Crazy Weather All Around

 

There are at least eight

states covered in snow

right now. 

States that don’t usually have

such a tremendous amount

of snow. 

Many cities without power because

the storms have knocked down

the lines. 

 

My blog received over 200 views

two days in a row. 

By those who were bored and holed

up I would imagine. 

There have been several who haven’t

been allowed to drive anywhere as the roads were

closed and cars were

abandoned, traveling reduced and messed up more than

I remember Utah ever being.  

And I feel bad about my post titled

“Killer Snow” when

I would imagine those living in

said states thought,

“That is nothing, sister. 

Not compared to us”

The weather forecast keeps saying that

we’ll have snow in Utah. 

Every time the wind blows, a promise has

been made. 

But I have learned, the louder the

sound of the wind, the less likely it

will snow.  

 

Yesterday the wind did not make a

sound though it never let up its blowing. 

And then there was snow. 

Big thick flakes

I don’t know how long the snow fell. 

It covered the ground. 

But then the sun shone through the

clouds immediately after. 

It wiped all the snow away. 

Even our neighbors on the

south side. 

But we are told we’ll get

more snow.

 

Wouldn’t it be more beneficial for all

if those suffering in snowstorms and

damage could just send their snow our way? 

But keep it in the mountains. 

And send it into the rivers so that

we will have water this summer. 

I don’t want it dry and hot as it has

been mostly dry and cold.

There is a Difference

 There is a great difference between

Black and white

Day and night

Sunshine and Rain

Happiness and Emotional Pain

There is also a tremendous difference

Between the church and the gospel of Jesus Christ

Sadly there are those who base their testimony upon historical figures or other members of the church, and when imperfection is revealed there are many that have gone astray.  There appears to have been some big hoopla lately about the plural marriage among some of the brethren in Church history – particularly Joseph Smith who doesn’t appear to have been honest with how it was done.

Joseph Smith was the first prophet in this dispensation.  The Church of Jesus Christ had not been on the earth for 15 centuries.  Cut the guy a break.  What example did he have to follow?  God had given him instructions.  Sometimes he followed them to the letter.  Sometimes, unfortunately, he felt that he knew better than God and would follow his own fears.  We all make mistakes.  Perhaps his seem more severe because of the position he was in.  

 

There were a lot of mistakes made in Church history.  Some that have been kept hidden from Church members – or so it seemed.  Like the Mountain Meadow Massacre,  the fact that the four men in Carthridge jail were given weapons to defend themselves,  or the sisters involvement in women’s suffrage movement or some of the hostilities that took place among polygamist wives.

At one time those in authority painted the church in a certain light – perhaps lifting it to a higher pedestal than it deserved.  Oh, certainly the church endured its hardship – but it was always the fault of the outsiders, never the members of the church.  The authorities would call the gospel perfect when they referred to the church and so many members would assume they meant the church was perfect.  And it was not.  It still is not.  The church is run by imperfect leaders who (hopefully) strive to live perfect lives – but let's face it: Only one man who has lived upon the earth was perfect.  Nobody else fits into the perfect category.  No one.  And thus church itself can never be perfect if run by imperfect humans.

Roland and I were married by a bishop who (at that time) happened to be state auditor by profession.  I had once asked him: “What is more organized?  The state? Or the church?” 

His answer bothered me a lot because he said “the state” and I think the government in this state is so severely flawed that it almost makes me ashamed to tell people what state I live in.  So what does that say about the Church?

For many the church is just for show.  That’s how it was for the Pharisees of old.  Church history does NOT represent the truthfulness of the gospel.  Sadly, there are several who seem to have a hard time separating the two.  But then again, why should we have to separate them?  If everyone lived according to the gospel, wouldn’t the church itself be perfect?  Think about it.

Why is it that everything has to (or should) be approved by the brethren?  Too many Inaccuracies or opinions given that are taken as gospel truth – though that was not the intent.  Even the best of intentions can sometimes have negative results.

Let’s use “pioneer Trek” as an example – an activity that has become popular for the youth of the Church.  The program has evolved into something more than what it was when I was a youth.  There was no “Woman’s Pull” – there was no “reenactment” of the Mormon Battalion.  What many participants don’t realize is that not all the men left the company nor were the women left alone.

 

         At the time Pres. James Polk sent for a recruit of 500 volunteers from Pioneer crossing party, the year was 1846 – the Pioneers at the time were crossing in Wagons.  They weren’t pushing handcarts.  Perhaps there’s a great metaphor and lesson in store for those involved – but in the minds of many they believe that’s how it actually was in Mormon history.  And granted, there probably were a few woman who had lost their husbands, sons and fathers who may not have had the support of the brethren per se– but not as an entire company.  There was always leader support.  Or so we assume (We do have the story in which Mary Fielding Smith is believed to have crossed the plains on her own; some part (or perhaps all) is based on true story that has become Mormon folklore – another part of Church history that we need to separate)

         So where am I going with this?  Nowhere really.  I used to be one of those who would take everything on face value and never actually research it out on my own.  Fortunately for me I have learned that “the Church” does not “the gospel” make and hopefully I may continue to be active in both but always keep in mind that even leaders (past or present) have faults just like me.

         I’ve always been taught to pray about my understanding of things to know if it’s true or not – as far as the gospel goes anyway.  I don’t think it’s necessary for me to pray about my understanding of Church history or what saints were involved doing what because whether this pioneer story or that hand-me-down passage really turns out to be true or not, what pertinent difference does it make to my own Salvation?  My testimony needs to be based upon the truths that Christ taught and not what happened in the personal lives of our forefathers.

Here’s an Example:

Every year my family would go on vacation.  Mom and dad would sit us down and ask us what we’d like to do and we were allowed to give our input.  I think Corey was only eight or nine the year that we decided to go up through Canada.  We decided what Providences we would visit, what sites we would see and the route we would travel.  

I think we hit Seattle, Washington the second day and Corey had added seeing the Space Needle to our agenda.  Corey had obviously researched it out.  Apparently he had a map in his head and kept on saying: “We need to do this.”  “We need to do that.”

None of us had ever been there before and didn’t know what to expect – but Corey was determined and it was because of him that we were able to explore the shadow room, and the echoed phone, and the pulley and a bunch of cool stuff that we would have not even known was there – but Corey was well read.  He became our tour guide.  I was always impressed by his skills of having never even been there before and because of his young age.

In British Columbia we saw the Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Zoo and Nitobe Memorial Garden to name a few.  I remember being highly entertained by the penguins at the zoo and being at Nitobe right after it rained.  The several inches of water covered the garden so perfectly.  We would not have known that it wasn’t part of the garden if our hostess hadn’t told us that it wasn’t.

By the time we got to Alberta, Canada was celebrating its Independence Day and whatever we had planned that day fell through due to closure - I think we reached the states a day ahead as we had left Canada early.  We did not get to see Alberta Temple, but we did make it to Idaho Falls – not inside though.  Unless mom and dad went and Patrick and I watched Corey and Kayla. I can't remember.

There was one year when my family decided that we would just stay home and see the sites in Utah.  We went to the Alpine Slide in Park City.  Lagoon Amusement Park, Rice Stadium for really cool fireworks.  What awesome fun.  What great memories!  

I love that mom and dad always included us and helped us to explore (research) on our own and made us feel a part of it from the beginning.  And not just with vacations.  We were able to contribute to family conversations and have meaningful discussions if we chose to.

Valentine’s Didn’t Happen

Earlier this week, Jenna came home

all excited and

folded an open box into

a closed one,

added a face and

the hearts that she and

her friend had cut out of

colored paper. 

She said there was a contest and

she came up with

the idea of turning her box into

the school mascot.

On Wednesday she was crying when

I picked her up – disappointed

that one class did not

collect all the needed points and

thus they wouldn’t be having

the Valentine’s party she had so

looked forward to. 

On Thursday I said she should take

 her box and prepared Valentines anyway –

just in case.

She threw up in class and so

was taken to the office and

put in the sick room

to wait until somebody arrived.

My phone was in my pocket.

  Unfortunately it had been turned off. 

Roland was on his cell phone

talking to someone. 

Randy was in class. 

Carrie was at work. 

Evidently the staff had gone through

every single number I had provided for

emergency contact – some outdated

I guess. 

I felt bad that they had gone

to all that trouble. 

They said they had tried everyone

 on the list.

Jenna asked,

“Who is Dora?”

“Oh,”

that’s when I realized

the list was outdated. 

“She taught you in primary

a couple of times when

we attended our old ward. 

You used to call her

Dora, the Explorer”

“Oh, yea. 

I sort of remember her. 

Why isn’t Corey on the list?”

“Corey is in Las Vegas. 

I had him and grandma on

the list when you

were in first grade.” 

I had eliminated contacting grandma

for the year that I started

my blog.
 

Jenna had a fever. 

She stayed in bed all day –

except for once in a while after

she would drink something,

she would make her way into

the bathroom to throw up. 

But we brought her fever down in time and

after long her stomach wasn’t hurting anymore either. 

But she still felt dizzy whenever she stood.

I had given her the cards that

arrived in the mail. 

Two of them:

a Valentine from her

activity days leader and

one from our former next door neighbor whom she called

 “grandma”

plus there had been a box of

chocolates that dad brought home.

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. 

She didn’t deliver because

she still felt dizzy when she moved.

  We stayed home.

We both took it easy.

Roland used to do Valentines for

the women in my family.

 A box of chocolates, flowers,

 one year we made red doughnuts. 

Another year he purchased heart

 shaped pizzas. 

I think that was the

last year.

This year he purchased candy bars

for all the RS and primary presidency. 

He printed up the note

“All Classy Ladies deserve

chocolate on Valentines Day 

Even if they are a little nuts” 

They have not been delivered, however. 

Perhaps he is just planning on

handing them out at Church tomorrow.

There was a knock at the door

sometime after Jenna had gone to bed. 

Whoever it was had walked away

after leaving a sack of

candy for Jenna. 

This morning I learned that

it was/is from Trume. 

So we did receive Valentines. 

And Jenna created three more.

 They won’t be received until

next week. 

Valentine’s Day is over. 

Jenna feels better. 

Outside is still grey

Before Clue, There was Mr. Ree

         I don’t know how old I was when Grandma showed us the game Mr. Ree.  I vaguely remember seeing the game.  I don’t know if my cousins and I attempted to play it – I think we did, but soon became bored with it.  We didn’t really understand what we were supposed to do.

         As I have researched the Internet to learn if there were really any similarities between Mr. Ree and Clue,  Mr. Ree sounds like it may have been more challenging or fun to play – but I could be wrong.  I just remember thinking the layout of the Mr. Ree board was similar to the mansion set for clue.

Of course there are different versions of each game – changing design and pieces every decade or so for whatever reason. 

This is what I remember from my childhood:

  

Recently my son, Tony, and his wife gave me a new addition of clue which comes with two crime scenes.

Happy Valentine's Day!

April Rain: author review

Recently Jenna and I checked some books out from the library.  One of these books was called Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Tai – a story written in a free verse and dated as would a journal or diary.  The experience of Ha (the narrator) reminds me of Thuan Huynh’s own life as recorded in April Rain – a book I received for a birthday almost seven years ago. 

At the time Thuan was working at the same office as Roland.  He autographed the book for me and I started reading it and was intrigued with his life’s journey and for the huge sacrifice that his mother had made for him and his sister and for the love he had for his family members – particularly his mom and his sister.  And for the courage that each of them endured

Though it is an easy book and can hold the reader’s interest to move quickly through the pages, I am still quite a slow reader (though I did read it quicker than most books while it was in my possession).  I shared the book with others that I knew would be able to read it faster, and so it wasn’t until Thuan and Roland were no longer working together when I came across the photo at the end of the book.

The photo shows Thuan with his wife and son.  It appears that all three are dressed in white.  I had no clue that Thuan even had a son.  For the wife in the photo is not the same wife I had been introduced to at the company barbeque.  I was later told that he had divorced the wife that I met.  And really, I don’t know the circumstances of either partner or why he is no longer with either of them. 

I believe it was rumored that Thuan had had an affair in another state.  His boss had tried to get in touch with him to close a deal – but Thuan hadn’t answered his phone.  His boss ended up doing the majority of the work and so gave Thuan only a small percentage of the sale.  I think Thuan should have been grateful – if it hadn’t been for his boss, the deal would have never gone through and no money would have been made for either one of them.  But Thuan took him to court to claim a larger percentage of the sale – and walked away with more than he himself had earned.  It put a huge damper on the relationship he had had with his boss – both professionally and personally.

Now as for the wives or the rumor of the affair, I don’t know.  I suppose I don’t really KNOW about the sale and percentage dispute either – only what I have been told by others who were involved – hearsay – but not from Thuan himself.  I don’t really know him.  Only what is written in his book.  And I still think it’s a marvelous achievement and should probably be a required reading with every youth in America.  I respect who he was and the accomplishments he has made.  But I have lost respect about some things – but as I said I don’t know the accuracy of what I was told.  And even if I were to hear from Thuan Huynh himself, I still wouldn’t know the accuracy.  I think his words in April Rain are quite truthful, but I don’t know if they are anymore.

Thuan actually does not go by the name of Thuan nor has for some time.  I started this post with his American name, but decided to change it as he is in currently in a position in which scandal could be harmful.  And because I don’t KNOW, it’s not my place to turn others against him.  Not that I’m against him.  I’m not.  He’s human.  He may have made mistakes.  He may have been in a financially tight situation in which he felt he had no alternative but to take his boss to court.  Still, I wonder if he had even bothered to involve God in his decision.

Regardless of who is now, April Rain really is an awesome autobiography that I highly recommend.  Inside Out and Back Again is also good reading.  We can learn history through the survivors.   It’s important that we learn.  It’s also important to forgive.