Cut Back a Little

I love this quote from LDS Apostle M. Russell Ballard:

"You don’t always have to fill up your schedule totally. Please carefully look at your calendars and consider where you might cut back a little and enjoy a less hectic life more fully. The Lord counseled us to find time to "be still and know that I am God."

(Taken from "To the Saints in the Utah South Area")

Salt Lake City Cemetery maps

Here are some maps of the Salt Lake City Cemetery (click on each photo to enlarge):

General Map

Prominent LDS Leaders

Photographs of Prominent LDS Leaders

Other Notable Individuals

Picture Hanging in the DUP Museum

Here is an interesting picture hanging in the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum in Salt Lake City:

(click to enlarge)

Numerous Reasons Why I Love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In no particular order:

1. Their amazing website.
2. Their videos are inspiring. 
3. The Mormon Channel!
4. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir produces amazing music.
5. The yearly Christmas Concert at the Conference Center. It always has amazing performances, and they are free. 
6. Their selfless humanitarian service. They do so much to help others!
7. The tithing and fast offerings that the Church uses to help so many.
8. The Church History Library. They have an amazing collection of artifacts, books, documents, etc. on the history of the Church
9. The Church History Museum has numerous amazing displays.
10. Temple Square. It is so neat, clean, inspiring, heavenly, and peaceful.
11. Church meetings each Sunday. I almost always walk away with a firmer resolve to be a better husband, father, and man. I am a better person because of going to church.
12. Church callings. It causes me to look outside of myself and serve others.
13. The wonderful legacy of the Pioneers.
14. The missionary program. So much of who I am today came from my mission: my wife, my bilingual ability, my ability to live on a budget, get along with others, meet and interact with others, my love for Portugal, etc.
15. All of their prophets have been inspiring, brilliant, good men:
1. Joseph Smith
2. Brigham Young
3. John Taylor
4. Wilford Woodruff
5. Lorenzo Snow
6. Joseph F. Smith
7. Heber J. Grant
8. George Albert Smith
9. David O. McKay
10. Joseph Fielding Smith
11. Harold B. Lee
12. Spencer W. Kimball
13. Ezra Taft Benson
14. Howard W. Hunter
15. Gordon B. Hinckley
16. Thomas S. Monson
16. Amazing members and other leaders who have taught me so much:
1. Hugh Nibley. To read his amazing articles and books for free, click here.
2. Elaine S. Dalton. Read an amazing talk of hers here.
3. Emma Smith, the wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
4. Neal A. Maxwell
5. LeGrand Richards. He was an inspiring and humorous Apostle.
6. Bruce R. McConkie. He was an Apostle with amazing knowledge of the scriptures and the doctrines of the Gospel.
17. Joseph Smith's phenomenal contributions:
1. He translated the Book of Mormon. 
2. He revealed extensive teachings about God our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
3. Under inspiration from God, he revealed and restored many lost passages from the Bible. Click here.
4. He received numerous revelations from God, many of which are published in the Doctrine and Covenants.
5. He received other revelations found in the Pearl of Great Price.
18. General Conference is always so inspiring!
19. Going to General Priesthood Meeting every six months with my dad and brothers, and their sons.
20. So many of my member friends are among the most inspiring people I have met anywhere on the planet.

Saudade - Sons dos Oceanos - capa do CD 1998

Lyrics to the Justice Trio song from Studio C

Justice Trio is coming around,

Coolest superheroes in town

Brain attack, he’s the leader of the team,

And yeah, he’s just as smart as he seems

Steel Blade, he’s a lethal force,

Quick as a rabbit, strong as a horse!

Rotting Flesh, she has leprosy (cough, cough)

The Justice Trio will blow your mind

Sit back and watch them fight crime

(Steel Blade) You’re a big hit!

(Brain Attack) Mind if I help?

(Rotting Flesh) Need a … hand?!

When it seems like evil is going to win

Discover the power that lies within

(Rotting Flesh) Going somewhere? Oh, that’s my liver!

(Brain Attack) Mind block

(Steel Blade) Earth slam

(Rotting Flesh) Make it rain - Gonna get it

(Brain Attack) Teleport

(Steel Blade) I’m infected!

(Rotting Flesh) Yay! We can be leper friends!

Justice Trio’s coming around

Coolest superheroes in town

(Brain Attack) With your help we can -- ow! Don’t touch me! I told you to wear gloves!

(Rotting Flesh) Sorry, they don’t make gloves for my nubs

Loving Others and Living with Differences

I love the way Elder Oaks crafted his General Conference speech about loving others despite differing views. I learned much. I can share my views and beliefs, and I don't have to engage in any contention (which would be counter-productive anyway). Counsel to self: don't contend with others!

Black Friday

Black Friday is the antithesis of the Christmas spirit. People are concerned about buying things.

Abortion

I do not understand how one can justify performing an abortion. It is terminating the life of a human being.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Marlin Jensen wrote a great speech on keys to happiness in this life. Here it is: https://www.lds.org/ensign/2002/12/living-after-the-manner-of-happiness?lang=eng

Chick-Fil-A Values for Employees (Core 4)

This sign is posted at the cash registers of a local Chick-Fil-A. I love the values, ethics, and service-mindedness they espouse:

1. Create eye contact
2. Share a smile
3. Speak with an enthusiastic tone
4. Stay connected to make it personal

Copperton, UT

Today we went for a drive through Copperton, Utah. Founded in 1926, it is a unique, tucked-away, almost time-forgotten township. Here are some pictures of some of the unique architecture of its homes (click on each photo to enlarge).

Book - The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brain

I agree with so much of what Nicholas Carr says in his book about how the Internet is changing the way we think. The Internet has splintered my thinking and my attention span. I think in snippets, and I jump around in my reading. I am less patient than before, because now I can find essentially any information on any topic in a matter of moments on the Internet. That immediacy does not allow time for reflective, deep, or complex thought.

            Before the Internet, I used to read more books and I was physically much more active. Now I often sit on my can and whittle away my time on mindless cyber searches.

            Before remote controls, I used to have to get up and change the channel manually, personally. And back then we only had about five channels. Now I flit from channel to channel, often spending more time hunting for something interesting to watch instead of actually watching something.

            Before the shuffle function on iTunes, I used to listen to albums in order, in their entirety. Now I only listen to songs. Gone are the days of listening to an entire album as a complete piece.

            Before cell phones, I used to enjoy solitary time where I could do an activity without physical or mental interruption. Now I feel leashed to elsewhere at all times. My ability to plan in advance is also diminishing, because I can simply phone whomever to inform them of my oft-changing plans.

Before texting, I used to interact with people face-to-face. Now we bow our heads and face a screen. 

         All of this has made me a more superficial, uncreative, flabby, unreflective person.

"The Second Coming," by William Butler Yeats

    Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
    Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
    The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
    The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
    The best lack all conviction, while the worst
    Are fullof passionate intensity.

    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: a waste of desert sand;
    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
    Wind 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?

Hello. Is there anybody out there?

Nobody visits my blog any more, which is nice. I can safely publish my thoughts and feelings for an audience that isn't there. I can blare my horn in the forest, and nobody responds.

Like a journal.

Mormonism good for the body as well as the soul?

Great article:

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/mormonism-good-for-the-body-as-well-as-the-soul/2012/06/20/gJQARk3IqV_blog.html

Sermon on the Mount

Five Siblings All Wed The Same Day at the Temple

I like the way these couples come across as wholesome and jubilant. What a wonderful day for the family. Here's their story.

I agree:

Great Article on Marriage and Divorce

This was written by Apostle Dallin H. Oaks:

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/divorce?lang=eng&query=saving+your+marriage+%28name%3a%22Dallin+H.+Oaks%22%29