A Fable from Franklin....

I am currently reading an excellent and lengthy biography of Benjamin Franklin entitled "The First American." One thing I love is that the author consistently uses Franklin's own words throughout the narrative, helping you feel you are truly getting to know Franklin himself. While I have read much that I could post here for it's truthfulness and universal applicability, I want to share one fable I especially loved that illustrates the futility of trying to please everyone (something too many people are loathe to do) and simply reiterates a fact I believe in and that is be yourself in a way that allows you to be content with your standing before God. If you can stand before the Great Judge with peace of mind, don't worry what anyone else has to say about you.

A certain well-meaning man and his son were traveling towards a market town, with an ass which they had to sell. The road was bad, and the old man therefore rode, but the son went afoot. The first passenger they met asked the father if he was not ashamed to ride by himself and suffer the poor lad to wade along through the mire; this induced him to take up his son behind him. He had not traveled far when he met others, who said they were two unmerciful lubbers to get both on the back of that poor ass, in such a deep road. Upon this the old man gets off and let his son ride alone. The next they met called the lad a graceless, rascally young jacka-napes to ride in that manner through the dirt while his aged father trudged along on foot; and they said the old man was a fool for suffering it. He then bid his son come down and walk with him, and they traveled on leading the ass by the halter; till they met another company, who called them a couple of senseless blockheads for going both on foot in such a dirty way when they had an empty ass with them, which they might ride upon. The old man could bear no longer. My son, he said, it grieves me much that we cannot please all these people. Let us throw the ass over the next bridge, and be no farther troubled with him.

One World, One Dream

Was anyone else blown away by the sheer perfection of the Olympic's opening ceremonies? The coordination of thousands of performers...walking in the right places, forming symmetrical lines and perfect shapes....all with no markings on the ground?!! China sure put on a great show....one that had us totally enthralled (at least until the drudgery of the Parade of Nations). Even Tommy was amazed! All the color and movement and sounds were enough to keep him entertained. I love these events every two years....essentially because they represent a global celebration of the human spirit, of doing one's best, and coming together despite differences to strive for a single goal that we all share--to be the best we can be. Despite China's turbulent 20th century, they were an amazing nation for several centuries before that. Having focused my studies on Modern 20th Century Chinese history, I know of some atrocities their leaders (namely Mao Zedong) have committed resulting in the deaths of over 50 million of his own people. But the Olympics are about coming together for an all too brief period of unity. And in doing this, one doesn't have to forgive the past and especially not forget it. Hosting the Olympics doesn't wipe away a nation's past blemishes, so people shouldn't act like the world is condoning China's mistakes simply because we do condone their sincere efforts to host a successful Olympic games. China has a long way to go.....and sadly I feel she will never recapture her diminished place of glory and honor among the elite nations of the world. But here's to now, to coming together, striving for a goal of one's best, and hoping for U.S. gold in Beijing!

We have a pulse....and are still alive

Guess what...our 4 month absence doesn't mean we were both suddenly incapacitated by a debilitating car accident. We've been around, living life like normal, just without updating our blog for a while. And for all 3 readers out there, we haven't forgotten you (especially considering that Alice and I account for two of those three readers....reader 3, who are you?). There's certainly been plenty to blog about, especially with Tommy and his astounding cuteness. That boy is awesome! Not to mention that we're in the heat of a presidential election, and the absolute wrong candidate for this country is leading in the polls. I guess that's because the past two months every major news outlet has forgotten there's more than one man in this race and has turned my television into "Obamavision." Oh yeah, and I've officially sworn off Wal-Mart since my last posting. Nothing to do with their crappy customer service....I've just done a lot of research into their overall affect on America's economy, America's citizens, and America's business ethics. I began ignoring most of it because some of their influences can be attributed simply to free enterprise, which I'm all for. I don't support any socialist programs or ideals. But Wal-Mart specifically......don't get me started now. Watch for a future post dedicated solely to that. Anyways, more later! Just wanted to provide a fresh breath of life to this blog.....reader 3 will be excited!

Oh happy day!

It seems we often only think of bad things happening all at once...well, good things can come all at once too! Within only a few days, Ryan, my brother, got sealed to his true love Jodi, I got an acceptance letter to George Washington University in D.C. (one of the highest rated graduate schools in history), AND Alice and I found out we are going to be having another baby that is due only two days before my birthday (the due date is Oct. 20)! Suffice it to say, we had a WONDERFUL weekend. We were initially filled with some trepidation over dealing with a possible move far away for graduate school while Alice is pregnant because her last pregnancy was awful. On top of that, simply changing locales to such a foreign location while preparing for another baby is quite overwhelming. Both incidents are major life changes and require significant emotional and financial investments. And after considering all this, now seems like the right time to remind ourselves that a life without difficulty is not a life worth living. How much the better can we become by sitting around doing only what is minimally required to simply keep us comfortable...to maintain the status quo? Anyways, this is the first graduate school we've heard back from, so we may still end up in New York/London or Seattle instead. Nonetheless, important and difficult decisions lie ahead--but so does a whole ton of joy and happiness!

"True Conservative?!"

I'm sorry, I have to get this off my chest...I'll be brief. I saw a John McCain commercial on CNN the other day touting him as, get ready, the "true conservative" (no, it wasn't produced by the National Enquirer). Yeah, and Steve Martin's a Mormon. Of course, they highlighted his conservative aspects, but a TRUE conservative?! Wouldn't you actually have to be near the MIDDLE of conservative values, not radically to the left, to tout that label? I'll admit, McCain has some conservative aspects....maybe better described as "conservative inklings." But as far as I'm concerned, any Republican candidate who won't stand with the party's platform on preserving traditional marriage, who supports a Ted Kennedy bill offering amnesty to illegals, and who votes against Bush's tax cuts is NOT a true Republican. Oh, anybody remember McCain/Feingold? Yeah, true conservatism at its best... I'm sorry, McCain may have Conservative leanings, but he's certainly nowhere close to being able to advertise himself as a TRUE conservative. It's too bad Romney and Huckabee are splitting the true conservative vote, meaning we're going to end up voting for a full liberal or half liberal come November, and we can kiss goodbye any sort of a constitutional amendment protecting the family. And about that split vote with Huckabee and Romney....don't get me started on that either!

His final address....perfect

As Alice and I watched President Hinckley's final General Conference address on our DVDs from last October's Conference, I was not only amazed at what a perfect address it was, but even more so at the fact that it wasn't overtly a farewell address. It didn't end with the air of "Geez, I think this is it," and yet it was a very broad address encompassing so many aspects of the Gospel. After beginning with Moroni's visit to Joseph, he went back in time to testify of God's hand throughout the ages and even alluded to the apostasy. His words encompassed the great First Vision, the restoration of the Priesthood, and the divine coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Appropriately, he spoke of the tremendous growth the church has experienced, particularly the Book of Mormon, as it has been translated in over 100 languages. All in all, I felt his talk was an appropriate step back from a focused doctrine or topic and was a broad, encompassing testimony of the divinity of the work and the fact that it will roll on without him, because the Lord is at the head. While President Hinckley's contributions to the rolling forth of the stone cut out of the mountain are too great to be listed, the stone will roll on. It is undeniable, however, that President Hinckley sure got that stone rolling down that mountain pretty darn fast!

Politics...Ever Present, Ever Annoying

Isn't all this political huba-baloo just the most exciting part of the new year? It sure makes me grateful I don't live in New Hampshire or Iowa, I feel inundated enough living two thousand miles away. As much as I love our political process, and believe it is divinely inspired, I'm more than a little annoyed at the degree to which it has strayed from its original principles and purposes. Today, races seem like nothing more than glorified Student Body elections from high school with most of the campaigning relying on gossip, hearsay, and character attacks while real talk about the issues is only mentioned in passing because candidates are obligated to mention them. Anybody remember the last gubernatorial election in Utah with the two candidates amicably acknowledging the character STRENGTHS of their opponent and truly remaining focused on the issues? And that was throughout the whole campaign, not one negative ad or attack on the other....there's how campaigns should work. Let me clarify, I am not advocating any sort of a boycott on the system at all. After all, nothing ignored will ever fix itself. On the contrary, I am advocating a greater need to get involved and clean the system ourselves. After all, when was the last time you actually heard a candidate for President quote the constitution? Prophets quote spiritual scripture, shouldn't politicians quote and adhere to political scripture?