4th Anniversary

Tomorrow is our anniversary!
It has been four years already and a lot has happened. I am grateful for her and her putting up with me. I think she is a wonderful girl. She is good with our kids and awesome with everyone around her. Mostly she is good to me and everything I ever wanted and want!
So that's it. Happy Anniversary Jenna! I hope it is great for you...though it will be pretty busy, eh?

Testimony

Well. Jenna and I are giving talks in church this Sunday. The topics are Joseph Smith and Testimony. Jenna's going to cover Joseph Smith and I am going to address Testimony. So of course, as soon as this assignment was given, my mind started trying to organize thoughts about testimony and just what it is.
First. I think that there are two parts to testimony. (Well, AT LEAST two...) First we all think about the question, do I have a testimony? Is it strong enough? How should I share it. Part of testimony is a very, very personal thing that involves the gaining and sharing of it. Not only do we need to gain the testimony but the testimony needs to be of truth. We go about gaining a testimony much as Alma described in Alma 32. We plant the seed-the idea. We nourish the seed through study and obedience to the principles we are working on. If the seed is good it grows. Simple right? I have seen this process work on any number of gospel principles. Tithing. Fasting and Fast Offerings. Repentance. Missionary work. Faith. Temple Work and Ordinances. Chastity. Charity. Baptism. Celestial Marriage. All of these things have proven to produce good fruit in my life and as long as I continue to nourish them, they stay healthy and strong and guide my life.
The second part of testimony that I probably don't think about as much but is crucial to its development is listening and heeding the testimony of others. Especially those ordained as our leaders. Prophets. Apostles. Seventy. Stake Presidents. Bishops. Relief Society Presidents. Our teachers. These persons have been given authority in many instances to teach us. Those who bear powerful testimony of Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith, as well as other gospel principles are adding strength to our testimonies. The responsibility we have is to be hearers of the word and then doers.
I find myself worrying often if I am keeping my testimony strong enough. I think the reason this is such a concern is because a testimony is alive. When I get busy with life, sometimes I feel like I haven't given it the attention it needs. Feeding it and nourishing it every day will keep it alive. Sharing it with others will keep it alive and nourish another's testimony. I have noticed that those who lose testimony have usually done something or aligned themselves with someone or something that is contrary to gospel principles. They begin to question and apostatize. I believe it is okay to ask questions. That is how we learn. But the intent of those questions must be pure.
Anyway. Some thoughts for me to ponder. I hope the talk goes well, if not at least I learned something!

"Hope Ya Know"

Maybe some have already seen this, it is from the church web site. I thought it was really good.

This one is also great.

Happy Birthday Jenna!

Today is my wife's birthday. She is a great, great wife and friend. So. I just wanted to post about that. I really can't believe I actually survived for 25 and a half years without her by my side. She has made everything I do better. She even helps me think straight when I get frustrated, "anxietied", or over-worried. She takes wonderful care of our children and me. She teaches them the gospel and proper and upright things and I couldn't have married anyone better. She is beautiful. She is loving and caring. She is a perfect companion and keeps me doing the right things. I love you honey!

PUNCH OUT!!

This is way off of the beaten path of my usual posts, but I am a Punch Out!! fan and I have to say this commercial/advertisement is hilarious...
At least to me...

Ah...
Nintendo.

Leadership

I love Doctrine and Covenants 121:34-46. There are several reasons why I love this selection of verses, but a lot of it is because it is a perfect guideline for leadership. I had an experience this week that brought these verses to my mind. I am not going to get into any detail as it is the lesson learned that is the important part.
Here are the verses in case you don't want to look them up:
34 Behold, there are many ^acalled, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

35 Because their ^ahearts are set so much upon the things of this ^bworld, and ^caspire to the ^dhonors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—

36 That the ^arights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be ^bcontrolled nor handled only upon the ^cprinciples of righteousness.

37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to ^acover our ^bsins, or to gratify our ^cpride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or ^ddominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens ^ewithdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.

38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to ^akick against the pricks, to ^bpersecute the saints, and to ^cfight against God.

39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the ^anature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little ^bauthority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise ^cunrighteous dominion.

40 Hence many are called, but ^afew are chosen.

41 No ^apower or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the ^bpriesthood, only by ^cpersuasion, by ^dlong-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

42 By ^akindness, and pure ^bknowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the ^csoul without ^dhypocrisy, and without ^eguile—

43 ^aReproving betimes with ^bsharpness, when ^cmoved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of ^dlove toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of ^adeath.

45 Let thy ^abowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let ^bvirtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy ^cconfidence wax strong in the ^dpresence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the ^edews from heaven.

46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant ^acompanion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of ^brighteousness and truth; and thy ^cdominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.
I think I realize more and more as time passes that a good leader will build inspire and carry those he or she is responsible for. I believe that many leaders are looking to help those around them.
I think it most important above all that a leader beware of the warnings in verse 37-39 and do their best to resist the temptation to abuse that authority. It most certainly is the "nature and disposition of almost all men" to exercise unrighteous dominion when they believe the are "in charge".
Along with that however, when the time for reproving does come, and it will, verses 43 AND 44 are imperative and must come TOGETHER.
In my line of work there is a constant stream of evaluation and pressure to perform. Not only is this pressure placed on the kids by myself, but it is placed on teachers, administrators, and other staff. The pressure is HIGH at times and many of us get stressed about how we will look if someone below us fails. Believe me, when my kids struggle or perform lower than my expectations, I feel the stress. (From myself mostly, and also others.) Unfortunately in my case this stress is caused many times by my desire to please man and "not look bad". This can be motivating, but it, at times, feels draining and uninspiring. There have been many times when I have chastised my class (or children at home/church) because of my selfish desire to "look good." This is not something I am proud of, yet I think that many of us face the same dilemma.
I cite these negative examples because they do happen, yet I believe that if one were to look at education in general, along with teaching in our homes, these negative examples would be few and far between. I think mostly I have seen positive examples. Now, I realize that the business of education is not completely comparable to the rights of the Priesthood, and yet, I think that the gospel we have applies perfectly to any situation given that people will do the work and apply it.
When it comes to teaching and leadership I love verse 44 especially: "That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death." This is a lot to ask of a leader. But it is possible. Those whom we have stewardship over, whether it be teaching, parenting, callings, community or otherwise need to know we love them. That we do care about their well-being. That we are not out "to get them", but that we have a sincere desire for them to succeed in a temporal and eternal life. This is where having our "bowels full of charity towards all men" comes into play. We all know this is not easy, and yet there is something comforting in the knowledge that we are trying, though not always succeeding.
I appreciate a leader who recognizes my successes and points them out while at the same time fulfilling their duty to offer words of correction or assistance. Not just words, but example and follow-up.
Ultimately if we can give an honest effort to verses 45-46 our confidence as leaders will "wax strong in the presence of God" and also of man. When we quit trying to impress the people around us and seek to do our duty sincerely to God and his children then our confidence that we are doing what is right buoys us through discouragement and opposition (AND there IS opposition to any good leader. Just ask the Savior, or Joseph Smith, or any person in a position of authority.). Preparation and study are essential and success cannot be achieved without them, but all the preparation and study in the world cannot make us good leaders unless we are willing to follow and apply the correct principles leadership is based on. We must forgo our natural desires and seek a higher good than our own good. The best part of these verses is the promise that the Holy Ghost will be our constant companion along with the rest of verse 46. With the Holy Ghost as our constant companion our decisions will be right more often and our sincerity in our leadership will be more pure.

Baptism and Agency

Okay. We are taking shifts today with sick babies and we are at mid-shift and I am going quickly to church, but I wanted to write down a few quick thoughts I had before I lost them.
I was reading 3 Nephi 11 today and verses 33 and 34 stuck out to me a little more than usual. I have been guilty at times of wondering what the "big deal" about baptism is and have pondered it a little here and there. I think I am really starting to get it. Um...anyway. Here are the verses:
"And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned."
Pretty cut and dry if you ask me. The part that used to bother me is that I felt like the "damned" part was pretty harsh. However, as I have learned and understood a bit more, really, the Lord has no choice. Simply put he must enforce His laws. He has already chosen to do so. He has said that in order to enter the Celestial Kingdom we have to be baptized. In order to want to enter we have to believe in Christ and trust him and know that what He is saying is "for real". The other side, the "damned" part is simply that we choose not to believe, or trust Christ and we choose not to be baptized. Therefore we choose to NOT enter the Celestial Kingdom. So...we just damned ourselves.
I think this helps me with understanding the mercy of Christ. He loves us. He wants us to be with Him and the Father. He says we should be baptized (among other commandments) if we want to live where Him and the Father live. It's pretty simple. He NEVER takes our ability to choose our path. But the consequences for good or evil cannot be repealed.
It's just the same as if I choose to stay up late (which I do all too often). The consequence is...I am tired. No avoiding it. If I would have chosen to avoid college...I wouldn't be a teacher. If I had chosen to not be married...I wouldn't have a family. By taking on responsibility I have found further happiness AND progress. Hard somedays? Yes. Rewarding? Much more so. Progression is very interesting, what seems hard, but then achieved all of a sudden becomes, "I could never go back! Ever."
So back to something as simple as baptism. It is a very short (time-wise) ordinance that shows the Father we are willing to give life our best shot. It also shows we are willing to make preparations for the Celestial Kingdom.
So. Really I guess the Savior is right: "And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned."
And it won't be His fault, it will be ours.
That is a sobering thought to me and I hope I can continue trying to work hard. Yes, I have been baptized by Authority, but it is still up to me to endure to the end. Thankfully our Savior cares enough about our success to send help and support when we are in need.

Jon Schmidt

Okay. Growing up during my high school years, Sam Barker and I loved listening to this guy's music for our background to many conversations. I think he is a very talented man and very entertaining. Jenna showed me this video the other day and I realized the guy still has it! Anyway. Some of you may have seen this, but this song is quite good. I wouldn't post it if I wasn't impressed! Oh, the cellist is a man named Steve Sharp Nelson, he's also very talented.

Talents are amazing aren't they?

Back...

Okay. It's been a while. Jenna is definitely more dedicated to bloggery than I am, but in my defense it has been a CRAZY 6 weeks.
We are adjusting quite well to everything and just blessed Allison Elizabeth on Sunday. It was nice, I am grateful for revelation.
I think the second time around is much easier. With Dallin I could hardly sleep the first night...with Allison. I threw a blanket over my head (it was cold...but not to Jenna...) and went to sleep. Jenna couldn't wake me until she started throwing things. That is true love...and much more confidence in the gift of lungs. Though we did have a choking scare that first night due to quite a bit of amniotic fluid. More was sucked out the next afternoon also.
Needless to say we have been exceptionally tired this last few weeks. School has been more of a challenge, but things are looking up.
It is all worth it though as it seems to be that we grow closer to God in our extremity. A little over a week after Allison was born I got the root canal of my life. That is saying something, because I have had plenty. I thought I was being extra prepared and got into the dentist before it completely flared up. But I was wrong. The surgery was performed...and then the pain began. It got infected and not even very adequate painkillers could do very much for me. At one point during this week ordeal (yes, a week...) our bishop, who is also our neighbor, Shane Frost came to give a blessing. It was late. He then proceeded to drive me over to Cedar City after 11:00 p.m. so Dr. Brown could drill and little and numb me up. It really helped. I really appreciated Shane and Sean taking me over the mountain and Dr. Brown for coming late after Church meetings the day before he flew to Nebraska.
I guess in all this, with a baby and tooth and other adventures we have had lately, we have been made really aware how much the people around us care for us. We try to be helpful members of the community yet the community has really been the ones to take care of us. I believe the Lord is pleased for the most part with the people in this area. They are sincerely trying. I don't think we deserve the help we have received, but I am grateful the Lord has seen fit to help us out.
Anyway. Not much else to say for now. We are doing well and are very happy, if not very tired much of the time. We have a good life. We hope to continue to be worthy of what we are blessed with.

Almost here...

I have not done much here for a while! I don't really have any good reasons actually. We have been pretty busy getting things ready for our baby to get here, but I have somewhat neglected the "blogosphere". I don't think this is entirely bad, but I do notice that putting my thoughts out here is a great way for me to really settle into my own thinking and analyze things happening around me. I do write in a journal and that helps with the same process, however it is more a list of things I do and people I interact with.
Anyway. Today we are going to St. George for our last doctor's appointment. That is pretty exciting, and tomorrow is even more exciting as Jenna is being induced. Now, we did not request that she be induced, but with the almost two hour drive from Orderville, and wanting to avoid a drive filled with misery and "contraction action", Dr. Lunt decided it best that we come early. I am glad for this honestly, it saves Jenna and I a lot of worry. I see it as a blessing.
We are facing, I think, some of the usual nervousness and excitement at the prospect of a new child. Jenna and I worry about Dallin and how he'll adjust. We know he will have some moments of "what about me". We have discussed this and have planned on having him as involved as possible. Thankfully we have many relatives and friends in St. George that can help him. I am worried about Jenna getting that baby out. She is such a small woman and it was hard enough getting Dallin out, and Dallin was four weeks early. I worry about Jenna's health and hoping she can feel okay. It has been hard for me to watch these last several weeks of pregnancy. It is really difficult for most woman to get babies into this world and Jenna is not an exception. I definitely admire her pluck, because she keeps on going and stays busy and happy even though it is quite obvious her "pregnant state" is causing quite a bit of misery.
Of course I worry about some sleepless nights and teaching, but I think our main worry with this baby and with Dallin is that we'll take good care of them, that we will help them be healthy and be able to provide their needs. Along with those worries comes the concern that as parents we will teach them gospel principles appropriate to their understanding and conduct that will allow them to be a blessing to society. We take very seriously, as do most of you who read our blogs, the responsibility to raise responsible, enlightened, and worthy children in the Lord's eye's. I think the description of the Savior increasing in favor with God and man is the ideal objective for all of us and I am sure it is what we all strive for.
Please indulge me for a minute, but the Boy Scout Law come to mind for both our children and us and I thought I would post it here along with explanations from the Scouting website (You can substitute the word "scout" for "child" if it makes you feel better!

Scout Law

TRUSTWORTHY

A Scout tells the truth. He keeps his promises. Honesty is part of his code of conduct. People can depend on him.

LOYAL

A Scout is true to his family, Scout leaders, friends, school, and nation.

HELPFUL

A Scout is concerned about other people. He does things willingly for others without pay or reward.

FRIENDLY

A Scout is a friend to all. He is a brother to other Scouts. He seeks to understand others. He respects those with ideas and customs other than his own.

COURTEOUS

A Scout is polite to everyone regardless of age or position. He knows good manners make it easier for people to get along together.

KIND

A Scout understands there is strength in being gentle. He treats others as he wants to be treated. He does not hurt or kill harmless things without reason.

OBEDIENT

A Scout follows the rules of his family, school, and troop. He obeys the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobey them.

CHEERFUL

A Scout looks for the bright side of things. He cheerfully does tasks that come his way. He tries to make others happy.

THRIFTY

A Scout works to pay his way and to help others. He saves for unforeseen needs. He protects and conserves natural resources. He carefully uses time and property.

BRAVE

A Scout can face danger even if he is afraid. He has the courage to stand for what he thinks is right even if others laugh at or threaten him.

CLEAN

A Scout keeps his body and mind fit and clean. He goes around with those who believe in living by these same ideals. He helps keep his home and community clean.

REVERENT

A Scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others.

(www.scouting.org/Media/FactSheets/02-503a.aspx)

Scouting is an inspiration for me because of being so involved in it when I was a young man. If our kids can take these principles seriously and realize this is the way to live, then not only will their lives be blessed but our lives also as parents, and I believe the Lord will also be pleased with our accomplishments. I hope Jenna and I can measure up!
This is where my thoughts go with expecting a baby. I am really excited for the next few days, but I realize with these next days comes the responsibility of raising this little lady and her brother with correct principles so when the time comes for them to make their own decisions, they can do it with knowledge and wisdom. I don't think it is something we can take TOO seriously, but along with that teaching we are going to have lots and lots of fun on the way, because that is part of the plan too!
Oh, and did I say I am SO excited to have a little girl to go a long with my little boy? Jenna and I are a little bit spoiled!
We'll keep everyone posted.