The Iliad Book 9 and the Bible: Agamemnon's Penitence Compared with King Saul's

We're back with the Iliad, and still hard at work on Book 9, but still going. I've never gotten this far before, Making the comparison with holy writ while I'm reading helps to hold my interest and move me toward my goal of finishing the Iliad once and for all.

This week, we find out that Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, is so burned out he's ready to quit the war, pack up his little ships and go home. This would be a terrible shame on the Greeks, and his officers ask him to reconsider. Nester, a wise counselor, speaks up with some advice:

 

"Then Nestor spoke, for wisdom long approved,
And slowly rising, thus the council moved...

'Hear then a thought, not now conceived in haste,
At once my present judgment and my past.
When from Pelides’ tent you forced the maid,
I first opposed, and faithful, durst dissuade;
But bold of soul, when headlong fury fired,
You wronged the man, by men and gods admired:
Now seek some means his fatal wrath to end,
With prayers to move him, or with gifts to bend.'"  

 

Go get Achilles and apologize? Give him presents?? Why, that's so crazy it just might work! says Agamemnon:

"Fain would my heart, which err’d through frantic rage,
The wrathful chief and angry gods assuage.
If gifts immense his mighty soul can bow,

Hear, all ye Greeks, and witness what I vow..."

 

Agamemnon then plans to offer many kingly gifts to Achilles, if he will come and fight for the Greeks again. - gold and mould (mold? I don't know - kingly mould, I guess), 

tripods and twelves horses, 

seven lovely women from Lesbos (okay...). 

He'll even give back the slave woman Briseis, whom he took from Achilles in the first place in Book One, starting the entire argument, plus twenty more women and even Helen herself, when the war is won.

Aside from the irritation of giving and taking women as gifts (history, oy!), Agamemnon is sorry for what he has done, and seeks to make amends. 

 

King Saul and David

In 1 Samuel 26, King Saul of Israel and David (of David and Goliath fame) are in a similar situation, except that David is not brooding angrily in a tent like Achilles, wanting revenge for the wrongs that have been done to him.

He could have - King Saul treated David with much unfairness. After saving Israel from Goliath and the Philistine armies, King Saul tried to kill David out of jealousy over the prophet proclaiming that David would be given his throne, because Saul had not kept the laws of God as he had promised to do.

Many times David had the opportunity to kill Saul - the man who many times tried to kill him. But he refused to do it, because the Lord had anointed Saul to be king, and he felt that was more important than the personal gratification of revenge.

Yet, David did let Saul know he spared his life. In Chapter 26, he came into Saul's camp with his servant, and took Saul's weapon and his supply of water:

"The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed: 

but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, 

and the cruse of water, and let us go.

So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s bolster; 

and they gat them away, 

and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: 

for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them."

 

David stood a long way off with his men, and woke the king, telling him what he had done.  And Saul repented of trying to kill David:

 

Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: 

for I will no more do thee harm, 

because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: 

behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.

And David answered and said, 

Behold the king’s spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it.

The Lord render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: 

for the Lord delivered thee into my hand to day, 

but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed."

So it was that Agamemnon repented of his anger, and also Saul of his. Yet both men would later go back on their word as well, so both were of a tempestuous nature. 

Such drama!

 

What do you do to say you're sorry? What's a good gift to give? Other than women, of course... 

 

 

Elder Marion D. Hanks, Part One - Yeats Slouching Toward...Faith?

 If you'd like to read Part Two, Part Three, Part Four or Part Five of this series, find the link and click.

The world is finally thawing, and I'm looking today at the talk,"Joy Through Christ" by Elder Marion D. Hanks. 

Elder Hanks has gifted us in this talk with a large number of literature and cultural references in his talk about finding joy, and where to best find it. I'm joyfully plowing through this one, and especially the poem today, one of my all-time favorites:

 

The Quote 

“Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.”

Elder Hanks uses this segment of the poem to describe conditions in a world where people lack a stable center in their lives, and 'things fall apart' when there's no stable center.

I've experienced that. I daresay many, if not most, people have experienced that at one or more points in their lives. Anyone who's ever been online probably feels that last part, especially in our current political climate.

William Butler Yeats, the husband of my ninth cousin three times removed Bertha Georgie Hyde-Lees, left behind a profound body of work, full of symbolism that comes close to Biblical symbolism in some ways. Yeats is to be felt almost as much as he is to be read.

 Here in this quote above we have the falcon and the falconer - what I really love is the second stanza of this poem, The Second Coming. Honestly, I can only guess at his meaning, but I know what it resembles to my mind:

 

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

   

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out  

 

When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi

 

Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert 

  

A shape with lion body and the head of a man, 

  

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,  

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it   

Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.  

 

The darkness drops again; but now I know 

  

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,   

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, 

  

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

 

 

 

A lot of what the world sees is different than what we see. Some of the words in this poem are defined differently by the world than those of us in the gospel will define them. We can often see and feel different things. 

 

That's okay. Sometimes poets and writers and singers and movie-makers arrive at insights not even they understand, but it gives me great insights nonetheless.

 

What insights do you get from this poem? Feel your insights first before looking for others - that's why I haven't given my opinion here, because I didn't want to taint yours with mine. But then, try looking up what others have experienced. We can get into quite a conversation about Yeats over the centuries.

 

Some of my other favorite poems of Yeats include "The Tower" and "The Stolen Child".

 

 

 

A Frozen Sabbath and "I Surrender All"

 Greetings from the ice ark.

Outside my home, it's wind chill in the negatives and a great sea of ice all around me, white and foreboding.

Inside my home, it's a cozy nest. Thanks be to God and Oncor that the power never went out. So we're riding out the storm for a few days before the world reverts to an uneasy winter once again.

I had a blog ready with another quote from General Conference today, and I'm still working on the Iliad Book 9, but doing something a little different today.

I woke up mega early this morning with lots of new ideas for stories and titles swimming in my head. I definitely won't live long enough to write them all down, but glad to have them in my head.

Then we were setting up to have church from home today, and I discovered this:

 

 It's a recording of the Christian hymn, "I Surrender All", written in 1896 by Judson W. Van DeVenter. 

The thing that got me about this song, was that it's also in my book, "Sanctuary's Close", my first novel. I didn't know until today that the Tabernacle Choir ever sang this one.

There's a character in Chapter Three - you can read it in the sample here - who's stuck in a pretty alien place - her own damaged mind - and this song comes to her as my main character is trying to free her. It's a song her mother used to sing, and she sings it herself. As she does, the scorched earth around her begins to grow and green, symbolizing her healing as it happens.

I'd never heard it before I found it online, and it sounded perfect for the scene, so I included it, and it gave the moment so much more emotional power. Reading this scene, and hearing the music in my mind as she sang it, has many times left me crying...as this song did today when I heard it again, and years just seemed to telescope and swirl together.

I surrender all,

I surrender all,

All to Thee my blessed Savior

I surrender all...

 

In situations like that, Nature pinning me down in my little ice ark, what else can I do but surrender?

But I'm glad for my ark, that the Savior taught me over many years how to put together, and now, instead of fear, I'm at peace. 

Stay warm everyone! :-) 

President Harold B. Lee, Part Six - General Dwight D. Eisenhower and How Faith Brings Peace

 For Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four or Part Five, you know what to do. Click away!

 The world outside might be frozen over for a short time, but we have curiosity to keep us warm. 

We go back to familiar ground for the last quote of President Harold B. Lee's talk, "A Time of Decision", since we've done a blog or two on this subject before - Dwight D. Eisenhower.

 

The Quote 

The supreme commander of the Allied forces during World War II, 

General Eisenhower, 

when faced with some of the most momentous military decisions 

that were to change the course of the world, 

made his humble acknowledgment: 

 

“This is what I found out about religion: 

It gives you courage to make the decisions you must make in a crisis 

and then the confidence to leave the result to a Higher Power. 

Only by trust in God 

can a man carrying responsibilities find repose.” 

What more can be added? I agree with Dwight D. Eisenhower 100%...if Dwight D. Eisenhower did, in fact, say this.

Which he did...in an article in Time Magazine in 1952 as a presidential candidate.

While I was looking for this quote, I came across another one that moved me, from the book he wrote after his presidency called Mandate for Change . He wanted to do something different for his inauguration.  

He decided to write a brief prayer to read before his Inaugural Address. The end of it said that

 

"...We were not the helpless prisoners of history; 

we had to be willing to accept whatever sacrifices might be required-

for the people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. 

The peace we seek then...

more than the stilling of guns, easing the sorrow of war. 

More than escape from death, it is a way of life. 

More than a haven for the weary, it is a hope for the brave." 

 

Practically a president/poet, this man! Very nice!

How do you feel about secular leaders expressing their faith? 

 

 

 

President Harold B. Lee, Part Five - Henry Ward Beacher and First Principles Before Launching Out in Life

 For Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four or Part Six, you know what to do. Click away!

 It's so wet outside. Wet and cold. But I still have power, and I'm snug in my house.

What better to do then, than ponder President Harold B. Lee's talk, "A Time of Decision" - most especially, the next quote in this talk, still speaking on the importance of valuing timeless principles over the shiny and the new:

 

The Quote

I pass these wise words of counsel to others in public office 

for what they are worth 

and strongly urge that those of you having heavy responsibilities in public office or elsewhere 

should meditate prayerfully 

and give the Lord a chance to aid you 

in solving the problems of life.

“Expedients are for an hour,” 

someone has said, 

“but principles are for the ages.” 

(Henry Ward Beecher)

Good advice for anyone in any field, really - and so like Henry Ward Beecher to say it. His sister was Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. He was a popular and controversial figure, who put out some good things. Lots of books he left behind to explore.

 

I didn't have any luck finding the original quote, but there were others that were similar. Here's one from his book Seven Lectures to Young Men:

 

"If you have, beforehand, no settled opinions as to what is right and what is wrong ; 

if your judgment is now, for the first time, to be formed upon the propriety of your actions ; 

if you are not controlled by settled principles, 

there is scarcely a chance for your purity.

For this purpose, then, I desire to discuss these things, 

that you may settle your opinions and principles before temptation assails you. 

 

As a ship is built upon the dry shore,  

which afterwards is to dare the storm and brave the sea, 

so would I build you staunch and strong, ere you be launched abroad upon life."

That's what I love about the gospel of Jesus Christ - it steadies me, fills in the holes, and gives me something I can count on in life. Since I was a child, I've been taught basic principles, and even though I don't always live my life by them perfectly, the more I do, the better my life.

 

What principles do you live by to prepare to go out in the world? 

 

President Harold B. Lee, Part Four - Hamilton Wright Mabie and Fundamental Truth by the Fireside

  For Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Five or Part Six, you know what to do. Click away!

 It's a cold rainy morning. Snow is descending upon us, and I'm hoping to get this blog out before we lose power. 

But never fear. If we get kicked back into the 80s during a snowstorm, we're prepared with generators and gas. Today we're delving deeper into President Harold B. Lee's talk, "A Time of Decision" and another quote about truth from someone I'm not familiar with, but whose name I absolutely love. Such a power name. The face doesn't look like someone to mess with either.

 

The Quote

"Another man of wisdom added: 

'There is no progress in fundamental truth. 

We may grow in knowledge of its meaning and in the modes of its application, 

but its great principles will forever be the same.' 

(Hamilton Wright Mabie)"

 

Hamilton Wright Mabie was a super interesting guy, and he doesn't mess around. I definitely get that vibe from his picture.

There's a bunch of books he wrote or helped edit, and I want to look up them all, particularly the Every Child Should Know series and his personal essay collection, entitled My Study Fire. Sounds so very romantic. 

As for the quote, this is a super-interesting statement to make, particularly in the age of truthiness, my truth and your truth that we're living in today.

Is there fixed truth in the world that never changes? I think so.

There's the law of gravity and all that as far as science is concerned, but then there's also spiritual truths that I live by, that help me function and have joy in this life. 

Notice I don't say 'help me be happy'. 

One fundamental truth about life is that there is suffering - but with Jesus Christ, suffering can eventually lead to joy. Joy is the happiness that comes after suffering, which is deeper and richer than 'happy'. Like Easter after Christmas. 

Like reading by the hearth on a winter day...

 

 

"The lighting of the fire in my study 

is an event of importance in the calendar of the domestic year ; 

it marks the close of one season, 

and announces the advent of another. 

There is always a touch of pathos 

in the last warm autumnal days, 

that makes the cordial acceptance of winter a kind of infidelity 

to the months that have lavished their gifts of life and beauty at our threshold."

- My Study Fire, by Hamilton Wright Mabie 

 

I feel warmer already - dang, but I love this guy!

 

There are so many other fundamental truths as well, truths that don't change.

What fundamental truths can you think of? 

 

President Harold B. Lee, Part Three - Frank Crane and the Power of Truth and Thought

 For Part One, Part Two, Part Four, Part Five or Part Six, you know what to do. Click away!

 Returning to President Harold B. Lee's talk, "A Time of Decision", we find a quote on truth:

 

The Quote

A noted columnist wrote: 

“Truth is the logic of the universe. 

It is the reasoning of destiny; 

it is the mind of God. 

And nothing that man can devise can take its place.” 

(Frank Crane)

Interesting - truth is critical to our being able to live a joyful life, for sure....but who was Frank Crane? 

It appears he was a Methodist Episcopalian minister who also wrote self-help books and columns. My hands-down favorite would be his Everyday Wisdom - A Page for Every Day of the Year.

Man, I just eat this stuff up. This book was published in 1927, around the year my grandmother was born!

Here's an exerpt from his advice for January 22nd, the day I'm posting this blog. 

Ponder on this today, courtesy of my tenth cousin twice removed. 

The title is:

 

Thought is the Trouble Maker

 

THOUGHT is the troublemaker of the world. 

If it were not for the thinkers, kings might go on undisturbed, 

spending in play the cream of the nation’s toil, 

and trusts might keep sleek as fatted swine, 

and superstition rule forever, and old frauds flourish as eternal oaks.

It is the thinker that is at the bottom of every revolution. 

He splits parties and churches, he sows discontent among the lowly, 

and makes the magnificent ones of earth suspect their privilege.

Thought brings down them that sit on high, and the despised and rejected of men it raises up.

...

Thought is always modern, and more, it is a futurist, 

it is the abiding heretic, the ever present disturber of the peace. 

Thought is the “angel that troubleth the pool.”... [loved this reference to John Chapter 5 in the New Testament]

It is interesting to note how the condition of mankind 

has been rapidly improved by one invention after another. 

And every invention was but a thought...

Thought is not only the great destructive, but the great constructive force in the world. 

Thought eats its way into ancient frauds and at last they crumble. 

And at the same time thought, like the buried acorn, pushes upward as a mighty tree.

Man the animal is contemptible; the elephant and the lion are stronger than he. 

But man the thinker is considerable.

 

The man sits astride the horse and makes the animal go where he will; 

yet the horse is more powerful than the man. 

The secret of it all 

is that the man knows how to put a bit in the horses’ mouth 

and the horse does not know how to spit it out.

 

What thoughts do you get from this? 

President Harold B. Lee, Part Two - The Unknown Presidential Quote

 For Part One, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five or Part Six, you know what to do. Click away!

Welcome back for Part Two of  President Harold B. Lee's talk, "A Time of Decision", a talk about how disciples of Christ should attend themselves through political seasons. Honestly, it's all still pretty timely advice.

The next quote comes from an unknown president - can we figure out who this was? A challenge!

 

The Quote

"We related this story 

to a president of the United States some years ago 

and assured him that no matter what his name or his political party, 

we too were frequently on our knees, praying God 

that he and the leaders of this nation and of the world 

would bring us through the crises of the present.

We were heartened by the president’s reply when he said, 

“I think that every president of this country 

during his term of office 

has been frequently on his knees praying to Almighty God.”"

 

You know what?

I don't think we can find this quote, because it isn't actually a quote, but a personal story that happened when President Harold B. Lee was there.

But we can guess, can't we?

He said it was a president 'some years ago', so before 1972 - the last five presidents before that time were Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, and Truman. I wonder what each of these men felt about prayer?

And so, with some generous (and hopefully accurate) help from AI, here's what I found about what each president thought about prayer...

Harry S. Truman (33rd President, 1945–1953)

"At this moment, I have in my heart a prayer. 

As I have assumed my heavy duties, I humbly pray, Almighty God, 

in the words of King Solomon: 'Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart 

to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad, 

for who is able to judge this thy so great people?' 

I ask only to be a good and faithful servant of my LORD and my people."

This was cool - maybe it Harry Truman that President Lee talked to? Could have been.

---

🙏 Dwight D. Eisenhower (34th President, 1953–1961)

“Personal prayer, it seems to me, 

is one of the simplest necessities of life, 

as basic to the individual as sunshine, food and water- 

and at times, of course, more so. 

By prayer I mean an effort to get in touch with the Infinite. 

We know that our prayers are imperfect. Of course they are. 

We are imperfect human beings. 

A thousand experiences have convinced me beyond room of doubt 

that prayer multiplies the strength of the individual 

and brings within the scope of his capabilities almost any conceivable objective.”

This reflects Eisenhower’s belief that prayer strengthens individuals, even if not explicitly quoting God by name in the excerpt. It could have been Eisenhower that related the above quote to President Lee. I could see that too.

---

✝️ John F. Kennedy (35th President, 1961–1963)

Kennedy, as a Catholic, often included references to God in his public speeches. In his inaugural address he said:

“...whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, 

ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. 

With a good conscience our only sure reward, 

with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, 

asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth 

God's work must truly be our own.”

This underscores his view that moral rights are rooted in divine authority, and his belief in prayer as well. Could it have been Kennedy? Maybe.

---

✝️ Lyndon B. Johnson (36th President, 1963–1969)

In his 1964 National Day of Prayer proclamation, Johnson invited citizens to pray, showing his view on prayer and God:

"Under our laws,

--every man has the right to pray;

--no man can be told how he must pray;

--each man prays as his own conscience dictates.

I call upon all of our citizens, therefore, to observe the National Day of Prayer 

in accordance with our custom-each in his own way and in his own faith.

I urge that each of us turn to God on that day

--acknowledging that our country continues, as it was founded, 

"with a firm reliance upon the protection of divine Providence";

--thanking Him for the blessings of mind and spirit 

which He has heaped upon us in a land of vast bounty;

--begging His forgiveness for our shortcomings;

--asking for the patience, the wisdom, the understanding, and the courage we need 

to carry on His work.”

Did Lyndon B. Johnson say the above quote? Maybe, possibly, not sure. I did like his wording here though. 

---

🙏 Richard Nixon (37th President, 1969–1974)

In his 1969 National Day of Prayer proclamation, Nixon encouraged Americans to pray and seek God’s blessing for the nation:

“…it is fitting that we publicly demonstrate our faith in the power of prayer.”

This isn't a direct personal confession of prayer because a president is required by law to sign these Proclamations of National Prayer, and they probably didn't even write them themselves - but it did show he publicly affirmed the importance of prayer to the nation. 

What's your final guess on who might be the one who provided President Lee with the above quote?

Our of all of them, I'm guessing Eisenhower myself. His remarks felt the most personally genuine, but I could be totally wrong. 

 

President Harold B. Lee, Part One - Abraham Lincoln's Views on Prayer

For Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five or Part Six, you know what to do. Click away!

This morning we're looking at President Harold B. Lee's talk, "A Time of Decision". We're still in the April 1972 General Conference, but soon coming to the end of it.

 

The Quote

"The story, presumably authentic, 

is told that during the Civil War 

when the fortunes of the Union armies, 

under the command of General Grant, 

were going badly, 

some concerned ministers called on President Abraham Lincoln at the White House 

and forcefully urged the dismissal of Grant.

To these men he is alleged to have said: 

“Gentlemen, General Grant has under his command all that we hold dear in this nation. 

Instead of criticism, 

you too should get down on your knees and pray God 

that he would see this nation through to victory.”"

I kinda love that President Lee said 'presumably authentic' and 'alleged to have said'. That feels much more accurate to the situation of these historical quotes, I tell you. Time plays merry telephone tag with what people in the past have often said.

Also, you gotta love a Lincoln quote, anytime. Am I right?

So I went looking for this one - figured it might be from one of his many biographies.  

Apparently, President Lee was on to something here - Abraham Lincoln never said that. 

It's purely an apocryphal quote, passed down through time, developed from his support of General Grant over those who criticized Grant's drinking or his behavior.

 

So whatever did Abraham Lincoln ever say about prayer in general, I wondered?

The best direct quote I could find came from The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln - a formal declaration he made when he called for a National Day of Prayer - 

 

"Now therefore, be it known that I do set apart Thursday the 6th day of August next, 

to be observed as a Day of National Thanksgiving, Praise and Prayer, 

and I invite the people of the United States to assemble on that occasion 

in their customary places of worship, and in forms approved by their own consciences, 

render homage due to the Divine Majesty, 

for the wonderful things He has done in the Nation's behalf, 

and invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit to subdue the anger, 

which has produced, and so long sustained a needless and cruel rebellion, 

to change the hearts of the insurgents, 

to guide the counsels of the Government with wisdom adequate to so great a national emergency, 

and to visit with tender care and consolation

throughout the length and breadth of our land all those who, 

through the vicissitudes of marches, voyages, battles and sieges, 

have been brought to suffer in mind, body, or estate, 

and finally, 

to lead the whole nation, through the paths of repentance and submission to the Divine Will, 

back to the perfect enjoyment of Union and fraternal peace..."

The Iliad, Book 8 and the Book of Mormon - God is Above All Things

 Welcome back to the Iliad! 

And you probably thought I forgot in the haze that was Christmas and New Year's - nope! 

Still reading the thing, and finding fun crossovers with scripture stories in the process.

 

Book 8 of the Iliad - Zeus Flexes His Muscle Before the Gods

Today I'm reading Book 8 of the Iliad, which begins with Jove (another name for Zeus) calling a meeting on Olympus and forbidding the gods to interfere with the war between the Trojans and the Greeks anymore, and promising them they'll regret it if they do:

 

"Celestial states! immortal gods! give ear,

Hear our decree, and reverence what ye hear;

 The fix’d decree which not all heaven can move;

Thou, fate! fulfil it! and, ye powers, approve!

What god but enters yon forbidden field,

Who yields assistance, or but wills to yield,

Back to the skies with shame he shall be driven,

Gash’d with dishonest wounds, the scorn of heaven;

Or far, oh far, from steep Olympus thrown,

Low in the dark Tartarean gulf shall groan,

With burning chains fix’d to the brazen floors,

And lock’d by hell’s inexorable doors;

As deep beneath the infernal centre hurl’d,

As from that centre to the ethereal world.

Let him who tempts me, dread those dire abodes:

And know, the Almighty is the god of gods.

League all your forces, then, ye powers above,

 Join all, and try the omnipotence of Jove. 

 

And when Jove talks about the Tartarean gulf, he's not talking tartar sauce. 

Tartaurus is the Greek version of Hell. 

Basically, if the gods interfere again for their favorite humans, they're going to their room (i.e., chained in the bottomest bottom of Hell.)  

Even if they all join together and gang up on him, he's stronger than all of them. 

 

Zeus is showing off his power, which is truly massive. 

 

Book of Mormon - Ether 1-3 - God's Encounter with the Brother of Jared 

In the Book of Mormon, we also get a sense of the power of God, but not in such a confrontational way. More in a useful and cooperative way, through the story of the brother of Jared.

In this story, found in the beginning of the Book of Ether, Jared and his family have left the Tower of Babel, where in the Bible the languages were confounded by God and the people were scattered.

Made me think, does mankind really need dramatic lightning bolts to be scattered and brought to their knees? The Lord did it at the Tower of Babel by confounding language so the people couldn't communicate. I mean honestly, does anyone remember what COVID - a minuscule virus - did to everyone's lives in 2020?

But I digress...

Jared asked his brother, who was a prophet, to pray that their family's language would not be confounded, and the Lord blessed them that they kept their language intact. Jared and his family left for what the Lord promised them would be a new land, and they traveled until they came to an ocean.

At that point, the Lord told them, again through the brother of Jared, to build boats to cross the ocean - boats like no one had ever seen before. 

They were round and smooth, fully contained with two fasteners on the top and bottom for air, but they were dark inside. How would they cross the ocean in the dark? How would they survive that?

The brother of Jared took the problem to the Lord - the great God Omnipotent - and told Him what the problem was.

The Lord said at the end of Ether 2:23-25,

 

"What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?

 For behold, ye cannot have windows, 

for they will be dashed in pieces; 

neither shall ye take fire with you, 

for ye shall not go by the light of fire.

For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; 

for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. 

Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; 

for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, 

and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.

And behold, I prepare you against these things; 

for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, 

and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. 

Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you 

that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?"

Probably the brother of Jared hadn't thought about any of those things - mountain waves, great whales, which way the wind was blowing. He wasn't even a sailor as far as we know.

But the Lord knew, and the Lord could take care of all those things.

So why did he tell the brother of Jared to work on the light problem himself?

It's an interesting question, but my assumption is that the brother of Jared, like all of us, was a child of God, and God was teaching him and training him as they went along into a strange new land, not knowing what was facing them.

He would take care of what his children couldn't handle, but He also expected the children to work hard and try their best to solve their own problems when they arose.

Certainly God could show off His power - anyone remember the end of the Book of Job? - but He's not interested in impressing us with His power so much as teaching us and training us to become like Him - like any father would do.

Eventually, in Ether chapter 3, the brother of Jared comes up with a pretty clever solution, but if you haven't read it, I encourage you to see what he did - this story is one of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon. 

 

Elder Paul H. Dunn, Part Four: Bob Feller and a Dual Lesson From a Single Story

For Part One, Part Two, Part Three, or Part Five, choose one of these previous links and click.

I have a certain fascination for what happens to literature and the arts over time. Which is at least part of the reason why I love older books and sources so much.

Not only are they often forgotten (and hence a lot easier and cheaper to acquire), but they often teach unintended lessons.

That's what happened with today's quote from Elder Paul H. Dunn's talk, "Know Thyself, Control Thyself, Give Thyself" from the April 1972 General Conference. 

Wait. You'll see...

 

The Quote

"I had the opportunity in World War II to bat against the immortal Bob Feller in a servicemen’s game. 

If you ever want a lesson in humility, bat against Feller. 

Bob Feller had a unique distinction as a sixteen-year-old boy. 

He could take a 9 1/2-inch, 5-ounce baseball and throw it from 60 feet 6 inches, 105 miles an hour.

Now that may not impress you, but you go to bat and you’re very impressed. 

To those of you who may not understand that velocity, 

a 9-inch baseball is the size of an aspirin tablet at 60 feet 6 inches, at 100 miles per hour. 

I submit to you, it makes a difference which side of the plate he throws it.

Bob Feller at age sixteen had a problem. 

He lacked control. He was a great athlete. He had tremendous capacity. 

He was born to succeed. He knew himself, 

but he hadn’t disciplined his great talent of speed, 

so that it was questionable as to whether he would stick in the majors.

But Bob Feller became the great athlete he was 

because he listened to wise counsel. 

He had great coaches, and one of them took him aside one day and said, 

“Bob, it really doesn’t matter whether you throw 105 miles an hour or 95. 

If you will take a little speed off your pitch and put the ball where it belongs, you will succeed!”

We call that control in baseball, 

and you little leaguers know how important control is to a pitcher. 

Bob listened and became the strike-out artist of his era.

You don’t know Jim Rusick, I think, 

unless you are related to him. 

I played ball with Jim. Jim Rusick was a sixteen-year-old boy 

on the Hollywood High School baseball team. 

He could throw a 9 1/2-inch baseball 105 miles an hour, 

but he wouldn’t listen to counsel. 

He didn’t learn to control the talent that he had, and Jim has never been heard of since."

Do you see the unintended lesson here?

Elder Dunn gave the intended lesson right after this story - and it's a good lesson:

"It’s one thing to be born with ability to succeed; it’s another thing to harness it and to control it." 

A very good lesson.

But what's the unintended lesson?

Here's a clue:

How many of us remember Bob Feller?

Ponder that for awhile. 

I'll remember him - the husband of my eighth cousin twice removed. There's always more room under the family tent. Welcome to the family, Bob!

 

What greatness are you striving for today that will be forgotten in 100 years?

Elder Paul H. Dunn, Part Five: Within the Oyster Shell, We Find...Frances Sargent Osgood

  For Part One, Part Two, Part Three, or Part Four, choose one of these previous links and click.

 

For the last installment of Elder Paul H. Dunn's talk, "Know Thyself, Control Thyself, Give Thyself", we go clear to the end, where his quote is on the importance of not judging others on exterior features only:

 

The Quote

“Within the oyster shell uncouth, 

the purest pearl may hide, 

but oft you’ll find a heart of truth 

within a rough outside.” 

 

Elder Dunn doesn't give a source for this poem, and I was afraid it would stay unattributed as so many others here have done.

But it turns out, I did find the author. 

Her name is Frances Sargent Osgood, a 19th century poet known for her short moral and sentimental verses. She was also known for the emotional affair she had with Edgar Allen Poe. She died of tuberculosis in 1850.

I found the reference in one of her earlier books, "The Poetry of Flowers and the Flowers of Poetry". Her poetry is very short and very readable.

Most of her verses are too conventional for my taste  - sentimental tales of love and misery, with commentary and other histrionic quotes from other authors. Poems so delicate you could crush them between a finger and thumb. I'm too big and clumsy for her poetry.

Still, there's one or two simpler ones that I do resonate with, like this one:

 

Thou art a friend indeed,

Most truly true and kind:

Thou givest me, in my spirit-need,

Thy wealth of heart and mind!

 

So sweet. 

Think I'll throw her on the reading pile - there might be others I may pull out for my use.

 

What's your favorite old poem?

 

 

Elder Paul H. Dunn, Part Three: Babe Ruth and the Secret Behind Every Success

  For Part One, Part Two, Part Four, or Part Five, choose one of these previous links and click.

Hope you'll post this to your social media if you like this. I know I do. 

 I don't do this often, but with today's quote, it's not merely a quote, but a story.

So it's longer than normal, but totally still worth it.

When we look at television, movies or social media and see perfection, sometimes we compare our failures to others' successes and feel we can never measure up.

But we don't often see failure. It's not given the same kind of air time as success. But it's the secret we don't often see.

Anyone who's succeeded has seen a lot of failure in getting to that place of success. Elder Paul H. Dunn, in his talk, "Know Thyself, Control Thyself, Give Thyself" brings up the example of Babe Ruth from baseball.

 

"I think of that great immortal athlete, Babe Ruth, 

when I talk about the principle of success and particularly failure. 

Let me just share a little experience from his life.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the summer of 1927, 

and 35,000 wildly excited baseball fans packed Shibe Park. 

They were giving Babe Ruth the “razzberry”—and good! 

Lefty (Bob) Grove, one of the greatest left-handed pitchers of all time, 

had just struck out Babe Ruth on three consecutive pitched balls for the second successive time. 

Two runners were stranded on the bases.

As the great slugger returned to the bench, amidst wild and abusive jeering,

he looked up into the stands with an unruffled smile, just as he did the first time, 

gave his cap a polite little tip from his perspiring brow, 

stepped down into the dugout, and calmly took a drink of water.

In the eighth inning, when he came up for his third time at bat, 

the situation was critical. The Athletics were leading the Yankees, 3–1. 

The bases were full and two were out. 

As Babe selected his favorite bat and started toward the plate, 

the crowd rose in a body, as if by signal. The excitement was tremendous!

“Strike ’im out again!” pleaded the fans to Grove. 

Strutting around the pitcher’s box, it was easy to see that the big southpaw believed 

he was just going to do that.

As the mighty batter took his position, the crowd became hysterical. 

There was a pause. 

Mickey Cochrane, the A’s great catcher, crouched to give the signal. 

Grove threw one with lightning speed. Ruth swung; it was a foul tip. 

“Str—ike one!” roared the umpire. Again the signal, and the pitch was too fast to follow. 

Again, Babe took that magnificent swing—and missed. “Stri—i-i-ke two!” was the call.

Ruth staggered and went down. He had literally swung himself off his feet. 

There was a cloud of dust as the big fellow sprawled on the ground. 

The crowd was going mad. 

Finally, regaining his feet, the “Bambino” brushed the dust off his trousers, 

dried his hands, and got set for the next pitch. 

Grove delivered the ball so fast not a single fan could see it. 

Babe swung—but this time he connected! 

It was only a split second before everybody seemed to realize what had happened. 

That ball was never coming back.

It disappeared over the scoreboard and cleared the houses across the street—

one of the longest hits ever recorded.

As Babe Ruth trotted around the bases and across the plate behind the other runners—

with what proved to be the winning run—he received a wild ovation from the crowd.

Ruth doffed his cap with that little smile, and the expression on his face 

was exactly like the one he wore on his first two trips, when he had gone down swinging.

Later in the season, after the Yanks clinched the American League pennant, 

Grantland Rice, interviewing the Babe, asked, “What do you do when you get in a batting slump?”

Babe replied: “I just keep goin’ up there and keep swingin’. 

I know the old law of averages will hold good for me the same as it does for anybody else, 

if I keep havin’ my healthy swings. 

If I strike out two or three times in a game, or fail to get a hit for a week, why should I worry? 

Let the pitchers worry; they’re the guys who’re gonna have to pay for it later on.”

This unshakable faith in making the law of averages work for him 

enabled Babe Ruth to accept his bad breaks and failures with a smile. 

This simple philosophy had much to do with making him baseball’s greatest slugger. 

His attitude of taking both good and bad in stride made him one of the game’s greatest heroes.

Why is it, when we read about great athletes or men in other professions, 

we are seldom told about their failures? 

For example, we now read of the amazing record of the immortal Babe Ruth, 

with his total of 714 home runs; 

but another unapproached world’s record of his is carefully buried, 

and that is that he struck out more times than any other player in history—1,330 times!

One thousand three hundred and thirty times 

he suffered the humiliation of walking back to the bench amidst jeers and ridicule. 

But he never allowed fear or discouragement or failure to keep him down."

 

Nor should we.  If there's work we need to do, and we fail, failure is nothing more than a stepping stone leading toward success. Celebrate each step, just as God celebrates every bit of progress we make towards Him. 

I like to picture myself as a baby learning to walk, and God has His hands outstreched toward me, as I walk toward Him, falling on my butt again and again.

But He doesn't tell me to stop trying. It's always, "You can do it. Get back up and try again." 

And I do. 

And He's always there, with His mighty hands outstretched to me... 

What do you do to overcome failure and keep going? 

Elder Paul H. Dunn, Part Two - Cicero on Self-Control

  For Part One, Part Three, Part Four, or Part Five, choose one of these previous links and click.

Glad to see you back - if you've been enjoying my posts, please take a moment to share them on your social media, either with the link above, or with the buttons below. Google's software spiders need some help in finding me, and sharing would be a definite boost in that direction. Many thanks in advance.

We're back to Elder Paul H. Dunn's talk, "Know Thyself, Control Thyself, Give Thyself" from the April 1972 General Conference - so many references in this one. 

Many are very short, but the breadcrumb trail to literature and culture is still there to follow.

 

 The Quote

"...Cicero said, "Control thyself"... 

 

Two little words to search on in the haystack of history - can we find it?

We can sure try.

Marcus Tullius Cicero was one of the great Roman orators, and a lot of his letters and other works still exist today. 

But where did he give the quote above, if he did?

Since he wrote in Latin and not English, the exact quote doesn't exist, but there are at least a few places where he wrote something similar.

For example, in his book The Tusculan Disputations, in Book 2, he compares what nature has given to all living creatures, and what it's for:

 

"And thus, 

if we proceed from the first rude, unfinished natures 

to the most superior and perfect ones, 

we shall inevitably come at last to the nature of the Gods. 

For, in the first place, 

we observe that those vegetables which are produced out of the earth 

are supported by nature, 

and she gives them no further supply than is sufficient to preserve them 

by nourishing them and making them grow. 

To beasts she has given sense and motion, 

and a faculty which directs them to what is wholesome, 

and prompts them to shun what is noxious to them. 

On man she has conferred a greater portion of her favor; 

inasmuch as she has added reason, 

by which he is enabled to command his passions, 

to moderate some, and to subdue others."

He speaks more of temperance, or self-control, as a cardinal virtue (the four greatest being wisdom, fortitude, justice, and temperance) in his book De Officiis or "On Duties", which I happily found in both Latin and English - sorry, geeking out a little bit.

My favorite quote of his from this book that defines these four, and in the rest of the book he goes into much greater detail:

 

"...all that is morally right 

rises from some one of four sources: 

it is concerned either 

(1) with the full perception and intelligent development of the true [wisdom]; or 

(2) with the conservation of organized society, with rendering to every man his due, and with the faithful discharge of obligations assumed [justice]; 

or (3) with the greatness and strength of a noble and invincible spirit [fortitude]; 

or (4) with the orderliness and moderation of everything that is said and done, wherein consist temperance and self-control."

 

This last source I found, called De Legibus, or "On the Laws", contains a quote that begs us to consider what self-control could do in the public sphere:

 

But what can be nobler than the government of the State by virtue?

For then the man who rules others is not himself a slave to any passion, 

but has already acquired for himself all those qualities 

to which he is training and summoning his fellows. 

Such a man imposes no laws upon the people that he does not obey himself, 

but puts his own life before his fellow-citizens as their law. 

 If a single individual of this character 

could order all things properly in a State, 

there would be no need of more than one ruler..."

 

If only, right?

Maybe it's impossible for a person to control themselves to that extent...but maybe it isn't. 

Those of us who are Christian don't believe self-control is impossible. In fact, we follow such a Leader already. And though perfection might take longer than we live, we'll still live in the next life to try, right?

Self-control is perfectly personified in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Not gonna say I'm perfect, but I'm always trying.

How about you? What do you do to gain more self-control over time?