HEARING FOR THE FIRST TIME

 Dedicated to a friend.

"He who hath faith to hear, shall hear."

Doctrine and Covenants 42:50

This video is of Sarah Churman, a 29 year old mother of 2, who after receiving an implant in her ear is able to hear for the first time.  It effected me greatly when I saw it, and I wanted to share it with others in case you have not seen it already.

She was born with a rare genetic deformity that means she's missing the hair in her inner ear that transmits sound to the brain. She was fitted with her first hearing aid at age 2, but even with that technology she could only hear some vibrations and loud noises. She compensated throughout her life by becoming adept at reading people’s lips. She could speak very well but was unable to hear the sounds. Amazing.

She had never been able to hear her husband speak, her children laugh, the birds sing, or the sounds of the ocean.

While all of us have physical ears and can hear the physical sounds around us, most are still unable to hear spiritually. When one is able to hear spiritually for the first time, the overwhelming emotional joy is similiar what you see in the video.

"Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not;

and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand."

Matthew 13:13

MAJESTIC

Photos taken on January 27, 2012 when I went up snowboarding last Friday for my Birthday.

Little did I know that  Brighton Ski Resort was also celebrating their 75th  Birthday/Anniversary.

It was fun to celebrate the day together with Balloons, Free Gifts, Music and Fireworks.

"The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty."

Psalms 29: 4

MAJESTY: Greatness of appearance; dignity; grandeur; dignity of aspect or manner;

the quality or state of a person or thing which inspires awe or reverence in the beholder.

There is a ski run up at Brighton call Majestic. Once a skier/snowboarder has learned all the skills necessary to make it down the mountain safely, the skier/snowboarder advances on from the bunny hill to the Majestic chair lift.  We have taught all of our daughters how to ski. Before you teach anyone to ski, you need to make sure they do not have fear. Usually at the very beginning of learning, I tie rope around my daughter's waist, so I can make sure she does not lose control and go to fast down the hill. Once I feel she is ready to go down by herself, I will ski down first and then have her follow me... that way, I am still able to catch her or cushion her fall. After several times of skiing down the bunny hill and the necessary skills are mastered, we head up to the Majestic ski run. Once you have skied down the Majestic Ski Run, you can then call yourself a skier.

THE START DATE IN MORTALITY

photo taken about 43 years ago of yours truly

Everyone in this world shares one thing in common. We all have a "start" date.. or in other words a Birthday. Due to this mortal realm, we all have an "end" date as well. (There are a few exceptions however). Today happens to be the day I recognize my "start date". I plan to go up on the slopes and go snowboarding today.
However, before I take off, I wanted to share something that I  read yesterday in a book I am reading. I found it very interesting.

From the book the Castaways:

"There's a tribe in Africa that counts a child's birthday from the day it first appears as a thought in it's mother's mind. On that day, the woman sits under a tree and quietly listens and waits until she can hear the song of her child. When she has heard the song, she returns to her village and teachs it to the child's father, so that they can sing the song when they are together and make love, inviting the child to join them.

The expectant mother then sings the song to the child in her womb and teaches it to the midwives, who sing it when the child is born. All the villagers learn the child's song as well, so that whenever the child cries or hurts itself, they can pick the child up, hold it in their arms and sing the song. The song is also sung when the young person goes through a rite of passage, when he or she marries, and one last time when he or she is about to die."

Individualized love, conveyed to each child through "their song" from preconception to death strengthens identity, belonging and self-worth. Could implementing a similiar patten "heal" the problems we see in today's youth?

SHARP CONTRASTS: Black and White

photo taken  on January 22, 2012 up Big Cottonwood Canyon

"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold."

Matthew 24: 12

 HOWEVER...

“Be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you;

and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God,

that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.”

D&C 68:6

The righteous way of life stands in SHARP CONTRAST to the ways of the world:

"The gospel offers us not only the prospect of eternal life, but provides us a whole way of life in mortality. Whereas so many in the world see death as the end and the loss of hope, we testify to the reality of the resurrection. Just as immortality and eternal life stand in such sharp contrast to the world’s lack of purpose, so the righteous way of life stands in sharp contrast to the ways of the world. Let us make certain there is oil in our own lamps. Let us live our lives so we can have the gift of the Holy Ghost operating evermore constantly in our lives."

Spencer W Kimball Dec 1977 "A Gift of Gratitude"



PURITY: Whiteness beyond anything earthly.

photo taken of Big Cottonwood River on 1/22/2012 after a long awaited snow stormn this past weekend

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart,

that ye may be filled with this love,

which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ;

that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him,

for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope;

 that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

Moroni 7:48

 Purity:

• Freedom from foreign admixture
• the state of being unsullied by sin or moral wrong,
• containing nothing that does not properly belong.
• unmixed with any other matter

I will write more shortly.

The Second Comforter

a photo painting that I gave my wife and my parents for Christmas 

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, 

that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive,

because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him:

but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
John 14: 16-18

Who is this Second Comforter?

Joseph Smith received the answer to this question through revelation.

“Now what is the other comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter [the promise of eternal life], he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face. … “

(HC 3:381.) (Quoted in Ivan J. Barrett, “‘He Lives! For We Saw Him’,” Ensign, Aug 1975, 17)

PANORAMIC VISION SHOWN TO NEPHI BY AN ANGEL

The handout for my Sunday School class on Nephi's Vision. (I Nephi chapters 12-14)

“No message appears in scripture more times, in more ways than ‘Ask, and ye shall receive’”

(Conference Report, Oct. 1991).

Nephi applied the invitation to ask for the “things that [his] father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known” (1 Nephi 11:1). Nephi’s righteous desires were rewarded, for he not only recorded information that was similar to what we have recorded about Lehi’s vision, but he recorded a panoramic vision of this world to the end of time. In putting this handout together I had a greater appreciation for Nephi as a prophet, seer, and revelator. He saw future events. He preached repentance. He revealed truth.

Sidenote: In reading the student Manual for the lesson, I read the following passage that I liked:

President John Taylor spoke of the necessity of going beyond simply being members of the Lord’s Church if we are to be sufficiently worthy to stand before our Father in Heaven: “There is something that goes a little further than we think about sometimes; and that is, while we profess to be followers of the Lord, while we profess to have received the Gospel and to be governed by it, a profession will amount to nothing unless we have washed our robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. It is not enough for us to be connected with the Zion of God, for the Zion of God must consist of men that are pure in heart and pure in life and spotless before God, at least that is what we have got to arrive at. We are not there yet, but we must get there before we shall be prepared to inherit glory and exaltation; therefore a form of godliness will amount to but little with any of us. . . . It is not enough for us to embrace the Gospel . . . and be associated with the people of God, attend our meetings and partake of the Sacrament of the Lord’s supper, and endeavor to move along without much blame of any kind attached to us; for notwithstanding all this, if our hearts are not right, if we are not pure in heart before God, if we have not pure hearts and pure consciences, fearing God and keeping His commandments, we shall not, unless we repent, participate in these blessings about which I have spoken, and of which the Prophets bear testimony” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor [2001], 114–15).

COVERING OF DARKNESS

one more photo of the moon taken on  12/10/11 

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people:

but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

Isaiah 60:2

Some good quotes about losing light and being covered in darkness:
The titles church of the devil and great and abominable church are used to identify all . . . organizations of whatever name or nature—whether political, philosophical, educational, economic, social, fraternal, civic, or religious—which are designed to take men on a course that leads away from God and his laws and thus from salvation in the kingdom of God” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 137–38).

We have good sources for New Testament Christianity of losing light and entering into apostasy; when the lights go out, so to speak, and we hear the muffled sounds of a great struggle. When the lights come on again a hundred or so years later, we find that someone has rearranged all the furniture and Christianity has become something very different from what it was in the beginning” (Stephen E. Robinson, “Warring against the Saints of God,” Ensign, Jan. 1988, 38–39).

EARLY MORNING WONDER IN THE SKY

photo taken along Fashion Boulevard on Monday January 9, 2012

The moon on my first day of school.

"A wise man will hear, and will increase learning;

and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels."

Proverbs 1:5

To make a long story short, I have felt prompted to take a few college classes. To fit the classes around my work schedule and family responsibilities, I go to work early in the morning and late at night. So needless to say, I have many opportunities to see the moon. Because of my lunar obsession and lack of shaving, my wife thinks I might be part werewolf. :) 

I am taking four very interesting classes.  Pathology, Microbiology, Grief Counseling, and a Microbiology Lab.  For those who are not familiar with pathology, it is the study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from ancient greek, Pathos meaning "feeling, suffering," and logia meaning " the study of".

Going back to school later in life is not easy but I have felt this is something I am suppose to do, it is important for some reason. My perspective is different now that I am older  and see symbolism in everything I am learning. I am not sure I would have learned/discovered these things as a 20's something returned missionary.

Grateful for the support that I have received from my family and friends.

THE WANING OF THE MOON

photo taken last night of the moon rising over Mount Olympus on 01/11/12.

 WANING: To decrease gradually in size, amount, intensity, or degree. To approach an end.

The reflective light we see from moon is constantly changing. It is either increasing or decreasing. Waxing or Waning. Just like the moon's light, we too are either gaining more light/knowledge in our life, or losing more light.  

I like this scripture found in John 3: 30. John talking about the Savior and His mission states, "He must increase, but I must decrease." John was a humble man. He never sought to make a big name for himself, he had followers but led them all to the One True Source. He knew who to look for salvation, and pointed out to others that his role must decrease while the Lord's role must increase. It was a time of "waning" for John and a "waxing" for Christ.

A PATRIARCH: FATHER OF A FAMILY

photo taken of my daughter Eden in my hands

 "..their father spake unto them, and blessed them;

every one according to his blessing he blessed them/"

Genesis 49:28

A priesthood blessing is sacred. It can be a holy and inspired statement of our wants and needs. If we are in tune spiritually, we can receive a confirming witness of the truth of the promised blessings. Priesthood blessings can help us in the small and great decisions of our lives. If, through our priesthood blessings, we could perceive only a small part of the person God intends us to be, we would lose our fear and never doubt again.

Elder John A. Widtsoe stated, “Every father, having children born to him under the covenant, is to them as a patriarch, and he has the right to bless his posterity in the authority of the Priesthood which he holds.”

A few months ago I blessed our baby daughter Eden. At the beginning of every school year, I give a blesssing to each of my daughters. I started school today, and received a blessing from my Dad last night. What a privilege it is to give a blessing, and what a comfort it is to recieve one.

......

Sidenote:

Today is the Birthday of the last sustained Patriarch of the Church, Eldred G. Smith. Born on January 9, 1907, He is now 105 years old. He is the oldest-lived General Authority in the history of the Church. Last year in 2011, he surpassed David O. McKay as the longest-serving general authority in LDS Church history. He deserves more attention than he recieves. Just the fact of his age, he should be given some attention. He is the great great grandson of Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith's brother. The Church as undergone tremendous changes since Joseph Smith, including the gradual dissolving of the office of Patriarch of the Church. The Patriarch of the Church was used to ordain the President of the Church using the hereditary priesthood line running back to Joseph and Hyrum.

INSPIRATIONAL STORY

I normally don't post things other than original photographs.. but I thought this was very inspirational especially following up on my last post with my daughter's experience in ice skating. If you watch this to the end, it sure will make you appreciate all of your blessings. 

TRYING SOMETHING NEW

photo of Sarah's first time Ice Skating taken on December 28, 2011

"Arise; ... be of good courage, and do it."

Ezra 10:4

It sounds crazy to attach a sharp thin blade to the bottom of your feet and then then try to stand up on a sheet of ice. Not only do you have to worry about falling on your head, but you run the risk of cutting yourself with a razor sharp blade... Yet we do this for fun and enjoyment. Common sense would tell you to not attempt it because you could get hurt. We are told to avoid things in our lives that potentially could harm us. If we only wear rubber shoes and walk on stable ground we will never know what it feels like to glide on ice.. one of the closest things that humans have to flying.    

AT THE APPOINTED HOUR

photo taken on New Year's Eve with my two daughters

"Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee,"

Genesis 18:14

Last night my wife and I spent New Years Eve with our three youngest daughters. Our oldest daugther was with her friends at a party. This was the first time that we stayed home on New Years Eve, since we usually go out to dinner with friends and neighbors. To make the night fun for our girls, my wife had the idea to put treats and games in separate bags that the girls could open up at the "appointed" hour... 7, 8, 9 o'clock up until 12:00 midnight. With anticipation, my daugthers looked forward to the next hour so they could see what was inside the bag. However, around 11:30 they both fell asleep. Approaching the most important hour when a new year would be ushered in, they were not awake... even thought they were faithful up to that point and  they were determined to not fall asleep before midnight. Many parables from the scriptures came to mind. We woke them up just minutes before the "ball fell in Times Square".

Sidenote: 2012 could be an interesting year. Alot of speculation and different theories is out in cyberspace with the whole end to the Mayan calendar. Just something interesting ... the number 12 is a symbolic number... among other things.. 12 is the last number we use on our clocks before we start over again with one.  Adding 2012 together equals 5, which is also a very important number.

Here is an interesting scripture:

"The Lord of that servant will come in a day he looketh not for, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him down, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers."

Luke 12: 46