Jesus Christ: Savior of Mankind

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Look to the Light

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Along with these individuals, I can say resolutely that I know that Jesus Christ lives.  He is the Prince of Peace.
When the world has turned upside down, and all seems dark, He is the one that turns it right side up.  He searches us out when we are lost in the depths of our darkest caves; only He with the light and the knowledge of the way out.  He has saved me.  He has given me peace when I never thought I could have it.


As real as I can be, He lives. He is there and responds to our lost, searching heart.  He is the Savior to everyone on this earth.  I feel fortunate to know this.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

I LOVE good novels. I'm having a hard time deciding if For Whom the Bell Tolls is one of them. I finished it the other night and felt so excited, but it seemed like I had to wade through a lot of sewage to get there.

I appreciated so much Hemmingway's historical knowledge and integration of language. It was so funny to read the English dialog that was playfully colored by Spanish grammar and cognates. I learned so new words I never wanted to learn in Spanish, but that was my own fault, I guess.

The book was completely dialog with a simple plot. Hemmingway has a masterful way of expressing the inner mind and its workings, and it's incoherency at times, yet powerful sway.

The development of the title itselt was genius. I felt like I didn't understand it in it's entirety until the very last page, and then it kind of all clicked.

Truly, mankind is a continent, as John Donne wrote it, and not an island in and of himself. What happens to one happens to us all. Is that not an eternal law? And it's amazing how what we send out to others usually returns the same back to us. A smile begets a smile in many instances, kindness for kindness... when received without misperception or distortion, but in its purest intended form.

We truly all are interconnected. This is illustrated best in loving relationships that we share. As we see our loved ones suffer, do we not suffer? Why, then, do we not suffer when others we do not know suffer? Is it not because we do not love them like we should?

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is

a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a

Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse,

as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor

of they friends or of thine owne were; any mans

death diminishes me, because I am in-

volved in Mankinde; And therefore

never send to know for

whom the bells tolls; It

tolls for thee.

John Donne

Such a profound truth

Was it worth the gray? Was the beautiful, hidden, golden yellow amidst the lifeless, and drab things worth the journey through it all?

The Heavens are Open... Once Again

Preach My Gospel is absolutely amazing! I sat down to read in the 3rd chapter about the first lesson that missionaries give. It's been a long time since I have opened PMG up. I felt like reading about Joseph Smith. I really felt like I was guided to read about that, because I feel like I have a completely new perspective on his First Vision.

- 1820 -
This 14-year old boy was truly marvelous for his age, but not too different than other 14-year-old boys his age either. He was curious and inquisitive. He was an avid reader of the Bible and searcher of truth. This is actually what I feel like we all do almost on a daily basis. We really want to know the truth about things, no matter how small they seem. Joseph's specific case was wanting to know which religion taught the true doctrine of Jesus Christ. If you've ever had a doubt or concern about things, what do you usually do? I think Joseph did the same. He went to his parents and family, he went to friends, and those with great wisdom and authority. He learned all he could about the different churches so he could make a decision for himself.

It was hard, though. Because everyone told him what they thought was right and how things really were. They believed that they knew. His parents were supportive, as was his family, in helping him discover out the truth. Thank goodness for that influence. Many tried to persuade him, though. Have you ever experienced that before? All of the sudden everyone took advantage of this inquiring mind and tried to fill it with their beliefs. In all reality, the confusion was so great and was further augmented by Joseph's lack of experience and knowledge. How could he know. Flip a coin? Go with the "smartest" individual's plan? It was a decision he did not want to take lightly, and really wanted to know for himself.

He finally found where to turn after reading in the Bible: "If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God; that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him."

He did that. He prayed with his whole heart, and asked for guidance. He asked to know which church was true. He received a marvelous vision--a vision of Jesus Christ and our Father in heaven. In all of their glory, they appeared to this young boy and told him the truth: None of the churches were true.

The heavens were opened again. Truth was bestowed. Man could know for himself the direct will of God for him--God's own child. I am so grateful for this. I know that God reveals himself to us in our mind and heart through the Holy Ghost. When there is confusion, and we don't know what path is right... when all seems dark, hopeless, and just a guessing game... we can know what is right. Our Father sees eternity and knows how we fit into his plan. We can ask him, and he will tell us.

Peace, comfort, joy, confidence, meekness... These are signs that the spirit is speaking to us and guiding us. They are feelings that cannot be counterfeited by anyone else, especially the adversary, Satan.

I know our Heavenly Father loves us and teaches us his will for us. I have felt that. It just requires faith and trust in him and his infinite love and knowledge.

De Experiencias Extremas Sale la Profundidad

Belleza
Me rodeaba
A mi lado
y de arriba

Luz de vós
Y del cielo
Iluminando la senda
y el alma mía

Vós al lado mío
Bajo un lienzo divino
Pintado con luz
Luz quieta y viva

Paz, confianza, y gozo
Mentes libres
Corazones iluminados
Por belleza, por luz



El bosque asciende
Obstruye los rayos
Todo está oscuro
Mentes captivados
Temor, incertidumbre, oscuridad

Palabras y corazón
Buscan el cielo
Piden luz
Piden refugio

Luz del hombre
ilumina la senda
El alma se turbe
Busca la fe

Melodías divinas
Traen la luz
Luz de arriba
Llena el alma

Encubre la mente
Paz, confianza, gozo
Fe, esperanza
Me acerco a vós


Más cerca que nunca
Me aferro a vós
La senda está oscura
Pero iluminada a la vez

Te tirás por adelante
Te agarro y te abrazo
Miro los cielos
"Ten misericordia"

Sale la profundidad
Sentimientos jamás sentidos
Semillas brotadas
De lo extremo

Gozo extremo
Temor extremo
Paz extremo
Soledad extremo

Sí, temor de adentro
Pero fuerza a mi lado
Fuerza sacada solo por lo extremo
Fe otorgada sólo por creer

A little bit of Payson Goodness

Had a couple of awesome excursions up to Payson Lakes. Well, let's be honest, we tried three times, but the first time was a failure because we forgot that it costeded money. For all of your adventurous folk out there that want to go experience the Lakes at Payson: $7 per day. $5 is not enough. They do take checks. They'll tell you who to make the check out to. Just some advice from your friendly accountant.

Here to the left I think is a picture of Mt. Nebo (Ne-Bizzle as Matt and I call it). Pretty majestic don't you think? A little different from our Timp friend, and taller.

Thursday is probably one of the best days to go... or at least any day that's not Friday, Saturday, and especially not Sunday (for various reasons). In short, the NOT-Weekend.

You can visit the second lake if you like mud. I'd suggest bringing floaties of some sort so you don't have to wade through the mud... but at the same time it's pretty fun. The third lake is by far the best. I think it's the deepest and largest. When Matt and I were up there this past Thursday, we had the lake to ourselves except for a couple of fisherpeople. We took some inner tubes (Matt calls them drifters) and floated out in the middle of lake. Besides the occasional bubble skirting your leg, it was pretty peaceful I think the best part was just being able to leave everything else behind and not think about life, responsibilities, commitments, etc. We chatted about life, about politics, saw some ducks and other sea creatures (starfish, whales, etc.).

We met the "custodian" I guess you could call him of Payson Lakes. He is a really good man. As we talked to him, you could tell how much the place meant to him. He said, "I've got the best job in the world." He turned to the lake with his hands out and said, "Look what I get to come to everyday. It's incredible" (or something like that). He took his shovel and went off to clean up. He takes great care of it. I didn't see any trash as we walked around the place... and I'm rambling.

And now for some Spanish poetry about the lakes:
[coming soon...]

Different Choir, Same Experience

Tonight's concert was great. Good music, a great audience, great friends... This term has been very interesting to be in summer chorale. I absolutely loved the experience. I think what is amazing is to see the power of music come alive with different people and under different conductors. Each has their own view of music and how it ought to be communicated.

Dr. Broomhead's direction this term was quite inspirational. His style of teaching really helped us to feel comfortable and got us to internalize habits that are good for any singer to make a beautiful sound.

Sure, it was different than I was used and probably prefer, but the result was really moving. After finishing "Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite" tonight, I felt a great sense of awe. The music really started setting into my soul and the intended feeling of that peace began to make more sense as we were all sounding praises to God.

Truly, music is a miracle. The voice is a miracle. Those who have paved the way to great music are inspired of God. That is becoming more and more evident to me. As one of my favorite songs expresses: "Words alone are vain and vacant..." I feel music to be an essential part of life.

Una Vista Nueva

Una vista nueva
Al principio me agarra la atención
Linda
Simple
Pura
No molestada

Empiezo en el camino
Camino
Una vista nueva

Que me interesa
Sigo caminando
Medito y luego anhelo otra
¿Hay más?
Camino y se me abre otra vista
y de pronto otra, y otra, y otra...

Hasta que no quiero caminar más
Estoy contento
Me siento, miro, admiro, me asombro
Qué vista...
Qué vista
Nueva
Linda
Simple
Pura