Here’s a recent article about him and some aspects of his faith. His wife Andrea said a couple things that I endorse:

”God has (made) us with this infinite potential … it’s beyond our comprehension,” she said.

Instead of comparing their abilities to others’, people need to see ”God as our gauge … because we’re all created as unique individuals,” she said.

Looking to God as the primary source of our love and our identity is important. The opinions and judgments of men and women may fluctuate, but our Heavenly Father is constant. He is always waiting to love us.

First we had breakfast at home. Next we went to the zoo for the balance of the morning. The girls enjoyed the monkeys, the merry-go-round, and the giraffes. Jana enjoyed the train ride and the family-together time. I enjoyed the nice weather (not too hot, even just before noon when we left for home) and the price ($2 for the whole trip!).

After lunch at home, we finished staining the new wood for our gate. The girls even helped out. For scripture study, we read about Alma’s conversion in Alma 36. In their picture Book of Mormon, the girls read (and asked many questions) about Nephi and Lehi not getting burned in the fire.

Later, I took the girls swimming at Jana’s dad’s house. Jana picked up some pizza, and we ate together on a blanket. Now, it’s quarter to ten, and I’m the only one awake in a house of 3 tired girls.

I appreciated the American flag posted in our yard by the ward deacons, in remembrance of Memorial Day. I am grateful for all those who have fought, died, and sustained, injuries defending freedom and liberty for the United States and all throughout the world. My prayers tonight will be for the loved ones they have left behind. God bless them.

I look at much of the world’s offerings as false love in various forms. Whether it’s power, money, sexuality, material things…each of these can be alluring in its own way.  When pursued as ends themselves, each of these can be addictive and even destructive. Then, why do good people sometimes pursue them?

I think often the answer is that people are looking for love…but in all the wrong places. Worldly things cannot fill us with good when they are ends themselves. However, each of these things can take its appropriate place in our lives when we pursue God our Heavenly Father first. Power can be righteously attained through obedience to God and through the Priesthood. Money can be used to bless our families, the Church and Kingdom, and good causes of all stripes. Sexual intimacy is meant as a sacrament, as Elder Holland has said, between a husband and wife who love each other. And material things can be used as tools to strengthen relationships, make memories, and bless the lives of others. The key is priority.

The scriptures and modern prophets teach that Satan is the father of lies. I sometimes think of that as his church calling – to entice, lie, and lead us to have fear rather than faith. Then when I feel fear or temptation coming on, it helps me to think something like, “Oh, that’s just ol’ scratch doing his church calling! You’re sneaky, but no thanks.”

When we come unto God as the source of all power and all love, we are told that we will never thirst. His love will fill us with the REAL love, satisfaction, and peace that we all truly seek. We sometimes falsely believe that other things will fill us, but as primary love sources they can never do that. Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ are our primary love source. Their love is real; it’s better than any false version out there. And They know best what we as humans need because They created us and provided the way for us to receive all that They have. The more I think about, study about, and communicate with Them, the more I feel like the real, eternal me.

Ain’t nothing like the real thing baby!

It has already made a difference in how I feel. I think this is a parallel lesson to the idea that happiness is an inside-out job. How we feel physically is impacted by what we put into our bodies (I know, not rocket science!). What we put into our bodies slowly affects what we become. I like a good bowl of ice cream as much as anyone (most of you reading this probably already know that), but a fresh, natural glass of juice will wear on me better (outside and inside) over the long haul.

Our Elder’s Quorum lesson at church today was taken from President Eyring’s talk in October 2007 General Conference, “God Helps the Faithful Priesthood Holder”. Our instructor, Eli Robbins, does a great job of teaching the doctrine through focusing on the prophets’ words and leading class discussion. Today, we talked about the 3 things President Eyring said we might receive as answers when we pray about a difficult assignment (specifically a Priesthood assignment, but I think it applies generally):

1. Assurance and recollection that God has helped us and loved us in the past

2. Forget yourself, and focus on those you are serving

3. Get to work doing something good

I thought particularly about number 2, and how that is often the one that gets in the way for me, and perhaps for others. I know that when I am filled with Heavenly Father’s love, I have much more to give to others. When I am spiritually and emotionally “empty”, it is much more difficult and more of a chore to do even the smallest acts of service.

I believe, then, that much of the challenge in this area is to prepare; that is, to use my personal time wisely, doing things that will fill me up with God’s love. Things like scripture study, personal prayer, pondering the wonders of God’s creations and the instances He has blessed and guided me in the past (President Eyring’s number 1); these things fill me up a lot more than reading about sports (one of my time-wasters), politics, current news, or other things that tempt me in my free time. I’m not saying these particular things are evil, only that they should be necessarily secondary because they do less to build me up into the person I was created to be. They bear less good fruit in my life.

I read Stephen Covey’s book “The Divine Center” a few years ago. In it, Dr. Covey asserts that when we place Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ at the center of our lives, all other things more naturally find their proper place (in my case – the sports, politics, and news “things”, among others). But without the divine center, anything in life can become an inappropriate focus for us. So the main question is, am I becoming more Christlike? Am I coming closer to Him? He is always waiting for us to do so, and will supply us with more power to do it than we could imagine having ourselves. And He will give us rest, which for me means much desired inner peace (Matthew 11:28-30).

Make it a great week!

 “[The latter-day scriptures are published] so that the honest in heart may be cheered and comforted and go on their way rejoicing, as their souls become exposed and their understanding enlightened by a knowledge of God’s work through the fathers in former days, as well as what He is about to do in latter days to fulfill the words of the fathers.”

Cheer and comfort…I can never get enough of those. And today I was reminded that the scriptures generally and the Book of Mormon particularly can be great sources of cheer and comfort, when sought with an honest and open heart.

There were wonderful words, touching tributes, and beautiful music. My favorite musical touch was the closing song, “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need”. This song has has been one of my favorites for over a year now. You can hear a 30-second sample of it by clicking here.

The song includes beautiful words and music (harp, and especially flute and oboe add a special touch to the song), and a heavenly ending – “No more a stranger or a guest, but like a child at home”. The last phrase is sung oh so gently by men’s voices, almost like a lullaby. To me, it was a fitting ending to the services for a godly man.

Oh, and the CD on which you can find that song is called “Consider the Lilies”. I can hardly imagine a more beautiful collection of songs…I highly recommend it as peaceful medicine for the soul.

I was at a Stake Priesthood meeting when I heard the news. Our Stake President was almost finished with his talk, and a man who I believe is a high councilor got the attention of one of the counselors on the stand. When the two men went out to speak in the hallway, I had a feeling someone had died. I thought perhaps it was someone in the stake. After the Stake President sat down, he was handed a note, and he stood back up to tell us the news. The closing hymn was changed to “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet”, which I suspect has been sung in many Saints’ gathering places tonight. Tears streamed down my cheeks as we sang the hymn.

I feel some sense of loss. I also feel happy for him, that he gets to be with his wife, Marjorie, again. I was at General Conference and saw President Hinckley speak on April 6, 2004. That evening his wife passed away. And now they are together again, never to part. Here they are together in 1999:

More than anything else, to me President Hinckley was a shining example of faith and optimism. Sometimes it has been difficult for me in my life to be positive and to exercise faith. President Hinckley is one of several people who have shown me how to be happy and have faith in a troubled world. It is by choosing to be happy, accentuating the positive, and trusting in Him who governs this world. His love is always available to us (see verses 35-39, which our Stake President shared tonight).

Rest in peace, our beloved prophet.

Here are a few promised photos of Christmas…just click the links:

1. The girls at the temple grounds with the Christmas lights:

Temple Lights

2. Christmas morning!

Christmas Morning 1, Christmas Morning 2

3. With cousins from both sides:

Brimley cousins, Elcock cousins

1. I can’t believe how quickly our kids are growing up. Eliza turned 4 and Anna turned 2 during 2007. Eliza’s time with us at home is probably almost 1/4 gone. It makes me realize how precious and short our time is to teach them at home.

 2. Both Eliza and Anna love to sing and perform, when they’re comfortable. In the past week, they have sung and danced at Brimley and Elcock extended family Christmas gatherings – including well-known favorites like “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”, as well as new songs like “When Christmas Comes to Town” (from the Polar Express) and “Happy Birthday Jesus”. Our girls are a delight to Jana and me!

3. I’m excited to read a new book Jana gave me for Christmas. It’s called “Life Everlasting” by Duane Crowther. He shares several stories of LDS people who have had life-after-death experiences and lived to tell about them. A friend recommended it to me.

4. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner at Fajita’s again last night. Mexican food on Christmas Eve has been a tradition in my family since I was a little boy. We used to go to Mi Amigo’s or Macayo’s, but for about the last 15 years we’ve gone to Fajita’s. We all get, you guessed it, fajitas. I like chicken and shrimp the best, and I love the melted cheese served with the fajitas!

5. Life is good. Faith and love and hope, mixed with a healthy dose of good sense, truly are the things that make the world go ’round. Our Savior Jesus Christ is the one source of love and light that will never let us down.

I’m grateful tonight for faith, family, and true friends. Merry Christmas and best wishes to each of you!

Sunday we got up and went to church. Anna is now so excited to go to her nursery class that she started talking about it Saturday night. She also assumes during Sacrament meeting that every time someone says “Amen”, like at the end of a talk, that it indicates she is about to go to class. Here’s a play-by-play sample:

Speaker: “Amen”.
Anna: “Amen. YAY! Go to class!”
Mom/Dad: “Not yet, Annie. You’ll go to class in a few more minutes.”

Her response to that started out as “OK”, but after 2 or 3 times, she was getting little more agitated. Anyway, it was a good day at church. Eliza is in Sunbeams now and she loves going to sing the songs. We had some great naps in the afternoon (one of the perks available when you go to church at 8:30 AM), then we went to Grandpa Brimley’s house for dinner with Jana’s family.

Thanks to our (few and proud) faithful readers. Hope everyone has a great week!