A Lifetime of Service Ends

President Thomas S. Monson passed away last night after more than seven decades of service as a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His was an amazing life of dedicated service to others, beginning in earnest with being called as the bishop to the largest ward in the Church at the very young age of twenty two. Many were the blessing he helped bring to people around the world and he’ll be dearly missed.

For most of my membership in the Church he was the prophet at its head whose sermons were always warm, inviting, and humane. A constant sense of humor, abetted by great humility, in his delivery was endearing to say the least. There was never any doubt about how much he cared about others or his love for the Savior.

I can’t say I’m saddened by President Monson’s departure from the mortal coil for his health had visibly deteriorated over the past few years dimming his trademark energetic engagement with all around him. Knowing that good man can now rest for a bit in the company of his earlier departed wife is a relief. If any mortals can be said to deserve paradise, Thomas S. Monson would be at the head of the list, at least in my book.

General Conference

I know it is October because it is time for General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints again. It used to be that Halloween candy displays would alert me to the year waning, however they showed up early last month.

The second talk of the first session that just wrapped up is going to be hard to top. “Which way do you face?” was the question asked and challenges those faithful to Christ’s teachings to stand by them in the face of increasingly hostile peer pressure. If the last two General Conferences could be characterized as being defenses of Christian standards, the tone of the first session feels a bit more feisty.

Another thing that caught my personal attention was the first time a speaker used his native language rather than English to deliver a sermon. My complaint is a minor one: I wished it had been subtitled on the English stream rather than verbally translated. This was done for ease of comprehension, but I like to hear the inflections of the speaker.

Also of interest is the new Church move to embrace social media more completely. Now they have set up a way to easily share to Twitter, Facebook, Google +, and other services along with a page showing messages that have gone out. While not a fan of the Web 2.0, I can see the younger folks using this a lot.

I wish I was feeling a little more alert while watching the stream for the cold weather has made rest difficult and pain high. Thankfully, I will be able to download the talks later and listen to them as many times as I want to gain further insights into the Gospel. As President Uchtdorf said in the conclusion of the session, “the process of gathering spiritual light is the quest of a lifetime.”

Not only do I love his talks, I’ve grown to love that man.

As always, General Conference is open to everyone to see, not just members. Check out the October sessions here.

Easter 2014

Easter arrived here with storms and gloom preparing the way for Palm Sunday. The weather wrought pain throughout my body making a restful night impossible. So no church today. Is it any wonder that I feel some sympathy, perhaps even empathy for Jesus Christ today?

The hurt doesn’t even begin to match what He went through, yet it does focus my thoughts on the events that happened nearly two thousand years ago in a less clinical way than usual. There has been a running thread of sympathy for Satan in popular culture ranging from Milton’s Paradise Lost to the Rolling Stones Sympathy for the Devil. Where is the sympathy for Jesus, I wonder?

For all its inaccuracy, gore and blood fetishism, The Passion of the Christ did attempt just that ten years ago and became a phenomenon as a result. But that was a unique occurrence that came out of an independent movement outside of the media mainstream and is not likely to be repeated. The chosen few who rule the culture have no interest in morals, commandments, and redemption. Religion is something to me mocked and suppressed at all turns now.

Getting back to Easter, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an interesting page up on the meaning of Easter. I like how it is presented and think it well represents the fundamental rule of missionary work, which is to keep things uncomplicated, accurate, and loving. You won’t find fire and brimstone there for Christ’s mission was one of salvation, not damnation.

The live chat questions from that page are something I’d like to answer in this post, since they are rather good queries.

Nearly Normal

Despite still needing to replace the car, things have gotten close to normal now. A slew of things need doing and are slowly being stricken off the to-do list. So what does normal mean?

Well, I’m sick again, this time with an earache that slowly developed over the weekend in time to become a problem yesterday evening. My sense of balance and perception had been off, but I’d attributed it to being overly tired. No such luck.

It made driving the borrowed pickup truck interesting yesterday since I still don’t have the “feel” for driving large vehicles. As a result, I took out the mailbox while frantically backing out of the top of the driveway when confronted with a UPS van charging up its steep slope. I haven’t felt that way since being chased by a protective cow when I nearly stumbled into her calf.

Suffice it to say the back end of a full size pickup is a lot longer than I realized. Now we need a new mailbox.

Normal also means I can allow my dad to drive on his own and do repair calls solo again. The only reason I was driving on Monday was due to his eye exam for replacement glasses. Irony is that with his pupils artificially dilated, he gets to experience what I do normally in regards to light hurting the eyes.

Still haven’t gotten the headphones apart and will have to wait for my balance to return to mess with them. The way my aching left eardrum reacts to bass, there is no way I’d be able to tolerate them anyway.

Box Elder bugs are out in force, which is yet another sign summer is over. I’m hoping to get some photographs of fall colors later this week since the maples are turning yellow and orange now. My suspicion is that autumn foliage was going to be disappointing again this year, but hope springs eternal.

Not everything has been negative or mandatory the past week. Various Hammer Films DVD sets had their prices lowered on Amazon and I’ve gotten all the early horror films they made I liked, aside from one oddball. The Vulture is a rarity and one of their more absurd movies so I doubt I’ll find it. Correction: Hammer didn’t make it, which explains its lack of availability!

The best thing about this is I get to review my favorite Hammer Film for Halloween. It will be my surprise review and the next one to go up.

Another sign of normality was the coming around of General Conference again. For once I had trouble picking out favorite talks due to the exceptional quality all the way around this time. If I were forced to pick one out it would be Elder Bednar’s talk on tithing which should be mandatory for every Latter-day Saint to see. Anyone wondering how money is handled in the Church will find out it is the same model as how we are advised to run our personal finances.

Well, the ear is hurting so I’m going to wrap the post up. At least doing screen captures doesn’t require sound!

Not Missing the Mark

The following is a talk (sermon) I gave at church last Sunday. I can safely say this had to be the most unorthodox inspiration I’ve ever received for speaking on a spiritual matter.

In talks or lessons you may have heard about looking beyond the mark. Moses once held aloft a metal staff for the Israelite's to look upon and be healed. Many expected something flashier and looked for something amazing behind it. That failure to exercise simple faith cost them dearly.

I'll quote from the Old Testament's Book of Jacob, Chapter 4, verse 14:

But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble.

I was asked to use What Thinks Christ of Me? By Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from the April 2012 General Conference for themes to use in this talk. He touches on many things ranging from the decay of society to the power of simple faith. Mostly it is about being a disciple of Christ.

So I went by inspiration that came to me after reading it again and it took me down a path I didn't expect. A sentence in that talk reads as follows:

Jesus’s call “Come, follow me”is not only for those prepared to compete in a spiritual Olympics.

I hope you will bear with me as I begin with an Olympic sporting event that appears to be a contradiction to that statement. There is a sport called the biathlon that is amongst the most challenging in the Winter Olympics.

Now I will invite all of you to use your imagination. Picture yourselves out in the countryside in gently rolling hills covered by white winter snow. It is a very pretty, very alluring world out there that glitters brightly in the sunlight as you cross country ski through. At first it is easy to keep your arms and legs moving, but after awhile the cold air begins to have a bite to it. Still feeling strong you keep moving forward with purpose, for you are in competition with many others to qualify for the Olympic Games.

Being Prepared to Serve

Any time there is a disaster such as the tornadoes that struck Oklahoma recently or hurricanes like Sandy there follows an outpouring of sympathy and volunteers to help with the clean ups. Churches and volunteer organizations send groups to assist in myriads of ways, which is unquestionably a good thing. But I find myself wishing more people would do the same closer to home at all times, rather than just during a highly publicized catastrophe.

This is a thought that I’ve been pondering for some time. However, recent events big and small have brought it to the fore in a nagging way. I believe we are here on Earth to learn to love one another and that the only real way we can do this is to serve each other. Being a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, lessons on serving others are repeatedly taught in sermons and Sunday school. Service is emphasized for every member through our callings (volunteer jobs) in the church or helping out in the community.

Still, we all have our agency that applies to members and nonmembers alike. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians he wrote, “For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” Gal 5:13. That scripture implies that we are expected to choose whether or not to serve one another and that we should do so out of love. Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it?

Godly Sorrow and Repentance

Several Sundays ago, I found myself pondering how to describe one of the major prerequisites to repenting. It is something that Paul mentioned in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 7, verses 7-10:

For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

It was while teaching that this came up and I described it as being a sincere desire to change and stop a sinful behavior versus the classic teenager’s line of “I’m sorry, okay?” There is a world of difference between the two attitudes, but I still felt my description to be lacking. So I went looking for more eloquent descriptions from others.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke about it in 2001 during a seminar:

Lehi taught this principle when He said the Savior’s atoning sacrifice was for “all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered” (2 Nephi 2:7). The truly repentant sinner who comes to Christ with a broken heart and a contrite spirit has been through a process of personal pain and suffering for sin. He or she understands the meaning of Alma’s statement that none but the truly penitent are saved. Alma the Younger certainly understood this. Read his accounts in Mosiah 27 and in Alma 36.

President Kimball said, “Very frequently people think they have repented and are worthy of forgiveness when all they have done is to express sorrow or regret at the unfortunate happening.” 3

There is a big difference between the godly sorrow that worketh repentance (see 2 Corinthians 7:10), which involves personal suffering, and the easy and relatively painless sorrow for being caught, or the misplaced sorrow Mormon described as “the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin” (Mormon 2:13).

That’s great stuff, but Claudi V. Zimic’s 2007 General Conference talk All That We Can Do really jumped out for me personally and got to the core of what godly sorrow is about:

It is difficult to bear the sufferings that are inflicted upon us, but the real torment in life is to suffer the consequences of our own shortcomings and sins which we inflict upon ourselves.

There is only one way to rid ourselves of this suffering. It is by means of sincere repentance. I learned that if I could present unto the Lord a broken heart and a contrite spirit, feeling a godly sorrow for my sins, humbling myself, being repentant of my faults, He, through His miraculous atoning sacrifice, could erase those sins and remember them no more.

The Argentine poet José Hernández, in his famous book Martín Fierro, wrote:

A man loses a lot of things

and sometimes finds them again,

but it’s my duty to inform you,

and you’ll do well to remember it,

if once your sense of shame gets lost

it will never again be found.

If we don’t experience the godly sorrow that results from our sins or unrighteous actions, it will be impossible for us to remain on the way of outstanding people.

He brought up a word rarely used these days that has become so old fashioned and quaint a notion that it has lost much of its meaning. Of course I am writing about the word “shame.”

Over at Dictionary.com, the noun “shame” is defined as:

1. the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another: She was overcome with shame.
2. susceptibility to this feeling: to be without shame.
3. disgrace; ignominy: His actions brought shame upon his parents.
4. a fact or circumstance bringing disgrace or regret: The bankruptcy of the business was a shame. It was a shame you couldn't come with us.

It is the first definition that applies in this case.

Godly sorrow is shame, in my opinion. That pain felt that you have done wrong and know you have no valid excuse for it can feel like your soul is on fire and not in a good way. So if you feel that flame that is named shame, it is a warning that you need to change what you are doing. Spiritually speaking, that begins with repentance. It is a vital first step toward coming to Christ that must be made.

So that concludes my thoughts on godly sorrow on this Sabbath day, which I hope was a good one for you.

October 2012 General Conference Semi-Live Blog Final Edition

Time to see things through, though I am very sure this format does not work for me or the material covered. But that is what experiments are for, to find out if a theory works or does not. The General Conference has been good even if my blogging it has not.

Video streaming can be found here. I forgot that on the last post! If I only had a brain…

Sunday Afternoon Session

Robert D. Hales kicked things off with a talk about what it means to be a Christian and then explained what the doctrines of the Church are. It was a direct address to those who do not believe we are Christians. He gave the example of Peter and John leaving their nets to follow Christ to point out what we should be doing. Conversion can only come through the Savior and we are made new in Christ.

Again the story of Jesus speaking to Peter on the shore was repeated, but this time emphasizing “Feed my sheep.” Since topics are not assigned to speakers and left to inspiration from the Spirit, any time a specific part of a scripture is addressed more than once in a conference, I pay attention.

October 2012 General Conference Semi-Live Blog #2

After the fiasco last afternoon and evening, I am attempting things again. A brief nap of fifteen minutes turned into hours yesterday, so I missed all but the last talk of the afternoon session. A birthday party for the daughters of a friend meant I could not make it to the priesthood session too. Maybe I should have chosen next April’s general conference for this experiment.

So here goes again on a chilly, but sunny Sabbath morning.

Sunday Morning Session

President Henry B. Eyring opened with a quote from Joseph Smith wondering where God was while he was suffering in jail. Our feelings of separation from God will fade if we are more obedient and childlike. He explained that Jesus Christ always watches over us, even if we do not see Him or open ourselves to Him. There is a need to listen for direction from the Holy Ghost and try not to let our personal desires cloud our judgment. “The Lord’s delays often seem long…” A challenge was made to go to someone you have wronged and apologize, or did I mishear that?

Trying to type and listen does not work too well, I am finding.

2012 October General Conference Semi-Live Blog

It is hard to believe six months have gone by since the April General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but they have. I will be putting up comments on the talks as they are given, or more likely right after them. It is an experiment and I’ll see how I do at it! Warning, it will be scattershot rather than organized thoughts.

The video stream can be found here.

Saturday Morning Session

President Thomas S. Monson just announced a lowering of age restrictions on full time missionaries. Now 18 year old young men and high school (or equivalent) degree holders from all countries will be allowed to serve. The age for young women serving has been lowered from 21 to 19. This is fairly big news. Also announce were two new temples, one in Tucson, AZ and the other in Akiba, Peru.

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Quentin L. Cook began his talk with a reminiscence about being a missionary in the field the last time the age was lowered, from 20 to 19. Elder Holland was the first 19 year old in his mission! The bulk of his talk was about repentance and has made an emphasis on how men are accountable for how they treat their wives, children, and others. The culture you were raised in does not excuse or permit abuse.

Making Faith Godly

Making a challenge when teaching Sunday school has its consequences. This post is one due to the fact that I have to live up to the challenge I delivered to the men in my class to write about their faith this week. Diaries, journals, wives' diaries, letter, mother's diaries, blogs, or whatever it took were part of my request.

 

So here I am, writing about my faith. It is more rambling than I would like due to being written during a hectic day yesterday and a very tired day today.

 

Faith is the first critical step towards finding salvation through Christ. Yet there are different kinds of faith, from the material to the spiritual. Only the most paranoid have no faith, though I suppose they do have faith in the idea that the world is out to get them. Simply having a belief in something unseen (ref. Hebrews 11:1) is not religious in itself, as was pointed out by the class during a lesson I taught in Elders Quorum this past Sunday.

No, there is more to it than that. So I find myself contemplating my faith in God and whether or not it is a Godly faith.

 

Life or Something Approximating It

The past week was busy by my standards and this week looks to begin that way. Saturday and Sunday combined to make for a marathon run of events, so I am not feeling terribly good today. Two D&D sessions in a row contributed mightily to that, but at least we had one TPW (Total Party Wipeout). I did try to get the party killed in the first session, but the level five party managed to survive a mummy lord thanks to me and defeat a young adult green dragon that I attacked. He did have it coming after torturing my character, I must say.

I was rather surprised to be given the Diablo III Book of Cain hardcover by my friends hosting the second session. While I cannot yet afford the game, I always enjoyed the lore and storyline contained in the series which this book covers. It looks like it will be a fun read.

This, That, and the Other Thing

Things have been what I would classify as eventful since the weekend. Though in at least one case, more like eventful stalled – but more on that later. This is going to be a long post since I want to record the happenings for posterity. Hopefully it will not be too boring for other to read!

It all started with the celebration of a five year old’s birthday party. One of the families I home teach (explained here) is a young family with small children. The oldest one is a boy who has taken a shine to me for some inexplicable reason and is something of a problem child. Being very big and strong for his age, he is also very willful. He is also a miracle baby who should not exist according to doctors, for his mother was not supposed to be able to have children.

I have a code I live by that goes something like this: If a person who is not a moocher or leech attaches themselves to me, I feel an obligation to be as good a friend I can be to them. Now this is not a reluctant, foot dragging kind of “I have to do this” kind of feeling. Rather it is a sign to me that I need to make an effort and that the likelihood that God set this up is high.

So in this case, I have a little kid doing it and that is a first for me. It is also terrifying for a hopeless bachelor such as myself. While I am told I am good with children, my lack of experience with them makes it a very scary experience indeed. Maybe one day I will get past that, but not today.

Seeking Things of Worth

Please pardon my rambling style today; it is not one of my better days. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I often marvel at how much misrepresentation of our beliefs is out there. This has always been the case, but this post is not going to be about that. Instead it will be related to one of what we call the Articles of Faith which were written to explain what we believe in to a newspaper back in the 1800s.

In the thirteenth and last article, it says:

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

The italics are mine and the focus of a lot of thought in the last few years by me. Right now it seems like finding things that fit that description is getting harder, but I think it is more of a signal to noise ratio problem. Like an overcrowded radio tuner, so much garbage is put out that the good things get lost in the din.

Running to God

As I write this, sacrament meeting will be starting shortly at the La Crosse Ward. Too ill to be there, I find myself missing it like I always do when my health acts up. This time it is not quite as bad, because of something that happened last night.

One of the things about being a real film buff is the desire to reacquaint oneself with films seen decades earlier, especially ones seen when young. The changes in perception and understanding can be very profound, I have discovered. In fact, one film I loved as a teen, Cool Hand Luke, I now despise greatly. Deciding to be an adult is a conscious decision in our society these days and making that choice changed a lot of things for me.

Back in the early 80s, a movie won best picture and became an unlikely hit. Focused on runners in the 1920s trying to medal for the United Kingdom, Chariots of Fire is most remembered for its amazing theme by Vangelis. I remembered seeing the movie a couple of years after release and having a favorable opinion of it, but that is about it.

Mormon Patriotism and Washington D.C.

CNN’s Belief blog has a very well written article on Latter-day Saints in the nation’s capitol worth checking out. I can say from personal experience that the leadership principles taught in the Church were of great help in political organizing in many ways, but especially on running meetings where the delicate task of balancing focus and creativity is a priority.

This quote from the article addresses something I have been pondering about current politics with its “interesting only when winning” attitude I see in so many people:

Young Mormons also hone leadership skills by serving missions away from home. The missions last from one and half to two years and happen when Mormons are in their late teens and early 20s and often include intensive foreign language training.

Chaffetz, whose son is serving a mission in Ghana, says the experience is the perfect preparation for political careers.

“They learn rejection early on,” he says. “If you’re going to be in politics, that’s a pretty good attribute.”

I would say that also helps in a lot of situations in life, not merely the political. My older friends remark on how bad the younger coworkers are in dealing with people and it usually boils down to their being unable to handle opposing viewpoints. That is a pity, for having your beliefs challenged is the best way to find out what they actually are.

One thing I would like to note is that the Washington D.C. Temple was the closest one to members in this area until the Chicago Temple was built. It served the entire country east of the Mississippi when it opened, so it was very important in Church growth. Now we have one in St. Paul so the traveling is a lot easier, thankfully.

Anyway, read the article.

For Easter

One of the lessons I have learned from the Savior is that at the heart of all good acts lies sacrifice. One must go beyond selfish wishes, or even the instinct of self preservation in order to do good. What a world we would have if everyone behaved that way, but alas, too many think of themselves above all others.

I am grateful for such a role model and messiah. Hopefully, I will continue learning at His feet and become a better man.

Tools of the Faith

When it comes to technology, I believe that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are more geeky than a lot of the population at large in the United States. That is a bold claim in the era of iPads, iPods, and Facebook, but I notice we tend to be early adopters of technology and love to incorporate it into church wide usage. Now that I have moved over to an Android platform for my portable assistant needs, I am finding my suspicions are correct.

The last revamp to LDS.org has made it a more useful tool for individual members, whether they be leaders or the average person. While the updated profile information and access to online versions of manuals/teaching tools impressed me, it was not until recently that I began to really appreciate what can be done with them.

Both  iOS and Android devices have free apps that allow you to sync up all your highlights, annotations, and bookmarks from your scriptures, magazines, and manuals with your LDS.org account. This is tremendously handy for me, since I try to keep my electronic and hard copy scriptures in sync. Making sure to highlight or note something in my Holy Bible or Book of Mormon that I did with my tablet is not easy simply because my memory is not that good. But if I synch my tablet to the account, all I have to do is look under “My Study Notebook” and voila, there it is. Then I crack open the books and get my highlighting pencils out to manually sync the paper editions. The ease of that made me very happy.

Search for “Gospel Library” in Google Play, Amazon Kindle, or iTunes app stores for the very well done app from the Church. If you have a lot of space on your tablet or smart phone, I advise downloading all the conference talks available. So far everything back to 1974 has been issued in electronic format for the app. I also suggest exploring all the lesser pamphlets and manuals, for there is a lot of good information there.

But wait, there is more out there!

I highly recommend Stake Central for Android. While some may be content with the lesser Ward Central app, this has your local leadership and stake calendar included. Both are very handy for active families looking to keep up with local events and contacting people for information. It is the same data you can access on your LDS.org membership account, but downloaded for when you have no Web access.

Another useful tool for digging into scripture is “LDS Citation Index”, which allows you to find conference talks, books, and manuals that reference a specific verse of scripture. This is great for preparing lessons and talks when you are on the road or cannot get to a PC. Look for it in Android markets.

There are other apps available, but those are the ones I am using currently. Now to get the stray annotations out of my old Dell Axim…

Mr. Krueger’s Christmas: 25th Anniversary DVD

A simple 25 minute film featuring Jimmy Stewart as a lonely old man on Christmas Eve became something of a classic amongst Latter-day Saints after its 1980 release. While marking a shift in outreach to the public from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its importance is more than that. It is the simple message at the end that says it all about the holiday.

I had originally planned to review something completely different for Christmas, but was hit by a moment of inspiration. Having had difficulty getting into the feeling of the season, I realized it had been a few years since I last watched this. So along with purchasing Christmas with the Rat Pack from Amazon’s MP3 service, it was time to make an active effort. By the way, I’m listening to that superb compilation while writing this review.

Mr. Krueger’s Christmas begins with the title character working as a custodian of an apartment building. It being Christmas Eve, he sets out for a tree to put up in his basement apartment. Attempts to interact with people on the street are ignored or barely acknowledged. It is cold outside in more ways than one.

Along the way, he looks at a suit in a shop window, much like a child looking at toys would. In no time he is lost in a fantasy of being fitted with a new suit and being treated like a man of status. It is only the beginning of fantasies which Willie Krueger succumbs to out of loneliness.

Christmas Musings

It is that time of year when bright lights and inflatable Santa Claus lawn ornaments start appearing. As the years go by, I find myself becoming more like Charlie Brown in lamenting the commercialization of the holiday. Christmas is not supposed to be about such things, but about celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Substitute any good rant about the subject in place of this sentence and it will cover the important points. Instead of dwelling on the negative, I find myself thinking of other things. Especially one thing. It has been nearly five years since that experience and I think of that dying young mother every Christmas time.

It can be strange what haunts you when you travel the musty corridors of memory. Talking to her at that gas station has stayed with me in a way most memories have not. For me, that has become the Christmas memory above all others and I am not sure why.

One thing that I wish to do is surround myself with things more important and real than the trappings of the popular culture. Perhaps watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional is a good start to this. Making the time more Christ centric is always a good idea, but certainly more so when you have things like Black Friday dominating the news. Materialism is not what this is supposed to be about.

So I will turn my eyes toward the spiritual and try not to allow what others do annoy me. So I will meditate and contemplate that sacred first coming of Jesus so long ago in humble circumstances.

Oh my, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s rendition of The First Noel just killed me. Absolutely beautiful.