Temple Worship

Temple Worship: 20 Truths That Will Bless Your Life by Andrew C. Skinner


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really was amazed by this book. I read it in just a little over a week. It was simply amazing. The way that Andrew C. Skinner quickly and succinctly relates specific stories, scriptural references, and historical information to explain doctrines related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Each chapter highlights a different philosophical idea related to the Temple. Two of the most powerful ideas for me were the idea that the same power that Christ and his apostles and the prophets have used to control the physical world is the same power that activates the ordinances in the Temple. This means that in a very real way we can be physically changed by the covenants we make in the temple. This book gave me a whole new vision and idea of the temple. I can't wait to get back to the Temple again after reading this.

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The Secret Garden of the Heart

I have thought a lot about two different scriptures. The first is found in Matthew 13:1-23 the second is Alma 32. Both of these chapters are parables relating to the growth of faint likened to the growth and harvest of plants.

One of the lessons I have learned as I have read and pondered about Matthew 13 is that the soil is like our own hearts. Our hearts, our character, our personality is the place the sower is trying to get the seeds of the Gospel truth to take root and grow. Each different type of soil has it's own problems. The reality is though, soil can be emended (a word that means to correct or improve). When I was growing up, we had two big problems in our fields. We had rocks, and they reproduced somehow because every spring for 40 years that my Father farmed, we would go out and 'pick rock' we would gather all the visible rocks out of the soil and pile them in a couple of rock piles in the field. Every year we did this and yet every year there were new rocks. I know now that it was because the frost over the winter would cause the soil to heave them up to the surface from deeper bedrock, but then, I swore it was supernatural. The other evil we found in our fields were bull thistle these were huge, we could spray them in some fields, but in others the spray would kill the crop along with the weed, so we had to sharpen shovels and cut them out just below the surface to kill them and keep them from growing back.  It was a lot of work.

Our lives are like this.  We have so many things that arise to distract us, and we have to pick the rocks, and root out the weeds in order to give place for the good things to grow in our hearts.  Our hearts are like our own Secret Garden.  A place where we cultivate and root out the ideas, interests, beliefs and hopes, we feel will best bring us happiness.  Each thought, hope or dream we cultivate in our garden grows up and bears specific fruit or gives forth a specific harvest.  We plant in our hearts faith in tithing and it grows, scripture study and it grows, kindness and it grows.

Alma 32 gives more insight as to what the end result of this will be.  We have a tree of life that grows up into a true hope and salvation.  The love of Christ, Charity.

I have to remember, that the main seed I  must plant in my heart to have this tree grow is found in Alma 33: 22-23

Things do change

Ok, so both of you that have read my blog know that I have complained about the chubby guys that like to sprawl next to me on the bus. It's a challenge, and I face it with appropriate indignity.

But things change. Yesterday, I had to leave the office a little early. I jumped onto the train about an hour before I normally do so I could get downtown and catch the early bus home. I sat down up against a window. The next stop rolls up and lo and behold one of the cute coeds sits next to me. There were other options, and other places to sit, but nope, she sat down next to me. She sat there quietly, didn't say anything, and neither did I. Two stops later, she gets off, and what do you know, another cute girl sits down. This girl was younger and looked to be one of the high schoolers getting out of class for the day, anyway she sat next to me until my stop.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not interested in the Coed girls in any real sense. I am just a middle aged pudgy guy (who's working out and dropping pounds right now) who found it just the slight bit flattering that these two girls weren't so repulsed by my appearance and presence that they were willing to sit next to me.

Now, I am being kind of humorous, or trying to be, but really, this got me to thinking about how sometimes simple things can help us feel a little bit better. I had another experience years ago, when driving by a middle school in a bad mood, a student looked up at me from the street corner I was turning around and smiled. The whole atmosphere of my day changed, and really my whole climate. Ever since then, I try to smile more at people, I never know when I might be the one who makes somebody else's day.

Monday Musings: Cleave and Broken things

This morning on the bus I was listening to Elder Holland's talk titled Broken Things to Mend. A few weeks ago I decided it would be a useful thing to download all of the talks from a specific Apostle and listen to them chronologically from oldest to newest. I started with Elder Holland because I remembered that over the course of several conferences he had spoken about The Prophet Joseph Smith, the Godhead, and several other doctrines peculiar to Latter Day Saints. He had was directing his remarks toward other religions and Christian churches pointing out how we are different.

Broken Things to Mend was a wonderful talk and reminded me of the gratitude I should have for the gospel, the church, and my family. It also helped me understand the need I really have for the Savior's influence in my life.

Elder Holland mentioned how remembering what the Savior has done can help build and strengthen a marriage, which got me thinking about an odd word: cleave

It has two meanings. It can mean to cut apart or break up especially along natural lines of weakness. That is the way it is used when talking about how minerals break. But it also means to hold tight to with unwavering loyalty. It is in that sense that it is used when talking about cleaving unto our spouses. I find it ironic that the same word has such different meanings in different contexts, but I do love the word related to marriage.

iPhoto Facial Recognition is improving!

I have been spending the day getting faces into my iPhoto library. I was working on pictures of my niece and up pops a photo of the fridge. My son who is looking over my shoulder asks? Why does iPhoto think the fridge is my cousin? Ummm. Not sure lets check. Apparently there was an unrecognized face.For a closer view of what iPhoto thought was my niece:

Personal Space Etiquette

Ok, so another post from the bus. I have had a crazy week. Monday we got snow. Not lots of snow, especially by Utah standards. We got a couple of inches, but combine a couple of inches of snow with 100,000 commuters and it equals massive delays. 3 hours worth of delays. Monday I got on the bus at 6:00 a.m. and got off 40 miles down the road at 8:40 a.m. Average speed 15 mph.

Tuesday, A little more snow and more massive delays. I got on the bus at 6:00 a.m. and got off the bus at 9:35. Gack, why am I commuting again? It really is better most days and only takes about 15 minutes longer than the drive. There is also the added bonus of it being easier to nap on the bus.

But what really gets me is how people don't understand the rules on the bus. When riding the bus etiquette of personal space demands that when seats are empty close by you move. If I sit down next to someone, it is understood that at the first convenient opportunity I will vacate the seat next to them so they can have their personal space back. I as the vacatee don't mean anything offensive like, "ewww you stink and I can't stand to sit next to you" It's simply polite to vacate the other person's space. Also the person on the aisle is obviously the person expected to vacate. I can't as the window seat stand up and push through the person, because then I am saying "ewww you are icky and I must move to reclaim my personal space"

Guess what! Uh huh. A guy sat next to me today. It's always a guy, never the cute college coeds. Sat down next to me early on and by the second drop off stop there were vacant seats and he didn't follow the etiquette. He stayed right next to me all the way home. Now, I am no homophobe, but it's a little awkward when there are only four people on the bus and one of them is the stranger sitting next to you.

Let me know Was I wrong?

I really need to write about my bus experiences more often. Yesterday I had one that compelled me to write and to get some advice.

Some background first
Over the last few months I have noticed a gentleman that rides my bus with me. He has sat next to me maybe 5 to 10 times. Now, I have opinions about that but can't really begrudge him sitting next to me since I normally try to sit in the seats near the wheel chair spots so I get more leg room. Over the last couple of days he has sat next to me on the ride up to work. So, I do recognize this guy but I haven't ever really talked to him. Normally, I plug in my headphones and tune out the other folks on the bus because I really don't feel compelled to get to know them. Maybe I'm wrong.

What really makes me think I am wrong is this. Yesterday, this gentleman got on the bus, he hesitated a bit then sat down next to me. He asked me how I was doing, (fine) With no other pre-amble, explanation or reason:

Can I borrow your cell phone?
(insert awkward paus)
Ummm, I don't think so sir, sorry.

So the question? Was I wrong to refuse this guy. Obviously he thought there was a greater level of trust than I did. In that awkward pause above, about 14 things went through my head, not all of them fit to publish, but the main thoughts were. Isn't that presumptious. You are assuming I have a cell phone and that I am totally comfortable handing it off to you. I don't know you.

He seemed flustered that I said "No" but he eventually turned to the 20 year old college student in the seat across from us and asked her. "No" Well, "Sorry, I have limited minutes" Her response reassured me that maybe I wasn't alone in my phobia of phone sharing. But what do you think. Is phone sharing with strangers ok? And if it is should I expect an explanation of why they want my phone.

I think I would have been a whole lot more comfortable if this person had done just two things. Explained that he didn't have his own cell phone, and given me a reason for his call. I assumed it was to call for a ride at the bus stop, but I gotta say, it kinda freaked me out.

My wife's response to this brought up another dynamic. "I put my phone by my face, I am not letting someone I don't know pretty well share my phone."