attacks and have a witty comeback. Avoid being emotional and keep an even tone as you talk back.)
– Open up about your problems to loved ones and people you can trust.
– Move on and make other friends.
– Practice compassion. (Understanding how cliques work helps you realize why some people can be so mean. It also lets you see them as human beings with emotions and back stories that explain why they are.)
[Information about relational aggression from Almira Presto Dalangin, “The Psychology of Mean Girl Cliques” http://miradalangin.hubpages.com/hub/The-Psychology-of-Mean-Girl-Cliques]

New temples projected priority in US

 

Temples in the Utah-Idaho LDS Corridor--analysis and projection

Temples under construction:
1) The Payson temple will draw off about 25 stakes from Provo temple (Mapleton, SF, Salem-Payson, Santaquin plus the 2 Nephi stakes from Manti. 
2) The Provo City Center temple is rumored to receive Springville (9) and perhaps 3-4 Provo stakes from SE Provo
This would leave Provo with about 40 Stakes.  Provo will possibly add the Orem stakes from Mt. Timp, raising the Provo total to near 65, and reducing Mt. Timp to under 50.
3) The proposed Cedar City temple will probably draw off about 15 stakes from St. George, leaving around 30 stakes for the latter.

Other possibilities for new temples:
1) Pocatello.  There is a cluster of about 16 stakes in Pocatello and Blackfoot, or just the 11 stakes in the former, for a Twin Falls/Brigham City size temple.
2) Northern Davis County.  There is a cluster of about 30 stakes that might be drawn off from the Ogden temple, for an Oquirrh Mt/Draper/Rexburg size temple
3) Tooele.  The 13 Stakes in Tooele and west into Nevada could justify a Twin Falls/Brigham City size temple.
4) Heber City.  A small temple, Monticello size, might be justified by the 7 Wasatch Back stakes: Heber (4), Park City, Kamas, Coalville

Brigham City temple trip

Wendy and I made plans earlier to do a temple session at the new Brigham City temple.  We had toured the open house but had not been back since it was dedicated.  We planned to take Dorothy and Jeree.  At the last minute Dorothy was hurting too much to go (she is having knee replacement surgery next Monday) and Jeree was too busy, so Alison was willing to accompany us.  This temple is really busy.  We made appointments a week ago and the session was totally full plus a folding chair, with over 60 patrons.

Its a very beautiful building inside and out, and we enjoyed the experience very much.

The old tabernacle east across the street

Labor Day picnic

from Valerie Blog

Jaron showing off his reverse-no look serve

One of my greatest satisfactions is in seeing my children and grandchildren getting together and loving it!  We had one of these occasions on Labor Day.  We met at Nunn's Park in Provo Canyon at about 3 pm, cooked hamburgers and hot dogs, visited a lot, played volleyball, frisbee, and table games, and left at dusk.  Besides Wendy and me, present were: Quin and Alison, Heidi and Steven, Paul and Daniel, Rachel with two college friends, and all the younger Soderquist kids; Angela, Katrina and Troy, Camille, Krysta and Tricia; Jaron; Matthew and Kim with all their kids except Alyssa; all of the Blakes; and Nathan and Gloria; forty in all.