Holidays!

I was home last week to be with mom and dad for Thanksgiving. I don't have many pictures but here are a couple. You might have already seen this first one on Dad's blog. I put the smiley face on the pie... but you couldn't have planned the cherry filling bubbling out any better if you tried.



While I was there we spent a day at Bodega Bay. Dad and I both went boogie boarding and caught some good waves. We also got a good nap in, there is no better place to nap than on the beach.



THEN tonight my roommate and I went and bought a Christmas tree! We had a good time decorating it and the rest of the room while we listened to Mannheim Steamroller.



HO HO HO!

Happy Birthday

As many of you know, I turned 27 last Friday (Nov. 4). It was a great day, I thought I would just share a few pictures. This first one is what welcomed me when I arrived at work that morning; a present from my friend (and coworker) Tanner, some balloons, and two apple fritters the size of a small child. Not only were they HUGE, but I can confidently say they were the best tasting apple fritters I have ever had. My manager said he bought them at a place called Madbrook Donut Co.



Here is me next to the fritters, to give you some comparison.


After work I went out to dinner with some friends from BYU-Idaho. We went to Biaggi's, an Italian place in downtown Salt Lake. Excellent food.


And that is about it. Thanks for tuning in!

Why don't I...

Do things like this more often?

The Family

I have been thinking about the family a lot this week and decided to share a few of my thoughts. Sometimes I hear leaders of the Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints) speak about the doctrine of the family, and many say we need to defend the doctrine of the family. My first question was "what is the doctrine of the family?", and here is at least a partial answer:

• We all lived as members in God’s family before we came to this earth. We had a Father, Mother, brothers, and sisters. We are still spirit sons and daughters on this earth.
• Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and the Priesthood of God, our family relationships can be perpetuated beyond the grave.
• Gender is an eternal characteristic; males and females are the two required part, which compliment and complete each other.
• Parents will be held accountable before God for their responsibilities as a spouse and parent.
• God’s plan for His children is carried out in and through families (premortal, mortal, postmortal).

Elder Hales said "The doctrine of the family begins with heavenly parents. Our highest aspiration is to be like them."(“The Eternal Family,” Ensign, Nov. 1996, 64–65)

I realized that the family theme can be seen through every step in the plan of happiness. We lived in a family before we were born, we came to earth into a family, have the opportunity to start our own family while here, we seal ourselves to our family (past, present and future family members), we are held accountable for our conduct in our families, and if we have been faithful and true, we keep our family for eternity, which family continues to grow and become exalted.

But it doesn't stop there. The family is not simply a thread that is woven throughout God's plan, it is the very fabric of that plan. Sister Julie B. Beck said "Without the family, there is no plan; there is no reason for mortal life." (Teaching the Doctrine of the Family, August 4, 2009). Those are strong words, but not as strong as the Lord's words when he said the earth would be "utterly wasted" at His coming if it were not for families being sealed together through the Priesthood.

Being a young single adult, I don't really have a family of "my own" per se. Inspite of this, or possibly because of this, I have been able to recognize in some degree the power that comes only from being in a family. Family provides the substance, the joy, the sorrow, the feeling, the progression, the love, the compassion, the strength and the happiness of the plan.

So what? Well, we have been asked to defend the doctrine of the family. My invitation is that however or wherever, or in whatever circumstances you find yourself, defend the family.

Moving Day

“We need 5-10 brethren to help move furniture in the temple tomorrow morning from eight to noon.” This was among one of the many announcements and a dozen or so sustainings that were read yesterday morning in my ward. Move furniture in the Temple? Why not? Sounds like a good way to spend Memorial Day morning. So my friend Nate and I get to the Salt Lake Temple this morning at 8:00 AM sharp, the temple workers give us some white jumpsuits to change into, and we sit in the baptistery chapel to await instructions. There were twenty nine of us total, representing a few different YSA wards in the new Holladay YSA stake.

The brother in charge comes in and begins to explain what we will be doing. We will be going to the fifth floor and handling some very old furniture, even some of the furniture that was originally placed in the East Towers when it was built. Really? And all they can get is us? When we got up to the fifth floor we started in the Solemn Assembly room and moved some furniture from the rooms above and behind the pulpits down onto the floor. That was my first time in that room, and it is incredible. We also moved some things into this storage area under the pulpits. There is more storage in the Salt Lake temple than you would ever believe.

We also went up to the seventh floor to get more miscellaneous furniture and some very large murals (which they weren’t sure would fit down the spiral staircase because the frames were built up there) from different rooms in the towers. One room was used as the First Presidency’s office when the temple was first built. But the neatest part for me was when we went into the “Talmage room”. As you probably know or guessed, it is the room that James E. Talmage wrote Jesus the Christ. We moved his desk down to the basement. Very carefully. There was also this VERY large and old dictionary, which the brother in charge said Talmage had used to write Jesus the Christ. Apparently, he would look up every word, even if he felt he already knew the meaning, because he wanted to make positive that he was expressing exactly what he felt and meant with every word. We moved the dictionary too.

Overall it was a priceless experience. It just isn’t every day that you get to handle furniture that old, or go into rooms that relatively few ever get to enter. My testimony of the temple has grown as well. The temple is a place where the Spirit of God dwells, even as you move furniture.

Moab

My exploration of southern Utah continues. This weekend we had a multi-YSA ward camping trip to Moab. I drove down Friday night with some friends and right when we got there, around 10pm, we took a hike up to Delicate Arch. It is the arch that you see on Utah license plates, if you have ever seen one. This is a picture a friend of mine took.




This is a group of friends I went hiking with on Saturday. We went up to Landscape Arch and to a little water hole in the afternoon.



Here is landscape Arch, as well as Wilford Arch below it. Wilford Arch is not quite as old, or sturdy, but I thought it was picture worthy as well.

Manti

On Saturday we had a ward temple trip to the Manti temple. It was my first time going and I love every minute of it. From what I understand, it was a trip to the Manti temple that helped my mom and dad get together, so it was a fun for me. The visit reminded me how much I love small towns and old buildings. Here are a few pictures of the trip.



This is a picture of a couple that was called to serve as advisors to our YSA ward, the Gregory's. They are a wonderful couple. Brother Gregory was a barber professionally, and even cut the hair of the real Rain Man (Kim Peek) for years.


This is just a picture of our ward. You might notice that the majority of the people that came are sisters. It's true, the sisters in our ward are the strength of the ward.

Lamb of God

A friend of mine posted this on his Blog, and I loved it and wanted to share. I would highly recommend checking out their site and seeing if they are performing near you.

Park City

Here is just a few pictures from a snowboarding trip I went on yesterday. A friend of mine was able to get $25 lift tickets to Park City (usually $90) so we took advantage. We had a slow start to the day with people losing passes, breaking bindings, losing goggles and losing boards (thank goodness for ski patrol) but it turned out to be a great day. The snow was perfect and the weather was great.




This next one is just a picture of my friends brother taker her picture with her niece. I just tried to capture the background. Beautiful isn't it?



This last one is a picture of me in the half pipe doing a backside 720. Okay... maybe it's not really me. But wouldn't that be amazing?

A Plug for The Last Lecture

I have been reading a book titled The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and I have loved it so much I thought I would put in a plug for it, if anyone is looking for a great book to read.

Here is a little something to whet your appetite:

"After my father passed away in 2006, we went through his things... My dad had also saved a stack of papers... buried in the stack, we found a citation issued in 1945, when my father was in the army. The citation for 'heroic achievement' came from the commanding general of the 75th Infantry Division... According to the citation: 'With complete disregard for his own safety, Private Pausch leaped from a covered position and commenced treating the wounded men while shells continued to fall in the immediate vicinity. So Successfully did this soldier administer medical attention that all the wounded were evacuated successfully.' In recognition of this, my dad, then twenty-two years old, was issued the Bronze Star for valor. In fifty years my parents were married, in the thousands of conversations my dad had with me, it had just never come up. And so there I was, weeks after his death, getting another lesson from him about the meaning of sacrifice - and about the power of humility." -The Last Lecture