A Christmas Break - The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

 I'm moving this weekend, and as you can imagine, things are very busy. Sadly, too busy for blog research.

So instead of our regular skip down General Conference lane, or even a saunter through the Iliad as we've been doing, I'm going to post references to Christmas from classic stories.

Our first is The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. The very last paragraph of the story says this:

 

The magi, as you know, were wise men—

wonderfully wise men—

who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. 

They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. 

Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, 

possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. 

And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle 

of two foolish children in a flat 

who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. 

But in a last word to the wise of these days 

let it be said that of all who give gifts 

these two were the wisest. 

Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. 

Everywhere they are wisest. 

They are the magi."

 

The story of the wise men is in Matthew 2:

 

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa 

in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? 

for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him...

 ...and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, 

till it came and stood over where the young child was.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And when they were come into the house, 

they saw the young child with Mary his mother, 

and fell down, and worshipped him: 

and when they had opened their treasures, 

they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."

Elder Joseph Anderson and Sir Isaac Newton Finding Beauty and Truth in Light

I'm moving over Christmas break - hubby and I bought a new house. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, even if you can't celebrate it like you'd like to. Like me. But I'm not sad about it. I've had many great Christmases over the years, and my memories are keeping my heart warm this year.

The next quote we encounter from the April 1972 General Conference is a reference from the life of Sir Isaac Newton.

From the talk by Elder Joseph Anderson, "Man's Eternal Horizon", comes this early discovery: 

 

 The Quote

 

"It is reported that on one occasion 

when Sir Isaac Newton was thinking seriously concerning the nature of light, 

he cut a hole in a window blind and a ray of light entered his room. 

He held a triangular piece of glass in the range of the light, 

and there were reflected in great beauty all the colors of the rainbow. 

And for the first time man learned 

 that all of the glorious colors of the universe 

are locked up in a ray of white light."

 

I think he told this story to demonstrate that all the facets of the gospel of Jesus Christ are true, and thus all of them should be accepted if we want to receive pure light and knowledge from the Lord. It would be weird to acknowledge the existence of red, but to deny the existence of yellow or green. All the colors come together with a ray of light split through a prism, not just some.

The belief before Isaac Newton's time was that pure light was colorless, and colors came from mixing light with different variations of darkness. Not so, he proved.

Isaac Newton postulated and proved in his book, Opticks, that light  instead consisted of various spectrum of color, which is why, when light goes through rain, the rain acts as a prism that splits the light, and we see a rainbow of color in the sky.

It's a great read, if you like advanced math. The pictures alone are fairly intense. But the guy did invent calculus, after all... 

 

May we all rejoice in the Light, and all that He contains. Merry Christmas season everyone!

Elder S. Dilworth Young and Some Examples of Great Boy-Literature

This talk by Elder S. Dilworth Young, called "Missionary Training Begins Early", really got me thinking.

When I was a young girl, I loved to read, but I was a girl, and I wasn't allowed to go to Scouts like my brothers were. (I could have gone to Girl Scouts, but the whole selling cookies thing seriously turned me off.)

I loved the thought of going camping and learning outdoor skills, which of course is only one aspect of being a boy, and is not so gender-specific as it used to be. And I hated being locked out of Boy Scouts because I wasn't a boy.

What I realized after finding this quote was that I was never locked out of boy-literature, and many things that I read as a child were books that were supposed to be for boys, as S. Dilworth Young mentions below. This was a talk about mission preparation for boys: 

The Quote

"In the same manner they [father and son] will comb the scriptures, doctrine by doctrine, 

and learn those vital to missionary work. 

They will read together the great boy-literature of the world. 

The chivalry at the court of King Arthur 

will be mirrored in his treatment of girls and, later, young women. 

And he will learn the place of animals in his life 

when he runs the Trail of the Sand Hill Stag with Seton 

and will learn the immense power of nature 

as he survives a ride down a snow avalanche with Enos A. Mills." 

 

We do start preparing for missions very young in our church, for both boys and girls. The preparation is very much the same, except that the boys have a priesthood responsibility to serve, while for the girls, it is an optional opportunity.

Still, when it comes to reading, both boys and girls enjoy an equal opportunity. Considering the great emphasis on toxic masculinity in the media these days, it might be nice to resurrect some boy-literature to provide a more positive view of masculinity again.

 

King Arthur

We're probably all more familiar with different stories of King Arthur from the movies and television, but what about the original stories?

They can be found here, in the classic Le Morte D'Arthur (The Death of Arthur).

 

Trail of the Sand Hill Stag

 I'd never in my life heard of this one, but I found it - right here.

It's a short story by Ernest Thompson Seton that follows a young man named Yan on his quest to hunt a majestic deer known as the Sandhill Stag. 

Set in the wilds of Canada, the narrative explores themes of self-discovery, respect for nature, and the bond between humans and wildlife as Yan learns valuable lessons about perseverance and the natural world during his adventure - all great boy stuff.

 

Enos A. Mills

Again, not a story I was familiar with before, but I did find him - Enos A. Mills, a naturalist and homesteader, as well as a prolific writer of many books. The harrowing story of how he survives an avalanche is found in the very first chapter of his book, The Spell of the Rockies.

 

Other Examples of Boy-Literature

I also found this list of other kinds of boy literature - either stories with a boy protagonist, usually making his way through nature and learning how to survive, or in some other way exhibiting different Christ-like qualities that make for a great man.

I was very pleased to find that many of these stories (The Trumpet of the Swan, Where the Red Fern Grows, etc.) had also been some of my early favorites.

Absolutely anything that gets boys and girls reading is okay by me. I highly recommend this list, and the three stories mentioned in Elder S. Dilworth Young's talk are also going on my ever-expanding reading list.

 

Elder Gordon B. Hinckley and Robert Browning - Reaching Out for Understanding

 We push on through the April 1972 General Conference, and discover another quote, this time in Elder Gordon B. Hinckley's talk, "What Will the Church Do For You, A Man?"

What indeed?

This talk was specifically for men, given in the priesthood session of this conference. Back then, there would be a session for men, and a session for women. So different now.

It's very brief - a little bit of wisdom - and honestly, just as applicable to women as men. But perhaps the challenge of it might mean a little bit more to a man.

 

The Quote

Robert Browning said, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp.”

 

It's a quote about the importance of human growth and progress, and comes from one of his poems, entitled Andrea Del Sarto.

It's a very very VERY long blank verse poem that reads more like a dramatic monologue than a poem. It's about a painter who makes perfect paintings, but laments that technical perfection alone does not produce great work. His paintings are beautiful, but spiritually empty.

What's most interesting about the quote itself is the full line:

 

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,

Or what's a heaven for?

Robert Browning didn't have an answer to that question, but I feel like I do.

Heaven is our home. 

We came from there, to here, for a purpose, and it's within all of us to feel to reach back to there. 

Heaven is all about growing and reaching beyond where we are not. We feel it here - we thrive in circumstances where we can grow and progress, and shrivel in circumstances where we feel we can't. 

The Lord is all about wanting us to grow and change - to become like Him one day. Certainly, that's a long path to walk on, but if we can learn to enjoy the journey, it's a happy and satisfying path.

Some may find that a frustrating idea - continually reaching for a goal beyond your reach. I get that. 

But living the gospel was never meant to be a sprint - where we perfect ourselves on an expected schedule. It's a lifelong-and-beyond marathon that unfolds in greater beauty and greater vistas as we take on that challenge, with Jesus Christ by our side. 

Elder Thomas S. Monson, Part Three: Joe Darion and the Impossible Dream

 For Part One or Part Two, pick a link and click.

For our final foray into Elder Thomas S. Monson's talk in April 1972, "Finishers Wanted", he references a song from musical theatre:

The Quote 

“To dream the impossible dream;

To fight the unbeatable foe;

To bear with unbearable sorrow:

To run where the brave dare not go.

“To right the unrightable wrong;

To love, pure and chaste, from afar;

To try when your arms are too weary

To reach the unreachable star.”

 

The song lyrics were written by Joe Darion, who wrote for many musicals, but Man of La Mancha was his greatest work. "Man of La Mancha" was based on the story of Don Quixote, a elderly gentleman, full of idealism, who decides to become the knight he has read about in so many books. 

His idealism is treated as madness by those around him, and he is ridiculed and mocked, but then his deep conviction also changes the life of some.

It's a lovely song. The movie version stars Peter O'Toole in an intense performance as the Knight Errant, Don Quixote. The story and the music are fantastic.

It's an idea I want to believe in, despite the fear of living up to such a high ideal in a dangerous world. But it's an idea that's every bit a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

To follow the best that is in me, despite all dangers and hazards, can't help but inspire and lift those around me to do the same. It's a worthwhile path to follow, but we don't have to do it alone. Jesus Christ offers help for those who take on such a difficult path, and the love that He offers is a reward that is well worth any effort. 

The story of Don Quixote touched our family's life deeply in a fun way, especially when my husband and I first got married. He'd done a production of Man of La Mancha in his local community theatre, playing one of the brutal muleteers. He would often call me his 'Dulcinea', the noble name that Don Quixote names a local humble serving maid, whose real name was Aldonza. Our first little beaten-up white truck he named 'Rosinante', which was Don Quixote's broken-down horse that we envisioned a great steed.

It's entertaining and even a little ennobling to take something humble and envision it a little grander than it is. And it's absolutely what God sees in us - not what we are, but what we could become.

If you haven't seen the play or the movie, then enjoy this little clip of Brian Stokes Mitchell, singing the song from the quote above, "The Impossible Dream".

 

 

 

 

 

Elder Thomas S. Monson, Part Two: Another Unknown Poet Sticking to It

  For Part One or Part Three, pick a link and click.

Coming back now to Elder Thomas S. Monson's talk in the April 1971 General Conference, called  "Finishers Wanted", he goes into a poem by an unknown author to illustrate the quality of perseverance:

 

The Quote

“Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;

Beginners are many, but enders are few.

Honor, power, place and praise

Will always come to the one who stays.

“Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;

Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it, too;

For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile

Will come life’s victories after a while.”

—Author Unknown

 

This has floated around in the ether as long as I can remember, and it seems to be unknown since the first time it was ever said. It reminded me of a very very VERY old Disney movie called "So Dear to my Heart". That movie had a song called 'Stick-to-it-tivity". 

Now granted, Disney doesn't have the greatest track record in telling accurate history, so the facts of this song probably have to be taken with a small truckload of salt. But the song is cute, and runs along the same vein as the poem:

 

I can attest to the value of trying over and over again with overcoming weaknesses - it can take a very long time to get past some of them. Some challenges I've had have taken decades to make progress on, but since I know that life continues on past this life, the Lord has blessed me with a lot more patience with myself than I would have had otherwise.

There have been victories too - lots of them. If there's something I want, and it's important enough, I will move heaven and earth to get there, and the world doesn't get to decide what I can do and what I can't do. That's between me and the Lord - and so far, He's never told me to stop trying.

We're all a grand work in progress - never give up on the best in you. :-) 

Elder Thomas S. Monson, Part One - John Greenleaf Whittier's Maud Mueller, and Regret Turned to Joy

For Part Two or Part Three, pick a link and click.

Wait a minute, you say. Didn't we just talk about Elder Monson?

We did.

But that's the nature of Conference talks. You hear from some people every six months or so, and some people less often. Elder (and eventually President) Monson was always one of the regulars as long as I've been alive up until he passed away, and we get to reap the benefits of his clear love of literature along the way!

This first quote is from his classic talk, "Finishers Wanted":

 

The Quote

"Concerning those who fall short, 

John Greenleaf Whittier’s words seem particularly fitting:

“For of all sad words of tongue or pen,

The saddest are these: ‘It might have been!’”

 

In Elder Monson's talk, he referred to those who have chosen sin or wickedness when they could have chosen good.

In the original source material, the poem "Maud Mueller"...well, see for yourself:

 

Wikipedia

It's a story about a chance encounter, a choice made, and lifelong regrets that followed.

What I especially found interesting was the last couplet, where the couple's regrets expand out to all the world's regrets:

"Ah, well! for us all some sweet hope lies

Deeply buried from human eyes;

 

And, in the hereafter, angels may

Roll the stone from its grave away!

 

Jesus Christ made it possible for all of us to have new beginnings, with His sacrifice for everyone. That I do believe. He has turned my regrets to deep gratitude, and made a beauty from my life what I could never manage. He can do that for any of us.

A lovely poem with Christian themes is "Maud Mueller". 

 

 

Elder Marvin J. Ashton and Louis J. Halle's Big Imaginary Job to Do

 It's so close to Christmas now, and Christmas vacation! Getting exciting! New Year's Day is right upon its heels, where so many people mark the new year with determinations to repent and improve their lives in various ways, a tradition that I embrace all year long, but especially then.

Today's quote is from a talk given by Elder Marvin J. Ashton, entitled, "What is Your Destination?", always a good thing to consider when setting goals. This Elder Ashton illustrated with a particular goal that has meaning for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - the moment when we make ourselves worthy to enter the temple for the first time:

 

The Quote (with context)

"To qualify one’s self to go to the temple is a lofty ambition, 

a worthy achievement. 

We need to remind ourselves of its eternal purposes. 

However, we have not arrived when we share the blessings of the temple. 

Oftentimes there are real dangers in our lives 

when we allow lofty ideals and goals, such as temple marriage, 

to become an end instead of a means. 

All of our priorities must be properly placed 

within the framework of eternity 

if we are to avoid the stagnations of arriving.

 

I think it was Louis J. Halle who said,

 “To snatch the passing moment 

and examine it for signs of eternity 

is the noblest of occupations.”

Who was Louis J. Halle?

Never heard of him before, but I found Louis J. Halle pretty quickly, as well as his quote. 

It comes from a lovely little book he wrote called Spring in Washington (one of about 22 books) where he takes it upon himself to notice nature around him, as he went to work every morning for the State Department in Washington, DC.

Having partaken of the natural beauties of Washington DC myself when I worked there myself, I can completely understand his enthusiasm. It's a beautiful area of the country, and I'm definitely going to town on this book, and potentially some of his others, at a later time. 

 Here's the original quote. After he referred to Thoreau as a muse of his in paying attention to the natural world, he said this with such simple earnestness in his words:

 

"To snatch the passing moment 

and examine it for signs of eternity 

is the noblest of occupations. 

It is Olympian. 

Therefore I undertook to be monitor of the Washington seasons, 

when the government was not looking. 

Though it was only for my own good, 

that is how the poorest of us may benefit the world." 

I absolutely love how service-oriented this thought is, and how it reflected his ambition - stopped in one way (the fact that he was a broke low-level civil servant at the time), but he re-imagined himself with a great and noble job to do. Something that lifted his energies and engaged his talents.

That's exactly what I love about writing - it's such a simple activity, with such a low bar for entry. Absolutely anyone with a thought in their head can pick it up and leave a legacy for those who come after us, while at the same time entertaining and educating ourselves.

This is a key to eternity right here - being always able to find interest in what's in front of us, and never allowing ourselves to think we've done it all, seen it all, and we're bored with life so we stop learning. There's always something we can do to grow - there can always be some way into newness of life. 

Jesus Christ and His gospel creates a pathway for that that truly never ends, but only grows and expands with each season of life. Just as I get comfortable in winter, I know that a glorious spring and summer are just around the next bend. 

A very wise observation from the husband of my eighth cousin three times removed - I look forward to reminiscing with him one day in the next life about spring in Washington, DC. 

President N. Eldon Tanner, and a Folksy Poem to Bring Down the Stress Levels

 Hi everybody!

 

These last couple of days have been a little stressful for me - good stress, but stress.

Someone posted one of my blogs somewhere, and suddenly the traffic coming to my blog grew significantly higher.

I have to admit, it was a little worrisomel. I used to be an actress when I was younger, but I gave it up because I didn't love the idea of so many people looking at me.

Strange, right? I'm writing a blog - and I am happy to get readers. Maybe the problem is because traffic is called 'views', and suddenly I'm picturing hundreds of eyeballs looking at me again. 

Maybe it's the thought of the inevitable trolls that come with success - they're certainly not who I'm writing for, and I'm getting my rhino skin ready. Just the world we live in now, but it's not pleasant to think about. No one loves the thought of being arbitrarily judged, when those who judge know little to nothing about us.

Anyway, those people have left, and we're back to just being us again. :-) Let's look at another quote, shall we?

Today's quote comes from President N. Eldon Tanner, from his still-timely and very-appropriate-to-the- topic-at-hand talk, "Judge Not, That Ye Be Not Judged" in the April 1971 General Conference. He posted this pleasant couplet with no listing of where it came from:

 

The Poem Quote

“Wouldn’t this old world be better

If the folks we meet would say:

‘I know something good about you,’

And then treat us that way?”

 

Ah - an anti-troll world. Something else that I'm looking forward to in eternity with God one day, certainly...but who wrote this poem? President Tanner doesn't say.

I, however, am very happy to say that I have uncovered the author - this is from a poem entitled, "I Know Something Good About You", which was written by the Reverend Louis Charles Shimon, a Lutheran minister from Wisconsin.

 

The full text of this anti-troll anthem is as follows:

 

 Wouldn’t this old world be better
     If the folks we meet would say -
“I know something good about you!”
     And treat us just that way?
 
Wouldn’t it be fine and dandy
     If each handclasp, fond and true,
Carried with it this assurance -
      “I know something good about you!”
 
Wouldn’t life be lots more happy
     If the good that’s in us all
Were the only thing about us
     That folks bothered to recall?
 
Wouldn’t life be lots more happy
     If we praised the good we see?
For there’s such a lot of goodness
     In the worst of you and me!
 
Wouldn’t it be nice to practice
     That fine way of thinking, too?
You know something good about me,
     I know something good about you?

Elder Ezra T. Benson, Part Four: Echoes of Today - The American Tradition by Clarence Carson

For Part One, Part Two, or Part Three, select your link and go. 

For our last quote in this series, from Elder Ezra T. Benson's talk, "Civic Standards for the Faithful Saints," we get something unusual - a recommendation of an entire book!

 

The Quote

"God raised up these patriotic partners to perform their mission, 

and he called them “wise men.” (See D&C 101:80.) 

The First Presidency acknowledged that wisdom 

when they gave us the guideline a few years ago 

of supporting political candidates “who are truly dedicated to the Constitution 

in the tradition of our Founding Fathers.” 

(Deseret News, November 2, 1964.) 

That tradition has been summarized in the book The American Tradition by Clarence Carson." 

 

 Does Time Even Go By?

It's an interesting book, "The American Tradition", which can be found online here.

Just reading the Table of Contents, it's a book with very familiar, current-sounding point to make. It's certainly from a certain point of view - a more conservative point of view - but if we added updated references, it's not that different from other more modern books, except that its viewpoint is more historical. It was published in 1964 - over 61 years ago.

It made me think to myself a little - How much actually changes from year to year? 

Sometimes, I like to look back at my own journals - say, the same date of entry, four years ago - which I did recently.

The problems I was wrestling with back then were largely the same problems I am wrestling with today. No real progress.

And now I feel old.

But never mind - throwing this one on my TBR pile, happily. Because we in our church do believe that the Lord raised up these men - very human, yes, but very special men - to create this experiment in government and freedom that all of us in the United States have been living out since then.

Freedom to choose our life path. Freedom to worship however we choose. Freedom to be happy, or to be miserable. Freedom to speak, and to defend ourselves. Lots of freedoms, for which I myself am very grateful, and probably should be more grateful for what we still retain in future.

Because freedom can certainly be lost, if we forget ...

Elder Ezra T. Benson, Part Three: Theodore Roosevelt Defining Patriotism

 For Part One, Part Two, or Part Four, select your link and go. 

 I should be posting this during an election cycle, but maybe it's safer to do it when things are more quiet.

Today's quote, still from Elder Ezra T. Benson's talk, "Civic Standards for the Faithful Saints", brings up a very interesting point - one that's probably not often considered today - principles over personalities.

And he quotes President Theodore Roosevelt when he says:

 

The Quote

“Patriotism,” said Theodore Roosevelt, 

“means to stand by the country. 

It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official 

save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. …

“Every man,” said President Roosevelt, 

“who parrots the cry of ‘stand by the President’ 

without adding the proviso ‘so far as he serves the Republic’ 

 takes an attitude as essentially unmanly as that of any Stuart royalist 

who championed the doctrine that the King could do no wrong. 

No self-respecting and intelligent free man could take such an attitude.” 

(Theodore Roosevelt, Works, vol. 21, pp. 316, 321.) 

Simply by looking at the reference, I despair of every finding these specific quotes in their original source material - Roosevelt wrote a lot and the websites that house his work are a little bit difficult to navigate.

Still, taken at face value, the thought is worth considering.

Are we loyal to a party? A person? Or the principles underlying our government for 200 years? 

Not asking anyone those questions myself - these are a self-edit, for sure. 

And I suppose what 'serves the Republic' and what doesn't could also be up for individual interpretation.

Still, my allegiance is to my Father in Heaven, and He says to be a good citizen and do my civic duty in the country I belong to, so I do, for that reason alone.  

 

My country, under God...

 

Nations carry imperfect banners - all nations - but the basic principles of goodness and morality unite us all - whether we believe in this or in this or in something else entirely. 

In order to survive as a globe of God's children, we need to at least learn to stand by something noble and good together. 

The Iliad Book 7 and the Bible: The Duel of the Greats

I'm excited personally - never got this far in the Iliad before, and now we've come to a point where someone's gotten a great idea - but it's not their great idea, but the gods that inspired them with it.

 

The Iliad - The Duel of Hector and Ajax

The chapter starts with a conversation between the gods - Minerva and Apollo:

"When now Minerva saw her Argives slain,
From vast Olympus to the gleaming plain
Fierce she descends: Apollo marked her flight,
Nor shot less swift from Ilion’s towery height.
Radiant they met, beneath the beechen shade;
When thus Apollo to the blue-eyed maid:

“What cause, O daughter of Almighty Jove!
Thus wings thy progress from the realms above?
Once more impetuous dost thou bend thy way,
To give to Greece the long divided day?..."

To which Minerva replies, and Apollo gets a bright idea:

"To whom the progeny of Jove replies:
“I left, for this, the council of the skies:
But who shall bid conflicting hosts forbear,
What art shall calm the furious sons of war?”
To her the god: “Great Hector’s soul incite
To dare the boldest Greek to single fight,
Till Greece, provoked, from all her numbers show
A warrior worthy to be Hector’s foe.""

From there, Hector is given the idea, and he challenges the Greeks to send forward a champion to end their quarrel, man to man.

Ajax is selected and Hector and Ajax go at it, and they fight for three days with no end in sight.

 

The Bible -  Abraham and Lot

Obviously, a battle between two warriors that decides a war has a clear echo in the Bible story of David and Goliath, but there is another, more subtle conflict that deserves exploration - the story of Abraham and Lot.

Abram had two brothers - one brother had a son, Lot. His brother Haran, Lot's father, shortly after died. When Abram married Sarai, and she could not have children, Abram made his brother's son, his nephew Lot, part of his household, and Lot acted as his heir for a time.

But when they and their households moved to Canaan, they couldn't stay because of a famine, so they moved to Egypt for a time. When they moved back towards Canaan, both men had prospered so much, and their households grown so great, that there started to be conflict for resources.

Instead of allowing a battle between their servants, Abram and Lot met with each other, each as champions of each their own side. But the battle looked very different indeed:

 

And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, 

and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

 

Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: 

if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; 

or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

 

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, 

that it was well watered every where...even as the garden of the Lord, 

like the land of Egypt...

Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: 

 

and they separated themselves the one from the other.

Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain...

 

Abram was once more without someone to act as his son and heir, and took voluntarily the lesser fertile land, in order to preserve peace between them both. Family was more important than land or wealth. The Lord had promised Abram very great blessings, and he trusted the Lord, even though he couldn't see those blessings immediately in his life yet.

 

Comparatively Speaking... 

In both stories, the decisions of mortals were guided by divine authority, one by fate, without their knowledge, and one by assent and a willingness to submit his will to God.

In both stories, there was a willingness on both sides to let one person speak or act for all, in order to facilitate the ending of any further conflict.

Separately, the Greeks and Trojans battled their greatest warriors in order to save many others, and Abram and Lot worked out their differences without letting words come to blows. Abram was able to be generous to his nephew, because of his faith in God and His promises, and to be patient for those promises to be fulfilled. 

Eventually, it became clear that Abram's choice was very much the better one, but that's another story... 

Elder Ezra T. Benson, Part Two: Jefferson and the Chains of the Constitution

For Part One, Part Three, or Part Four, select your link and go. 

For the most part, I don't play around with politics nearly as much as some. But Elder Ezra T. Benson spent a lot of time in that world, so it's natural that some of that would come out in his talks.

The next quote from his April 1972 General Conference talk had this to say:

 

 The Quote

The Lord said that “the children of this world are in their generation

 wiser than the children of light.” (Luke 16:8.) 

Our wise founders seemed to understand, better than most of us, our own scripture, 

which states that “it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, 

as soon as they get a little authority … 

they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.” (D&C 121:39.)

To help prevent this, 

the founders knew that our elected leaders 

should be bound by certain fixed principles. 

Said Thomas Jefferson: 

“In questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man 

but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”

 

Thomas Jefferson wasn't the only Founder who felt this way. They'd had enough of kings who could dictate whatever they wanted into law, with no guardrails whatsoever, and nothing the people could say about it.

My esteemed sixth cousin seven times removed wrote this quote in a draft of the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798. The Revolution had been won, but the States were still at loggerheads with the federal government over different issues, just as they can be today. Jefferson and James Madison wrote this document anonymously in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, which they believed violated constitutional limits on federal power.

The quote is found in Resolved #8 of this document, in an incredibly long paragraph - run-on sentences phased no one back then, apparently.  

Instead of posting it here, I invite you to click on the link and wade through the word wall for yourself, if it suits you.

Elder Ezra T. Benson, Part One: The Point of Everything I Do Here

For Part Two, Part Three, or Part Four, select your link and go. 

We're continuing forward now with Elder Ezra T. Benson talk from the April 1972 General Conference, entitled "Civic Standards for the Faithful Saints". Of course, Elder Benson would talk about civic duty, having served as the Secretary of Agriculture under President Eisenhower. His interest in politics permeated many of his talks.

This quote is a little bit of a cheat, if I'm being honest. It's an interior quote instead of an exterior one, having been given by an apostle of our church, Elder Orson F. Whitney. My rule is to stick to external quotes instead of interior ones by Church leaders.

However, this one floored me when I read it, because it so perfectly encapsulates the entire mission of my blog, and I had to include it.

 

The Quote 

“Perhaps the Lord needs such men on the outside of His Church to help it along,” 

said the late Elder Orson F. Whitney of the Quorum of the Twelve. 

“They are among its auxiliaries, 

and can do more good for the cause where the Lord has placed them, than anywhere else. … 

Hence, some are drawn into the fold and receive a testimony of the truth; 

while others remain unconverted … 

the beauties and glories of the gospel being veiled temporarily from their view, 

for a wise purpose. 

The Lord will open their eyes in His own due time. 

God is using more than one people for the accomplishment of His great and marvelous work. 

The Latter-day Saints cannot do it all. 

It is too vast, too arduous for any one people. … 

We have no quarrel with the Gentiles. 

They are our partners in a certain sense.” 

(Conference Report, April 1928, p. 59.)

 

I've always been someone who wanted to learn more about the good in the world, and bring it back for the members of my faith to remember and appreciate.

We've never been isolationists.Since we're all children of God, we're open to helping all people everywhere, whether or not they believe as we do. Those in the world who understand gospel principles in other ways and who do good in the world are all doing God's work, and we appreciate them for their goodness and good principled living wherever it is.

If I have anything to do with it, they won't be forgotten.  

Elder James A. Cullimore and the Impact of the Holy Ghost from Impact Magazine

 Here we are, marching through April 1972, and we come to Elder James A. Cullimore's talk, "The Importance of a Personal Testimony", speaking to what feels like something that may be unique to our church.

 

The Quote 

"In an editorial in the Impact magazine, 

Brother William E. Barrett expressed well the great influence of the Holy Spirit 

in guiding and uniting the Church today:

“The great miracle of our day 

is that Spirit which unites the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

with those multitudinous authorities appointed to lead them. 

For those appointed thus to lead speak a diversity of tongues, 

belong to a variety of races and cultures, 

and live in many different lands. 

Yet there is a unity which manifests itself in the obedience to Church calls, 

in the acceptance of basic doctrines, 

and in the belief that we are led by a living prophet of God.

“This unity is baffling to the world generally 

and is not understood by many whose names grace the Church rolls. 

The unifying influence is none other than the Holy Ghost, 

bestowed upon men by the authority of God, 

through his holy priesthood. 

Through the work of the Holy Ghost, men may come to know the truth, 

as it springs forth from the printed pages of scripture 

or from the lips of our living prophets. 

In the words of Brigham Young, 

‘the eloquence of angels never can convince any person that God lives, 

and makes truth the habitation of his throne, 

independent of that eloquence being clothed with the power of the Holy Ghost; 

in the absence of this, it would be a combination of useless sounds. 

What is it that convinces man?

It is the influence of the Almighty, enlightening his mind, 

giving instruction to the understanding.’” 

(Impact, Spring 1970, p. 2.)

 

I've never heard of a magazine named Impact in our church. When I searched for it, the magazines I did find would never publish anything like this. So the original opinion article this came from is largely lost.

But the idea expressed in the quote is certainly true from my experience. 

We are a strange bunch of cats in our church - we don't always join or attend our church for the same reasons other may attend theirs.

Social camaraderie can be a reason to come, but more often than not, it's something we don't feel the need of, or something we don't always get, depending on how unique we are.

My family and I have the blessing of being unusually unique, which makes socializing and making friends a little difficult sometimes. 

Our connection is mostly to the Lord, and then the socialization aspect comes into play. Not because we want or need friends - being an introvert, my need for friends is more limited. But because the Lord wishes us to reach out to others.

We work hard to inoculate ourselves against each other. People are flawed, but the Church organization as the Lord has set it up is perfect. Everyone in our faith gets offended by someone, sometime. For me, it's happened numerous times. We don't go on missions to convert others - if a mission is done right, we each seek our own conversion, and then share the Lord's light with others.

 Then we work to maintain our own conversion the rest of our lives - to keep that connection wth the Lord through the Holy Ghost as strong and as clear as we can. Because it's worth it. Just a moment in the Lord's presence sets me up for the whole day.

His love and peace, and being able to feel that love and peace, is its own reward. It unites us as a people, and when we follow it, there is enormous unity and power in that.

The Lord is very good at herding his cats. 

Elder ElRay L Christianson, Part Two: An Unknown Poet, and the Critical Importance of Homemade Bread

 For Part One, click here.

 

I like a man with an affinity for poetry.

Elder ElRay L. Christianson's talk, "Successful Parenthood - A Noteworthy Accomplishment", contains not one, but two poems. Here's the second one with a little intro:

 

 The Quote

"No nation can long endure 

unless the great majority of its families and its homes 

are made secure through faith in God—an active, living faith.

 

In The Scouter’s Minute [YMMIA, 1969] I found these lines:

 

“So long as there are homes to which men turn at close of day;

So long as there are homes where children are, where women stay—

If love and loyalty and faith be found across those sills—

A stricken nation can recover from its gravest ills.

“So long as there are homes where fires burn and there is bread 

[I think that means homemade bread];

So long as there are homes where lamps are lit and prayers are said;

Although a people falter through the dark—and nations grope,

With God Himself back of these little homes, we have sure hope.”"

 

First, absolutely there is homemade bread in these homes - that's an absolute necessity. A fireplace is very useful and decorative, but an oven works in a pinch.

Second of all, the home is super important. We all need homes. Preferably homes where we feel safe and where we can relax.Where we can be ourselves, and worship as we wish.

I didn't always have that, but I fought for it my whole life. Sometimes without even realizing it.

My family is currently in the process of moving to a new home... we're very excited. Making plans, dreaming, making arrangements...once we're there and unpacked, making some homemade bread is first on the bucket list to make it feel like home.

But Where Does the Poem Come From???

Clearly he didn't know the author. The only reference was to something called The Scouter's Minute, which I've never heard of myself. 

From what I can tell, it seems to refer back to the Scouting tradition of the Scoutmaster teaching a very short lesson to the Scouts - something moral they can learn from while they're around the campfire.

I couldn't find any book called The Scouter's Minute from 1969, or the unknown poet that made this poem...but it sure made me hungry for some bread! 

The Scoutmaster's Minute continues today - I found several YouTube videos continuing that same tradition, and I was glad to see it.

Elder ElRay L. Christianson, Part One - A Lost Poet, on Setting the Example

For Part Two, click here. 

I had to go through a lot of talk with no references in April of 1972. There's no requirement that a talk have any, of course, and it was fun and interesting to read each of these again.

But finally, I ran across Elder ElRay L. Christianson, and his talk, "Successful Parenthood - A Noteworthy Accomplishment." In his talk, he started off with the following reference. Looks to be...a poem:

 

The Quote

“The sermon for a teenage child

That proves to be most ample

Is still the one that parents teach

By setting an example.”

—Hal Chadwick

 

Nice - but who is Hal Chadwick?

No idea.

As far as an online presence, the man is completely lost to time, as are so many others.

It's sad, but somehow, this little couplet is all that is left of him, and it talks on the importance of practicing what we preach - the hardest sermon of all to give.

It was the sermon Christ gave for all of us, every second He lived, in a way that takes years to see and truly appreciate. The most positive example that could have given, and one that I myself am very grateful for.

However lost Hal Chadwick is to us, he's not lost to God. 

Neither are we.

 

Faith in His footsteps...

Elder Thomas S. Monson, Part Five: Kenyon J. Scudder Sees Ribbons

 For Part One, Part Two, Part Three, or Part Four, click the link to jump.

Finally, in this series from Elder Thomas S. Monson's talk, "With Hand and Heart", we come to the final quote, which in this case is more like a story than a quote. But it also introduces us to a new character from history:

 

The Quote

Prison warden Kenyon J. Scudder has related this experience: 

A friend of his happened to be sitting in a railroad coach next to a young man 

who was obviously depressed. 

Finally the man revealed that he was a paroled convict returning from a distant prison. 

His imprisonment had brought shame to his family, 

and they had neither visited him nor written often. 

He hoped, however, that this was only because they were too poor to travel 

and too uneducated to write. 

He hoped, despite the evidence, that they had forgiven him.

To make it easy for them, however, he had written them to put up a signal for him 

when the train passed their little farm on the outskirts of town. 

If his family had forgiven him, they were to put a white ribbon in the big apple tree 

which stood near the tracks. 

If they didn’t want him to return, they were to do nothing, 

and he would remain on the train as it traveled west.

As the train neared his home town, 

the suspense became so great he couldn’t bear to look out of his window. 

He exclaimed, “In just five minutes the engineer will sound the whistle, 

indicating our approach to the long bend which opens into the valley I know as home. 

Will you watch for the apple tree at the side of the track?” 

His companion changed places with him and said he would. 

The minutes seemed like hours, 

but then there came the shrill sound of the train whistle. 

The young man asked, “Can you see the tree? Is there a white ribbon?”

Came the reply: “I see the tree. I see not one white ribbon, but many. 

There must be a white ribbon on every branch. 

Son, someone surely does love you.”

In that instant he stood cleansed by Christ.

His friend said, “I felt as if I had witnessed a miracle.”

A Historical Attempt at Combining Justice with Mercy, and a Song

Another interesting story is the story about Kenyon J. Scudder and his experimental prison.  Definitely worth a read.

And I don't know about you, but this song from my childhood kept popping into my mind while I was reading this.

So here's your morning earworm from me. You're welcome. :-)

 

Elder Thomas S. Monson, Part Four: Goethe and the Visualization of Potential

For Part One, Part Two, Part Three, or Part Five, click the link to jump.

Today's quote, from Elder Thomas S. Monson's talk, "With Hand and Heart", goes further into the idea of not merely serving others, but visualizing them as they could be - seeing in others what Christ sees in us:

 

The Quote

 

"...When we treat people merely as they are, 

they will remain as they are. 

When we treat them as if they were what they should be, 

they will become what they should be. 

(Adapted from a quotation by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe.)"

 

A Book I've Always Wanted to Read

Goethe (pronounced GUR-tah) is one of those writers who's as revered as Shakespeare and Dickens, but much less well known. I think it could be because of the hurdle of translation - his original works are written in German instead of English. He's written stories such as Faust 1 and 11.

I hoped this quote, or something similar to it, would come from his novel, "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship", a story about a young man's coming of age, a novel that defies common stereotypes. Did I find the quote?

Nope, I did not. Not even in a book of quotes by Goethe, which was uplifting and all, but at this point I wouldn't trust its authenticity very much anyway.

So, despite not finding a sure quote for this one, it was pleasant to wander through the world of Goethe for a little while, and Faust and Wilhelm Meister's Apprentice are definitely on the list for future reading. 

The Iliad Book Six and the Book of Mormon: Friendship's Disruption of a Long War

 In Book 6 of the Iliad, we move from the macro to the micro - on the battlefield, a single Trojan and a single Greek discovered that their grandfathers were friends, which makes them also friends.

After a long speech where Glaucus tells the story of his grandfather, Diomedes opens his arms in friendship: 

He [Diomedes] spoke, and transport fill’d Tydides’ heart;
In earth the generous warrior fix’d his dart,
Then friendly, thus the Lycian prince address’d:
“Welcome, my brave hereditary guest!
Thus ever let us meet, with kind embrace,
Nor stain the sacred friendship of our race.
Know, chief, our grandsires have been guests of old;
Œneus the strong, Bellerophon the bold:
Our ancient seat his honour’d presence graced,
Where twenty days in genial rites he pass’d.
The parting heroes mutual presents left;
A golden goblet was thy grandsire’s gift;
Œneus a belt of matchless work bestowed,
That rich with Tyrian dye refulgent glow’d.... 

Mindful of this, in friendship let us join;
If heaven our steps to foreign lands incline,
My guest in Argos thou, and I in Lycia thine.
Enough of Trojans to this lance shall yield,
In the full harvest of yon ample field;
Enough of Greeks shall dye thy spear with gore;
But thou and Diomed be foes no more.
Now change we arms, and prove to either host
We guard the friendship of the line we boast.”

Thus having said, the gallant chiefs alight,
Their hands they join, their mutual faith they plight;

 

So basically, since their grandfathers were once friends, Glaucus and Diomedes swore friendship there on the battlefield. They still had to kill other Trojans and Greeks, but they would no more try to kill each other, to honor the historical friendship of their ancestors. 

 

Another Epic Change of Heart

Likewise, in the Book of Mormon, the sons of King Mosiah go to the lands of the Lamanites, who were the enemies of the Nephites, despite the fact that they all descended from one family. But it wasn't this ancient kinship that brought these two groups together - it was the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The king's son Ammon teaches the gospel to King Lamoni, who ruled over a branch of the Lamonite nations. After his miraculous conversion and all his household, the change of heart toward Ammon and his brothers and his people was dramatic in Alma 23:

 

Behold, now it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation among all his people, that they should not lay their hands on Ammon, or Aaron, or Omner, or Himni, nor either of their brethren who should go forth preaching the word of God, in whatsoever place they should be, in any part of their land.

Yea, he sent a decree among them, that they should not lay their hands on them to bind them, or to cast them into prison; neither should they spit upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their synagogues, nor scourge them; neither should they cast stones at them, but that they should have free access to their houses, and also their temples, and their sanctuaries.

And thus they might go forth and preach the word according to their desires, for the king had been converted unto the Lord, and all his household; therefore he sent his proclamation throughout the land unto his people, that the word of God might have no obstruction, 

but that it might go forth throughout all the land, that his people might be convinced concerning the wicked traditions of their fathers, and that they might be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness.

And now it came to pass that when the king had sent forth this proclamation, that Aaron and his brethren went forth from city to city, and from one house of worship to another, establishing churches, and consecrating priests and teachers throughout the land among the Lamanites, to preach and to teach the word of God among them; and thus they began to have great success.

And thousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord...

And now it came to pass that the king and those who were converted were desirous that they might have a name, that thereby they might be distinguished from their brethren; therefore the king consulted with Aaron and many of their priests, concerning the name that they should take upon them, that they might be distinguished.

And it came to pass that they called their names Anti-Nephi-Lehies; and they were called by this name and were no more called Lamanites.

And they began to be a very industrious people; yea, and they were friendly with the Nephites; therefore, they did open a correspondence with them, and the curse of God did no more follow them.

Instead of sacred rules of hospitality that brought people together, in this case, it was the sacred teachings of Jesus Christ which the Lamanites learned and accepted, and their former enemies became friends, united in the brotherhood of God.