Silence Isn't Always Golden

They say silence is golden.  In yesterday's case, I disagree.  Miss Megan does lots of things that are quiet.  She is very sneaky.  Yesterday morning she did it again.

I was trying to clean my kitchen while I listened to Daniel practicing his piano.  It had been quiet from Megan for a bit, but the last thing I saw her doing was coloring.  She can stay focused on one thing for quite awhile.  I had the thought that she had been quiet for too long and that I should go check on her.  But I didn't because I figured she was coloring.  Not long after this thought she came down the stairs.  Megan likes to go into the bathroom and play with the water.  So as she was coming down the stairs I could see that she had been in the bathroom and her hair was wet and slicked back like she often does, but it did look slightly different this time.  She sat in the kitchen for awhile and was reading some of her books to me.  After about 10-15 minutes of this, I looked closely at her.  Her hair had started to dry......and then I could tell what she had really been doing.

That's right.....she cut her hair.  And she cut it short enough and in enough places that she now has an awful mullet.  When I asked her why she cut it, she said that she was tired of it being in her face and that she was tired of having to do it.  Oh my!  She sure keeps me on my toes.

When I told her that I will take her to Michelle's to have her fix it, she became very angry and almost scared.  She then said she didn't want it cut short.  Wait..........then why did you take the scissors to it?

Later that night, I took some more pictures from all angles so that I could be sure that I had enough pictures of this event.

 

 

 

I was able to get her to Michelle (the girl who cuts our hair) fairly quickly.  Thank heavens, because I really didn't want to take her too many places with that mullet she had given herself.  Anyhow......here is the after.  Now we wait for it to grow.

 

 

The Witches and Gardner Village

It's Megan's first school field trip.  The class got to dress up in their Halloween costumes and went to Gardner Village to look at the witches.  With Daniel being off track, he got to come along.

 

 

 

 

Ashley National Forest

This past weekend we went camping to Ashley National Forest.  The reason for this trip was to use up the food from our 72-hour kits.  I got this idea from someone else and thought it was a great idea for rotating our 72-hour kits.  It helped me to know if we really did have enough food to sustain us for 72 hours if needed.  It was a success.

While on our trip we stop at the Flaming Gorge Dam.

 

 We crossed this bridge and the dam 5 times the whole weekend.

 

We went down to the boat launch to look at the really green river.

 On our way to Sheep Creek Loop we stopped on the side of the road to see this view.

On Sheep Creek Loop we spotted this guy.  He looked at us and we looked at him.

 We saw some beautiful colors all around us!

 While on Sheep Creek loop, we were able to take some off road trails which gave us a pretty good view of everything.

Along the way we stopped at many lakes.  We stopped at Browne lake and shot off some potatoes.  We also drove to Spirit Lake.  We had been in the car for a long time and we wanted to let the kids get out and walk for a bit.  We have found some small hikes that we wanted to go do.  The weather was making it questionable to whether we did a hike or not.  But we decided to try one.  Of course we picked the weekend of the deer hunt.  We did not want to be mistaken for an animal, so we got to wear some lovely orange.  

 We took a small hike to Jesson Lake.  It had been raining and a bit of snow while on our hike.  We figured we were only 1.5 miles away from the truck and if it started to really snow hard, we could turn around and get back to the truck before we could get stuck.  We made it to the lake and this is what we saw.  It was neat being so far away from everything and have it snow on us.  It was very quiet.  As we stayed there for a few minutes the snow really started to move in.  When the mountain was a bit harder to see we decided we'd better head out.  The snow was accumulating quickly.  We made it back to the truck but had to wipe a bit of snow off of it before being able to come down.  We were worried about the road conditions.  We were on a dirt road and would be for several miles.  Luckily, the snow pack was only on the road for about a mile before we made it far enough from the snow.  And then Bryan was having the real fun.  We were on a wet dirt road.  His mission every camping trip is to get the truck as dirty as possible.  So far our Escalante is the winner.  I don't know if he'll every be able to top that.

We kept seeing these rabbits (or maybe the same rabbit) at our campsite.  The morning we were leaving this little guy came right up to our fire pit.

 On our way home, we stopped at Red Canyon and saw some more wonderful views.

 

 

 

She jumped!

Megan has been dragging her feet for months about jumping off the diving board.  She will jump into 6 feet of water to chase a torpedo I put on the bottom, get it, and swim back to the side by herself.  But she refuses to go off the diving board because the water is too deep.  All of the reasoning between the fact that she can't touch at 6 feet so what difference does it make if it's 13 feet is worn out for all the repeated use I gave it with her.  She wouldn't budge...

...until tonight...

The conditions were perfect.  It was snowing outside so the place was pretty empty.  I encouraged Megan to go off the diving board a couple of times and after ignoring me for a while, she came and sat in my lap and said, "What will you do for me if I jump off the diving board?"  Master manipulator at work here...but I made a quick decision that the payoff for allowing her to manipulate me was good if she could get past the nerves of jumping off the board.  Stopping at Arctic Circle on the way home was already out, so she went for extra stories.  I told her I would read an extra story if she went off the board.  She deliberated on that for a few minutes, then suddenly got out of the pool and ordered me to put on her goggles on because she was going off the board!

Once she was on the board, she turned and double checked with me that her jump was actually going to get her an extra story tonight.  Then she went out and jumped like an old pro.  After she got to the wall, she had a huge grin on her face.  I asked if she wanted to do it again.  She said yes and hurried back to go again.  I asked her again if she wanted to go again.  This time she said yes and explained that the next jump would get her a fourth story.

I was allowing her to manipulate me, but I didn't see that coming.  But, now she'll jump just like her brother and dad.  If only we could get mom up to do a cannon ball or two...=)

Defending President Packer

The media is making much of President Packer's comments in conference about the human condition.  Apparently, the line that is causing all the strife is, “Some suppose that they were preset and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn temptations toward the impure and unnatural.  Not so!  Remember, God is our Heavenly Father.”

I would like to defend his statements in three ways.  First, I urge those with differing views to consider the comments in their full context.  Second, I urge those with differing views to recognize that in human history science does not reliably trump religion and vice-a-versa .  Third, I urge all to follow and consider the logic following a premise that man cannot change.

Context
President Packer's statement quoted above was immediately followed by a citation to the writings of Paul indicating that God will not allow us to be tempted by something that we cannot overcome with the Lord's help.  That is the key.  It must be done with the Lord's help and President Packer is pleading with all children of God, whatever their sin may be, to let the Lord help.

Many who oppose the church's position on this matter have cited a recent publication by the American Psychology Association stating that therapists should not try to help patients change their same sex attraction.  Their basis for the recommendation is twofold: a lack of evidence that change is possible and that efforts to change may result in greater depression and/or suicidal tendencies in patients.

I submit that the reason for this is simple: the efforts of most therapists fail to involve seeking and obtaining the Lord's help.  In explaining this, I need to ask the reader to accept the premise in the following scripture as authoritative--don't worry, I'll go the other way in a minute.  In the Book of Mormon, Alma is counseling his son, Shiblon, before he leaves the earth.  Alma testifies of the power of Jesus Christ to save, rescue, and redeem all men from any temptation or sin.  He then explains, "And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness" (Alma 38:9).

Consider all of the alcoholics, pornography, drug, and food addicts who have tried to rescue themselves from their behaviors and failed.  Most of them became depressed, had suicidal thoughts, and many of them even succeeded in taking their own lives.  Most individuals who have recovered from such powerful addictions were able to do so only after seeking the help of a Higher Power in working through the 12 Steps of Recovery (see www.aa.org or www.sa.org).  They had to recognize and call on God.  That does not mean it was easy, but it did make what was previously impossible, possible.

Dr. Donald L. Hilton is a neurosurgeon who has studied the effect of addiction on the physiology of the brain extensively.  He has indicated that due to the increased understanding of the physiological mechanisms of addictions, some hope for a pharmacological solution to addiction at some point.  However, said solution has eluded today's best medical minds.  I submit to you that the reason for that is that it can only be done through Jesus Christ; there is no other way.  President Packer is saying the same thing.

Science vs. Religion
Appealing to arguments that science should trump religious belief has been problematic for generations.  On one hand, you have situations like Galileo who was persecuted by the Catholic church because of his statements that the sun, rather than the earth, was the center of the universe.  Of course, we have learned today that although Galileo was not entirely correct, his scientific position was more correct than the religious position of the church.

On the other hand, science advocated the position for thousands of years that the earth was flat.  While I am not aware of any religious group advocating the opposite during the time, this remains a good example that science, as any good scientist knows, is simply making educated guesses to explain what they can observe and test and that these guesses may or may not represent things as they really are.

In saying this, I impute good will to the scientists.  I believe that those who seek to explain the world around us are really doing the best they can and that the vast majority have no ill will toward their fellow man.  However, like the scientists who believed the world was flat and were wrong despite their good will and effort, scientists today who believe that a person who experiences same-sex attraction orientation is "pre-set" or otherwise unchangeable may be wrong despite their good will and effort.   President Packer is saying that they are indeed wrong and he is as entitled to that opinion as the scientists are theirs.

Follow the Logic
Okay...above, I promised I would go the other way.  Here goes...let us accept the assertion that a person's same-sex attraction cannot be changed.  Where does this take us in the application of logic?  It can lead off in a number of different directions, but they all end up in the same place: destruction of any concept of God.

If, in fact, a person's same-sex attraction is "pre-set" differently for some than for others, then God must have created them that way.  If he created them that way, why did He give commandments that same-gender sexual activities are sinful?  In doing so, He violated his own commandment and thereby ceases to be God.

Another scenario...if same-sex attraction cannot be changed, then no character trait can be truly changed.  In this circumstance, undesirable character traits like dishonesty, pedophilia, kleptomania, alcoholism, etc. can only be masked, but never truly changed.  If we humans cannot change, then we cannot get any better or worse than we are right now.  If we cannot get better, then all of humanity's efforts to learn and progress are in vain and in the end, it does not matter anyway.

In this condition, it does not matter what/who we understand God to be because we cannot hope to do His will.  All religions ask their adherents to make adjustments to their lives and change themselves to align with their beliefs.  I suppose that it's possible that some deity exists who is still not understood by any of the world's religions and really did not mean for any of us to be able to change.  However, if that is the case, it still does not change the end result: if we cannot change then there is no meaning or purpose to this life.  If we are truly "stuck" with the hand we are dealt and cannot rise above apparent obstacles, then nothing really matters and this life is a waste.

Finally, if I am truly presenting logical arguments, I am obligated to point out the absurdity of the assertion that one cannot change a same-sex attraction.  Human experience is full of examples of people who claim a certain thing is impossible getting interrupted by someone else doing that very thing.  We also see examples of it every day.  People overcome sexual addictions, pornography addictions, depression, alcoholism, and other "brain" disorders all the time.  To say that same-sex attraction is impossible just because we have not seen a lot of it does not prove the point any more than the fact that I have never seen Washington DC means it does not exist.  Rather, it represents a lack of effort, application of incorrect/ineffective principles, or both.

Conclusion
If God does not really care how His children choose to exercise their sexual powers (contrary to the belief of the vast majority of religions in the world) and/or if humans are unable to make the necessary changes to conform to such a standard, then this world has no value and it truly does not matter what we do.


However, if God would like His children to exercise their sexual powers only within a heterosexual marriage (which President Packer and I submit that he does), then anyone tempted to use their sexual powers in any other way can overcome those temptations and be healed fully by the Lord, Jesus Christ.  Like many healing procedures, the process may not always be pleasant.  In fact, the person being healed my not be prepared to tolerate the healing at a given point and some may even give up.  None of this changes the fact that Jesus Christ offers the healing to any who will seek Him to obtain it.

Burn the Quran? Seriously?

If you have not heard of a Florida minister's plan to burn ~200 copies of the Muslim holy book, click here.

UPDATE: He apparently wasn't serious and our prayers were answered.

If you have, I would invite you to consider the impact of the proposed protest three different ways: pragmatically, theologically, and morally.

The Pragmatic:
Although I'm still fuzzy on exactly what Mr. Jones intends to accomplish through the demonstration, any reasoning followed through to the logistical end simply does not pan out.

Mr. Jones claims that the Quran "is evil because it espouses something other than Biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims."  Has this man never read the Old Testament?  Has he never heard of the Crusades?  Not only has the Bible been cited as the authority for 'radical, violent' behavior by believers, it stands as a record of its own bloody past.  In fact, it is difficult to find a religious text that has not been cited by a portion of its adherents as authority for what others saw as 'radical, violent' behavior--including the Book of Mormon.  So if Mr. Jones means to burn all books that have allegedly incited radical, violent behavior, then he should burn a copy of every holy writ on the planet.  Something tells me that he would not like that idea...which means he can't stand on this reason for staging the protest.

Mr. Jones also suggests that it is time for Americans to stand up and send a message to radical Islam about what we will and will not tolerate.  While I think that reasoning may find empathetic acceptance among Americans, Mr. Jones methodology is ill suited to the task.  By burning the Quran, he is picking a fight with all of Islam instead of just the fringe radicals who are actually causing the problems.  I would compare it to trying to fight a whole football team when only one of its members did you wrong, but my comparison would be off numerically by orders of magnitude.  And what message will really be sent?  The burning of a holy book does not draw any clear message about what will or will not be accepted even if it could be targeted to those who hold those radical views and tend to violence.  It is simply useless for the purpose of sending a message.

The final pragmatic element is the burning permit.  The fire department refused a permit for the burn, but Mr. Jones says his attorneys tell him that he can do it anyway because the Constitution guarantees him the right.  First, I disagree and I think a court would, too.  The Supreme Court has consistently upheld reasonable "time, place and manner" restrictions on free speech especially when the safety of others is at issue.  I hope that one of the protesters calls 911 to report a fire as soon as it is started and that the fire department douses the fire very quickly.  The ensuing court battle (if Mr. Jones can afford it) would be a far better indicator to the Muslim world what we as Americans are all about.

The Theology:
It has been reported in several iterations of the news on this matter that Mr. Jones and his church members feel that God wants them to do this.  While the God of the Old Testament, administering to a people under a lower law due to their own unwillingness to follow him, might have done something that many today would view as radical.  However, when he did take action, he did not simply offend them and hope the message was sent as Mr. Jones is planning to do; the God of Israel sent troops and wiped out those who would not follow him.  I find it highly suspect that God would as Mr. Jones and his church to engage in such a futile act.

From a scriptural standpoint, consulting only the Bible, 2 Timothy 2:24 admonishes servants of the Lord not to "strive" but to be gentle to all men, apt to teach and patient.  In the New Testament, striving is identified with argument and contention.  I do not see how burning any number of Qurans can be classified as anything but striving according to this verse.  Indeed, LDS scripture specifically identifies contention as being of the Devil.  How can a self-styled servant of God who believes in and preaches the Bible do something in such obvious contrast to the principles he ought to be living and teaching?  It does not make sense.

If that isn't enough, it appears that condemnation from many (at least two dozen) religious groups, including the Vatican, Jewish authorities, and Muslim clerics, is insufficient to change Mr. Jones' mind.  This is unfortunate.  Peoples of various faiths combine in religious and non-religious settings all the time to work toward common good.  Past experience has shown that despite disagreement on points of doctrine, true students of religion rarely disagree about what is and is not acceptable behavior.

The Moral:
Mr. Jones says, "Our burning of the Quran is to call attention to the fact that something is wrong."  I hate to sound trite, but since when does two wrongs make a right?  And beside that, who doesn't know that something is wrong?  Everyone knows that we just disagree about how to fix it.  Welcome to humanity, Mr. Jones.

Everyone knows that burning these books is nearly guaranteed to subject Americans to violence from the Muslim world.  Everyone knows that doing this is wrong.  It is a hate act at its core.  If the whole of the Muslim world were presenting some kind of imminent threat to Americans, perhaps a similar action would be viewed as wartime propaganda.  But that's not the case and Mr. Jones simply has no moral ground to stand on.

Summary:
The fallacy of all of Mr. Jones' professed reasons for staging this protest is clear.  This leaves two possibilities: (1) He does not recognize the fallacy and honestly believes that he is doing the right thing or (2) he knows it is not right but is pushing forward anyway for some other reason (I will not speculate as to what ulterior motive he might have at this time).  I hope it is the former, not the latter lest he be the cause of continued and elevated disputes between Americans and Muslims for vanity.

First Day of School

A moment myself and my children have looked forward to.  It's finally here!  First day of school!!! First day of school!! 

Megan started preschool and loves it.

Daniel started 1st grade.  The first day he loved it.  The second day he asked if he could quit.  No sweetie, you can't quit first grade.  Daniel likes to talk.  His talking got him into trouble a couple of times on that second day and that's why he wanted to quit.  His favorite part of school is being able to eat lunch at school.

Daniel and his friend Carter.