Tough love: Cyclists and drivers share the road
By Logan Bradford
“Gah! I hate bikes!”
This is not an uncommon outburst heard on BYU campus.
Impatience and ignorance present a major safety concern for both drivers and cyclists, making the need for mutual understanding greater than ever.
Despite statistics indicating a decrease in bike-motor vehicle crashes over the past 30 years, there are still hundreds of collisions and even deaths every year.
Racer Gibson, owner of Racer’s Cycle Service in Provo, attributes most car-bike incidents to cyclists acting erratically, limiting drivers’ ability to react to and predict what cyclists will do.
Gibson is a strong advocate for vehicular cycling, which promotes the idea that cyclists should act as cars when riding on the road.
According to Utah law code section 41-6a-1105, “a person operating a bicycle, a vehicle or device propelled by human power, or a moped has all the rights and is subject to the provisions of [that] chapter applicable to the operator of any other vehicle.”
Arnold Lemmon, BYU police lieutenant, has seen people not following this on and around BYU campus.
“Bikes want to be treated both as motor vehicle operators and pedestrians,” Lemmon said. “When a cyclist is on a roadway, he is subject to the same laws as a motor vehicle operator.”
One of those laws, Lemmon said, is using turn signals. He said cyclists should use hand signals to indicate their intended direction.
“It lets people know what’s going on,” Gibson said. “It’s like using turn signals in your car.”
Gibson also emphasized that riding on sidewalks is dangerous because drivers do not look for traffic moving three times the rate of a pedestrian when pulling out of a driveway and could potentially not see them, causing an accident.
In fact, the Utah law code reads, “A person may not operate a bicycle or a vehicle or device propelled by human power on a sidewalk, path, or trail, or across a roadway in a crosswalk, where prohibited by a traffic-control device or ordinance.”
Lemmon stressed the importance of cyclists riding on the shoulder of roads when possible, and if not, riding as far to the right in the lane as possible.
He also highlighted cyclists’ personal safety, using reflectors, lights and helmets.
“You get people riding at night without lights or reflective gear and they want to be treated well by motor vehicle operators,” Lemmon said. “You can’t get equal treatment if you’re not seen. Having the right equipment goes a long way.”
He said helmets are the best and cheapest way to protect a cyclist’s skull. He said it only takes one accident to ruin a life.
“You may think you look dumb wearing a helmet,” said Bree Goates, former BYU student and cycling enthusiast. “But you’ll look a whole lot dumber being a vegetable for the rest of your life because you got hit by a car when you weren’t wearing your helmet.”
Lemmon’s final advice for bike safety advocated communication.
“The more you can communicate your intention as a cyclist the safer you’re going to be,” he said.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
the sabbath
My current facebook status focuses on the Sabbath. One of my friends from my job in Alaska asked, in response, what the Sabbath means to me. I responded with this message. Because I feel so passionately about it, I decided to post it here.
Here's what I wrote her:
Hey kid. Thanks for asking me what the Sabbath means to me. To be honest with you, it means a lot to me.
I grew up in what I consider to be the most amazing family on the face of the planet. My parents are some of the most Christ-like and devoted people I know. We have always been a very religious family. My beliefs partially come from what the Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) teaches, but also from what my parents, as well as what the Holy Ghost have taught me about this principle.
As I implied in my status, the Sabbath is so very sacred to me. It is one of the most special days I have in my life. And it happens EVERY WEEK! Oh, it’s WONDERFUL! Basically, my practice comes from the ever-so-simple commandment we find in Exodus, where the Lord says:
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
So, basically, the Lord says here that we should do all our work in six days and on the seventh we should rest from those things. Now to be honest with you, Sundays are nearly always one of my busiest days (except when I was on Coppers, in which case I did very little all day long, which was GREAT!). However, I take the opportunity to rest from my worldly cares of work, homework, and media that is not conducive to feeling the Spirit of the Lord.
So, you may ask what I do on Sundays:
1. I go to church. It lasts 3 hours: one hour for a combined meeting with all members, an hour for Sunday school, and an hour for a men only/women only meeting. The combined meeting has talks given by the congregation and the other two hours have lessons. All three can be phenomenal. Sometimes they are; sometimes they aren’t. The primary purpose for going to church, however, is to renew our baptismal covenants through taking the Sacrament, as was instituted by Christ at the Last Supper. We take a small piece of bread and a sip of water, symbolizing (not transubstantiation) the body and blood of Christ. So, what are our baptismal covenants?
We testify:
1. That we are willing to take upon us the name of Christ
2. That we will always remember Him
3. And that we will keep His commandments
That:
We may always have His Spirit to be with us.
Just a little reflection on that phrase: Oh my gosh, we can have a member of the godhead with us in ALL we do. Oh. My. Gosh. THAT is incredible.
So that’s why we go to church.
Now for the rest of my Sabbath observance.
I try to do everything I can to make Sundays as holy and sacred as possible. I truly try to make it a different kind of day. To do this, I do a few things:
1. I forget about any kind of music or movies (media) that won’t draw me closer to Christ. Given, I should do that everyday, but there are some kinds of media that are good and promote a good lifestyle, but simply don’t have Christ as their main message. I want every bit of media I consume on Sunday to direct my thoughts and feelings toward Christ.
2. Visit friends and family. Sunday is very much a family day (since I live away from much of my family, I call them fairly often on Sunday.).
3. I try not to indulge in sporting activities, or watch them, for that matter.
4. Enjoy nature, but with the intent of appreciating God’s creations, not with that of “conquering” mountains, etc…
5. Deepen relationships with people (conversations, emails, etc.)
6. Other forms of Church service (visits, meetings, etc.)
7. I don’t work on Sundays.
8. Make beautiful music that will help me come unto Christ.
I don’t know if I’m communicating this effectively, but I try to make sure everything I do on the Sabbath is directly related to either bringing myself or bringing others unto Christ (and in bringing others unto Christ, I only bring myself unto Him.).
The Sabbath is truly a reprieve for me. It is when I can stop caring about life for a day and focus on the things that matter most to me, such as my own personal salvation, as well as my family and those people for whom I have been entrusted to care.
I can’t say I always keep exactly to what I’ve laid out above. And that list is not the minimum or maximum; it simply contains some examples of what I do. There have been a handful of times I have not done these things, or kept to that list, but those are the basic guidelines that govern my Sabbath observance.
Each person’s Sabbath observance is a bit different. The Holy Ghost teaches us all differently and tailors what the Lord has to say to us to our needs and situations. I sometimes forget this and that’s where statuses such as the one you asked about originate. Just because the Spirit has told me to observe the Sabbath as he has does not mean that he has told other people similarly. I need to be more cognizant of that and more tolerant as well.
Anyway, I DOUBT you knew you were asking such a complicated question. There’s my answer. Hope you like it! Want to know more about any of what I wrote above? I would LOVE to tell you all about it. Christ’s gospel is the most valuable thing I have in my life. I love Him and want to follow Him so badly. I fail constantly, but I don’t care—it’s our constant getting up that makes it possible for Him to save us.
See you later!
Here's what I wrote her:
Hey kid. Thanks for asking me what the Sabbath means to me. To be honest with you, it means a lot to me.
I grew up in what I consider to be the most amazing family on the face of the planet. My parents are some of the most Christ-like and devoted people I know. We have always been a very religious family. My beliefs partially come from what the Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) teaches, but also from what my parents, as well as what the Holy Ghost have taught me about this principle.
As I implied in my status, the Sabbath is so very sacred to me. It is one of the most special days I have in my life. And it happens EVERY WEEK! Oh, it’s WONDERFUL! Basically, my practice comes from the ever-so-simple commandment we find in Exodus, where the Lord says:
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
So, basically, the Lord says here that we should do all our work in six days and on the seventh we should rest from those things. Now to be honest with you, Sundays are nearly always one of my busiest days (except when I was on Coppers, in which case I did very little all day long, which was GREAT!). However, I take the opportunity to rest from my worldly cares of work, homework, and media that is not conducive to feeling the Spirit of the Lord.
So, you may ask what I do on Sundays:
1. I go to church. It lasts 3 hours: one hour for a combined meeting with all members, an hour for Sunday school, and an hour for a men only/women only meeting. The combined meeting has talks given by the congregation and the other two hours have lessons. All three can be phenomenal. Sometimes they are; sometimes they aren’t. The primary purpose for going to church, however, is to renew our baptismal covenants through taking the Sacrament, as was instituted by Christ at the Last Supper. We take a small piece of bread and a sip of water, symbolizing (not transubstantiation) the body and blood of Christ. So, what are our baptismal covenants?
We testify:
1. That we are willing to take upon us the name of Christ
2. That we will always remember Him
3. And that we will keep His commandments
That:
We may always have His Spirit to be with us.
Just a little reflection on that phrase: Oh my gosh, we can have a member of the godhead with us in ALL we do. Oh. My. Gosh. THAT is incredible.
So that’s why we go to church.
Now for the rest of my Sabbath observance.
I try to do everything I can to make Sundays as holy and sacred as possible. I truly try to make it a different kind of day. To do this, I do a few things:
1. I forget about any kind of music or movies (media) that won’t draw me closer to Christ. Given, I should do that everyday, but there are some kinds of media that are good and promote a good lifestyle, but simply don’t have Christ as their main message. I want every bit of media I consume on Sunday to direct my thoughts and feelings toward Christ.
2. Visit friends and family. Sunday is very much a family day (since I live away from much of my family, I call them fairly often on Sunday.).
3. I try not to indulge in sporting activities, or watch them, for that matter.
4. Enjoy nature, but with the intent of appreciating God’s creations, not with that of “conquering” mountains, etc…
5. Deepen relationships with people (conversations, emails, etc.)
6. Other forms of Church service (visits, meetings, etc.)
7. I don’t work on Sundays.
8. Make beautiful music that will help me come unto Christ.
I don’t know if I’m communicating this effectively, but I try to make sure everything I do on the Sabbath is directly related to either bringing myself or bringing others unto Christ (and in bringing others unto Christ, I only bring myself unto Him.).
The Sabbath is truly a reprieve for me. It is when I can stop caring about life for a day and focus on the things that matter most to me, such as my own personal salvation, as well as my family and those people for whom I have been entrusted to care.
I can’t say I always keep exactly to what I’ve laid out above. And that list is not the minimum or maximum; it simply contains some examples of what I do. There have been a handful of times I have not done these things, or kept to that list, but those are the basic guidelines that govern my Sabbath observance.
Each person’s Sabbath observance is a bit different. The Holy Ghost teaches us all differently and tailors what the Lord has to say to us to our needs and situations. I sometimes forget this and that’s where statuses such as the one you asked about originate. Just because the Spirit has told me to observe the Sabbath as he has does not mean that he has told other people similarly. I need to be more cognizant of that and more tolerant as well.
Anyway, I DOUBT you knew you were asking such a complicated question. There’s my answer. Hope you like it! Want to know more about any of what I wrote above? I would LOVE to tell you all about it. Christ’s gospel is the most valuable thing I have in my life. I love Him and want to follow Him so badly. I fail constantly, but I don’t care—it’s our constant getting up that makes it possible for Him to save us.
See you later!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
outgoingness. yes, that IS a word.
I’ve been conducting an experiment lately:
I’ve always been a really outgoing person, so whenever I sit down next to someone I don’t know, I make an effort to get to know that person and make conversation with them. I noticed a little while ago that I was almost always the one to start the conversation. First, I think it’s funny that it took me that long to notice that. Second, I found it interesting that the other person almost never started the conversation. So my experiment was to let the other person start the conversation—for myself to be on the other side, receiving the sociality, as opposed to giving it to the person. This has been pretty interesting because it has led to some fairly awkward situations and silences. However, I have stopped doing it because I have realized that the reason people aren’t outgoing is because they are either angry or bitter at life or they are afraid of being shot down or rejected.
I have found that when I am proactively friendly with someone, if—and this is a big if—I do it right, it is like I am going up to them and saying “I accept you; you can be yourself and someone loves you.” That’s what I aim for in my friendliness. I wrote a blog about a year ago called “happiness is…” that touched on going around with a positive attitude and scattering sunshine wherever we go. But I have learned over the last year that it is not enough to just smile at everyone and ask them how they are doing; that doesn’t solve anyone’s problems. I need to be friends with people who need friends in order to make this world better. People need love. That’s what it boils down to.
Why is it so hard for us to leave our own personal comfort zone and bubble and go out to others with whom we normally wouldn’t socialize? Why do we shut ourselves off? I have found that the more outgoing and friendly I am, the happier I am. So why aren’t I ALWAYS friendly? I think it might be because I have had experiences when I have tried to reach out and was shot down that has made me subconsciously hesitant to try again. I talked to my dad recently about this and he said it’s a lot about listening to the other person and really figuring out what it is that is important to them and getting the topic of conversation to focus on them so they’re comfortable and feel valued. And not only do they feel valued, but they actually are valued if you do it sincerely. Friend Shannon also talked to me about figuring out how the person can help you in your life so they feel like they contribute to the relationship.
Like most of my blogs, this has gotten a little tangential, but I’m ok with that.
Conclusion: people need love.
I’ve always been a really outgoing person, so whenever I sit down next to someone I don’t know, I make an effort to get to know that person and make conversation with them. I noticed a little while ago that I was almost always the one to start the conversation. First, I think it’s funny that it took me that long to notice that. Second, I found it interesting that the other person almost never started the conversation. So my experiment was to let the other person start the conversation—for myself to be on the other side, receiving the sociality, as opposed to giving it to the person. This has been pretty interesting because it has led to some fairly awkward situations and silences. However, I have stopped doing it because I have realized that the reason people aren’t outgoing is because they are either angry or bitter at life or they are afraid of being shot down or rejected.
I have found that when I am proactively friendly with someone, if—and this is a big if—I do it right, it is like I am going up to them and saying “I accept you; you can be yourself and someone loves you.” That’s what I aim for in my friendliness. I wrote a blog about a year ago called “happiness is…” that touched on going around with a positive attitude and scattering sunshine wherever we go. But I have learned over the last year that it is not enough to just smile at everyone and ask them how they are doing; that doesn’t solve anyone’s problems. I need to be friends with people who need friends in order to make this world better. People need love. That’s what it boils down to.
Why is it so hard for us to leave our own personal comfort zone and bubble and go out to others with whom we normally wouldn’t socialize? Why do we shut ourselves off? I have found that the more outgoing and friendly I am, the happier I am. So why aren’t I ALWAYS friendly? I think it might be because I have had experiences when I have tried to reach out and was shot down that has made me subconsciously hesitant to try again. I talked to my dad recently about this and he said it’s a lot about listening to the other person and really figuring out what it is that is important to them and getting the topic of conversation to focus on them so they’re comfortable and feel valued. And not only do they feel valued, but they actually are valued if you do it sincerely. Friend Shannon also talked to me about figuring out how the person can help you in your life so they feel like they contribute to the relationship.
Like most of my blogs, this has gotten a little tangential, but I’m ok with that.
Conclusion: people need love.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
institutionalized religion......why?
I received quite a few comments on my last post about the laws that we live and how we live them. Some of the comments I received focused on people agreeing with, almost saying that I was writing about some sort of disestablishmentarianism (and yes, I did just use a 24-letter word), suggesting that we should not depend on the Church or other organizations or institutions to help us decide how to live the commandments and laws we receive.
I thank everyone who replied to my post, but I should tell you that those who implied a sense of disestablishmentarianism in fact, do not agree with me. I support the organization of the Church because of the very components that make up the organization, such as apostles, prophets, and other Church authorities. It is because of the Priesthood that there needs be an organization. Without the organization, the power of God would be in an organization contrary to its nature: complete disorganization and anarchy. Christ established a Church for a reason: to ensure that His people had order and that there would be some way to help people along. Harkening back to my last post, people aren’t spiritually mature enough to just read their scriptures on their own and do things of their own free will; they must be pushed along. People themselves are rarely proactive on things they read or learn. To illustrate the point, how many people do you personally know who read they scriptures 30 minutes every day? I know very few. And taking it a bit further, how many people (yourself included) do you know who live according to what they learn in their gospel study? My guess is that your answer to this question is a FAR smaller number than your answer to the other question. So why have the institution? To help people along.
Now, with organizations and institutions comes corruption; it is a given. But does it not say in the scriptures that we will lay down this corruption and take up incorruption? We are ALL corrupt. Why must we insist that we be incorrupt or that member of the Church be incorrupt? We will ALWAYS be disappointed if we expect people to be sound. Jesus did not come to hang out with the people who had already made it to perfection, but rather to make it possible for us—those who are far from perfection—to form a covenant relationship with Him and then be able to get back and live with Him. That is precisely what frustrates me about many people who leave the Church as a result of other members’ actions—I may be wrong, but I get the impression that they merely tire of the all-too-common Mormon culture, which admittedly can be fairly judgmental and clique-y. For any of you people reading this who aren’t members of the Church, let me clarify what is “Mormon Culture.” Often members of the Church can get into a bubble mentality, thinking that everyone thinks similarly or should think similarly to how they think. The problem comes when they react to those people whom they encounter who don’t think similarly to them; they can at times be a bit closed-minded and judgmental, which can lead to shutting people out and not being open to listening to their different points of view. This is of course completely contradictory to that Christianity teaches, and that is where the frustration of those who leave the Church [I imagine] originates. And here’s the ironic part: that is where my frustration with those who leave the Church originates, because I don’t think they realize that while yes, it most definitely is not on the OK list to be closed-minded, we still need to help those other people along and help them form a closer, better relationship with Christ.
And THAT is why we have the organization of the Church—we are all at different stages of our spiritual development. We need help in order to get to where we need to be spiritually. Very seldom can people think independently enough to make it on their own and really be taught the way by the Spirit. The organization is there to provide a means to disperse information to other members of the Church who either do not receive revelation for other members or so that those who do think independently of set norms of the Church and [especially] its culture can share their insights and help others live according to how the Spirit has taught them to live. I put that in italics because I wanted to emphasize the point that it is not how they have taught themselves to live, but that the Spirit has taught them. The Spirit will never teach doctrines of teachings contrary to the Church’s teachings because the Spirit is essentially the messenger for Christ and this is Christ’s Church; why would the two differ? The important distinction is the difference between Mormon culturistic norms and Church doctrines. There are some things in Mormon culture that have been practiced for so long that they have come to be accepted as doctrine, but are actually not.
So to summarize, the organization of the Church is necessary to give order to the Lord’s people—to ensure that they are being taught correct principles and to give them aide in living those principles. I believe it is necessary to receive insight from other people in order to confirm that what I am learning on my own is legitimate (sometimes it is extremely difficult to know what is the Spirit and what is not.). The people of organizations are not perfect, but if we are truly working toward a Zionistic society, it won’t matter because charity will get us through. And that is a blog for another day.
Before I end this one, however, I would like to add a quote that has spawned a whole litany of thoughts:
“The devil flatters us into believing that we are more righteous than others and with this very astute strategy, takes us his.”
-President Ezra Taft Benson
I thank everyone who replied to my post, but I should tell you that those who implied a sense of disestablishmentarianism in fact, do not agree with me. I support the organization of the Church because of the very components that make up the organization, such as apostles, prophets, and other Church authorities. It is because of the Priesthood that there needs be an organization. Without the organization, the power of God would be in an organization contrary to its nature: complete disorganization and anarchy. Christ established a Church for a reason: to ensure that His people had order and that there would be some way to help people along. Harkening back to my last post, people aren’t spiritually mature enough to just read their scriptures on their own and do things of their own free will; they must be pushed along. People themselves are rarely proactive on things they read or learn. To illustrate the point, how many people do you personally know who read they scriptures 30 minutes every day? I know very few. And taking it a bit further, how many people (yourself included) do you know who live according to what they learn in their gospel study? My guess is that your answer to this question is a FAR smaller number than your answer to the other question. So why have the institution? To help people along.
Now, with organizations and institutions comes corruption; it is a given. But does it not say in the scriptures that we will lay down this corruption and take up incorruption? We are ALL corrupt. Why must we insist that we be incorrupt or that member of the Church be incorrupt? We will ALWAYS be disappointed if we expect people to be sound. Jesus did not come to hang out with the people who had already made it to perfection, but rather to make it possible for us—those who are far from perfection—to form a covenant relationship with Him and then be able to get back and live with Him. That is precisely what frustrates me about many people who leave the Church as a result of other members’ actions—I may be wrong, but I get the impression that they merely tire of the all-too-common Mormon culture, which admittedly can be fairly judgmental and clique-y. For any of you people reading this who aren’t members of the Church, let me clarify what is “Mormon Culture.” Often members of the Church can get into a bubble mentality, thinking that everyone thinks similarly or should think similarly to how they think. The problem comes when they react to those people whom they encounter who don’t think similarly to them; they can at times be a bit closed-minded and judgmental, which can lead to shutting people out and not being open to listening to their different points of view. This is of course completely contradictory to that Christianity teaches, and that is where the frustration of those who leave the Church [I imagine] originates. And here’s the ironic part: that is where my frustration with those who leave the Church originates, because I don’t think they realize that while yes, it most definitely is not on the OK list to be closed-minded, we still need to help those other people along and help them form a closer, better relationship with Christ.
And THAT is why we have the organization of the Church—we are all at different stages of our spiritual development. We need help in order to get to where we need to be spiritually. Very seldom can people think independently enough to make it on their own and really be taught the way by the Spirit. The organization is there to provide a means to disperse information to other members of the Church who either do not receive revelation for other members or so that those who do think independently of set norms of the Church and [especially] its culture can share their insights and help others live according to how the Spirit has taught them to live. I put that in italics because I wanted to emphasize the point that it is not how they have taught themselves to live, but that the Spirit has taught them. The Spirit will never teach doctrines of teachings contrary to the Church’s teachings because the Spirit is essentially the messenger for Christ and this is Christ’s Church; why would the two differ? The important distinction is the difference between Mormon culturistic norms and Church doctrines. There are some things in Mormon culture that have been practiced for so long that they have come to be accepted as doctrine, but are actually not.
So to summarize, the organization of the Church is necessary to give order to the Lord’s people—to ensure that they are being taught correct principles and to give them aide in living those principles. I believe it is necessary to receive insight from other people in order to confirm that what I am learning on my own is legitimate (sometimes it is extremely difficult to know what is the Spirit and what is not.). The people of organizations are not perfect, but if we are truly working toward a Zionistic society, it won’t matter because charity will get us through. And that is a blog for another day.
Before I end this one, however, I would like to add a quote that has spawned a whole litany of thoughts:
“The devil flatters us into believing that we are more righteous than others and with this very astute strategy, takes us his.”
-President Ezra Taft Benson
Sunday, July 26, 2009
60,cloudy, and hazy
here's another one of those legitimate brain dumps:
i will put a disclaimer on this post and say that it is purely my opinion and not anything i can actually document or reference in the scriptures; it is purely my speculation.
it's about both the law of moses-like things and scribe-like and pharisaical practices in the modern-day Church. when Christ came, He completely fulfilled the Law of Moses and the new law became (1) to love God above all other things and (2) to love thy neighbor as thyself. that was it. excepting those two, the commandments were totally gone and there was no longer any need for them *if* the people obeyed those two (everything else would simply fall into place).
fast forward about 1800 years exactly and Joseph Smith receives the revelation about the Word of Wisdom, laying out a an entire litany of specific things we should or should not ingest.
i think these two paragraphs have completely and totally contradicting ideas--the first saying that we need only love God and that we don't need any other specifications, while the second saying to do this, avoid that, etc.
so why all the specifics?
here are my thoughts:
we aren't spiritually mature enough to obey the spirit of the Law of Christ completely. people often talk about "the spirit of the law" as if it were somehow more lenient and easy to live/obey. i totally disagree; when we live the spirit of any law, we generally follow MUCH stricter policies or guidelines.
take, for instance, the word of wisdom: what is the spirit of the law behind that one (or in other words, what was the Lord wanting us to do when He gave that law?)? in my opinion, it was to take care of our bodies. the spirit of the law wasn't "don't ingest alcohol, tobacco, tea, drugs, or coffee," but rather, "keep your body in good condition." this would of course include all those other things mentioned, but it would also include eating healthily in general and exercising. so many people concentrate on all the things you can or can't do that they lose sight of what the law is really about. this is EXACTLY what happened with so many of the scribes, pharisees, and saducees. as a result of this, [i hypothesize] we have a ton of people in the Church who are just terribly unhealthy because of their eating habits, etc, but by all technical terms, are still "worthy."
another example of this is the sabbath. a couple of weeks ago i went to church at a branch in Glennallen, AK, where the lesson was on the sabbath. we talked about all the things people should or shouldn't do on sundays. i have to confess that i did NOT like the lesson because it was totally law of moses. i felt like we were totally shooting past the mark and losing sight of what the law was really about.
The law is about keeping the Lord's day as holy as possible, not about doing such and such activity and not doing another because it is or isn't on a list. frankly,i could do all those things on that list, but not keep the sabbath holy if i din't do them with the right spirit or focus.
now i'm going to go off my train of thought and write some stuff my roommate and i were talking about, just so i can get it sorted out in my head.
the Spirit will teach us at our own pace. in the lesson i was talking about, in that list, there were a few things that were put out by the Church that i wouldn't do because i don't feel comfortable doing them on Sundays. conversely, i do some things on sundays that others don't do because they don't feel comfortable doing them. so, in essence, we all do what we feel comfortable doing, according to the promptings and teachings of the Holy Ghost. the Spirit could come to us and tell us to work on some aspect of our spirituality, while He may tell someone else something else. it is then of course our responsibility to obey that and make it a part of our lives. as we do that, HE will teach us the very spirit of the laws we are attempting to live at the time.
what i am trying to get at is that we must live the laws as we know how to live them. in 1st corinthians 8:4-13, the new converts who had previously practiced the law of moses were upset about the gentile converts eating the used sacrificial meat (now why they were still doing sacrifices is totally beyond me) because they felt that it was totally irreverencing it. however, the gentiles didn't have any problem with it because they had not lived under the law of moses and had no dogmas attached to the meat. paul's response was to simply be careful that the meat not become a stumbling block to the saints in corinth.
similarly, i believe we musn't let the specific guidelines the Church or more importantly, the Church MEMBERS attach to the commandments be stumbling blocks for us or we will "look past the mark," and fall short in keeping the commandments.
and now i will step down off my soap box and stop preaching logan doctrine. i realize that some of this is not terribly accurate and is instead opinion, but i thought i'd write it down nonetheless. let me know your thoughts, especially on my point about the Lord giving us specific guidelines about the commandments as a result of our spiritual immaturity to fully live the commandments without specific delineation as to how to live those commandments.
it's now been about two months since i wrote this (it's 0ct 17th and i am editing this post) and President Uchtdorf said something absolutely brilliant in his talk at conference:
The Savior Himself provided the answer with this profound declaration: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”1 This is the essence of what it means to be a true disciple: those who receive Christ Jesus walk with Him.2
But this may present a problem for some because there are so many “shoulds” and
“should nots” that merely keeping track of them can be a challenge. Sometimes, well-meaning amplifications of divine principles—many coming from uninspired sources—complicate matters further, diluting the purity of divine truth with man-made addenda. One person’s good idea—something that may work for him or her—takes root and becomes an expectation. And gradually, eternal principles can get lost within the labyrinth of “good ideas.”
i have no comment on this, except "AMEN!"
i will put a disclaimer on this post and say that it is purely my opinion and not anything i can actually document or reference in the scriptures; it is purely my speculation.
it's about both the law of moses-like things and scribe-like and pharisaical practices in the modern-day Church. when Christ came, He completely fulfilled the Law of Moses and the new law became (1) to love God above all other things and (2) to love thy neighbor as thyself. that was it. excepting those two, the commandments were totally gone and there was no longer any need for them *if* the people obeyed those two (everything else would simply fall into place).
fast forward about 1800 years exactly and Joseph Smith receives the revelation about the Word of Wisdom, laying out a an entire litany of specific things we should or should not ingest.
i think these two paragraphs have completely and totally contradicting ideas--the first saying that we need only love God and that we don't need any other specifications, while the second saying to do this, avoid that, etc.
so why all the specifics?
here are my thoughts:
we aren't spiritually mature enough to obey the spirit of the Law of Christ completely. people often talk about "the spirit of the law" as if it were somehow more lenient and easy to live/obey. i totally disagree; when we live the spirit of any law, we generally follow MUCH stricter policies or guidelines.
take, for instance, the word of wisdom: what is the spirit of the law behind that one (or in other words, what was the Lord wanting us to do when He gave that law?)? in my opinion, it was to take care of our bodies. the spirit of the law wasn't "don't ingest alcohol, tobacco, tea, drugs, or coffee," but rather, "keep your body in good condition." this would of course include all those other things mentioned, but it would also include eating healthily in general and exercising. so many people concentrate on all the things you can or can't do that they lose sight of what the law is really about. this is EXACTLY what happened with so many of the scribes, pharisees, and saducees. as a result of this, [i hypothesize] we have a ton of people in the Church who are just terribly unhealthy because of their eating habits, etc, but by all technical terms, are still "worthy."
another example of this is the sabbath. a couple of weeks ago i went to church at a branch in Glennallen, AK, where the lesson was on the sabbath. we talked about all the things people should or shouldn't do on sundays. i have to confess that i did NOT like the lesson because it was totally law of moses. i felt like we were totally shooting past the mark and losing sight of what the law was really about.
The law is about keeping the Lord's day as holy as possible, not about doing such and such activity and not doing another because it is or isn't on a list. frankly,i could do all those things on that list, but not keep the sabbath holy if i din't do them with the right spirit or focus.
now i'm going to go off my train of thought and write some stuff my roommate and i were talking about, just so i can get it sorted out in my head.
the Spirit will teach us at our own pace. in the lesson i was talking about, in that list, there were a few things that were put out by the Church that i wouldn't do because i don't feel comfortable doing them on Sundays. conversely, i do some things on sundays that others don't do because they don't feel comfortable doing them. so, in essence, we all do what we feel comfortable doing, according to the promptings and teachings of the Holy Ghost. the Spirit could come to us and tell us to work on some aspect of our spirituality, while He may tell someone else something else. it is then of course our responsibility to obey that and make it a part of our lives. as we do that, HE will teach us the very spirit of the laws we are attempting to live at the time.
what i am trying to get at is that we must live the laws as we know how to live them. in 1st corinthians 8:4-13, the new converts who had previously practiced the law of moses were upset about the gentile converts eating the used sacrificial meat (now why they were still doing sacrifices is totally beyond me) because they felt that it was totally irreverencing it. however, the gentiles didn't have any problem with it because they had not lived under the law of moses and had no dogmas attached to the meat. paul's response was to simply be careful that the meat not become a stumbling block to the saints in corinth.
similarly, i believe we musn't let the specific guidelines the Church or more importantly, the Church MEMBERS attach to the commandments be stumbling blocks for us or we will "look past the mark," and fall short in keeping the commandments.
and now i will step down off my soap box and stop preaching logan doctrine. i realize that some of this is not terribly accurate and is instead opinion, but i thought i'd write it down nonetheless. let me know your thoughts, especially on my point about the Lord giving us specific guidelines about the commandments as a result of our spiritual immaturity to fully live the commandments without specific delineation as to how to live those commandments.
it's now been about two months since i wrote this (it's 0ct 17th and i am editing this post) and President Uchtdorf said something absolutely brilliant in his talk at conference:
The Savior Himself provided the answer with this profound declaration: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”1 This is the essence of what it means to be a true disciple: those who receive Christ Jesus walk with Him.2
But this may present a problem for some because there are so many “shoulds” and
“should nots” that merely keeping track of them can be a challenge. Sometimes, well-meaning amplifications of divine principles—many coming from uninspired sources—complicate matters further, diluting the purity of divine truth with man-made addenda. One person’s good idea—something that may work for him or her—takes root and becomes an expectation. And gradually, eternal principles can get lost within the labyrinth of “good ideas.”
i have no comment on this, except "AMEN!"
Knowing Christ, part 2.
My last blog concentrated on how we can get to know Christ. It was really quite the dilemma in my head and I was having a really hard time resolving it. I counseled with quite a few people, including my very knowledgeable father and insightful brother-in-law and have come up with some things that have helped me out quite a bit.
Here we go:
In John 14, Christ is talking with His disciples about how He is going to leave them. They get concerned and do not want Him to go, but He promises them the Holy Ghost to be their companion. Said He:
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
These next verses are particularly poignant:
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
So, what Christ is saying here is that as we keep His commandments, we will qualify for the company of the Holy Ghost, and through the Holy Ghost will Christ make Himself known unto us (or in some other way….”manifest” is a little vague, but I would presume it would be through the Holy Ghost that He would do it.).
And in 23, He says, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
If Christ and Heavenly Father abide with you through the Holy Ghost, then surely you will come to know them. I wrote in my last blog that if you know President Uchtdorf, you know President Monson. That isn’t true because they are not completely perfect. Not even they have perfect, singular desires, as the Father and Son have; they are imperfect and differ in their opinions, but the Father and Son have are perfectly one in desire and opinion.
The interesting thing in this instance with the Apostles is that they had been with Christ for three years already and yet did not truly know Him (It was only Simon Peter who actually recognized Jesus as the Christ.). And to further illustrate this point He says:
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Christ had taught them many things while with them, but even still, they had not truly grasped who or what He was or meant in their personal lives. It was therefore necessary to grant them the Holy Ghost as a means to “bring to remembrance” those things He had taught and spoken to the disciples.
In 2 Nephi 26:13, it says:
13 And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith.
The Holy Ghost is the great revelator. It is through Him that we can come unto Christ and truly know Him.
26 God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 121:26)
33 How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 121:33)
Heavenly Father wants us to come to know Christ and has appointed means by which it can be accomplished. We need to do our part and come unto Him with full purpose of heart so He can see our desires, abide with us, and thereby manifest Himself unto us.
Here we go:
In John 14, Christ is talking with His disciples about how He is going to leave them. They get concerned and do not want Him to go, but He promises them the Holy Ghost to be their companion. Said He:
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
These next verses are particularly poignant:
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
So, what Christ is saying here is that as we keep His commandments, we will qualify for the company of the Holy Ghost, and through the Holy Ghost will Christ make Himself known unto us (or in some other way….”manifest” is a little vague, but I would presume it would be through the Holy Ghost that He would do it.).
And in 23, He says, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
If Christ and Heavenly Father abide with you through the Holy Ghost, then surely you will come to know them. I wrote in my last blog that if you know President Uchtdorf, you know President Monson. That isn’t true because they are not completely perfect. Not even they have perfect, singular desires, as the Father and Son have; they are imperfect and differ in their opinions, but the Father and Son have are perfectly one in desire and opinion.
The interesting thing in this instance with the Apostles is that they had been with Christ for three years already and yet did not truly know Him (It was only Simon Peter who actually recognized Jesus as the Christ.). And to further illustrate this point He says:
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Christ had taught them many things while with them, but even still, they had not truly grasped who or what He was or meant in their personal lives. It was therefore necessary to grant them the Holy Ghost as a means to “bring to remembrance” those things He had taught and spoken to the disciples.
In 2 Nephi 26:13, it says:
13 And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith.
The Holy Ghost is the great revelator. It is through Him that we can come unto Christ and truly know Him.
26 God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 121:26)
33 How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 121:33)
Heavenly Father wants us to come to know Christ and has appointed means by which it can be accomplished. We need to do our part and come unto Him with full purpose of heart so He can see our desires, abide with us, and thereby manifest Himself unto us.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
75 degrees, sunny, with a forest fire haze
I’m back after a longer hiatus than I would have liked it to have been, due to my first highway tour, followed by a bunch of city stuff, during which I was really tired.
Anyway, the name of this blog is loganbraindumps, right? So, we’re using the verb interpretation of that (as opposed to the adjective interpretation) and are going to explore something here that I’ve been thinking over in the past few days.
It’s the following: we are to develop a close, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, both as, and in order to come unto Him. My dilemma is that I develop relationships with people by interacting with them and talking with them. Now I believe that we can partially come to know Christ on a personal level by taking part in His Atonement, but I believe there are more sides to Him than just His Atonement. I know we can study His life and His teachings, but even still, I think that won’t take us far enough. That’s like saying we can study the life and writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and thereon build a relationship with him—it just doesn’t work like that. Now, we are given the Spirit to lead and guide us unto Christ, etc, and we pray in the name of Christ, but I feel like that is one of the only times we are really interacting with Him directly. When we pray, we pray to the Father and interact with Him, but merely go through Christ, as he is the intermediator. When we are repenting, we are feeling his power, but not that is only one side of Him—not the whole Him.
So there’s the conundrum that’s in my head. My one possible solution is that when we pray, we are to by guided by the Holy Ghost, and if we are in tune with the Holy Ghost and follow His promptings, we will pray for those things that He desires for us to receive. I believe we can come to know someone fairly well simply by coming to know their desires.
So there is one way I believe we can come to know Christ on a much more personal level. I think there are other, better ways to do it, but I just don’t know them. I want to hear your thoughts on this one. Go ahead and post, correcting, answering, or building up anything I’ve propounded here. Thanks!
Anyway, the name of this blog is loganbraindumps, right? So, we’re using the verb interpretation of that (as opposed to the adjective interpretation) and are going to explore something here that I’ve been thinking over in the past few days.
It’s the following: we are to develop a close, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, both as, and in order to come unto Him. My dilemma is that I develop relationships with people by interacting with them and talking with them. Now I believe that we can partially come to know Christ on a personal level by taking part in His Atonement, but I believe there are more sides to Him than just His Atonement. I know we can study His life and His teachings, but even still, I think that won’t take us far enough. That’s like saying we can study the life and writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and thereon build a relationship with him—it just doesn’t work like that. Now, we are given the Spirit to lead and guide us unto Christ, etc, and we pray in the name of Christ, but I feel like that is one of the only times we are really interacting with Him directly. When we pray, we pray to the Father and interact with Him, but merely go through Christ, as he is the intermediator. When we are repenting, we are feeling his power, but not that is only one side of Him—not the whole Him.
So there’s the conundrum that’s in my head. My one possible solution is that when we pray, we are to by guided by the Holy Ghost, and if we are in tune with the Holy Ghost and follow His promptings, we will pray for those things that He desires for us to receive. I believe we can come to know someone fairly well simply by coming to know their desires.
So there is one way I believe we can come to know Christ on a much more personal level. I think there are other, better ways to do it, but I just don’t know them. I want to hear your thoughts on this one. Go ahead and post, correcting, answering, or building up anything I’ve propounded here. Thanks!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
hmmmm
here's a question for you:
the gospel offers so much happiness and is so tender. why, in the scriptures, do they not focus more on that? i feel like they are always just preaching repentance, almost harshly. why do you think that is? do you think it's just a difference in culture in the times we live? any responses would be appreciated. thanks much.
the gospel offers so much happiness and is so tender. why, in the scriptures, do they not focus more on that? i feel like they are always just preaching repentance, almost harshly. why do you think that is? do you think it's just a difference in culture in the times we live? any responses would be appreciated. thanks much.
78 degrees, clear, and sunny. denali natl park
I don’t really know what’s gone on with me the past few weeks—well, since I got up to Alaska. I really can’t figure it out, but for some reason, I’ve started taking my spirituality so much more seriously. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that I have the opportunity to do missionary work up here. For the first time since my mission, I am in a predominantly non-member area and I can actually get involved in the work.
We had a baptism the other day where a 27 year-old guy named matt was baptized. He is so incredibly humble and really desires to follow the Lord. He asked me to speak at the baptism about the Spirit. I had an absolutely incredible experience while speaking, which totally just pounded into my head about not only the reality of the Holy Ghost, but also the importance of Him in our lives.
I’m out on the highway now, being trained on a tour that goes down to Copper, which is about halfway between
Ok. That’s all. Off to read the skips and then my emails from my mission—I just found the whole lot of them and am really excited to go back and remember everything.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
so many "so's!"
holy cow, i just realized that i started all of the paragraphs, with one exception, in my last post with the word "so." i am SO sorry. very poor writing.
60 and sunny
hey folks.
so i am starting to notice that people REALLY watch us. i was talking to a fellow driver yesterday and he started talking about his views of Mormon kids. he worked in skagway last year and started talking about his view of them. people don't watch other religion's people, i don't feel, but they do watch us. we are under SO much scrutiny because we claim to be different. we have so much to live up to. and really, if we're purporting to be different, we had better BE different.
so many opportunities to share the gospel up here! i obviously can't talk about it on the coach, but with other drivers and in non-work settings, i'm all over it. it's fun to be able to get involved in missionary work in the branch. i am now an activities committee co-chair, so i've started working with the missionaries on integration and stuff. as a missionary, i always thought it took so much effort to integrate investigators and all that, and frankly, for a missionary it really is quite overwhelming, with a lot of investigators. but if members just take initiative with that, they can really do some awesome damage in the missionary work (and by "damage," i mean help).
so singing is TOTALLY the way to go for tips. oh man, people soak it up. it's really fun to figure out what works for you and your personality, in light of the type of group you have. it's almost like a game for me. it's really pretty fun to see what they're like and what they like.
so i may be heading out on the highway tomorrow, meaning that i would be taking 4 or 5 day-long trips, which would totally be cool. however, the bad thing is that if i were to get trained on this trip, any time i did it, i would be out of town on sundays. there is a branch down there, so hopefully i'd be able to go there. i requested that if they put me on that tour, i be in town at least every other week.
so, no girls up here thus far. i know a lot of you are wondering about my alaska flings, but i haven't had any, and thus far, nothing is in order for one. just no one with whom i mesh, you know? one of my driver friends told me to lower my standards, but i know that if i did that, and then got into a relationship, i wouldn't at all feel fulfilled in that, and that would suck.
i spoke in church on sunday on "study diligently," from President Monson's Priesthood session talk. it was a really fun talk to prepare. i didn't feel like my delivery was as good as it usually is. i think that was because i was offering so much advice or counsel that i didn't want to come off preachy, so i may have backed off a little more than i should have. oh well.
that's all for now. later.
so i am starting to notice that people REALLY watch us. i was talking to a fellow driver yesterday and he started talking about his views of Mormon kids. he worked in skagway last year and started talking about his view of them. people don't watch other religion's people, i don't feel, but they do watch us. we are under SO much scrutiny because we claim to be different. we have so much to live up to. and really, if we're purporting to be different, we had better BE different.
so many opportunities to share the gospel up here! i obviously can't talk about it on the coach, but with other drivers and in non-work settings, i'm all over it. it's fun to be able to get involved in missionary work in the branch. i am now an activities committee co-chair, so i've started working with the missionaries on integration and stuff. as a missionary, i always thought it took so much effort to integrate investigators and all that, and frankly, for a missionary it really is quite overwhelming, with a lot of investigators. but if members just take initiative with that, they can really do some awesome damage in the missionary work (and by "damage," i mean help).
so singing is TOTALLY the way to go for tips. oh man, people soak it up. it's really fun to figure out what works for you and your personality, in light of the type of group you have. it's almost like a game for me. it's really pretty fun to see what they're like and what they like.
so i may be heading out on the highway tomorrow, meaning that i would be taking 4 or 5 day-long trips, which would totally be cool. however, the bad thing is that if i were to get trained on this trip, any time i did it, i would be out of town on sundays. there is a branch down there, so hopefully i'd be able to go there. i requested that if they put me on that tour, i be in town at least every other week.
so, no girls up here thus far. i know a lot of you are wondering about my alaska flings, but i haven't had any, and thus far, nothing is in order for one. just no one with whom i mesh, you know? one of my driver friends told me to lower my standards, but i know that if i did that, and then got into a relationship, i wouldn't at all feel fulfilled in that, and that would suck.
i spoke in church on sunday on "study diligently," from President Monson's Priesthood session talk. it was a really fun talk to prepare. i didn't feel like my delivery was as good as it usually is. i think that was because i was offering so much advice or counsel that i didn't want to come off preachy, so i may have backed off a little more than i should have. oh well.
that's all for now. later.
low 50's and overcast
some recent pictures from flight seeing and our anchorage temple trip.
view of the white mountains from the plane
more of the whites
yup, more of the whites
sunset on the yukon river
sunset from the highway on the way back from anchorage to fbx.
'nother sunset shot
friend robin and i in seward. nope, not dating her, nor intending to.
anchorage--->seward
seward bay
more of seward bay
view of the white mountains from the plane
more of the whites
yup, more of the whites
sunset on the yukon river
sunset from the highway on the way back from anchorage to fbx.
'nother sunset shot
friend robin and i in seward. nope, not dating her, nor intending to.
anchorage--->seward
seward bay
more of seward bay
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
80 degrees, clear, and sunny
well hi friends! i've got a few minutes while i'm waiting for my guests to get back from their riverboat ride on the chena river here in town, so i'm in the drivers' lounge, sleeping, writing emails, and now i'm blogging.
updates:
1. went to anchorage this past weekend for the singles branch temple trip. nice town; i really liked it. it actually reminded me quite a bit of sandy, but with a lot better topography and WAY radder (yeah, i'm not sure if "radder" is actually a word, but we'll take the linguist approach to it and say it is) mountains. the mountains here are SO cool. they're just straight up, jagged, rocky, snowy, and awesome. i mean utah mountains are cool, but alaska mountains rock my world. anyway, we went to the temple where i helped with the baptistry and then did a session with roommate greg (who is a stud, fyi). i learned something i should have learned a LONG time ago while there and it has changed my thinking quite a bit about things. i was really grateful for that.
we went shopping in downtown anchorage and i accidentally bought two really wonderful pieces of clothing at banana because they were RIDICULOUSLY on sale. i was happy with that though.
then we went to sacrament meeting down there, followed by driving down to seward so the friends i went with could visit a friend down there. it's about a 2 hour drive down to seward and i think it might be the most beautiful drive i've ever taken. it follows the coastline all the way down, and then seward is located in a huge bay, with mountains surrounding the bay. absolutely gorgeous. pictures forthcoming (i'm not writing this on my comp, so i don't have my pics with me).
2. my roommate scored us a free flight seeing tour up to fort yukon, a native village up here. the flight was amazing. the aforementioned forthcoming pictures will tell all (the way i started that sentence sounds ridiculous).
3. i've started driving real guests. yesterday was my first real tour day and i felt like it went really pretty well. i was really pleased with it. of COURSE, i need to change some things around, but overall, i think i'll be pretty good at it. i've discovered that singing is a great way to kill time when i have nothing to say. they seem to love that, so i do that on just about all my routes. i've actually found that i can get pretty good tips on routes nobody gets anything on just by singing, so i definitely capitalize on that one.
4. had a really cool experience yesterday:
there are typically 2-3 drivers doing the exact same tour schedule all day long, so we of course hang out while our groups are taking tours--we spend quite a bit of time together. yesterday, i was with two former long-time truck drivers, who have mouths worse than sailors. nice guys, but their speech patterns are not particularly conducive to the Spirit. anyway, we had to do some airport shuttle runs in the afternoon while we were waiting for our guests on the riverboat (similar to what i am doing now, only they didn't have anything for me to do right now, so that's why i can blog, etc), and we had about 45 minutes of down time, while we waited for the next flight we were shuttling to come in. so i went to my coach by myself and grabbed my scriptures. the very INSTANT i opened them, i felt their shear power in my life. an amazing testimony of purity and cleanliness of the words contained in the Book of Mormon overcame me. i thought it was especially poignant that i didn't even have to read anything to feel its power. i'm lucky to be reading the account of Christ's visit to the Americas right now and it's just fabulous. can't wait for my session later today. i know that book is true.
and that's about all for right now.
oh, i learned something the other day: sometimes i think some people just don't want to be happy because of their attitude or something of the sort. but nearly EVERYONE wants to be happy. they are doing the very best they know how to. i'm not really sure what the practical application of this is, but it's good for understanding people and how they work.
ok! later, my dear friends!
updates:
1. went to anchorage this past weekend for the singles branch temple trip. nice town; i really liked it. it actually reminded me quite a bit of sandy, but with a lot better topography and WAY radder (yeah, i'm not sure if "radder" is actually a word, but we'll take the linguist approach to it and say it is) mountains. the mountains here are SO cool. they're just straight up, jagged, rocky, snowy, and awesome. i mean utah mountains are cool, but alaska mountains rock my world. anyway, we went to the temple where i helped with the baptistry and then did a session with roommate greg (who is a stud, fyi). i learned something i should have learned a LONG time ago while there and it has changed my thinking quite a bit about things. i was really grateful for that.
we went shopping in downtown anchorage and i accidentally bought two really wonderful pieces of clothing at banana because they were RIDICULOUSLY on sale. i was happy with that though.
then we went to sacrament meeting down there, followed by driving down to seward so the friends i went with could visit a friend down there. it's about a 2 hour drive down to seward and i think it might be the most beautiful drive i've ever taken. it follows the coastline all the way down, and then seward is located in a huge bay, with mountains surrounding the bay. absolutely gorgeous. pictures forthcoming (i'm not writing this on my comp, so i don't have my pics with me).
2. my roommate scored us a free flight seeing tour up to fort yukon, a native village up here. the flight was amazing. the aforementioned forthcoming pictures will tell all (the way i started that sentence sounds ridiculous).
3. i've started driving real guests. yesterday was my first real tour day and i felt like it went really pretty well. i was really pleased with it. of COURSE, i need to change some things around, but overall, i think i'll be pretty good at it. i've discovered that singing is a great way to kill time when i have nothing to say. they seem to love that, so i do that on just about all my routes. i've actually found that i can get pretty good tips on routes nobody gets anything on just by singing, so i definitely capitalize on that one.
4. had a really cool experience yesterday:
there are typically 2-3 drivers doing the exact same tour schedule all day long, so we of course hang out while our groups are taking tours--we spend quite a bit of time together. yesterday, i was with two former long-time truck drivers, who have mouths worse than sailors. nice guys, but their speech patterns are not particularly conducive to the Spirit. anyway, we had to do some airport shuttle runs in the afternoon while we were waiting for our guests on the riverboat (similar to what i am doing now, only they didn't have anything for me to do right now, so that's why i can blog, etc), and we had about 45 minutes of down time, while we waited for the next flight we were shuttling to come in. so i went to my coach by myself and grabbed my scriptures. the very INSTANT i opened them, i felt their shear power in my life. an amazing testimony of purity and cleanliness of the words contained in the Book of Mormon overcame me. i thought it was especially poignant that i didn't even have to read anything to feel its power. i'm lucky to be reading the account of Christ's visit to the Americas right now and it's just fabulous. can't wait for my session later today. i know that book is true.
and that's about all for right now.
oh, i learned something the other day: sometimes i think some people just don't want to be happy because of their attitude or something of the sort. but nearly EVERYONE wants to be happy. they are doing the very best they know how to. i'm not really sure what the practical application of this is, but it's good for understanding people and how they work.
ok! later, my dear friends!
Monday, May 11, 2009
50 degrees and overcast. scattered showers
so, more on my adventures in AK. actually, all of my posts this summer will be about that, so i might as well stop using that phrase.
the drive up was long as all get out. we hit snow really hard in montana, where apparently they got a 14" storm total for that one. pretty crazy. we stopped once, a little south of edmonton, and then pretty much drove straight through for the next two days. it was a nice, pretty drive once we got into the yukon territory. the alaska highway got uber bumpy for the last 200 or so miles before the border, but once we hit the border, the it was smooth sailing. or driving.
some cool churchy experiences since i've been up here:
1. we were being trained on a one of our tours and some other people from a different part of the company were being trained on the same tour at the same time. i saw a girl and instantaneously, i just knew she was LDS. she didn't say anything or interact with anyone; i just knew she was a member because of the light she radiated. i think i had just gotten so used to seeing everyone back at byu with that light, so it was completely commonplace for me to be around people like that.
i got to thinking about how people can always just spot LDS people by their....whateverness and of course wondered if people ever saw that in me--if i was one of those who you could just pick out of the crowd as being LDS.
then the other day on another training trip with some other drivers, i was talking to one of the drivers about things to do in Fbx and i mentioned the bar scene wasn't really my scene. to that she replied, "well, sorry if i'm being presumptuous, but there are PLENTY of mormons around fbx." of course, i said "how'd you know i was mormon?" to which she replied "oh, everything about just screams "mormon." i asked her what specifically about me "screamed 'mormon,'" but she couldn't pinpoint it.
i was really happy about that conversation; it was really quite reassuring and comforting to have that confirmation. it's just been so long since i've been in a non-predominantly-lds environment that i don't know what it's like to be a minoroity anymore.
anyway, that led into the third cool experience:
i've been praying for opportunities to share the gospel a lot, now that i'm not in the bubble, so of course after my previously-explained conversation they started asking greg (my roommate, who is a really cool, mellow, funny guy) and me a bunch of questions about how the Church was connected to the world of Christianity. i decided the best way to explain it would be to explain the restoration to them, which i did, basically teaching them a mini first. it's been a LONG time since i've sat down and really taught someone about the gospel, so it was really a thrilling experience for me. i felt the Spirit really strongly as i did so, especially when i taught about the First Vision. it was a real testimony to me of the restoration. it really pounded into my head that the restoration is our main message to the world, besides of course that Jesus is the Christ.
I was really grateful Heavenly Father answered my prayer about that and that i could teach a little about the gospel. i don't think the two girls we were talking to felt the Spirit as much as i did (or maybe they just didn't recognize it), but it was a great experience for me nonetheless. i know this whole thing just sounds trivial, but it actually meant a lot to me.
i shaved my beard. it was itchy.
BEARDED
GOATEED
SICK.
STALKER-STACHE
BACK TO NORMAL!
oh, so i don't necessarily plan on using my blog as a lot of people use theirs: sometimes it will be to update people; other times to simply braindump (hence the url); other times it will be kind of as a journal. i'm sure i'll find more uses for it besides those. sorry if i'm not as traditional as you might want me to be.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
ALASKA
so i've decided that i actually want to be better about blogging. i think my motivation will be that i'm in a different place for the summer and people might actually want to know what i'm doing with my life, the places i am and see, etc.
anyway, yeah, i'm in alaska for the summer! i'm driving buses as a tour guide in fairbanks. actually, the season hasn't technically started yet, since we're still doing training, etc., but things are rolling in that direction (note the pun.).
i was out driving today by myself for the first time and i came to the conclusion that i think i will really like this job, especially as i really put my own personality into it, you know? i'll mostly be driving around older people, so i'll in effect, be like their grandson. i'm thinking i'll learn some nice old songs and sing them to the old ladies and milk them for all the tips i can get off them. yup, i'm that schmoozy, and shameless at that.
i was really apprehensive about coming up here, but when i went to the branch on sunday, i found the branch to be pretty sociable and strong -- i was actually really impressed with all three hours of church on sunday. the testimony meeting we had was super good and both sunday school classes had really thought-provoking discussions, which was a nice change for me. the branch presidency seemed really eager to use us in the branch, so i'm actually hoping to get a fairly demanding calling--i was Priesthood chorister in my last ward, so i feel like i've been a little under-used for a while. i would really love to be a ward missionary or a teacher of some sort.
i'm really excited to be in a predominantly member-free environment. for once, i feel like i can actually be a legit member missionary, especially since i'm not always on campus or rehearsing for/performing a show.
so, alaska is super pretty. i need to get some pictures up here so y'all can see them. the trees are just now budding and the leaves should be out in full within a week, according to everyone here. i just love how many trees there are here--after living in utah for two years straight, i am SO ready for some good, green trees.
oh, and i'm growing a beard. well, i guess i have a beard, technically. i think i'm going to see how long it'll get. kinda goofy, but i'm not at byu, so i have full reign over what i want to do with my facial hair.
which reminds me of a rant:
i hate that a lot of people somehow judge worthiness or good-standing in the Church on how clean-shaven you are. WHAT?! no. that's RIDICULOUS. i don't even know how to argue this point. i mean, how does the amount of hair growing on my face reflect my obedience to the gospel? and when did church members become so opposed to this? TONS of the prophets and apostles of the restoration had beards. Jesus had (has) a beard, for crying outloud.
and why the devil does byu allow mustaches? mustaches look DIRTY. ew. gross.
so, there's my rant for the night. lest you think i am going apostate because of my criticism of church members, i actually haven't felt as spiritually invigorated as i do now for quite some time. I am having some great scripture studies and feel like i am progressing really well.
so that's all for now. i'll post again when it's late and i'm not tired and have nothing to do.
peace out, folks.
anyway, yeah, i'm in alaska for the summer! i'm driving buses as a tour guide in fairbanks. actually, the season hasn't technically started yet, since we're still doing training, etc., but things are rolling in that direction (note the pun.).
i was out driving today by myself for the first time and i came to the conclusion that i think i will really like this job, especially as i really put my own personality into it, you know? i'll mostly be driving around older people, so i'll in effect, be like their grandson. i'm thinking i'll learn some nice old songs and sing them to the old ladies and milk them for all the tips i can get off them. yup, i'm that schmoozy, and shameless at that.
i was really apprehensive about coming up here, but when i went to the branch on sunday, i found the branch to be pretty sociable and strong -- i was actually really impressed with all three hours of church on sunday. the testimony meeting we had was super good and both sunday school classes had really thought-provoking discussions, which was a nice change for me. the branch presidency seemed really eager to use us in the branch, so i'm actually hoping to get a fairly demanding calling--i was Priesthood chorister in my last ward, so i feel like i've been a little under-used for a while. i would really love to be a ward missionary or a teacher of some sort.
i'm really excited to be in a predominantly member-free environment. for once, i feel like i can actually be a legit member missionary, especially since i'm not always on campus or rehearsing for/performing a show.
so, alaska is super pretty. i need to get some pictures up here so y'all can see them. the trees are just now budding and the leaves should be out in full within a week, according to everyone here. i just love how many trees there are here--after living in utah for two years straight, i am SO ready for some good, green trees.
oh, and i'm growing a beard. well, i guess i have a beard, technically. i think i'm going to see how long it'll get. kinda goofy, but i'm not at byu, so i have full reign over what i want to do with my facial hair.
which reminds me of a rant:
i hate that a lot of people somehow judge worthiness or good-standing in the Church on how clean-shaven you are. WHAT?! no. that's RIDICULOUS. i don't even know how to argue this point. i mean, how does the amount of hair growing on my face reflect my obedience to the gospel? and when did church members become so opposed to this? TONS of the prophets and apostles of the restoration had beards. Jesus had (has) a beard, for crying outloud.
and why the devil does byu allow mustaches? mustaches look DIRTY. ew. gross.
so, there's my rant for the night. lest you think i am going apostate because of my criticism of church members, i actually haven't felt as spiritually invigorated as i do now for quite some time. I am having some great scripture studies and feel like i am progressing really well.
so that's all for now. i'll post again when it's late and i'm not tired and have nothing to do.
peace out, folks.
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