I Used To Love To Drive My Car

I was driving to work today and got stuck behind a semi driving in the left lane. He stayed and stayed and stayed and stayed there in the left lane for a good long while, a good five miles before I finally was able to pass him on the right (as he still clung to that left lane), and I thought more and more about this: I used to love to drive my car. I don’t anymore. This seems pretty clear. I’ve got two routes I could take to get to work, and I don’t like thinking about either. What has happened?

I remember back in California when I would get into my car to just drive. I would drive around on 280 going up to Mountain View, down to Eastridge Mall in San Jose, or up to Pleasanton on 680. I loved my drives to work from Santa Clara up to Woodside, about 30 miles each way.

I think if I were still that age, I would have loved driving into New York City, like I have the opportunity to do these days, or go on a day trip down to Philly. But I don’t look forward to such trips anymore. I don’t look forward to driving much. I feel rushed. What’s happened, I wonder?

Church Callings and Service

The past almost two years have been a whirlwind. In this time, I met Jaime, fell in love, proposed to her, married her in the Temple of the Lord, completed my Master’s in Library Science, started professional librarian work, moved to New York City (the greatest city in the world!), discovered I was going to be a father (!!!!!), searched for a job outside New York City, moved to Small Town, USA, watched my daughter take her first breath (amazing!), and finally (to this point) was called to serve as the Ward Executive Secretary, (for those who are not familiar with the LDS church, the Ward Executive Secretary makes the Bishop run, both figuratively and literally ).

I mention this because, we in the Bishopric just called and sustained my wife, Jaime, who has experienced a similar whirlwind these past two years, as the Relief Society President. For the longest time I had wanted this very situation, a consistent stable life in a strong loving marriage with children, callings in the church where we can provide service to our fellow brethren and sisters, working on just my salary. The only thing missing right now from the perfect picture is us owning a house of our own. That will come in due time.

What amazes me, from the vantage point I have right now, is just how much help everybody needs. We need each other greatly. We need to serve each other, show love one toward another, be the example one to another, because Satan tries very hard to take us down with all his distractions. The serving of others is the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the giving of oneself for another. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus says the following:

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was ahungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee ahungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 for I was ahungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee ahungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

And in Mosiah 2:17, King Benjamin adds:

17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is no ordinary Christian church. We are building the Kingdom of God here on earth, and it must be built from the foundation up, brick by brick. This is hard work. It is not easy. But serving others, giving of ourselves, in sacrificing our will for God’s will, we discover that we find a better Self. I had always had a problem with what Jesus said in Matthew 16:25:

25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

I could never understand that concept until I had finally made that sacrifice. You don’t lose your identity, your Self, when you lose your life for His sake. Indeed, you discover that you like your new Self even more, find more confidence in who you are, like looking at yourself in the mirror more, and actually don’t really mind what others might think of you, because you now belong to the Lord.

What I am basically saying in this post (and forgive me if it sounds rather rambling and incoherent–I’m writing this as a means to fall asleep —- is that I am here for my wife as she now serves the sisters of our ward as their president.

Here’s a picture of us yesterday at church.

Some Thoughts on Testimonies

Regarding testimonies, when truth is spoken, the Spirit of the Lord testifies in the heart of he that hears. If you say, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,” you are speaking truth that the Spirit will then affirm in the hearts of those who will listen to the Spirit. There is real power in testifying truth. When I bear my testimony, the Spirit confirms in my heart the words I speak, because they are words of power and of truth. In this way, my testimony increases because it has just been reconfirmed by the Spirit in my heart.

Think of bearing testimonies and receiving testimonies as starting up a power generator by hand. I’m sure you’ve seen those old manual driven power generators, right? You crank a wheel enough times to start it up.

The first couple of turns are very hard and provide little if any power generated. But you have to turn the wheel in order to get power generating. It doesn’t start first. It start with you first.

This is where faith plays its central role. Since I was born here on earth, I have never seen God with my mortal eyes. I do not have physical proof of his existence; all my proof is peripheral. Yet I know he lives and is there because I’ve felt that confirmation in my heart from the Spirit. You have to take a step into the darkness, the unknown to realize there is a place you can put your foot on, and not fear you are falling into an abyss.

Have faith that when the Lord says, “if you testify of me, I will come to you with my Comforter,” that he is speaking truthfully and will be there as he says. The impetus is on you though to act first. The door does not open from the outside, but from within. You must let the Savior into your life; he will not force his way in.

That said, back to the manual generator example. Most of the time, what will happen is that you won’t have to crank the wheel all by yourself, there will be others who will come with cables to charge your generator by plugging to their generator. This is done when they testify of the truth. The Spirit of the Lord is the cable that connects from the other, running generator, to your yet-to-be-charged generator, and gives it a small charge. You can choose to accept this charge and continue cranking your generator to keep the charge going, or let that jolt of energy die off.

Testimonies are like muscles and will atrophy if unused. Testimonies are like a manual generator that if you don’t continue cranking the lever, will slowly lose the energy. This is why we are counselled to continually bear our testimonies.

This world is full of distractions that take away from the testimonies we receive. We’ve got to keep testifying of Christ, else we lose that testimony.

Group Dating in China

I’m checking the news from around the world, and the BBC News has a piece about group dating in China. Read the following:

Busy Chinese urbanites are flocking to try something new in the quest for love – group dating.

The mass events, which draw hundreds of single men and women, have climbed in popularity since they were introduced in Chinese cities.

One event in Zhejiang in April attracted 12,658 participants, Xinhua news agency said, while 10,000 showed up for another in Shanghai.

The events appeal to China’s new ranks of urban educated professionals.

Cities are full of young workers, but singletons who spend long hours at the office end up with no time to meet other people, said Wu Xiuping of the Beijing Municipal Women’s Federation.

The federation has been organising sessions in the capital for three years, Xinhua said, bringing more than 300 couples together.

At the dating events, men and women are put into groups to get to know each other and, if they want to, can swap telephone numbers at the end.

Ms Wu said group dating was particularly popular with women.

“Women have to study and work harder to succeed in society, therefore many girls have missed the best time for husband hunting,” she said.

One participant, Hu Liu, fell into that category. “I am at the age to seriously think of marriage, but it’s hard for me to meet and get to know guys,” she said.

Ms Hu did not really expect to meet a potential spouse, but there were other benefits, she said.

“At least I can make some female friends who are like me.”

Can you imagine that? 10,000 people gathered at a group date! Holy Cow! I thought it was tough going to a Mormon dance, but that had like maybe 100-150 people, but TEN THOUSAND! I want to see that. I can’t fathom those numbers.

Her Sentinel: Conclusion

So how does the story end? Find out!

Her Sentinel: Part Five

Did Tom make it? Find out!

Her Sentinel: Part Four

Who are these guys that have taken Khristine captive? Find out!

Her Sentinel: Part Three

Now for Part Three…..

Her Sentinel: Part Two

The story continues…..

How did I come to Christ?

EverydayMommy created a straw poll. Her question was:

What one instrument did the Lord use to influence you toward salvation? How did you come to submitting your life to the Lord Jesus Christ?

I’ve been thinking about this very topic quite a bit lately, especially as I have begun to cherish my relationship with Christ more since Ava was born. I don’t think there is just 1 instrument but rather a collection of experiences that have led me to Christ. I was initially brought to Christ through the teaching and guidance of parents who busted their buns to do their best. They weren’t perfect, but they definitely tried to give me the best education– spiritual and secular– as possible. My testimony was further solidified through scripture reading, service, prayer, regular church and temple attendance and good old adversity.

It wasn’t until I was in college at BYU that I can say I really felt like I had my own testimony of Christ. Maybe I had one much earlier in life, but the happenings of high school took me further from Christ than my little testimony could handle. Yet while I was in Utah, I had 30,000 people around me that all believed the same things I did. Many of them had rock solid testimonies, and I was able to learn and grow from their examples.

There was one instance that sticks out in my mind as a pivotal point in my spiritual development. A sister was teaching a lesson in Relief Society about the atonement. She chose to sing the song, “His Hands.” I had heard this song numerous times, but this time I closed my eyes and imagined the words she was singing. I could see Christ’s actions as if it was a color movie burned into my memory. At that moment, I knew it happened. I knew that He was there, that He lived on earth, and He made it possible for us to return to Him.

While I was in Utah, I had the opportunity to serve amongst my ward (similar to a parish), and that brought me closer to Christ in a new way as I knew that I was working to bring forth Zion. Living in NYC, I continued this, and my testimony grew stronger. After being sealed in the temple for time and all eternity, I can more fully understand God’s purposes and how this life fits into His grand plan. I can see His hand in my life. I know that when trials are seemingly unbearable, I’m not alone– in fact most of the time I’m being carried by Him. I am incredibly thankful for that as those trials and struggles have further solidified what I know and given me a stronger testimony.

Could I have done this without the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants or regular church and temple attendance? Probably not. All of these things combined with prayer and service have helped me to come closer to Christ. Being involved in a community of like believers has also greatly strengthened me and helped me along that path. The programs of visiting and home teaching help me to come closer to Christ as that is how He watches over His flock. There is a power in going to visit a sister, and sharing the beauty of the Gospel with her. There is an equal power in having 2 priesthood holders come into my home and share the Gospel with me.

I don’t think there is just one instrument– at least in my experience, but rather a collection of experiences that bring me closer to Christ.