Disgusted

Okay, I’m having a bad day. I’m sick of corruption. I’m sick of evil, conniving men. I’m sick of seeing the aforementioned spitting on and stomping on the Constitution of this great nation.

First of all, I just read that the Washington Supreme Court just struck down a law requiring two thirds majority vote to raise taxes in this state. This was just voted on – and passed -- by the people this past November. Now the courts are striking it down?

How can the voice of the people be silenced by just a few so-called judges? If I remember correctly, the same law -- or something similar -- has been passed by the people every time it has been on the ballot. And it has been struck down by corrupt, evil, conniving judges every time, apparently. Why? Is this not a democracy? Does not the voice of the people rule the government? Obviously not.

Next example, this one’s not surprising but, nonetheless, still upsetting. Today Obama, a.k.a. Pres. Satan, asked the Supreme Court of the United States of America to overturn the California ban on same-sex marriage. Which, by the way, was also voted on by the people in California – and passed.

So, here again we have the voice of the people being silenced. I don’t know the details of when the Supreme Court is going to rule on the matter. But it’s really ridiculous that it’s even come to this. And especially for the “President of the United States” – I put it in quotes because he is president in name only. He does not act like a president, he does not perform like a president. He doesn’t even look like a president. – To stick his nose where it doesn’t belong. But there again, he doesn’t care where he belongs. He is power-hungry and wants things his way.

It seems to me like it is unethical, or should be, for the president to try to influence the Supreme Court. And by the way, what about the Defense of marriage act? That’s federal law.

Anyway I could go on and on. But I won’t. I’m just so disgusted right now.

That’s my two cents.

 

Morality and Politics

This morning, Lisa and I were discussing how wicked and evil this world has become. She mentioned a pornographic diaper commercial she saw on television yesterday. Television and the media are really out of control. I personally think everybody should get rid of their television subscriptions, including us. Good Thunder, I’ve recently been watching The Locator with Troy Dunn. But the commercials are so bad, namely Joan Rivers, that I don’t even want to watch The Locator because I don’t want to be exposed to such garbage. Pure evil. I keep thinking things cannot get worse, but they do.

Anyway, I like to read Rush Limbaugh’s website. I usually glance at it every day. Surprisingly, he says some very insightful things once in a while that coincide with Gospel teachings. I wanted to include an excerpt from something he said on his show yesterday.

The following is taken directly from Rush Limbaugh’s website:

"There's a big move on now to just totally eliminate any concern over the social issues whatsoever, because we gotta save the economy. The economy is where your kids' future is, the grandkids' future. And that's exactly right. But all this stuff is interlinked.

Social issues and economic issues are linked by something, and it's called morality. And it's morality that's missing here, and while Obama runs around and claims the country was founded immorally and unjustly, the truth of the matter is that they're doing everything they can to eliminate morality. There are no guardrails. There are no limits. And there will be no judgments. Nobody has the right to say something is wrong. Nobody has the right anymore to say something is right. Nobody has the right to say something shouldn't happen because it's destructive and detrimental. You don't have that right. Who you love, who you want to live with, how you want to live, where you want to get your money from the government for a job, it's nobody else's business.

And so morality is being eliminated, and this country was founded on the basis of it. This country was founded on the premise that if morality is ever eliminated, this country can't exist as it was founded. Now, what is happening here? The Democrats are attempting to establish in the minds of as many Americans as possible that life itself depends on a thriving and growing government in the center of everyone's life." -- Rush Limbaugh, February 27, 2013
 

Relief Society Lesson -- Converted unto the Lord

Converted unto the Lord
Elder David A. Bednar
Of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles
October 2012 General Conference

A testimony is personal knowledge of spiritual truth obtained by revelation.

Conversion is an enlarging, a deepening, and a broadening of the undergirding base of testimony.

Conversion is the result of revelation from God, accompanied by individual repentance, obedience, and diligence.

The essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ entails a fundamental and permanent change in our very nature made possible through the Savior’s Atonement.

True conversion brings a change in one’s beliefs, heart, and life to accept and conform to the will of God and includes a conscious commitment to become a disciple of Christ.

For many of us, conversion is an ongoing process and not a onetime event that results from a powerful or dramatic experience. Line upon line and precept upon precept, gradually and almost imperceptibly, our motives, our thoughts, our words, and our deeds become aligned with the will of God.

Conversion unto the Lord requires both persistence and patience.

“… And they are striving with unwearied diligence…” Helaman 15: 6

Five basic elements to conversion:
(1) believing in the teachings and prophecies of the holy prophets as they are recorded in the scriptures, (2) exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, (3) repenting, (4) experiencing a mighty change of heart, and (5) becoming “firm and steadfast in the faith”

• Testimony is the beginning of and a prerequisite to continuing conversion.
• Testimony is a point of departure; it is not an ultimate destination.
• Strong testimony is the foundation upon which conversion is established.

Testimony alone is not and will not be enough to protect us in the latter-day storm of darkness and evil in which we are living.

Testimony is important and necessary but not sufficient to provide the spiritual strength and protection we need.

“For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more. …

“Now, these are they who were converted unto the Lord” – Alma 23:6-8


Knowing that the gospel is true is the essence of a testimony.

Consistently being true to the gospel is the essence of conversion.

Campfire Cowboy With Gun And Saddle

Dad finished my new campfire cowboy today complete with gun and saddle. It’s a little different than the others because it has shell casings for the sticks instead of copper tubing. Dad wanted to try something a little different. It looks awesome!

Dad is quite talented. My gun has oak that dad painstakingly sanded. I think it took him two days alone just to do the sanding on the wood. Dad has been working on these cowboys for over three months. The saddle and the gun require a lot of work. Several days for each one.

Each cowboy is unique and turned out awesome. He made one for each of his kids. So we all got an early/late birthday present!

Thanks Dad! I love it!

Super Easy Tapioca Pudding

Crock Pot Tapioca Pudding

1 gallon of whole milk

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

2 cups pearl tapioca

1 Tablespoon vanilla

 

Combine milk, sugar, eggs, and tapioca in crockpot. Mix together well. Cook in crockpot 4 to 6 hours until thick. Stirring occasionally (about once per hour). Add vanilla. Mix thoroughly and enjoy hot or cold!

*crockpot on high – (we turned our crockpot down to low after 2-3 hours)

*if you are short a few eggs it will still turn out okay.

*a little salt or cinnamon may be added to taste.

*Pearl tapioca can be purchased in the bulk food section of most grocery stores.

Today we decided to make tapioca pudding. We have made it before in the crockpot and it usually turns out well. (We did burn it, slightly, once because it wasn't stirred enough-at all. But it still was edible and tasted pretty good) It is super easy to make and delicious! So, I thought I would share the recipe with you all. The picture above is from the batch we made this morning. Give it a try, you will love it!

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

Immortality

"Surely God would not have created such a being as man to exist only for a day! Man was made for immortality." — Abraham Lincoln

On God's side

"My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side." — Abraham Lincoln

Happiness

"Most of us are just about as happy as we make up our minds to be." — Abraham Lincoln

Honesty

"If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?" — Abraham Lincoln

 

Tact

"Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves." — Abraham Lincoln

Strength in silence

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt." — Abraham Lincoln

Defending freedom

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." — Abraham Lincoln

America's potential

"My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of Earth." — Abraham Lincoln

 

Democracy

"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy." — Abraham Lincoln

Freedom

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves." — Abraham Lincoln

Developing friendships

"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?" — Abraham Lincoln

Success

"Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." — Abraham Lincoln

Strength

"You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong." — Abraham Lincoln

 

Responsibility

 "You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." — Abraham Lincoln

Doing your best

"I do the very best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep on doing so until the end." — Abraham Lincoln

 

Power vs. character

"Nearly all men stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." — Abraham Lincoln

Balancing Truth and Tolerance

As I was reading the Ensign Magazine last week, there was one article that really stood out to me. It’s quite lengthy so I copied and pasted some of my favorite parts to post on this blog. You can read the entire article in this month’s Ensign, February 2013. Or you can read the entire CES devotional transcript by going to the link posted below.

Balancing Truth and Tolerance

by Elder Dallin H. Oaks
Of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles

From a Church Educational System devotional address delivered on September 11, 2011. For the full text in English, go to lds.org/broadcasts/article/ces-devotionals/2011/01/truth-and-tolerance.

“We believe in absolute truth, including the existence of God and the right and wrong established by His commandments. We know that the existence of God and the existence of absolute truth are fundamental to life on this earth, whether they are believed in or not. We also know that evil exists and that some things are simply, seriously, and everlastingly wrong.

…We live in a world where more and more persons of influence are teaching and acting out a belief that there is no absolute right and wrong—that all authority and all rules of behavior are man-made choices that can prevail over the commandments of God. Many even question whether there is a God.

The philosophy of moral relativism, which holds that each person is free to choose for him or herself what is right and wrong, is becoming the unofficial creed for many in the United States and other Western nations. At the extreme level, evil acts that used to be localized and covered up like a boil are now legalized and paraded like a banner. Persuaded by this philosophy, many of the rising generation are caught up in self-serving pleasures, pornography, dishonesty, foul language, revealing attire, pagan painting and piercing of body parts, and degrading sexual indulgence.

Many religious leaders teach the existence of God as the ultimate lawgiver, by whose command certain behavior is absolutely right and true and other behavior is absolutely wrong and untrue.² Bible and Book of Mormon prophets foresaw this time, when men would be “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4) and, indeed, when men would deny God (see Jude 1:4; 2 Nephi 28:5; Moroni 7:17; D&C 29:22).

In this troubled circumstance, we who believe in God and the corollary truth of absolute right and wrong have the challenge of living in a godless and increasingly amoral world. In this circumstance, all of us—especially the rising generation—have a duty to stand up and speak out to affirm that God exists and that there are absolute truths that His commandments establish.

…The kingdom of God is like leaven, Jesus taught (see Matthew 13:33). Leaven—yeast—is hidden away in the larger mass until the whole is leavened, which means raised by its influence. Our Savior also taught that His followers will have tribulation in the world (see John 16:33), that their numbers and dominions will be small (see 1 Nephi 14:12), and that they will be hated because they are not of the world (see John 17:14). But that is our role. We are called to live with other children of God who do not share our faith or our values and who do not have the covenant obligations we have assumed. We are to be in the world but not of the world.

Because followers of Jesus Christ are commanded to be leaven, we must seek tolerance from those who hate us for not being of the world. As part of this, we will sometimes need to challenge laws that would impair our freedom to practice our faith, doing so in reliance on our constitutional rights to the free exercise of religion. The big concern is “the ability of people of all faiths to work out their relationship with God and one another without the government looking over their shoulder.”⁴ That is why we need understanding and support when we must contend for religious freedom.

…We are cast as combatants in the war between truth and error. There is no middle ground. We must stand up for truth, even while we practice tolerance and respect for beliefs and ideas different from our own and for the people who hold them.

…President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has said: “The word tolerance does not stand alone. It requires an object and a response to qualify it as a virtue. … Tolerance is often demanded but seldom returned. Beware of the word tolerance. It is a very unstable virtue.”⁶

…President Thomas S. Monson has taught: “The face of sin today often wears the mask of tolerance. Do not be deceived; behind that facade is heartache, unhappiness, and pain. … If your so-called friends urge you to do anything you know to be wrong, you be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone.”⁸

Excerpts taken from: Balancing Truth and Tolerance, Ensign, February 2013

The above excerpts are just a small portion of the article/devotional address. I would highly recommend reading the entire thing.

Just this morning I was discussing, with Juliet, how much the world has changed in the past 30 years – since the days of Ronald Reagan and growing up during the awesome 80s J. As bad as the world was back then, it doesn’t hold a candle to today.

While being tolerant of others’ choices and agency – let us remember to stand for truth and righteousness. Do not fall for the “mask of tolerance” as Pres. Monson stated. The world is increasingly teaching that good is evil and evil is good.  “Woe unto them that call ^aevil ^bgood, and good evil; that put ^cdarkness for ^dlight, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” – Isaiah 5:20

The world teaches that tolerance is embracing and accepting sin and evil. And if we don’t accept and embrace evil as good, then somehow we are seen as evil and “intolerant”. Isaiah’s prophecy is coming true. Or I should say – has already come true. This is the world we live in.

Beware but don’t be afraid. With the truth of the Gospel we can be in the world but not of the world.

That’s my two cents.

Relief Society Lesson -- An Unspeakable Gift from God

An Unspeakable Gift from God

Elder Craig C. Christensen
Of the Presidency of the Seventy

Who Is the Holy Ghost?

The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead.

The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit who communicates to our spirits through feelings and impressions.

The Holy Ghost is an agent through which personal revelation is received.

What Is the Mission of the Holy Ghost?

The primary purpose of the Holy Ghost is to bear witness of God the Father and of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to teach us the truth of all things.

The Holy Ghost is also known as the Comforter. During times of trouble or despair or simply when we need to know that God is near, the Holy Ghost can lift our spirits, give us hope, and teach us “the peaceable things of the kingdom,” helping us feel “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.”

The Holy Ghost is a teacher and a revelator. As we study, ponder, and pray about gospel truths, the Holy Ghost enlightens our minds and quickens our understanding. He causes the truth to be indelibly written in our souls and can cause a mighty change to occur in our hearts.

The Holy Ghost inspires us to reach out to others in service.

How Does the Holy Ghost Speak to Us?

“Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.” Doctrine and Covenants 8:2

President Boyd K. Packer has taught: “The Holy Ghost speaks with a voice that you feel more than you hear.”

 
What Does It Mean to Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost?

Before baptism, all honest and sincere seekers of truth can feel the influence of the Holy Ghost from time to time. However, the opportunity to receive the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost and the fullness of all the associated blessings is available only to worthy, baptized members who receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands through those holding the priesthood authority of God.

 
Through the gift of the Holy Ghost, we receive added capacity and spiritual gifts, increased revelation and protection, steady guidance and direction, and the promised blessings of sanctification and exaltation in the celestial kingdom.

Tuna

This might be a silly blog post but, I thought some of you might be interested. Earlier this week we bought some canned tuna and so I started thinking about the actual fish and wanted to learn about it. So I did a Google search and read all about tuna. I don’t know if it’s the biologist in me or if everybody will find it interesting so I’m  going to share a few of the things I learned with you here.

I’m going off memory so I hope it’s fairly accurate.

The blue fin tuna can swim 55 mph. Which I think is the fastest of any fish. If I remember correctly.

Another interesting thing about tuna is they maintain an internal temperature of over 90°F even in water as cold as 40°F or thereabouts.

It is due to an amazing countercurrent heat exchange system in the blood vessels. I do remember learning this as an undergraduate in biology. I don’t remember the details but it has something to do with the way the veins and arteries are close together and transfer heat with blood flow in opposite direction. The cold oxygenated blood in the arteries collects the heat from the warm deoxygenated blood leaving the muscles through veins. I think. J

The blue fin tuna has a large heart and high blood volume. Along with the warm body temperature this allows faster nerve impulses and therefore muscles respond faster which is why they’re so quick. I’m also wondering if that’s not why their flesh is pink or red compared with most fish which is white. The extra hemoglobin?

The only predator that can catch a blue fin tuna is the mako shark and killer whale. And man of course.

A single blue fin tuna was sold at auction to a Japanese buyer earlier this month for an average of $3600 per pound. I believe the fish weighed about 500 pounds and sold for approximately $1.8 million. I can’t help but wonder if this is not a publicity stunt. Can he actually recoup $3600 per pound? Maybe in Japan I guess.

Blue fin tuna can weigh up to 1500-2000 pounds. And live as long as 40 years.  Although now, it is rare to find a blue fin tuna that big because of overfishing. Most of the tuna caught nowadays is about 5 to 7 years old, I believe. I think the old ones can be about 10 feet long.

The blue fin tuna population has gone down 96.4% or thereabouts since commercial fishing began decades ago. They are on the verge of extinction. To clarify that means that for every 100 Pacific Bluefin tuna that were in the ocean a few decades ago now there are only 3.6.

Of course there are other tuna species such as yellowfin and albacore. They don’t get nearly as big. I don’t know which species of tuna are endangered or near extinction. But I do know that they have been fished extensively. I think Japan consumes 80% of all the tuna that is caught commercially.

I believe there have been efforts to farm tuna but I don’t think they have been very successful.

Tuna travel extensively. To maintain oxygen levels they are constantly swimming. They migrate across oceans—thousands of miles yearly.

I know this is mostly about blue fin tuna but they are the most interesting to me. I didn’t really do much research --just read a few articles. So take these facts with a grain of salt. Some of them are probably wrong. I’m not getting graded on this so it’s not the most well-written article -- it’s just for fun. But anyway I thought was interesting so I wanted to share.

That’s my two cents

Thomas S. Monson Quote

"The person who is working on his or her family history fits the description of one who is fulfilling his or her duty. I know the effort, I know the expense. I know the difficulties through which one may go to uncover one name. I know our Heavenly Father is aware of these efforts. And those for whom we perform sacred ordinances are aware of our efforts. Oftentimes, in a miraculous way, there shall appear before us a clear pathway through a field of turbulence."

—Thomas S. Monson, "The Key of Faith", Liahona and Ensign, February 1994

Affordable Care?

Thanks a lot, Obama voters. (Yes, I’m being sarcastic) Thanks for causing me grief for the past month. Because of you, Obama voters, much havoc has been wreaked in my life this month.

To try to make a long story short: I went to the doctor, first mistake! The doctor ordered a test. When the people called to schedule the test, I asked how much it would cost before I agreed to have it done. When they called to remind me of my appointment, I once again reiterated and asked the price. To which they agreed upon said amount. When I went to the appointment I asked if I could pay beforehand, as to avoid any confusion in the price. They said I would have to wait until I was billed because they weren’t sure what the exact amount was going to be. Red flag! Against my better judgment, I went ahead and had the test done. I received a bill about a week later and was shocked to see the amount. It was 4 to 5 times the amount I was quoted.

Needless to say, I called them up to straighten everything out. I kept getting the runaround. Every time I called, was put on hold for 10 to 20 minutes just to get a voicemail or someone who pawned me off to another department where I would get another voicemail. This happened many times over the past month. I would wait for a return call which would never come. So I would call them back. Anyway, I finally got someone today who helped me.

 As I explained for the umpteenth time what happened, the lady on the other end discovered why I was quoted a much smaller amount than I was billed. She said they quoted me the price of the procedure before “the affordable care act”. So I said, “So this is all Obama’s fault?” She hemmed and hawed and said something about how people don’t understand what this has done… blah, blah, blah. I told her that’s quite an increase in price. She agreed. I got the sense that she didn’t want to get in trouble for bad mouthing Obama because calls are recorded.  Sounds to me like we’re already living in a socialist/communist country.  Where you can’t say anything bad about the government leaders. But I digress.

So, all this trouble with my bill, which I tried to avoid in the beginning, is because of Obama and the “affordable care act” or in other words, Obamacare. It makes no sense to me how increasing the price of medical procedures by 500% makes it more affordable. Apparently Obama, and half of the people of this nation who voted for the cheese bag, can’t do third grade math. Obviously Obama voters have much lower IQ’s than the rest of us. Unfortunately, they are now the majority. And what’s even worse is their horrible choices are affecting me and my life already! I’ve already shed many tears and had many bad days because of being lied to and come to find out, it all goes back to Obama. But we can’t really blame one bad man, the blame goes on the voters. Because Obama would not be able to wreak havoc with my life if it wasn’t for stupid Obama voters. So thanks a lot! You, uninformed, unintelligent, selfish Obama voters.

That’s my two cents.

L. Tom Perry Quote

"The onslaught of wickedness against our children is more subtle and brazen than it has ever been. Building a strong family culture adds another layer of protection for our children, insulating them from worldly influences."

—L. Tom Perry, "Becoming Goodly Parents", Liahona and Ensign, November 2012

Head in the Sand

For the past 2 1/2 months I have deliberately kept my head in the sand, so to speak. Ever since the election on November 6, I have kept myself fairly uninformed about what's going on in the world. I don't watch the news. I do see headlines and glance at a few stories on the Deseret News online. I have been so distraught at the realization of what our nation has become and is becoming, that I don't want to deal with it. It's probably not the best way, but that's how I've been coping.

I have known since the election that Obama -- in line with his communistic/socialistic agenda -- wants our guns.

Now, I am fairly uninformed, as I mentioned, about the shooting that took place not too long ago. But it triggered or was the catalyst for Obama's call for strict gun control. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the whole thing wasn't an inside Job.

Gun control is an absurdly ridiculous solution to gun violence. It makes no sense whatsoever. Yet, a large part of the population, looking through their wool covered eyes, believes it will stop violence. I've already done a blog post about this so I will not elaborate.

The reason I wanted to do this blog today is to share an analogy I thought of this morning.

Now, I don't know the statistics -- and I'm not even sure they are available -- but it seems logical to me that if we want to prevent deaths, we should ban cell phones -- not guns.

I would venture to guess that there are more deaths and injuries as a result of cell phone usage while driving than there are from guns. And that doesn't even take into effect the potential carcinogenic factor of cell phones.

Yes, I am a cell phone hater. I have never owned one, and never will. I do see the potential benefit for emergency purposes, and convenience. But I feel that the detriment that cell phones cause outweighs the benefits. Not only the physical death and injuries that cell phones cause, but also the spiritual/emotional death. I wonder how many families/relationships have been killed (torn apart)/harmed by smartphones. People, especially teenagers, don’t even know how to interact socially anymore. All they know how to do is text message or communicate via the Internet, i.e. social media such as Facebook and twitter. Pretty sad.

Okay, I will get off my soapbox about cell phones for now.

Obviously there are many other things I could talk about that results in death and injury such as drugs and alcohol and driving while intoxicated, etc.

Many harmful drugs are illegal, it doesn't seem to stop people from using them. Alcohol, was illegal in this country for a certain time, during Prohibition. It didn't seem to stop people from obtaining and drinking alcohol.

Making guns illegal, will not prevent gun violence. It will just make it harder for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves.

I have a solution to stopping violence. Or at least curtailing it.

It's a rather simple solution but it will never happen. Stop making and selling violent media. Violent movies, violent television shows, violent video games, violent music, etc. -- this is where it starts.

Unfortunately, Satan is very good at what he does. He knows how to influence people for evil. He knows how to make good seem evil and evil seem good--In the eyes of the world. He knows how to use rationalization as one of his main tools. And it works.

The world is becoming more and more desensitized to evil, including violence. That's the way Satan wants it.

This is why we are given commandments. To help us be in the world but not of the world. To be able to resist Satan's influence. To be able to recognize right from wrong. The Holy Ghost is there to help us. But we have to be willing to listen to and heed the still small voice.

I understand we are living in the last days. I understand things will only get worse. All we can do is try our best to live righteously and follow the commandments and listen to the Holy Ghost. I know our country is heading in a downward spiral towards communism/socialism. It is prophesied that the Constitution will hang by a thread.

I just can't stand to watch. So, for the time being, I will continue to keep my head in the sand as much as possible.

That's my two cents.

Bigger Fish to Fry

I feel bad for Manti Te’o. I don’t know the whole story. And perhaps never will. But it seems like when the media latches onto something they keep digging until they get what they want. As far as I’m concerned, Manti is the victim of a cruel hoax. Until proven otherwise. I don’t find it too hard to believe that a young 21-year-old --or however old he is –is gullible and naïve. I want to believe Manti. I watched him all season at Notre Dame. He seems like a nice young man. Yet the media seems to have turned on him and are now going after his jugular. Even if it does come out that Manti was in on the hoax, which I don’t think it will – but in this day and age nothing really surprises me anymore, is it really worth the amount of press it’s been getting?

What I find quite strange about this whole media frenzy is that there are so many more newsworthy stories right now in sports. For example, the whole Lance Armstrong scandal. Apparently he finally came clean and admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. Which to me, was obvious from the get go. There is no way that one person can dominate a sport for so long without cheating. But that’s a whole other story.

It’s interesting that Pres. Uchtdorf, in his most recent CES fireside address this past Sunday, talked about truth. One thing I took away from that talk is that our perception of truth and reality can be totally different. For instance, e-mail forwards that seem to be running rampant, are full of stories that claim to be true, but are not. Even if you try to do your research to check out the truthfulness, those sources may also be false. In fact, I automatically assume that e-mail forwards are false. Most of them I don’t even take the time to read.

Another example is science. The truths taught in science are always changing. One example: when I was in school Pluto was a planet. Now it’s not.

The truth doesn’t really change, just our perception of the truth changes. Anyway, I found it interesting and probably not coincidental that Pres. Uchtdorf’s talk was all about truth. In the same week there are two big stories in the news concerning truth.

Another thing that is bothersome about this whole Manti Te’o feeding frenzy is that several articles I’ve read have stated that because Manti is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, that the church will be scarred. And also that Notre Dame will be scarred. How does being the victim of a hoax, a cruel hoax, scar the church you belong to or the university you attended? Even in the worst-case scenario – Manti being involved in the hoax – there seems to be a lot worse crimes/sins out there than making up your girlfriend. Such as using performance-enhancing drugs to win seven Tour de France titles and lying about it for years and chastising those who told the truth about what you did. And finally coming clean after years and years of lying about it only because you were caught and there was no getting around the truth.

I wish the press would leave Manti Te’o alone and let him work through his pain and learn from this challenge and move on. There are bigger fish to fry.

That’s my two cents.

Heroes and Wallflowers

There are several thoughts going through my head today. First of all, I found out about a month ago that my cousin, Jennifer Sabin Sattley, wrote a book! It is titled,  “My Heroes Ask Wallflowers To Dance” and is available on Amazon.com. I ordered a copy the day  I found out about it. My mom and dad have been reading it out loud and we are little over halfway through. I really want to finish it! I never want to stop when it is time to quit. Anyway, there is no way to get through it without shedding many tears. Even though I already know the story, it’s wonderful to learn the details. Reading Jenny’s book makes me want to be a better person. It makes me happy to know that I share about 13% of my DNA with her. J

-May 2002 --

Juliet, Jennifer, Tammy

I didn’t know my cousin, Justin, very well. He was eight years younger than me and for most of our lives we lived several hundred miles apart. But I do have several cherished memories of him. My very first experience with fasting was when Justin was a baby and we held a family fast for him. I remember it quite well. It left a lasting impression on my young life. Justin had quite the personality. Just thinking about him makes me smile. It was fun to read some of the stories about him in Jennifer’s book. Justin was too good for this life. He finished his test early and has already graduated. Once again, I am proud to be related to someone so celestial.

Reading Jenny’s book, for me, is like reading Pres. Monson’s biography (which I just finished). They both remind me of how true disciples of Jesus Christ should be. Although, I am reminded of my woeful inadequacy as a disciple of Jesus Christ, it makes me want to be better. Along with Pres. Monson, my Uncle Gary, Aunt Val, and their children (my cousins) are wonderful examples of disciples of Christ.

To anyone reading this blog, I highly recommend Jennifer’s book.  [Even though we haven’t finished reading it yet] Jenny has a very inspiring story, and she tells it very well. She is a beautiful young woman inside and out. When you buy the book, you might want to buy a couple boxes of Kleenex to go with it. You will need them!

I had a couple of other thoughts I was going to share today but, I think I will leave it at that.

That’s my two cents.