Front Yard Elk

You know you're blessed when you look out your window and see a herd of elk grazing in your front yard.  Not too many people get that opportunity.

I happened to glance out the window last evening when I saw the white fur of an elk's posterior walking across our front lawn.  Then more of them came into view.

Dad went to grab his camera.  Here are some of the photos he shot:

It's awesome to be able to live so close to such majestic wildlife and to see them so often.  It's better than Northwest Trek!

Daily Message

"The Savior’s physical suffering guarantees that through his mercy and grace every member of the human family shall be freed from the bonds of death and be resurrected triumphantly from the grave. Of course the time of that resurrection and the degree of exaltation it leads to are based upon our faithfulness."

—Jeffrey R. Holland, "This Do in Remembrance of Me", Ensign, November 1995

Eat Drink and Be Merry... And Be Doomed!

Lest any of you subscribe to the "eat drink and be merry" philosophy, read the following Scripture and then tell me how panseric you think God is. He is very clear and straightforward in the following Scripture.  God is merciful to those who repent but to those who choose not to repent, He requires justice. And it won't be pretty. The wise will follow the counsel given to repent, because the alternative is unthinkable.

Doctrine and Covenants 19:4-7, 10-12, 15-20:

4 And surely every man must repent or suffer, for I, God, am endless. 

5 Wherefore, I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass, but woes shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, yea, to those who are found on my left hand. 

6 Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment. 

7 Again, it is written eternal damnation; wherefore it is more express than other scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men, altogether for my name’s glory. 

10 For, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is it! For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore— 

11 Eternal punishment is God’s punishment. 

12 Endless punishment is God’s punishment. 

15 Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. 

16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; 

17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; 

18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— 

19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. 

20 Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit.

Selfishness

"By focusing on himself, a selfish person finds it easier to bear false witness, to steal, and covet, since nothing should be denied him. No wonder it is so easy for governments to pander to the appetites of the natural man, especially if the trains continue to run on time, reassuring him all the while that his permissiveness is somehow permissible."

—Neal A. Maxwell, "Repent of [Our] Selfishness' D&C 56:8", Ensign, May 1999

After reading the above quote I was intrigued and decided to read the entire conference talk by Elder Neal A. Maxwell from whence the quote came.  In doing so I found some quotes that I really liked.  I decided to just take an entire section from the talk and post it on my blog.

Elder Maxwell always had a unique style of speaking and was a master orator.  This talk is no exception.  It is so rich you might have to read it several times before you absorb it all.

Taken from an April 1999 conference talk given by Elder Neal A. Maxwell entitled "Repent of [Our] Selfishness' D&C 56:8":

"Selfishness is actually the detonator of all the cardinal sins. It is the hammer for the breaking of the Ten Commandments, whether by neglecting parents, the Sabbath, or by inducing false witness, murder, and envy. No wonder the selfish individual is often willing to break a covenant in order to fix an appetite. No wonder those who will later comprise the telestial kingdom, after they have paid a price, were once unrepentant adulterers, whoremongers, and those who both loved and made lies. 

"Some of the selfish wrongly believe that there is no divine law anyway, so there is no sin (see 2 Ne. 2:13). Situational ethics are thus made to order for the selfish. So in the management of self, one can conquer by his genius and strength, because there really is no crime whatsoever (see Alma 30:17). 

"Unsurprisingly therefore, selfishness leads to terrible perceptual and behavioral blunders. For instance, Cain, corrupted by his seeking of power, said after slaying Abel, “I am free” (Moses 5:33; see also Moses 6:15). 

"One of the worst consequences of severe selfishness, therefore, is this profound loss of proportionality, like straining at gnats while swallowing camels (see Matt. 23:24; see also JST in footnote 24a). Today there are, for example, those who strain over various gnats but swallow the practice of partial-birth abortions. Small wonder, therefore, that selfishness magnifies a mess of pottage into a banquet and makes 30 pieces of silver look like a treasure trove. 

"Developmentally, what transpires is like what happened to an ancient group of children “who did grow up … , that they became for themselves”—hardened and errant (3 Ne. 1:29; see also 3 Ne. 1:30). Devastating cultural change can and does happen “in the space of not many years,” including replacing the much-needed spirit of community with a diversified alliance of dalliance (see Hel. 4:26). 

"Determined to walk in his own way, the natural man often persists to the point where he is “past feeling,” having been sedated by pleasing the carnal mind (see 1 Ne. 17:45; see also Eph. 4:19). Sadly, like the drug addict, he is always in need of a fresh fix. 

"The severely selfish use others but do not love them. Let the Uriahs of the world beware! (see 2 Sam. 11:3–17). Centuries before Christ, the prophet Jacob warned unchaste men, “Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them” (Jacob 2:35). When love waxes cold, let the poor and the needy beware too, for they will be neglected, as happened in ancient Sodom (see Matt. 24:12; see also Ezek. 16:49). Strange as it seems, when severely selfish people are no longer little in their own sight, everybody else shrinks! (see 1 Sam. 15:17). 

"Even the early droplets of selfish decisions suggest a direction. Then the little inflecting rivulets come, merging into small brooks and soon into larger streams; finally one is swept along by a vast river which flows into the “gulf of misery and endless wo” (Hel. 5:12)"

Selfishness really is "the detonator of all the cardinal sins".  I love Elder Maxwell's use of language.  If it weren't for selfishness the telestial kingdom would probably be pretty sparse.  Unfortunately, selfishness is rampant and seems to be getting worse and worse as time goes on.  People are dropping like flies and it all stems from selfishness.  Like Elder Maxwell said, Satan makes a mess of pottage look like a banquet and 30 pieces of silver look like a treasure trove.

As Elder Maxwell intimates, severe selfishness evolves into narcissism.  Selfishness leads to terrible changes in perception and behavior.  In which people "strain at gnats while swallowing camels".  Reality is distorted. Left unchecked, it is a slippery slope which eventually snowballs into "the gulf of misery and endless wo".  Unfortunately, I've witnessed it.  It is extremely sad.

That's my two cents.

Roller Coaster

I'm going to take you back to my childhood.  I love this song!  It is by far the best Partridge Family song. This video epitomizes the 70s.  Ah the memories.

"Roller Coaster" -- The Partridge Family

Listening to this song brings me back to my childhood.  From the cradle I was raised on 70s Elvis music.  The familiar sound of 70s Elvis music is, perhaps strangely, comforting to me. This song sounds very similar to 70s Elvis music to me.  It's no wonder-- I just discovered -- Mark James, who wrote "Roller Coaster", also wrote  "Suspicious Minds", "Moody Blue", and "Always on My Mind".

Unless you're a diehard Partridge Family or David Cassidy fan, you've probably never heard this song.  You can thank me later.  I think it's a gem. I won't tell you how many times I have played it on repeat the past few days.  It's already in the top 25 most played on my iTunes.  :-)

These are my favorite lines from "Roller Coaster":

Life is full of ups and downs
like a roller coaster ride

But hang on tight with all your might 

You go up, down, all around
On a cycle that's never endin'
You got on this train when you were born
And the wheels just keep on spinnin'
Like a roller coaster, it keeps going faster

Mark James spoke truth when he penned those words.

Just for fun here's an alternate video that aired on the last episode of The Partridge Family in 1974. Sing it Keith (David)!

Worst Case Scenario?

Some people create their own alternate reality.  Often times because the real world is unbearable for them.  It's a defense mechanism.  Apparently that's the case in this instance.

An adulterous floozer chose to abandon his family -- his beautiful virtuous wife and children -- for a horse face uglier than sin floozy.  That's simple fact, not judgment.  The floozer and his oldest son move in with said floozy.  Floozer proudly proclaims that he and Floozy will raise his oldest son because they have such great parenting skills.  Floozer's son is a very troubled boy, as many children of divorce are.

 All children of divorce have emotional issues that they have to deal with for the rest of their lives.  But some go off the deep end and turn to substance abuse, promiscuity, and other destructive outlets.  As children their brains are not developed enough to deal with the pain and anguish inflicted on them through divorce. Most, if not all, children of divorce need therapy to help them work through their issues.  They need constructive outlets to deal with their anger and pain.  When they don't get that, they turn to destructive outlets as mentioned before.

Floozer's son, sadly, has chosen destructive outlets in search of acceptance and attention and as a way to deal with his extreme pain and anger caused by his floozer father's extremely poor choices.  Floozer's son has already been rejected by his father once as his father chose a floozy over him.  Now, Floozy is threatening to kick Floozer out of her house because Floozer's son is a very troubled boy and they can't handle him.

So what does Floozer do?  He asks the wife that he kicked to the curb to take their son back because his floozy is kicking him out if he doesn't find another home for the boy. Poor pity Floozer.  Heaven forbid his perfect little Lala land life with Floozy gets disrupted.  The mother is not in a position to take him back at the moment because, thanks to Floozer, she doesn't have a home.  She, and her other children, are living with other family.  Floozer flies off the handle and calls his ex-wife all kinds of derogatory names -- for something he caused.  Because his wonderful little selfish make believe world with Floozy would be upset if he can't find someone to take his son.

Then Floozer decides to try plan B.  Floozer selfishly asks his decrepit old parents if they would take his troubled son in.  The troubled boy's grandparents would love to help but they can barely keep up with the responsibilities they already have, let alone trying to raise a troubled grandson.

If Floozer and Floozy can't handle raising Floozer's troubled boy, with their exceptional parenting skills, then how can Floozer expect his decrepit old parents to handle the extremely troubled boy?

Floozer has no idea the damage he has done to his family.  His decrepit old parents are slowly dying of broken hearts because of the sadness their son's continual bad choices has inflicted upon them.  They try to put on a happy face but he is slowly digging their graves, and has been for some time. Not to mention the sadness and heartache he has caused many other family members.

Floozer, in talking with his father about taking in the boy, said, "worst-case scenario, I have to move out with my boy and get an apartment".  Seriously?  That's the worst-case scenario?  It's perhaps the worst-case scenario for Floozer living in his alternate reality a.k.a. Lala land.

Worst-case scenario for a selfish narcissist whose only concern is for himself and his new carefree sinful lifestyle with Floozy.

What's the best case scenario?  Throwing his son out on the street?  Which he already threatened to do. And he wonders why the boy is troubled?  Or pawning the trouble boy off on family members when he is the one who created the mess? Floozer's self-absorption and serial terrible choices are why the boy is troubled.

If it weren't for Floozer's selfish choice to abandon his family, and then take away the boy's only hope for happiness -- a belief in God, then his son wouldn't be in the dark place he is right now.  You take God out of people's lives and the result is pure misery.  Any recovered atheist will tell you that.  Floozer creates the monster then wants someone else to deal with it. Typical liberal.

Does Floozer really think that dragging his son into the evil lifestyle he now lives would be beneficial to the boy?  Somehow all of his troubles would go away?  In what world is taking the boy away from his mother and brothers and dragging him into a completely new area with a wicked step floozy and her two sons, who are also products of divorce and therefore dealing with their own demons, a better case scenario?  Apparently only in Floozer's lala land.  It's certainly not a better case scenario in the real world.  A real man living in the real world would have stepped up and been a good husband and father instead of chasing after common whores and abandoning his family for such. Again, simple fact, not judgment.

How scared the poor boy must be after Floozer threatened to kick him out on the streets.  He's already been rejected once by his floozer father when Floozer left the boy's mother, brothers and himself for Floozy.  Now he's being rejected by him again as Floozer is once again choosing Floozy over his own son.  Beyond pathetic!

And Floozer wonders why his son is having behavioral issues?  Perhaps Floozer should take a step into the real world instead of living in his selfish, narcissistic, make-believe world that he has created in his mind.  Perhaps then he'll start seeing things as they really are.

Worst case scenario to move out of an evil, sinful, adulterous home where every day the boy is reminded of his father's rejection in choosing Floozy over family?  Not in the world I live in.  Not in the real world.

That's my two cents.

Scripture of the Day

Alma 34:30-38

 30 And now, my brethren, I would that, after ye have received so many witnesses, seeing that the holy scriptures testify of these things, ye come forth and bring fruit unto repentance.

 31 Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.

 32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

 33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

 34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.

 35 For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

 36 And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell; yea, and he has also said that the righteous shall sit down in his kingdom, to go no more out; but their garments should be made white through the blood of the Lamb.

 37 And now, my beloved brethren, I desire that ye should remember these things, and that ye should work out your salvation with fear before God, and that ye should no more deny the coming of Christ;

 38 That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.

Relief Society Lesson -- Daughters of God

Here's the handout I made:

Daily Message

"Difficult as circumstances may be, they do not relieve us of accountability for our actions or our inactions. Nephi was right. God gives no commandments to the children of men save He prepares a way for them to obey. However difficult our circumstances, we can repent."

—Henry B. Eyring, "Do Not Delay"

Pure Compassion

I've never considered compassion one of my strong suits.  I feel it's one of my underdeveloped qualities.  But there have been several times in my life when I have felt a wave of compassion come over me for someone.  This happened just recently.

I tend to get on kicks, especially of music.  Recently I've been delving into my childhood.  Bringing back memories from the dark crevices of my brain that have been shelved for decades. Music tends to do that for me.

As I've been listening to music that was popular in my childhood and because of recent events, I did some reading about a certain teen heartthrob rock star who was at the peak of his fame when I was very young.  He was a little before my time but I certainly remember a couple of his songs very well.

I looked up a recent live version of one of those songs and after hearing him address the audience and sing the song, I immediately felt a wave of compassion come over me for this washed up old rock star.  It was obvious that he wasn't happy.  And in fact looked quite miserable.  It seemed as though his self-esteem was based on audience approval.  My perception was of a lonely, miserable, sad, pathetic man.  I really felt sorry for him and compassion filled my heart.  I wanted to help him.

This man was idolized by millions of people, mostly young women, at the height of his fame.  Millions of people wanted to be around him, or be like him.  Women would throw themselves at him, people would camp outside his gates.  He said he even had to hide in the trunks of cars to go places unnoticed. To avoid being mobbed.

Fame is a strange thing.  Seems like those who don't have it, want it and those who have it, wish they didn't.  I consider fame a trial that most people can't handle.  That seems to be the case in this instance.  This teen heartthrob/rock star fell into the trap of promiscuity, drugs, alcohol, etc. that seems to plague rock stars and those with fame.

The problem with living that kind of lifestyle is that it's very empty.  Millions of people claim to love you but it's not real love.  It's very shallow and even selfish.  Everyone wants to be loved for who they are, not an image of who they are.  You can be constantly surrounded by people, yet feel completely alone.  It's a very empty, lonely, pathetic lifestyle devoid of happiness. I suppose that's why they fall into the vicious trap of temptations that surround them.  They fall for Satan's lies that wickedness will bring happiness.  But they end up miserable.  It's a downward spiral.

This scripture explains it very succinctly:

Alma 41:10 "... wickedness never was happiness."

In learning a little bit about this former teen heartthrob's life, it was very sad.  Apparently his dad had his own demons and walked out on him and divorced his mother when he was very young.  From what I read his father was also an alcoholic and serial floozer and even physically abusive.  Needless to say he didn't have an idyllic childhood.

Then he was thrust into fame and, perhaps seeking approval and love, fell into that awful trap. Satan makes sin appear so tempting, but results in nothing but misery. Promiscuity, alcohol, drugs, etc. are nothing but traps Satan sets out to captivate people and make them miserable.

2 Nephi 2:27 "... or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."

Bad choices lead to more bad choices and the result is misery.  It can happen to anybody but it seems like those stricken with fame-- or those seeking fame -- are particularly vulnerable.  The misery is written on their countenance. It's very sad.

When I realized the pain, sadness, and misery of the pathetic washed up old teen heartthrob rock star of my youth, I felt like Enoch in the following Scripture.

Moses 7:41 "And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Enoch, and told Enoch all the doings of the children of men; wherefore Enoch knew, and looked upon their wickedness, and their misery, and wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook."

A wave of compassion came upon me and I yearned to reach out and help.  For no other reason than pure charity for my fellow man.  Pure compassion.

The solution to true happiness is very simple, yet so hard for so many to find or accept.  Happiness is found in following God and living His commandments.

It really is that simple.

The execution might be a little more difficult for some but it is certainly worth it.

I wish I could reach out and give my miserable old washed up rock star friend a big hug and teach him the gospel.  Therein lies true happiness.  Obviously that's not going to happen in this life, and even if it did he might not be ready.  But certainly I, or someone else, will  have the opportunity in the next life.  I hope by then he's ready to accept the Gospel and realize true happiness.

That's my two cents.

Example of Why I Voted for Trump

This is a great example of why I voted for Trump.  I read this on Rush Limbaugh.com this morning.  I love how President Trump deals with liberals.

From Rush Limbaugh.com:

 RUSH: "Did you hear what Trump did with Planned Parenthood? (chuckles) He offered to let Planned Parenthood keep all of their federal funding if they would stop doing abortions. (laughing) That’s all they do! 

"Everybody thinks that Planned Parenthood does all this great women’s health stuff. They don’t do mammograms. They don’t do anything! They do abortions, and they have “counseling” to talk women into doing abortions. So Trump comes along and says: You don’t want to lose federal funding? Fine. Stop doing abortions and I’ll give you every dime of what you’re getting. “White House Offers to Let Planned Parenthood Keep Federal Funding if it Halts Abortions.” 

"This is… (laughing) This is great! (laughing) I don’t know. I love it." -- Rush Limbaugh.com, March 7, 2017

Daily Message

"The sacrament truly helps us know our Savior. It also reminds us of His innocent suffering. If life were truly fair, you and I would never be resurrected; you and I would never be able to stand clean before God. In this respect, I am grateful that life is not fair."

—Dale G. Renlund, "That I Might Draw All Men unto Me", Ensign, May 2016

Wade's Visit

We had a nice visit with my cousin Wade, his wife Julie, and their kids yesterday.  Juliet and family, Lisa and Mercedes, and Rex a little later, were able to come visit also.  We shared a nice dinner and good conversation and many laughs.  Wade and Julie are thinking about moving up to this area.  Julie has a sister here also.

In the photo above from left to right: Julie, Abby, Ryan, Dad, Austyn, Wade, Hudson