blessing

Are We Required to Live the Law of Consecration, Now?

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I hear this a lot from members of the Church.  In fact just two days ago, I had someone ask me this very question after reading some of the quotes from Nibley in Approaching Zion:

 “So then are we required to live the law of concecration now?“

To that question I would pose a counter question, that might help us arrive at an appropriate answer.  When God reveals a law to man, is it required of man to live it if he wishes to return to live with God?  When viewed from this perspective, I think the answer can be none other than an unequivocal “Yes!” [Read more…]

The Economic Crisis Hits Home

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My employer just let go 1/3 of our workforce today, which amounts to 7 employees, some of which were good friends.  I am grateful and fortunate that I still have my job.  They will also be discontinuing our national retail brand and line of products, for which I have spent thousands of hours working over the past 3 years.  Our work will now return to focus on our original business – promotional products.

Even though it seems that something like this should be expected with everything that is happening in the economy and world today, it is still quite a shock when it hits so close to home.

Be prepared and count your many blessings, name them one by one.

San Salvador El Salvador Temple Groundbreaking

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San Salvador El Salvador Temple. © 2008, Intellectual Reserve. All rights reserved. (click for larger view)

San Salvador El Salvador Temple. © 2008, Intellectual Reserve. All rights reserved. (click for larger view)

The announcement of the building of the San Salvador, El Salvador, temple was particularly moving for me since that is where I served my mission (’00-’02).  The closest temple for members in the country when I served there was the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple.  Making the trip to Guatemala typically took members years of saving, a week long trip in a bus, and usually only happened once in a lifetime.  This temple will be a great blessing for them.

LDSChurchTemples.com reports that the temple groundbreaking ceremony took place just a few days ago on September 20, 2008.  Elder Don R. Clarke from the Quorum of the Seventy, and president of the Central America area, presided at the meeting.  Photos of the ceremony can be seen here.  The temple will be dedicated in 2010 or 2011.

See the approximate location of this temple.  If you know more precisely where it will be going, please let me know.

Pōwhiri and Hongi of New Zealand’s Māori: a Sacred Ritual

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New Zealand Maori exchanging the sacred act of hongi, the breath of life.

New Zealand Maori sharing in the sacred act of hongi, exchanging the ha or breath of life.

The title is a bit of a mouthful, but let me explain.

I have been a ballroom dancer since I was about 12 years old, or about 15 years.  It has been quite an experience being involved with this subculture of ballroom dance, which has made up a large portion of my life.  During the summer of 2005 I had the opportunity to tour with the BYU Ballroom Dance Company to the South Pacific, during which we visited Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, and Tahiti.  My wife was also fortunate to join us on the trip.  It was a singular experience which has burned a place in my memory.

Naturally, as part of these tours we were also able to learn much about the locations and people of the places we visited.  One of the places that really struck me for its beauty and uniqueness was New Zealand.  Going to New Zealand was like stepping into a different world.  The indigenous people of New Zealand are known as the Maori, and the customs and traditions of these people were quite different than what we were accustomed to.  Some of the things we experienced with the Maori were very spiritual in nature, which immediately caused me to ponder, and which I have had opportunity to think about for several years now.  Specifically, the Maori ceremonial greeting tradition that they conducted with our BYU group as we arrived in New Zealand was one of the most significant experiences I had with the group.  This rite or ceremony is known as the powhiri, and has insightful elements for Latter-day Saints to consider.  [Read more…]

The Rainbow – A Token of the Covenant

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Noah's Thanksoffering (c.1803) by Joseph Anton Koch. Noah builds an altar to the Lord after being delivered from the Flood; God sends the rainbow as a sign of his covenant (Genesis 8-9). (click for larger view)

Noah's Thanksoffering (c.1803) by Joseph Anton Koch. (click image for larger view)

This morning I was listening to the ABC News report on the incoming hurricane Ike, which is heading straight towards the Galveston/Houston area of Texas, and the forecast of widespread destruction that it is provoking.  The news anchor was reporting from Galveston Island, Texas, where the brunt of the storm is said to be bearing down quickly.  The reporter ended his news clip by saying that there was a rainbow directly over Galveston Island.

It is destructive times like these that cause us to reflect on God, and His place in our world.  It seems like cruel irony that the rainbow was placed as a sign of the covenant that God made with man that He would not flood the earth again.  But then again, that was surely a deliberate decision, that each time we witness these horrific natural events like hurricanes we remember God is still there, and that He knows our trials and tribulations (cf. Hel. 12:3).  Yes, even “if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7).  Events like these turn us back to God, and remind us to worship Him who is the Creator of heaven and earth.  It is only by obeying God’s commandments and enduring trying times such as these that we can “triumph over all [our] foes” (D&C 121:7-8):  [Read more…]