Welcome Home PandaMae

Last year I went with my oldest daughter to Girl’s Camp.  Back then I thought it was for her.  I felt that it would make it easier for her to be away from the family for a whole week.

Let me explain, in the LDS Church many there is an organization for the teenage girls.  It is called the Young Women’s organization.  It’s primary focus is teaching the girls the gospel of Jesus Christ.  But the “young women” often learn life skills and have fun.

Each year as part of the learning about Christ, and having fun, and learning life skills, each local organization hosts a camp out.  It is simply called “Girl’s Camp.”  However, in our local church group, girls who are 13- and 14-years old have an extra opportunity to go to Oakcrest.

This camp is filled with crafts, hikes, games, and a night out under the stars.  there are lesson on life, religion, family, and more.  I have never been so I have only a small figurative peak at what they do, but from most girls I get nothing but rave reviews.

Well, if you follow my twitters, then you know that PandaMae left our home for week to go to Oakcrest.  She was very excited and couldn’t wait.

While I sensed some hesitation at the drop off, I knew that she was happy to go.

However, as I think it over, I suspect that the hesitation was mine.  I didn’t want her to go.  I miss my little girl.  Even though she is very quiet, and sometimes she can be in her room for hours and no one notice she is gone, something is different in our home.

Something is missing.

Today she comes back.  And I can’t wait to get home and see her.  I can’t wait to hear about her adventures.  See her pictures, and hopefully get a glimpse at a testimony that has grown.

It’s funny.  My wife is the one who can’t stand the thought of our children growing up and leaving the house.  I often comment on how much I can’t wait tell all the birds have flown the coop.  Yet, it is my wife who has been stellar.  She seldom comments on PandaMae’s absence.  While I don’t think a day has gone by without my mentioning her as gone.

I will probably be the won crying at her wedding too.

Reflecting back to last year, and to the hesitation at the drop off for Oakcrest.  I think that it is me who is more worried about these adventures.  My little girl that used to wake me up with her respiratory alarm at 3 months, the little girl who used to ride her big wheel in the balcony of our apartment, the little girl who used to think that I could fix anything including the credit card in the 3.25″ floppy drive is not my little girl any more.

She’s my big little girl now.

Welcome home PandaMae, I hope you had a fun time.

Virtual Tours of LDS Temples

Wow!  So yesturday I was just clicking around Google, and I found this program of called SketchUp, which is used to make 3D images.  Google offers it for free (and they have pay version) in the hopes that people will make images of their favorite places.  I think that Google hopes to offer a 3D image of the world through Google Earth.

Because I was bored, I figured that I would try to learn SketchUp by making a mock-up of the Salt Lake Temple.  I have a fairly nice model  started, and I am having fun learning it.  But in the process, I realized that several temples (including many of the Salt Lake Temple) have already been done.

So, if you want to have a virtual tour of the exteriors of LDS Temples, then check out the 3D Warehouse of LDS Temples (you will need either Google Earth or SketchUp or both to view them).  I particularly like the models by titotello.

My Christmas Card(s) to You

Rather than giving you one Christmas card this year, I will share 14.  I read about these wonderful cards in the Deseret News. And while watching it, I was touched, and reminded of the reason we celebrate Christmas.  So, I am now sharing them with you.

Some of my favorites are the ones by:
Boston Ashley Madison
Simini Lauren Blocker
Matthew Ray Loveridge
Rachel Ann Jones
Houston Trueblood (with Note that I like his inspiration more than his actual illustration).

I hope that you enjoy them and the presentation as much as I did.

Just as a side note the front page to the cards is wonderful too, but I didn’t want people to get lost there and not see all of the cards.

A Christmas Missionary Memory

Our local ward is putting together a collection of Christmas stories to send to the missionaries who are presently serving missions from our ward.  They specifically asked for Christmas stories from our missions.  And when I heard that I knew that I had to share the following story:

In 1991, I spent my first Christmas away from my family.  I loved Christmas time as a kid, and it was hard to be away from my family.  But I was serving the Lord in Pusan, Korea and I knew that I was where my family and the Lord wanted me to be.

However, since, I was still a new missionary, and I hadn’t quite learned the language yet, I was lonely.  Sure, I had a companion, and house mates, and many wonderful people in the Ward that I was serving in.  However, I just didn’t feel like Christmas.

Koreans don’t celebrate Christmas very much.  It is at best an after thought for most people.  So, there were no dinner invites, or extensive decorations.  I remember that the only sign of Christmas was a Christmas tree in the lobby of the church that we had managed to acquire through the local U.S. Army Base (it is illegal to cut down any tree in Korea, so this tree was from the U.S.).

I finally realized that I was homesick when I was riding on a bus, and everyone seemed to remind me of someone at home.  I saw my Bishop, a friend from high school, and others.  It was getting bad.

Unfortunately, my companion didn’t make it much better.  He was in his 22nd  month and was ready to go home.  I won’t say that he was trunky, but I got sick and tired of watching the video that his family had sent him for Christmas.

The real kicker for that year on Christmas was Christmas day itself.  My companion had figured that since it was Christmas Day he didn’t need to work.  Instead we went to the Ward building and talked with the members for most of the day.  At first there were very few members, but as the day went on, teenagers started arriving after school was out, and my companion who spoke better than I was enjoying talking to them.  Instead, I was left to myself and the occasion member who felt pity enough to try and talk with me.

It was then that I had resolved that the next year, I was going to follow the council of President Kimball on how to overcome homesickness.  While in the MTC, my teachers encouraged us to memorize a quote from President Benson.  It said, “There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. Work, work, work—there is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work” (The Teaching of Ezra Taft Benson [1988], 200).  So I committed myself to work on Christmas day.

A year later the opportunity came to follow-up on my promise.  I advise my companion, who was even more green than I was a year ago, that we weren’t going to relax on Christmas.  I told him that we were going to work.  Be a more humble missionary than I was, he graciously agreed.  We had no appointments and little plans accept an activity in the Branch that evening.  So, we hit the pavement.

At first, it was a lot of the usual street proselyting activity.  There was not much success as the city we were in was very small, and most of the people knew who we were any way.  After lunch I remember thinking that we need to head to the business district and proselyte on the way.  But the weather turned cold, and it was very tempting just to head to the Branch building to visit with some of the members.

However, remembering my commitment of a year ago, we pushed through the cold.  As the wind blew fiercely, I talked to a high school student.  Who at first didn’t really seem all that interested.  And honestly, when he made the appointment I was sure that he wasn’t planning on showing up.  Really, at the time I didn’t think much about the situation, accept that I remember the cold wind and this kid’s willingness to talk to me for so long.

He did show up to our first appointment and after several visits he ultimately committed to be baptized.  It was then I remember that I had first met this kid while proselyting on Christmas day.  The Lord blessed me with less homesickness, but he also brought one of his chosen children to help him onto the path.

Pew Research Interviews Elder Nelson

Whether you are voting for Romney or not (I am not), you have to agree that he has brought the light on the LDS church. And it sure leads to some great reading material for those who are interested in the church, member or not.

The Pew Forum, which is an arm of the Pew Research Center, had a great interview with Elder Russel M. Nelson, of the Quorum of the Twelve, and Elder Lance B. Wickman, member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, and the Church’s general council.

My first thought on the matter is they really did a great job of introducing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from a secular perspective. They kept the details to the facts and didn’t get into side notes from those who are against the Church.

Further there are some really great quotes from both Elder Nelson and Elder Wickman. In case you don’t have the time to read the whole article, you can check these out:

Forum: A lot has been written in recent years about tensions between the evangelical community and the LDS church. Are those tensions indeed real, are there some ecumenical issues that have to be addressed, and if so, how can they be addressed?

Wickman: I think if they exist, they’re one-sided. They don’t exist on our end. As I said, we believe in Jesus Christ. We teach him, and him crucified; we teach his teachings and doctrines; we find a sense of brotherhood with everyone – regardless of their faith affiliation – who share such beliefs.

This is very true. While we do teach that other religions are false, it is not in or behavior to actively denounce, degrade, berate or put down another religion.

Forum: For many people outside the church, the present seems like a special time for the church because it is getting so much attention. Why is this happening? Why does the church seem to be the focus of so much attention? What’s happening in American society?

Nelson: I think, for one reason, real-thinking people are very concerned with what’s happening to society. The symptoms of immorality and social decadence are alarming, and people are honestly looking for a better way of life. They’re looking for the truth. They’re looking for something they can cling to. . . . (Comments from Elder Wickman removed)

Here’s another thought that comes to me, and that is that nearly everybody has a neighbor who’s a member of this church. There are what, about 200 countries in the world. We have at least one member of the church in every nation of the world now.

First, I agree that the draw to the Church is because people are finding it harder and harder to find good in the world. Thus, the Church has become a bastion for faith, instruction, direction and connection with our Heavenly Father.

Second, Did he really say we have a member of the church in every nation of the world now? Why yes he did. That includes Iraq, Afghanistan (is he counting military personell?) and even the most communist country in the world North Korea. Wow, I would love to meet the North Korean member(s).

Finally, for some interesting statistics about people’s perceptions of the Church and its member, you might be interested in the Pew’s recent publication on the public view of the Mormon faith.  I personally found it interesting the 64% of the public wouldn’t use the Mormon faith of a candidate to vote.  But I should be surprised because it wouldn’t influence my vote either.

To Agree or Disagree…

On Wednesday, Professor Warner Woodworth made this outrageous statement:

As a committed Latter-day Saint and Brigham Young University professor, I and others disagree with whatever Vice President Dick Cheney will say at this Thursday’s commencement (emphasis added).

While I didn’t get a chance to listen to the Cheney’s speach, I read it. Here are some of the things that Woodworth disagrees with:

• But this day belongs to the fine young men and women who’ve actually earned their degrees.
• There is also a great spirit to BYU, and this University will always be part of you. We had a glimpse of the character of BYU again last Friday, when this campus held a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. More than a place of learning, BYU is a community of faith, and kindness, and compassion.
• Above all, you’ll carry the distinction of earning a degree from BYU — a place with impressive alumni throughout this nation and far beyond. The values of this school have been a guide to generations. BYU alumni are men and women at home in the world — working and achieving, and reflecting great credit on this University and on the LDS church.
• Setting a plan for your life can be a good thing — it keeps you focused on the future, and gives you a standard for measuring your progress. Yet I would guess that 10 years from now, many of you will find yourselves following a very different course, all because of an opportunity that came out of the blue.
• You, too, may face some disappointing turns of your own — times when you fall short, knowing you could have done better. And when that happens, don’t give up or let your doubts get the best of you.
• gratitude, in general, is a good habit to get into. It is usually a correct appraisal of our situation. Most of us are able to succeed and to rise in the world because someone helped out along the way — whether it was a memorable teacher, or a boss who handed us a great opportunity, or the person who took a chance and gave us the first big break in our career. A grateful heart is an honest understanding of all that we have been given, and all that is expected in return.

Wow, I would have hated to disagree with any of that. Disagreeing with some of it could and probably should lead to disciplinary action by the University.

BYU’s Changes Its Honor Code

I just recent read that BYU is changing it’s honor code. And honestly, I don’t like it. Is this the capitulation of the Church to homosexuals? Will Soulforce claim this as a victory? Am I the only Mormon who finds this capitulation offensive?

I agree with loving the sinner and hating the sin. I agree that the worse act is have sex with a person of the same gender. I understand that same gender attraction is not a severe act, but this all seems like just a step closer to our tolerance and ultimate acceptance of homosexuality.

I have a gay friend, a gay cousin, and work with another gay men. I treat them with respect. However, I ache for their decision to do something morally wrong. Let’s remember that even our thoughts can be immoral. Mosiah 4:30 says “But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not” (emphasis added).

Now I am not saying the BYU should be the thought police. However, if someone comes out as openly gay, I strong feel that they should take action. Tyron Edwards is noted as saying “Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny.”

BYU seems so caught up in political correctness that they have forgotten what is right.