5 Things I Learn from the Temple

5. Women get it quicker.
4. Creation has order and purpose.
3. We need to be "looking for His messengers".
2. Accept responsibility for our actions. "And I did eat."
1. Sources of joy: posterity, "filling the measure of your creation", doing your job well ("dress this garden")

Tweet advice

I just read another advice column from a dad to his kids and grandkids. All good stuff, but just went on and on, and I thought way to wordy and detailed for today's generations. So I wrote my advice using Twitter constraints: has to be 140 characters or less. Here you go, at 140 characters. Enjoy! 

Dream big, go big 

Kind is better than clever 

Choose wisely and persevere 

God knows and cares 

Never stop learning 

Take responsibility 

Trust but verify 

Run at life 

Smile

For Jack

In a talk a few years ago, President Eyring talks about child and parent parting:
"In time, when the child is away from home and family, prayer can provide the shield of protection the parent will want so much for them to have. Parting can be hard, particularly when the parent and the child know that they may not see each other for a long time. I had that experience with my father. We parted on a street corner in New York City. He had come there for his work. I was there on my way to another place. We both knew that I probably would never return to live with my parents under the same roof again.

It was a sunny day, around noontime, the streets crowded with cars and pedestrians. On that particular corner there was a traffic light which stopped the cars and the people in all directions for a few minutes. The light changed to red; the cars stopped. The crowd of pedestrians hurried off the curbs, moving every way, including diagonally, across the intersection.

The time had come for parting, and I started across the street. I stopped almost in the center, with people rushing by me. I turned to look back. Instead of moving off in the crowd, my father was still standing on the corner looking at me. To me he seemed lonely and perhaps a little sad. I wanted to go back to him, but I realized the light would change and so I turned and hurried on.

Years later I talked to him about that moment. He told me that I had misread his face. He said he was not sad; he was concerned. He had seen me look back, as if I were a little boy, uncertain and looking for assurance. He told me in those later years that the thought in his mind had been: Will he be all right? Have I taught him enough? Is he prepared for whatever may lie ahead?

There were more than thoughts in his mind. I knew from having watched him that he had feelings in his heart. He yearned for me to be protected, to be safe. I had heard and felt that yearning in his prayers, and even more in the prayers of my mother, for all the years I had lived with them. I had learned from that, and I remembered."

Maybe some other time I'll give advice, but right now I just want to say, hooray for your adventure at USU, and God bless you, now and forever. Our prayers are about you and with you, now and forever.

Love,

Dad

Read the rest of Pres. Eyring's talk

Dallin Oaks: Unselfish Service

Elder Oaks helps us understand the importance of service, of living for more than just ourselves.

"A selfish person is more interested in pleasing man—especially himself—than in pleasing God. He looks only to his own needs and desires. He walks “in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world” (D&C 1:16). Such a person becomes disconnected from the covenant promises of God (see D&C 1:15) and from the mortal friendship and assistance we all need in these tumultuous times. In contrast, if we love and serve one another as the Savior taught, we remain connected to our covenants and to our associates."

Read the whole talk here.

Jeffry Holland: None Were With Him

OK, missed a week while I was in San Francisco. Here's an early start, nine days to read a seminal message on Jesus Christ and what his suffering means for us.

"But Jesus held on. He pressed on. The goodness in Him allowed faith to triumph even in a state of complete anguish. The trust He lived by told Him in spite of His feelings that divine compassion is never absent, that God is always faithful, that He never flees nor fails us."

Read the whole talk.

Uchtdorf: We Are Doing A Great Work...

Read, and comment if you wish...

This week is Dieter Uchtdorf's talk, "We are doing a great work, and cannot come down".

"Pause for a moment and check where your own heart and thoughts are. Are you focused on the things that matter most? How you spend your quiet time may provide a valuable clue. Where do your thoughts go when the pressure of deadlines is gone? Are your thoughts and heart focused on those short-lived fleeting things that matter only in the moment, or on things that matter most?"

Read the whole talk.

Making the conference talks our own

I'd like to try something different, using this blog site. Once a week, we'll post an intro and link to one of the most recent conference talks. Please read the talk, and then come back here and comment--just anything that stood out to you, or maybe a response to other comments. My hope it that this can become an engaging exchange of thoughts, encouraging us to revisit the conference messages.

Keep it as simple as you need, commenting only as much as you want and can. The first talk is "Be of Good Cheer", by President Monson. Click on the link to get to the full talk, press the Back button to get back here.

Oh yes, let's take turns choosing the next talk--let us know in the comments or in email your suggestion for the next talk.

Love,

Dad/Mark

"It would be easy to become discouraged and cynical about the future—or even fearful of what might come—if we allowed ourselves to dwell only on that which is wrong in the world and in our lives. Today, however, I’d like us to turn our thoughts and our attitudes away from the troubles around us and to focus instead on our blessings as members of the Church. The Apostle Paul declared, 'God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.'"

Read the rest of the talk.

Top Ten: Koontz Philosophia

Dean Koontz writes thriller books, almost horror. He presents truly evil characters who have some triumphs along the way, but are defeated by common people with uncommon, unsought for courage. The books are not for the faint of heart, but bear fruit in the ultimate triumph of good.

In his books from the last decade or so, Koontz also has freely woven in Koontz philosophy into his books, small gems that invite us to leave the narrative for a moment and consider larger truths. Here are my top ten from his book, Brother Odd, given in chronological order (with page references!).

10. Ultimately there is only misery in hoping for the wrong thing. (23)

9. Sleep is a kind of peace, and I have not yet earned peace. (33)

8. Humanity is a parade of fools, and I am at the front of it, twirling a baton. (87)

7. I don't know if this deception qualified as a half-step down the slippery slope. I had no sensation of sliding. But of course we never notice the descent until we're rocketing along at high velocity. (106)

6. How passionately we love everything that cannot last: the dazzling crystallory of winter, the spring in bloom, the fragile flight of butterflies, crimson sunsets, a kiss, and life. (123)

5. In this world where too many are willing to see only the light that is visible, never the Light Invisible, we have a daily darkness that is night, and we encounter another darkness from time to time that is death, the deaths of those we love, but the third and most constant darkness that is with us every day, at all hours of every day, is the darkness of the mind, the pettiness and meanness and hatred, which we have invited into ourselves, and which we pay out with generous interest. (177)

4. Dogs invite us not only to share their joy but also to live in the moment, where we are neither proceeding from nor moving toward, where the enchantment of the past and future cannot distract us, where a freedom from practical desire and a cessation of our usual ceaseless action allows us to recognize the truth of our existence, the reality of our world and purpose--if we dare. (241)

3. Even when God is your co-pilot, it pays to pack a parachute. (305)

2. "I wish I'd known your mother."
"She said everyone . . . everyone, if he's rich or poor, if he's somebody big or nobody at all--everyone has a grace." A look of peace came over his embattled face when he said the word grace. "You know what a grace is?"
"Yes."
"A grace is a thing you get from God, you use it to make a better world, or not use it, you have to choose." (338)

1. He said, "Busy is happy," and I suspected that his mother had counseled him about the satisfaction and the peace that come from giving to the world whatever you are capable of contributing. (368-369)

Top 25: The Macintosh

Last Saturday, January 24th, was my father's 84th birthday. 25 years ago, on my dad's 59th birthday, Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh to the world. And I've worked on one or had one at home ever since. Here's a tribute to the moment.

Top Five: Most important classes in Junior High

I went to Oak Junior High School in Los Alamitos, CA, grades 7-9, and had a great time. Here's a list of the most important classes I took. They weren't always my favorites, just the ones that have made the most difference in my life.

5. German. Started German in 9th grade and did well with Mr. Hale. My acquaintance with a foreign language, and specifically German, helped me out four years later when I went to Germany on a two-year mission. I remember enjoying some creativity in the class, which was discouraged later in high school. For example, we had a stock question to answer, "Was ist dein Lieblingslied?" (What is your favorite song?) The standard answer was some lame German song like "Mein Lieblingslied ist 'Du Bist Wie Eine Blume'." (My favorite song is 'You Are Like a Flower'.)

One day in class I was asked that question and had a brainstorm: I answered "Mein Lieblingslied is 'Montag, Montag'." Pandemonium raged for a bit until everyone realized I'd answered with a real, modern song--Monday Monday (by the Mamas and Papas). After a moment of consternation from the instructor, he smiled broadly and approvingly at my answer, and an idea was born: I could think outside the box and still get points!

4. English. I had some great, creative teachers in English, like cute young Miss Hoff from Aberdeen, Idaho. I loved the sound of words, the interplay of meaning, learning different ideas. I even like diagramming sentences, ripping apart the structure of English to see how it worked. This has stood me in good stead over the years, being able to communicate clearly about interesting ideas.

3. Choir. The premier voice group at Oak was the Troettes (based on our Trojan mascot), a super qualified girls' chorus, because of course more girls went out for choirs than boys so they could pick the best and put them in an advanced gropu. I was in lowly Mixed Chorus with Mr. Walker, and we developed a quality in our performances that grew us into a real competitor for best choir in the school. I enjoyed learning and performing music, and gained in exchange a reduced performance anxiety and a lifelong love of music and singing. I got a lead in the school musical (HRH Miss Jones), parts in stake musicals, and I've been in many, mostly church choirs in the 40+ years since junior high, largely as a result of the joy I learned in Mixed Chorus.

2. Social Studies and Lunch. This pairing isn't as odd as it seems. In ninth grade Social Studies with Miss Ramsburg I learned about interactions among nations and people, and grew fascinated with how governments and countries worked.

An important counterpoint to this were the lunch discussions I had with friends. The northern part of Rossmoor, the development where I lived, had a large concentration of Jewish families, and a group of youth from that demographic would gather at a bench by the cafeteria and discuss politics and current events. I'd grab a chocolate milk and bag of popcorn (quicker and less expensive than the school lunch) and join in their conversations. I was one of the few fledgling conservative voices in the group, and enjoyed the battle of ideas, the practical application of the theories we were learning in Social Studies. Athletes of the mind--cool! The term nerds hadn't been invented yet, so we were unconstrained. I lifelong love of ideas and politics was born there.

Oh, one other thing for Social Studies. Miss Ramsburg drove us, but was a flexible teacher, so I didn't have to check my personality at the door. I developed a reputation for a dry wit, and have spent a lifetime burnishing that reputation.

1. Typing. This was also taught by Mr. Hale, on manual typewriters. It would be another 15 years or so before personal computers would gain a place in our homes, so who knew in 1966 that typing would be the pre-eminent skill required for effectively using a core business technology. Decent typing abilities have freed me to use computers to their fullest as business and personal tools. Thanks again, Mr. Hale!

Top Five: 25 Lessons I Have Learned

I just ran across this book, 25 Lessons I Have Learned (about photography), by the NY photographer Lorenzo. Great for photographers, but the lessons apply equally well to life in general. After you've looked at the first five here (all of them in his own words), go to Lorenzo's web site to read them all. He's done a good job of briefly stating each lesson and offering a photograph that illustrates the lesson. From there, you could read the book...

5 Just do it.

Do not hesitate, do not procrastinate, the time is now.

For it is easiest not to try, to allow all the wonderful moments that distinguish one's own life to go by, if only because—we let them.

4. Take the long way home.

See the world with a child’s eyes. To do so, you must let go of all the things you must do, and simply explore without an agenda, without a watch, without a care to divert you away from appreciating all the glorious details of the environment that glimmers around you.

3. Use your imagination.

Perhaps the greatest lesson my father ever impressed upon me was “Use Your Imagination.” He had those very same words posted in his factory for thirty years, and it was the first thing that his employees saw every morning when they sauntered in each morning.

Thus, that is why I believe that whether you’re making furniture or taking pictures, using your imagination is critical to success, crucial to making the most of what you’ve already got, and key to making what is good into something great.

2. Everywhere you go...that camera needs to be there with you.

Andy Warhol said it first, and I’m saying it again—carry Her with you everywhere you go, for you’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

I know this to be all too true, because there have been far too many great shots that I’ve missed simply because I decided to “leave it behind.” Most of the time it was an excuse to concentrate on other menial things. But then, regrettably, I find myself lamenting those sweet opportunities missed, because I was truly amiss with the decision to “let it rest.”

1. Everything is beautiful.

My first love, writing, was the first to teach me this critical lesson—everything is beautiful. Photography wholly reinforces this truism.

Everything is beautiful, you just have to see it from a different point of view sometimes, in order to appreciate its true aesthetic worth.