Obsessing over low-level matters

I found a wonderful, meaningful quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland* in the little Sherrie Dew book I was given for Father’s Day:

“...Not all gospel questions have answers—yet—but they will come.  In the meantime, I have a question.  What conceivable historical or doctrinal or procedural issue that may arise among any group could ever overshadow or negate one’s consuming spiritual conviction regarding [I present these in outline form]
     – the Father’s merciful plan of salvation;
     – His Only Begotten Son’s birth, mission, Atonement, and Resurrection;
     – the reality of the First Vision;
     – the restoration of the priesthood;
     – the receipt of divine revelation, both personally and institutionally;
     – the soul-shaping spirit and moving power of the Book of Mormon;
     – the awe and majesty of the temple endowment;
     – one’s own personal experience with true miracles;
     – and on and on and on?
Talk about a question!  It is a mystery to me how those majestic, eternal, first-level truths so central to the grandeur of the whole gospel message can be set aside or completely dismissed by some in favor of obsessing over second- or third- or fourth-level pieces of that whole.  To me, this is, in words attributed to Edith Wharton, truly being trapped in “the thick of thin things.”” 

I feel the both the logic and the power of his question.  I love expressive words and phrases such as these: “the soul-shaping spirit and moving power of the Book of Mormon” “the awe and majesty of the temple endowment.”  Yet we seem to live in a day when “Obsessing over second- or third- or fourth-level pieces” has become the norm.  This is not only in Church circles, but also in society in general.  Everything said by Pres. Trump, differences in Republican viewpoints, what will happen to people’s medical insurance, environmental threats, problems with the economy, problems with government, Civil War symbols, threats to police, police bias, gender bias, racial bias, bias against trans persons, bias against the handicapped, bias against the aged, bias against Moslems, bias against religion, and on and on and on, all become reasons for mighty obsessing.  And obsessions competing with obsessions.

Might these all be second- or third- or fourth-level pieces of something greater?  And that is....?

*Address to CES Religious Educators, February 6, 2015, Salt Lake Tabernacle

A Marriage to Remember

I happened to be reading an fawning article that was supportive of the decision of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell to never marry, in spite of the fact that they had a child plus he had become the father-figure for a couple of children from her prior marriage, with the illogical and absurd quote, “If we had married, we wouldn’t have stayed together.”  Yet there was a sort of grudging admission that the three children, now grown, still wished that their parents (real or de facto) were officially married.

I was reminded of a marriage I performed when I was serving as Bishop.  There was an elderly sister in our ward, who came into Church activity late in her life, went to the temple, and was well-loved in the ward.  She was outgoing and giving.  She came to me one day and asked if I would be willing to perform a marriage of her grandson. She had helped raise him.  Now at about age 35 or 40, he had a long term live-in relationship with a women and as a matter of fact had become the father-figure to (I think) her three children from a prior marriage, helping raise them to adulthood.  The grandmother had been urging them to marry for quite a long time and they had finally consented.  These people were mostly living out-of-state and to my understanding were not members of the Church.  The extended family was gathering for a Christmas celebration at the grandmother’s place in our ward.  I met with the couple and everything seemed in order for the marriage to happen.

It was to be on a Sunday, a couple of days before Christmas, at the grandmother’s house.  We were on an early meeting schedule.  As planned, I arrived at the house at about 4 pm.  The grandmother invited me in and I sat down in a chair and waited without any introductions.  The house was filled with Christmas preparations and several dozen people interacting.  After a few minutes the grandmother stood up and got people’s attention.  She said something to the effect of, “We have a guest with us.  This is Bishop Lewis from my LDS ward.  He has come here to perform the marriage of ____________ and __________.   The group in attendance included the grown children of the women, other relatives, and even grandchildren as I recall.  Apparently, no one had been warned that this marriage was going to happen. There was an obvious murmur that went through the group and then a very spontaneous clapping and happy cheers.

I performed the ceremony
and left the excited and happy family to go home to start our own Christmas.  But I will always remember the joyfulness associated with this marriage celebration, and have concluded that intuitively people feel that marriage is good and desirable no matter their backgrounds or practices.

After Family Camp

Picture of our Storage Shed on Saturday

It took us a week to get up the energy to get everything cleaned up and put away from our Lewis Family Camp, but it sure feels good.

To hear or not to hear? That is the question.

While Wendy and I were missionaries in North Carolina, I began to notice some changes in my hearing.  For one thing, I was having trouble hearing Sacrament speakers who were female.  I had particular difficulty understanding those with Southern accents who also talked fast, such as the Branch President’s wife, bless her heart.

I recall a time when Wendy and I were driving down 1-40 from Raleigh to Mt. Zion, and I said something to her that she won’t let me forget, “Did anyone ever tell you that you have a lisp? You’re not saying your S’s.”  Actually she doesn’t have a lisp–I was just not hearing the high pitches that form the S sound.

When we got home in June 2010, I immediately had my hearing tested and, with the recommendation of the audiologist, purchased a set of hearing aids.  They were state of the art for that time.  They were rather expensive, but came with free consultation and support from the same professionals.  Therefore, I have been able to get adjustments, to try to keep up with any further changes in my hearing.

Recently, I have been noticing more instances when I am having to ask people to repeat, when I am not fully comprehending Sacrament speakers with higher voices, not hearing temple whispers, plus I have been frustrated with a lot of whistles and noise feedback in my current hearing aids.  So, I had another visit with my audiologist last week, and she let me try a new pair of devices utilizing current technology.  She claimed that there have been a lot of technical advances in the seven years since I bought my original hearing aids.  Having worn the test devices for a week, only going back to my oldies for one day to experience the difference, we have made the decision to invest in the latest hearing assistance technology. The audiologist calls the new ones "Ferrari's of hearing."  The difference are subtle but profound.  In addition to the increase in comfort, I sense I am again hearing everything, fully sounding like it did many years ago.

For a few moments, I hated the cost, but it seems like a sacrifice that can guarantee my remaining in the world of relationships and love, which for me at least, requires good hearing.  (I apologize for this to those who have lifelong hearing disabilities, and learned to overcome this handicap–but as a lifelong hearing person, I need this kind of assistance.)  I still want to be able to fully enter into conversations especially with those I fell closest to.  I want to fully be a part of social gatherings, being able to grasp nuances of expression in other parts of a room.  I don’t want to have to ask others to repeat themselves, to understand things.  I don’t want to worry about speaking inappropriately loud in quiet places.  I don’t want to be like a number of grumpy old men I know of, who think hearing aids are too big a bother, and cut themselves off from human interaction, and thus from what is most significant about human life.

Here are some of the advertised features of my new devices.  Exciting, huh?

DuoPhone: Improves understanding on the phone by automatically streaming the caller's voice to the other ear, so that the voice is heard in both ears simultaneously.
WindBlock: Utilizes a wind identification and classification system, that automatically and adaptively suppresses wind noise.
SoundRelax: Cushions otherwise unpleasant impulse sounds without affecting speech clarity or causing unnatural perception of other sounds.
StereoZoom: Zooms in on a single voice in a diffuse noisy environment, improving speech intelligibility by up to 60%.
EchoBlock: Improves listening experience in reverberant environments like large assembly halls, places of worship and rooms with reflective surfaces.
UltraZoom: Adaptive multi-channel beamforming technology, which improves speech intelligibility within noisy situations.
Speech in Loud Noise: Zooms in on a single voice in a diffuse noisy environment, improving speech intelligibility.
Speech in 360º: Automatically selects the direction of speech and streams this to the other ear, improving speech intelligibility without the need to face the speaker.
Speech in Wind: Better speech understanding even on a windy day.
Calm Situation: Provides optimal gain for speech understanding and listening comfort when engaging in one-on-one conversations in quiet.
Speech in Noise: Adapts and reduces noise from behind in real time and applies and optimizes the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in noisy environments.
Comfort in Noise: Actively reduces noise for increased comfort when no speech is present.
Music: Offers an expanded dynamic range, slow compression speed and more gain for a fuller and richer music experience.
Speech in Car: Reduces broadband noise in the car to create a stable listening environment for easy communication, reduced effort.
Comfort in Echo: Recognizes the frequency of any reverberation and applies the appropriate amount of gain reduction, resulting in less distortion, making speech more comfortable.

Thoughts on Father's Day

I had my say a month ago in expressing appreciation to the women in our family who do so much to bless out lives.  I also feel extremely grateful for the high quality dads in our family–Quin,  Bruce, Greg, Matthew, Scott, David, Andrew, Steven, Troy, and Jon, also Nathan, Miguel, Tanner, Daniel, and Ben, and potentially many others–who are strong and put their families or children first in their lives.

I call you attention some articles in the Deseret New Op-Ed section today that reinforce the good that we see in our family.  The lead editorial focuses on what the editor calls “True fatherhood — the kind that cradles and corrects, nurtures and nudges — is about putting the needs of children and others before personal desires or impulses...  When true fatherhood is born, selfishness dies.”

Natalie Gochnour in her opinion piece about the fight against violent crime in our society, concludes, “Peel back the layers and eventually, you discover families are the most important ingredient of personal and societal success. We need to support successful families of all shapes, sizes and compositions.”

She cites our current U.S. Attorney for Utah, John W. Huber, “We need strong, supportive families where our children will form a solid foundation to build upon through their lives. Through small spheres of influence, such as a supportive and nurturing home, we can strengthen our nation and improve our world.”

In another opinion piece which I suggest that we study in in its entirety, Jenet Erickson describes the critical ways dads contribute to the development of children, and by extension make a positive contribution to our society and world.
“As Yale psychiatrist Kyle Pruett concludes, “Fathers don’t mother." Their unique way of interacting, especially when their children feel close to them, has a powerful positive influence. Research by fathering scholar Ross Parke shows that the rough-and-tumble play dads typically engage in predicts emotional health, confidence and social appropriateness in children. Fathers’ way of firmly and consistently enforcing discipline complements the more flexible way mothers tend to discipline, helping explain their profound influence on academic achievement, college graduation rates and social well-being. The protection fathers offer, simply by being present, keeps dangerous influences and outside threats from harming their children, including premature sexual partners for their adolescent daughters. And their unique way of encouraging risk taking while offering protection is key to fostering independence, “openness to the world,” and confidence in overcoming and achieving. In short, children need the good influence of committed fathers in their lives.”

And preparing for and committing themselves to marriage is critical for men to become strong fathers and contributors to a healthy society.   Erickson writes, “But what we often forget in discussions about the important influence of fathers is the role that marriage plays in that process. While motherhood is transformative for women, marriage transforms men. Marriage, and the process of becoming marriageable, is a critical catalyst for developing men in ways that make good fathers.  Sadly, a permissive culture, where sexual relations are divorced from commitment and where cohabitation is preferred over marrying, has derailed the processes that guided men for generations into becoming the kind of person a woman would choose to marry and entrust with the lives of her children.”

In earlier days, quoting from Leanard Kass, “A fine woman understood that giving her body meant giving her heart, which was too precious to be bestowed on anyone who would not prove worthy, at the very least by pledging himself in marriage to be her defender and her lover forever.”

Erickson then cites statistics which demonstrates that in addition to their positive impact on their families and children, married men are happier, healthier, and more successful educationally and economically.  She concludes, “A culture that is out of touch with the key role of marriage in men’s lives is a culture that is out of touch with what leads men to thrive. When we strengthen the pathways that enable men to have strong marriages, we strengthen the likelihood that men will give what they alone can give best in being committed and loving fathers.”

Justin set apart as missionary, June 13, 2017

EYO Scouts at Adventure Park, June 9-10

The Penguin Patrol arriving with its gear

Setting up the tent

Whittling time

Adventure Park games Friday evening

AJ, chief breakfast cook

Assistant cooks

Pancakes with whipped cream, yum

Add bananas, double yum

Breakfast buddies

"Penguins, Penguins, we're so cool, Now we'll show you why we rule, Go Penguins"

AJ--note the good hand tecnique

Edward--starting into the swing with hands moved together

Josh--look at that power

Parker--with feet well apart as recommended

My 11 year old scout patrol went to it summer camp,Friday and Saturday at Adventure Park, held at Buck Hollow, a camp up the Left Fork of Hobble Creek.  It is about a half hour drive from Springville.  Note the water in this branch of Hobble Creek.  It is a real creek this year.  Other years it was hardly a dribble.  We had a good time and met quite a few advancement requirements.

Odgen, May13th

Here is the way that the Brigham City temple looked as we went on.  We tried to got there on Saturday morning but called too late, and all of the slots were filled.

Ogden temple.  We finished our temple tour on Saturday by doing an endowment session in Ogden with my sister Dorothy.

Logan, May 12th

At the Logan temple

Idaho Falls, May 11th and 12th

Our temple tour group

Our Smitty's serfie

Smitty's with the gluten-free pancakes

Geese on the lawn behind our motel, with river and temple in the background.

Idaho Falls temple with tour patron walkway.

Rexburg, May 11th

At the Rexburg temple

The flowering trees were just out in Rexburg

Look how blue the Idaho sky is

This is my shot of the Grand Teton from the ridge beyond the Rexburg temple.  A prize goes to the first one who can find it.

Compare my shot above with this picture from LDStemples.com.  I wonder where he was standing.

Star Valley, May 10th and 11th

At Star Valley temple

Star Valley temple.  It is the smallest design--a twin of Snowflake AZ temple

The temple is right on the main street as you enter Afton WY from the south.

See the snowy hills in the background

Ft. Collins, Tuesday May 9 and 10th

At the Ft. Collins Temple

The new Ft. Collins Temple--so beautiful

Gordon and Anita

Anita and Wendy

Denver, Saturday May 6 to Tuesday May 9

Denver temple.  Look at the blue mile-high sky (and I didn't retouch this shot)

Wendy and John

Start of the hailstorm

Hail on the field

Tarp turned over to dump the moisture on it

Returning the tarp to cover the infield

Tarp back in place.  Notice the Ryne Sandberg and Javier Baez Cubs shirts

Tuesday game--we got there early

Tuesday game--Rockies fans: #14 is Tony Wolters, and #5 is Carlos Gonzalez (Cargo).  At the very left is another Cubs #23 Sandberg

Tuesday game--still some clouds but no rain (or hail)