Occasionally Mrs. Smith and I are asked questions such as:

• Why did you move out to Hawaii?
• What keeps you there?
• When are you moving back [to the mainland]?
• What’s BYUH like?
• How does it compare to the other BYU’s, or other Universities?
• Etc…

Many of my classes have a brief biography assignment to help me get to know incoming students; one student’s submission may, I think, help answer some of those questions.  With the author’s permission I invite you to read his brief biography, an African nation student.

Rather than illustrate his uniqueness, it is largely representative of the student body.  For that reason, above others, we’re happy to call Laie, Hawaii our home and have no desire or intent to move [to the mainland].  :)

Several weeks ago in my previous LDS Ward I was unexpectedly asked to participate in an ordinance of significance for an individual and his family.  Specifically, I was asked to ordain someone to the office of an Elder in the Melchizedek priesthood!  How grateful I was to be where I should have been that early morning, for had I been absent the opportunity would have been lost!

For those unfamiliar with LDS theology, the Melchizedek priesthood is the authority by which God’s Prophets work miracles, from Adam down to our day.  Moreover, it is the same power necessary to qualify for and receive the fulness of blessings realized in and through additional ordinances and covenants available in God’s holy Temples.

The Smith family has been in the midst of significant changes of late (see Mrs. Smith’s blog for specifics) and I’ve neglected recording this sacred event.  My apology to the young man who requested my participation!  I felt it a sacred and solemn moment to ordain this individual an Elder and act as mouthpiece for the Lord in providing blessings and personal counsel.  Thank you, for the unexpected and special opportunity.

He is a great, faithful Elder of God, supported by his loving wife and children.  I count myself fortunate to know them and count them amongst my dear friends.

Brethren, have we essentially been neutered and nullified in our Priesthood?

As I re-read Elder Ezra Taft Benson’s 1965 April General Conference address, “Not Commanded in All Things” I must admit I see much nullification in our Priesthood power (sounds reminiscent of the last several, recent Conferences…).  Does the Lord not warn that Priesthood power may be “handled only upon principles of righteousness“?  Brethren, we must awake and go forward in this great and noble cause!

In 1831 the Lord said this to his Church:

“For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

“Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

“For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

“But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.” (D&C 58:26–29.)

. . . The devil knows that if the elders of Israel should ever wake up, they could step forth and help preserve freedom and extend the gospel. Therefore the devil has concentrated, and to a large extent successfully, in neutralizing much of the priesthood. He has reduced them to sleeping giants. His arguments are clever.

. . . But many of the prophecies referring to America’s preservation are conditional. That is, if we do our duty we can be preserved, and if not then we shall be destroyed. This means that a good deal of the responsibility lies with the priesthood of this Church as to what happens to America and as to how much tragedy can be avoided if we do act now.

. . . The Prophet Joseph Smith declared it will be the elders of Israel who will step forward to help save the Constitution, not the Church. And have we elders been warned? Yes, we have.

. . . Brethren, if we had done our homework and were faithful, we could step forward at this time and help save this country. The fact that most of us are unprepared to do it is an indictment we will have to bear. The longer we wait, the heavier the chains, the deeper the blood, the more the persecution and the less we can carry out our God-given mandate and world-wide mission. The war in heaven is raging on earth today. Are you being neutralized in the battle?

“Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

“For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. . . .” (D&C 58:27–28.)

So a funny thing happened to me this morning.  I got back to my desk and noticed I missed a call from someone whom I didn’t recognize.  I called back and was greeted with a kind, pleasant voice that stated:

President Monson’s office.

Me: “Uh … I missed your call … I was just calling back …”  (the fading gray represents, I expect, what my face looked like.  I’ve always wondered what’s meant by and “ashen gray” face.  I don’t wonder any longer)

Secretary: “Oh, I’m sorry; I think it was a misdial.”

Me: “Oh, good, I’m glad to hear that!  No offense intended, but I’m glad to hear it was a wrong number.”

Amidst considerable laughter on the other side side, “Sorry, have a good day!”

People ask me all the time, “As a Church employee, do you get to see and interact with the Brethren?”

Oh sure, loads of times (not really, not in my position, anyway) – just not always the ways expected. 

I updated our version of WordPress MU – yay!  I also updated my wife’s blog with a newer theme, as well as newer plugins and features.  Hope she – and her adoring fans – like it! 

This post originated as a comment to Mrs. Smith.  However, as I continued I realized I didn’t want to hijack her post or blog, so I posted my comment here and provided a link.

1) Hah!  I married up, not you.

2) I see a strong, positive correlation to your description above and comparison between (a) humanity and (b) God:

(a) Humanity focuses on the trivial “outward appearance” (1 Sam. 16:7).  How to prevent war?  More armaments!  How to be attractive?  More make-up (which sounds too much like “make believe” so we call it cosmetics)!  How to be fashionable?  More toys (cars, clothing, homes, etc)!  Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Humanity does not, cannot, and will not ever get to the things that really matter because the things that matter are not the outward ones.

(b) As indicated in Samuel, God looks upon, and works from, the inside.  The problem of cleaning, organizing, and governing a home will never occur from the “surface in” – the true change comes from the inside out.  To properly organize a home requires that it be “de-junked.”

While true for home organization, the principle applies elsewhere.  In spiritual terms – the things that matter most – our lives must be de-junked, too.  All the profane, useless, self-defeating, crud must be removed to allow for the “cleanliness, order, simplicity, function, [and] beauty” of our true selves, our true potential, and true destinies as divine Sons and Daughters of God  to come forth (How Firm a Foundation, 85, v. 5).  The Holy Spirit, powered by the Atonement, changes our inner selves – our very natures – to something else: the image of Christ.  It only happens from the inside –> out.

The world would take people out of the slums.  Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums.  The world would mold men by changing their environment.  Christ changes men, who then change their environment.  The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature (Ezra Taft Benson, “Born of God,” Ensign, Nov. 1985, 6).

I’ve recently recognized that one of the adversary’s most frequently used tactics – quite successfully, too! – is perversion of the “Law of the Harvest.”  Said law essentially states that you reap that which you sow.  For instance, an apple will produce apples.  Makes sense, right?  Similarly, if you sow effective study habits, you’ll reap a better educational experience.

In both spiritual and temporal contexts, the adversary twists and distorts the Law of the Harvest to serve his purposes, as evidenced by what we colloquially call “instant gratification” or “gimme-it-now-itis.”

The Law indicates that if I sow unhealthy eating habits – i.e. excessive calories – I will reap excessive weight.  Satan seeks to manipulate us by obfuscating the  Law through introduction of something foreign, such as liposuction or so-called “miracle weight loss” pills.  Whereas the Law is absolute: if you want less weight (reaping) you must adhere to the Law that governs weight (sowing).  To do otherwise is contrary to eternal principles and ultimately will lead to negative effects, regardless of how “effective” the deceptive weight loss practice proves.

Likewise for money.  If you want to be wealthy you must sow the behavior(s) and thoughts (i.e. adherence to the Law) that governs financial independence.  Reliance on the lottery, the government, or other method(s) to generate wealth are a gross violation of the Law of the Harvest.

In spiritual terms, if I want to acquire Godly attributes, I must sow the appropriate seed(s).  It’s inconsistent with divine principles and patterns to expect, or even hope, for Godly attributes in my life without adherence to the Law that governs such attributes (a.k.a. blessings).

No wonder the adversary is so focused on perversion of the Law, since it governs every aspect of our lives.

Mrs. Smith wrote an entry about tender mercies of the Lord and I feel to document one such experience I had yesterday – the same day as Mrs. Smith’s, in fact.  I actually had two “tender mercy” instances yesterday, and will share the first.

Background: Everyone knows it’s bad to look at the sun directly, right? So what’s the next best thing? Clouds! When the sun is behind a cloud but near its edge, the sky is lit with brilliant, dazzlingly bright light like lightning, but which lasts long enough to enjoy. I can’t imagine a brighter, more representative brilliance of His glory – without translation to withstand His glory, anyway – than the radiance of those moments.

Similarly, when those brilliant moments are accompanied with sunbeams, it invokes imagery of God’s benevolence, that His smile pierces all things and illuminates the world, but especially the location of the sunbeam’s ground track.

If I were an artist, I could likely spend my entire lifetime trying to capture those moments, and yet find myself unable to engender the thrill they infuse into my soul.

Experience: Yesterday moring I witnessed – and experienced – His light and smile descend from the heavens and pierce my soul.

Driving South down I-15 the overcast clouds began to part near the mountains. As the rising sun neared the clouds’ edge, the light increased – it seemed the sky itself would burst into flame for the light’s intensity! Finally, when it seemed the mountain tops – capped with snow, which further enhanced the brilliance – would begin to melt under the fervent light and heat, the sunlight shone through in a magnificent sunbeam that illuminated much of the Salt Lake valley.

Continuing down I-15 the sunbeam seemed to move South with me and caused me to greatly marvel at the majesty of the Lord’s creations and handiwork. Slowly the clouds closed and, to my surprise, another sunbeam appeared to the South, though this time much smaller. Instead of a large ground track over the valley, this one began on the top of the mountains and moved a little West until it rested squarely on the Draper Temple. Though clouds moved and swirled around, as I continued South I seemed to maintain relative positioning with the clouds such that the sunbeam remained focused on the Temple.

As I neared the Bangerter exit, the sunbeam shifted and headed West toward my vehicle. At the moment I exited I-15 heading West – away from the Temple – I perceived the sunbeam reached me because I felt the radiant warmth and light as my eyes adjusted. I perceived no shift in shadows from cars ahead 500-1000ft, nor signs or objects to the sides. Near as I could tell, the sunbeam was focused exclusively on my vehicle as I drove a few thousand feet down the Highway until, presumably, the clouds over the mountain closed and the sunbeam retreated.

Words cannot describe nor express my thoughts and feelings as I drove down I-15, culminating in the light that infused my vehicle and soul. I perceived His closeness and His smile that pierced my soul’s core, and brought sweet assurance that although others witnessed the meteorological events, the experience was a personal gift that is mine alone to treasure.

Allow me to further attest that my experience, though personal, is not unique: He doesn’t love me uniquely, but is certainly willing to provide such personal experiences and “tender mercies” to all His children.

Doodle – our middle child – is officially the chickens’ warden.  Anytime they’re out of their coop they tend to wander into the garden (not that I blame them, really) and need to be herded elsewhere.  “Doodle, the chickens are in the garden.”  “OK, Dad, I’ll get them out” is his cheerful reply before dashing off to extricate the birds from our yummy goodness, usually with a pole, stick, or something else to increase his reach.  Hopefully he’ll prove equally capable with younger siblings as their mobility increases.

Now, if only we could successfully teach him to round up his toys and other items when done using them, we’d be in good shape.

Today was the City of Highland’s annual “fling” (celebration of the City’s founding).  We went last year and decided to attend this year with Mrs. Smith’s parents again.

We first went to the SLC airport to pick up Opa (Grandpa), Mrs. Smith’s father.  Although the morning was a bit rocky – the kids would not listen – by this time they’d mostly settled down.  “Daddy, I see an airplane blast off-ing!”  Followed shortly thereafter by, “Hey, look, there’s the United States Flag of America!”  Mrs. Smith and I enjoyed a brief chuckle; not the normal word order, perhaps, effective nonetheless to describe the departure and U.S. flag.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon at the Highland fling.  The kids enjoyed huge cotton candies (thanks Opa!) which they willingly shared with all… including Eagle, who discovered he did not like it when his hands and face were completely covered in cobwebby, pink, spun strands of melted sugar.  That is, until I showed him that he could just suck it right off his fingers – then he wasn’t too upset.

Note to self, though: if we do that again next year, let’s limit the kids’ sugar intake.  Perhaps letting them eat “sugary ceral” (read: code for all sorts of non-mother-approved cereals) for breakfast wasn’t my brightest idea ever.  Oh well.

As always faithful reader, see Mrs. Smith’s blog for photos.