Some Thoughts on Valentine's Day and My Own Special Valentine

Hello again, everyone! I am back as promised on this Valentine's Day to share some thoughts, and especially a tribute to my own special valentine. It has been somewhat of a tradition on this blog that every Valentine's Day, I post a copy of the poem I penned in High School, entitled "Will You Be My Valentine", and add to that a brief tribute to my wife. This year will be somewhat different. Having noted in my last post the beautiful tribute Elder Holland published to his wife on social media, that seems to be a better context for what I would like to say in tribute to my wife, Amy.

As many long-time readers of this blog know, I first met my wife in early 2009 when I was serving as a temple worker. The moment I first heard her voice, I had the distinct impression she would be my wife one day. Perhaps unwisely, I shrugged off that feeling (as we were not able to exchange much personal dialogue at the time, and since I had never previously met her and had no idea who she was), and I promptly forgot about that impression.

By contrast, I later learned that our brief exchange, though no personal dialogue was involved, had left a favorable impression of me on her. And in retrospect, it was just as well that her neither of us sought out the other until later, since her focus at that time needed to be on her mother, for whom she had been the primary caregiver for the previous 15-20 years or so, and who passed away in Janury 2010.

In due course, Amy became a temple worker herself. And when her school schedule prevented her from maintaining her assigned shift (on Tuesday evening), and her only option was to move to the Friday evening shift (on which I had been for about 3 years at the time).

She instantly recognized and remembered me, although my memory of our previous encounter was not restored in full until several years after that. Because I have always been a people person, she was one of the many temple workers I talked with on a regular basis during times that were less busy at the temple.

We continued to chat, forming a strong friendship, and although I didn't know it at the time, we both wondered whether or not we were mutually attracted to each other. In point of fact, she had (again without my realizing it) just been waiting for me to ask her out.

But in view of a wide variety of factors (which in retrospect were far more minor than they seemed to be at the time), I had convinced myself that she wouldn't be interested in going out with me. But I had decided that if the Lord opened a way for that door to be open, I would walk through it.

And so it was that during a time when the temple was closed for cleaning, I got a letter from her indicating her interest in me and her willingness to work around whatever my situation was to enable us to spend time getting to know each other better. Although an unexplained error resulted in my first acceptance of that offer not reaching her, once I learned that response had not gone through. I sent it again.

Having ascertained our mutual interest, we went on 14 dates in the next 3 weeks, agreeing after the first week that the question of marriage would be when and how rather than if, as long as the Lord approved of that course.

On July 4, 2010, we fasted together and thereby determined that we should go ahead and get engaged. In the 5.5 months that followed, we saw much in terms of both blessings from the Lord and challenges in the process of preparing for our marriage. Because we knew the Lord had brought us together, we trusted His promises, and that trust proved justified, as we were able to be married on December 18.

In the 7 (going on 8) years since that time, although trials have continued (and at times have been quite severe), we have been reminded over and over again that, in terms of the many reasons the Lord brought us together, perhaps the most fitting were that we are so much on the same wavelength that we not only complement each other in the best ways, but more than that, each of us has been able to help the other with times when struggles have been particularly challenging.

I could not ask for a better, more wonderful, or more loving eternal companion. Particularly in light of the many additional difficulties with which we continue to grapple (not the least of which are those factors relating to how my health limits my ability at times to do as much as I would like to), my wife has shown me great patience, understanding, sympathy, empathy, and so much more.

She sees me not as I am now, but as I may become And that takes a very special and unique kind of woman. Because of that, and because of all she constantly and consistently does to keep us going, I owe her a greater debt than I can every repay.

And so, on this Valentine's Day, I am infinitely grateful to the Lord for placing her in my path 8 or 9 years ago. She is my best friend, my confidante, someone who can help me look at situations in different ways than I have previously done, and someone who never fails to keep encouraging me to become better than I am, and someone with whom I am always in good company.

We were best friends before we ever started dating, and that has helped us realize just how good we are for each other. I find it no accident that the Lord put us in each other's paths. I am so grateful that I heeded the spiritual prompting to continue my temple service beyond the original length that service was supposed to be. If that had not been the case, we would never have met.

And so I could go on. My point in mentioning all of this is to demonstrate that the Lord is at work in and very much aware of the details of our lives. That was true for me, and I know it is true for all who have lived, are living, or will ever live on this earth.

That does it for this post. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If any of you have comments or questions about what I have said herein, let me know in the comments below, and I will be happy to address those Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Our New Place

Hey, everyone! Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Things have been kind of crazy. We are very nicely settling in to our new place in the trailer in Orem. We are so thrilled with this move! Things have been so much better since we started living here.

My work attendance has been spotty lately again. As I feared, the distance from the job has lulled me into a false sense of security about my attendance at work. The last two weeks, I have clocked in about half as much time as I did the previous two weeks. We're hoping I can work every day the rest of this week, including putting in some time on Saturday, But we'll have to see what happens.

I had a chance to speak to our new bishop on a rare weeknight when I was at home. I let him know of my Celiac Disease and a need for a separate tray, and he very kindly informed me that he was fully aware of what that entailed because his sister-in-law has it. He said that I just needed to bring my bread in a bag, like I've been doing, and they would make sure it got to me. He also got our records transferred over to our new ward that same night.

Unfortunately, we arrived at Church last Sunday after the meeting started, so I didn't get a chance to get the priests my corn tortilla piece. Thankfully, we got there in well enough time to partake of the sacrament, and the good news is, I didn't have any reaction of any kind to the bread with gluten in it. Church was great. For the first time in several years, I was able to attend Gospel Doctrine with Amy. That was great. I then went to Priesthood Opening Exercises, where, for the first time since we were on the 11 am Church block with the AF 21st Ward, we began the meeting with a hymn. The lesson was one we'd already had in my previous ward. I met a lot of good brethren and felt right at home. After Church, for the first time in a while, we had deacons stop by for Fast Offerings. I felt bad about turning them away. We were also able to fill out a form for our new ward that the bishop had gotten us. It was great. We're going to be just fine here, and the ward instantly felt comfortable to us.

We've had kids stop by volunteering to mow our lawn for us and selling stuff for money for their school. We hated turning them away and agreed that, when we can afford to do so, we would gladly give money to help out with stuff like that. We are thrilled with the neighborhood. I have been going to Walgreens pharmacy to get my prescriptions and have been quite impressed with them.

With my dad's help, we were able to get our TV working with just a converter box (no antenna needed), our washer and dryer going, and a new dishwasher installed. It needs new parts, though, so we will have to wash dishes by hand for the time being. We were grateful for his kind assistance.

I spent today sick at home after throwing up early this morning. My stomach settled down easily, thankfully, but I guess I must have been wiped out from all the nights during which  haven't slept well or at all. I slept the day away, only getting up and ready for the day @ around 6 pm. I have been grateful for my sweet Amy helping me and even going the extra mile for me in the midst of all this. Have I mentioned  how amazing this wonderful wife of mine is? Words aren't enough to adequately express how I feel about this sweet, wonderful woman, who sacrifices so much to help me whenever I need it. I love her more every day. She is truly my better half, my life, my love, my all, my everything. With her by my side, I can face anything and everything life throws at us.

My next post will focus on general conference. Until I write that one in a few minutes, I wish you all the best! Thank you all for your readership, interest, and support.

Report: Funeral Services for Elder Richard Gordon Scott/We will start moving in tomorrow! (Wednesday's the big day!)

I wanted to post about a couple of things. First, to get it said and out of the way of the more important item, I wanted to let my readers know that the current owner of the trailer is planning to have all her stuff moved out by tomorrow. We have to go over and retrieve the bill of sale, so we will be moving in some of the smaller stuff at that time. We will also get me set up so I can pick up my prescriptions in the future from Walgreens, which is on the same road as the trailer court. I think I will be happy with Walgreens' pharmacy, which opens an hour earlier and closes an hour later during the week than Fresh Market does. Only problem is, it closes at 6 pm on Saturdays. But I've considered my options very carefully, and Walgreens just seems to make the most sense.

My purpose in mentioning all that is leading up to the fact that I will be taking a bit of time off work tomorrow to get these things taken care of. And I have been granted approval to have Wednesday off to help move the bigger things, even though I may not be able to get much done that way.

In the meantime, the more important news is that funeral services were held today honoring the life of Elder Richard Gordon Scott. President Henry B. Eyring conducted, just as I had predicted, and, in doing so, offered his brief tribute to Elder Scott., who he said had embraced him with open arms and sound advice when President Eyring first became an apostle.The invocation was offered by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and the benediction by Elder M. Russell Ballard, who now sit with only Robert D. Hales between them after the three apostolic deaths this year. I was spot on in predicting the speakers. Michael Scott did represent the Scott family and paid a beautiful tribute to his dad, mainly focused on the fact that he was with his beloved Jeanene now, along with the two children they had earlier lost. Elder D. Todd Christofferson gave a special tribute in representation of all the missionaries who had served under Elder Scott and his wife. President Russell M. Nelson reminisced about his travels with Elder Scott. And President Thomas S. Monson concluded the service with a beautiful account of his last visit with Elder Scott, wherein he gave him a blessing and told him how much he and the other apostles, and indeed the whole Church, love him. Each spoke in joyful anticipation about a future reunion with their beloved associate in the work of the Lord. It was truly a celebration of life rather than focusing on the sadness of it. The Tabernacle Choir provided beautiful music, closing the service with Mack Wilberg's stirring arrangement of Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. I was grateful I had made the effort to get up and watch it.

Now all that remains is to wait for moving day to get here, get the stress of that over with, and then look forward to our first General Conference not only in our own home, but also marking the calling of three new apostles of the Lord. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but the third apostle called will bring the number of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in this dispensation to an even 100. With all the moving, I haven't given any more thought to who might be called. Whether I'm right or not in feeling the way I do about who might fill the apostolic vacancies, the important thing is that I know these men, whoever they may be, will be the ones the Lord would have called to the apostleship at this time. It is my hope and prayer that we will with all our hearts and our uplifted hands sustain these new prophets. seers and revelators as fully as we strove to sustain President Boyd K. Packer, Elder L. Tom Perry. and Elder Richard G. Scott while they were still here with us. If they were among us still, that is what they would ask us to do.

I will get through the next couple of days and then perhaps be able to post pictures of both the old and new dwelling places. I am excited to dedicate another home, just as I did with this place. I am grateful to have been raised in a home where that happened every time we moved. It has definitely made a difference in my life. Well, that's all for now. More to come as time and circumstances allow. All the best until I write again!

Personal/Church News

I am posting today for some very exciting reasons. First, regarding our personal lives, we signed the papers and handed over the money for the trailer in Orem on Friday. So, effective Tuesday night after the current occupant vacates it, we will be able to starting moving in. We may not get much done then, however, so the major day to move stuff will be Wednesday.

Amy's brother Troy has agreed to help us, as he is the only one of Amy's brothers who is physically able to handle moving stuff. He will bring a truck with a trailer so we can have that to move stuff in. I have also spoken to my parents, who will do what they can. At my mom's suggestion, I checked with my brother Neal to see if he would be available to help us move some of the heavy stuff on Wednesday. He said we could count on his and his wife Sammi's help on that day. He will also be checking at work this week to see if he can rustle us up any spare boxes they have lying around, and he will be bringing his in-law's truck to help cart stuff. I told him we had been thinking of renting a U-Haul moving truck, but he said, "James, you know you can count on us to be there, and I'm sure I can get my in-laws to lend us their truck, so why would you go to the expense of renting a U-Haul?" I am grateful for his support. I'm glad we have people nearby who can help us.

In so many ways though, I can't help feeling very guilty about the fact that I physically can't handle helping to move some of the bigger, heavier stuff. Deep down, I know it's not my fault I'm unable to assist my own family in moving our stuff. It's just the hand I was dealt. But a little voice in my head keeps screaming at me that I should be able to help out and that it is my fault I am not able to. I guess I just have to learn that it really is something that's out of my control. But it's times like this I wish I had been born healthy and strong and that I could do more and take the load and dependency off the backs of those who will have to do what I am not able to. Don't worry about me getting to feel too guilty, however. None of my family or Amy's family holds it against me that I have to rely on them to do things I cannot. And because I am not able to do them, I should be grateful there are those who can assist us with things like this.

All going well, this will be our last Sunday in the American Fork 21st Ward, American Fork East Stake, and our first Sunday in the new ward will be October 11. It was harder than I thought it would be to let everyone in the ward know. I couldn't hold back the tears as I made the announcement last Sunday. Some stopped us after Church to say how much they would miss us. We will miss this stake as well. But I take comfort in knowing that, ASAP, we will be back in this stake, perhaps with a couple or a few children in tow. That's not an announcement, by the way. We are actually hoping that we might have better success starting our family in a place that's ours, where the only noisy neighbors are outside our trailer.

We are very excited to be moving in to our new place, which with we can do whatever we want, as long as we don't violate the park rules. We found out that the park management are Hispanic. It will be interesting to see what the cultural makeup of the park is.

In the meantime, on the Church News front, I failed to mention that Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was in Philadelphia last week at the World Meeting of Families, attended by many of the world's religions. Elder Christofferson, with the help of two LDS families in the area, gave a presentation on the importance of the family, and why the Church supports traditional marriage and families. He did very well, from what I've read about it. For more on what he and the families said, please see this article.

When I read about that, I thought, that must be the reason Elder Scott's funeral was scheduled for Monday. The other 11 apostles surely want Elder Christofferson back so he can speak at Elder Scott's funeral (Elder Scott was Elder Christofferson's mission president).

I think I am correct in what I wrote in the previous post about who will likely speak at Elder Scott's funeral. But either way, we'll find out on Monday.

Here's an interesting tidbit of temple news. Yesterday (Saturday), site clearing was held for the Rio de Janeiro Temple site. That temple has not had a groundbreaking date officially announced, but if they are doing that, then an announcement about a near future groundbreaking is imminent. And also, it appears that the temple to be built in Port-au-Prince Haiti is in the design process. Not sure how close they are to announcing a site for that temple, but it is something. No other noticeable activity in temple construction is happening.

The General Women's meeting happened tonight. I watched it live. It was a great meeting. Amy missed half of it because she was out doing errands, but we are going to rewatch it probably tomorrow. All of the speakers I had projected spoke, except that Sister McConkie and Sister Reeves were flip-flopped from the order I had predicted. Additionally. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke instead of President Thomas S. Monson.

President Monson looked all  right tonight, but many feel he's at the beginning of the end of his life. I certainly hope not. I have been hoping that he will live a good long time. Whether he does or not, we can rest assured that the Lord's pattern of succession is such that the Church will always have the leadership of apostles and prophets. The Lord can build up the Church faster than Satan can tear it down. And we have the scriptural promise that the fulness of the everlasting gospel will never again be taken from the earth.

The bigger question in my mind is, how many times, if at all, will President Monson speak to us next weekend? I'm hoping he'll be able to give his traditional 4 talks, but, if nothing else, I anticipate he will at least speak twice, once on Saturday and once on Sunday.

I am hoping he will be well enough to announce and lead off in the sustaining of President Russell Marion Nelson as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the three new apostles, whomever they may be. If he can't, though, I'm sure they'll either move the Sustaining of Church Officers to the Saturday morning session to end the speculation, or have either President Eyring or President Uchtdorf lead off in sustaining the changes to the Quorum of the Twelve's leadership and membership at the commencement of the Saturday Morning Session. We will have to see.

If nothing else, I hope President Monson can at least speak during the Saturday Priesthood and Sunday Morning sessions to give his keynote addresses. I will keep you posted on all that good stuff as I hear about it.

Well, the hour is late, and I must be getting up in a few hours to make it to our 11 am Church block, so I will close now. Until I post again, all the best!

We've found a place!

Hello, readers! Just wanted to let you know that we have found a new place to live--and it's not even a rental. We have, just this week, signed the papers to buy a trailer in a trailer park in Orem (right next door to the Dollar Tree store). It's at least twice as big as our current place, with twice as many bedrooms and bathrooms. For a first home, it's wonderful. We will have access to a pool and be close to many different stores and restaurants. It breaks my heart to be leaving the stake and people I have come to love so much in the 16 1/2 years I've known them. But Amy and I are agreed: we want to come back to the AF East Stake to raise our family. How and when that will happen, I'm not sure. But we will be back. We will be moving out of here and into there at the end of this month. And we will be continuing to attend our current ward and stake until we are replaced in our callings and, in my case, until I have trained someone to take over as the Ward Media Specialist. The ward we will be in starts at 9:00 am, which we are not crazy about, but the good news is that we will only have a couple of months on that schedule until we switch to a later time. Whether that will be 11:00, 11:30, 1 or 2 remains to be seen. Anyways, just wanted to post this exciting development. Thanks for your interest, friends!

Big News

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. But this is sooner. I wanted to let my readers know that we have a month or less left in our current apartment (our first dwelling place as a married couple). Here's what happened. Amy noticed a short while ago that some of the wood we had acquired for our own personal purposes and use alone had been taken without our permission by our landlord and used in his garden. Amy asked him a couple of days ago to return what he had stolen. Once our landlord thought about her request, he decided to be offended by the implication that he had been less than honest in this dealing with us. He informed me today that because what Amy said was hurtful, he felt it was time for us to move. He will give us until the end of October to find another place.

This made us sad in a way. You never forget your first place, and it has been a nice first place while it lasted. But then we thought about the things we wouldn't miss: the landlord's grandchildren thumping about above us, the barking dog at all hours of the day and night; the nasty-tasting water that even a new filter couldn't improve; the small kitchen sink; the temperature controls in the bath and shower being reversed, a bathroom that, while it served its purpose, only a lunatic would have put together the way it is; the influx of insects; the small cupboards; having to think hard about how to find a place for everything, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

We don't know where we will go from here as of yet. While I still feel my work in this stake is not done yet, now we have no choice but to relocate. And since there aren't a lot of affordable options nearby for either renting or buying, we may have to leave town to find a place. Amy has found a trailer park in Orem with a particular trailer that looks promising: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a decent kitchen, lots of cupboard space and room to store stuff. It might be the perfect place to go from here. If we decide to do that, we will probably move out sooner than the end of October, especially since the place is available now.

It breaks my heart to think of leaving the town to which I came as a newly ordained deacon and which I will leave as a man married 5 years and well seasoned in experience. This move would even put us in a new temple district, as all the stakes in Orem have been transferred to the Provo Utah Temple. So we would even be leaving the town where we met and the temple where we got married. But a temple would still be close, which is good. I don't even want to think about changing banks and pharmacies and grocery stores. I would hope there would still be everything we need there. Though there would not be a Fresh Market, so I'd have to determine which pharmacy I would want my information transferred to. I would be joining my sisters who no longer reside in American Fork. It would mean leaving behind a stake and people I have loved almost since the moment I met them all those 16 years ago. But I'm not too worried about that part of it.

I seem to have the knack of making friends wherever I go, and I'm bound to recognize someone. I can never go anywhere without running into someone who knows me and/or my family. And it's not like we'd be totally friendless. My dad's brother Lynn and his wife Claudia live in Orem with some of their children, as does Amy's brother Gary and his wife Janeal. So I'm sure we'd be fine and soon able to make other friends. We will be finding out more about this trailer Amy found ASAP, probably sometime tomorrow.

And we will be praying about it and I at least will also be fasting about it on Sunday, even if Amy can't join me due to her health. We should have a decision soon. I will let you know as soon as everything falls into place. Btw, when we prepare to leave this apartment for the last time, Amy has told me we will be taking pictures so we can remember our first abode and look back on it with satisfaction knowing that it served its purpose and that we can move on and maybe thus have more luck starting our family. I will keep you posted.

In other news, I saw my muscle doctor last week, and he recommended a neurosurgeon that works in the same clinic as that jerk I refuse to go back to under any circumstances. I called them to see if I could get an appointment with that doctor. I was told, much to my frustration, that if I started with one doctor in this clinic, I could only see him. So we will have to find another clinic at another location with another neurosurgeon. But right now the whole situation with the landlord and the resultant need to leave trumps anything else.

On the better side of news, I saw my neurologist today. Dr. Sharon Weinstein listened to my concerns carefully and gave me suggestions about dealing with them. She particularly recommended music therapy and Tai Chi. She suggested using the cane as needed for my on-and-off vertigo, but to try not to overuse it or overcompensate with it.  She also said that once we see my gastroenterologist in follow-up to my endoscopy and colonoscopy that she (Dr. Weinstein) would make further recommendations based on what Adrienne Shaver, my gastroenterologist identifies as the possible reason for the stomach cramps and additional nausea. More on that as time and circumstances allow.

Amy and I will be praying that the Lord will compensate us for our landlord's overreaction to being called on what he was doing wrong, and that the Lord will let him live to see a day when he regrets having kicked us out. Until I write again, dear readers, all the best!

Church News/Personal updates

Hello all! Much has happened in the Church and with us since my last major update. So in this post, I will attempt to update you on all the good stuff. Hang on to your hats! This will be a wild ride!

First of all, now that it's September, I wanted to remind everyone that we have two apostolic birthdays to celebrate this month (would be 3 if President Packer were still alive). Elder Quentin L. Cook turns 75 on September 8. The following day, President Russell M. Nelson celebrates his 91st birthday, hopefully the first of many years he will mark as Quorum President. I know I should be used to "President Nelson" by now, but it's still somewhat of a nuance, especially since it's been just under two months that he's had this calling. It's crazy to think that we'll find out who will be called as the new apostles in a little over a month. As I think about the apostolic vacancies, two names particularly seem to me like they could be the new apostles. Although why the Lord would reveal such information to me before he tells President Monson is beyond me. Since I'm not infallible, I will not say who I think they will be unless it turns out that I'm right. Time will tell.

On the temple news front, the Indianapolis Temple was dedicated last Sunday by President Henry B. Eyring, who was accompanied at the dedication by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, along with Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the Presidency of the Seventy, Elders Kent F. Richards (Temple Department Executive Director) and Wilford W. Andersen, both of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, Bishop Dean M. Davies, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, and Elder Paul H. Sinclair, an Area Seventy and the only native Hoosier to serve on the temple committee. The temple becomes the first temple in the state of Indiana and the 148th temple worldwide. With the announcement of the Tijuana Mexico Temple Dedication for December 13, and the Provo City Center Temple Dedication in March of 2016, that will bring the total number of temples worldwide to a historic 150 by the 186th Annual General Conference.

In other temple news, progress is being made on the Paris France Temple, Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple, and Fort Collins Colorado Temple. Progress was necessarily halted for a short time in Fort Collins because of vandalism to the temple site and structure. I hope they catch the vandals. To vandalize something that is sacred to so many people is to incite the wrath of a just God. I take comfort in the knowledge that even if the vandals escape justice in this life, at some future point, they will be judged for this heinous crime. I will say no more of that.

According to ldschurchtemples.com, 3 temples currently undergoing renovation will be rededicated before we have 150 temples in March of next year. Two other temples are expected to have renovations finished and be dedicated by the end of 2016, with two other temples scheduled to begin renovation within that same time frame. As for new temples that could be dedicated next year, the Provo City Center Temple will be just one of the seven temples that are anticipated to be completed in 2016. And if three of the temples that are being renovated currently are ready for rededication by the end of 2016, it will be a veritable year of temple-related events. I will keep an eye on these developments and let you know as soon as I know anything.

The 13 apostles of the Church have now had a chance to meet and consider their future relationship with the BSA. The determination was made that the Church would stick with the BSA and the BSA responded that they hoped the Church would continue to select Scout leaders that will be true to Church standards. It was a big relief to hear that. I want my sons to become Eagle Scouts as I have done. And now they'll have that chance. The Church is still concerned, however, about the outreach of the Scouting program worldwide. The situation will continue to be monitored and a decision made about a program that will work for all young men worldwide as time and circumstances allow such changes to be made.

In other news, the Church has announced that the female leaders of the Church have been invited to become participating members on major Church councils; they began their new roles immediately. Primary General President Rosemary M. Wixom will now be a member of the Church's Temple and Family History Executive Council. Relief Society General President Linda K. Burton has been invited to serve as  a member of the Priesthood and Family Executive Council, which had, prior to its name change, been traditionally called the Priesthood Executive Council. Young Women General President Bonnie L. Oscarson has been asked to be a member of the Missionary Executive Council. I imagine that this will filter down to the wards and stakes as well, if it is not already so. Some claim that because the women don't have the priesthood, they are somehow less significant to the work of the Lord than the men. These changes should serve to prove otherwise. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the work of these councils in the future now that a woman's voice has been added to them. I will keep my eye on any developments in this regard and share them ASAP.

In the meantime, things have been crazy here the last little while. I applied for a position as a Team Leader but did not get it because it would have required me to work on Sunday, and I covenanted with the Lord a long time ago that I would never work on a Sunday. The Sabbath is too important to me.

I had an interview with my bishop, who was concerned about our financial troubles, especially as we are doing all we can but can't seem to break even. I told him what the situation was with why I apparently "don't qualify" anymore to receive SSI. He said he would talk to my caseworker, for whom I gave him a number. I don't know whether it was my bishop, a lawyer by profession, who leaned on the SSA until they came to their senses or if it was the fact that I turned in many paystubs they were missing. The long and the short of it is that I got an SSI payment of about $1,800 that covered what they should have paid me for May-July. I will get my August paystubs turned in ASAP. And I'm happy to report that I got another SSI check today for the month of September. So we will be more than okay until my next paycheck (Friday).

I have had many doctors appointments for a variety of reasons. The general consensus: I need to exercise regularly 5 days a week for at least one hour per exercise session. I have a goal to lose 12 lbs by the time I see one of my doctors again. If not, she said she might have me do a sleep test to see if I have apnea. In the meantime, last Monday, I had a colonoscopy and an endoscopy to help my gastroenterologist figure out why my stomach has been so weird lately. That procedure went well, but I overdid it afterwards and was too wiped out to go to work that day and the next day as well.

I didn't see my neurologist this month as she said she could just mail me the prescriptions I needed with some advanced notice. I let her office know what prescriptions I needed and by when, but they didn't arrive. Fortunately, we were going to see my physiatrist (muscle doctor) in Salt Lake last week, so I was able to pick up a physical prescriptions I needed right before they closed down their office for the night. My doctors all seem to be impressed with the progress I am making. All of them are worried about my weight, which is why I will try to lose 2 pounds per month every month for the next half year before I see my pulmonologist again.

I see my urologist in a couple of months, and I hope everything's all right there. I have a dentist's appointment this week and hopefully have few, if any cavities. I'm a little worried about my teeth. I had 8 cavities they found that I had to get done between my visit last fall and now. I will keep you posted on all of that good stuff.

We have missed Church for several weeks in a row now due to illness. It was just as well I didn't go last week, because I was puking like there was no tomorrow. That finally settled down, but I am still dealing with some health issues that I can hopefully get resolved soon. Thankfully. Amy has been doing relatively well health-wise while I've had these problems.

I seek an interest in your prayers. Amy and I need to apply for another loan to help us buy a house, assuming we can find one within our budget where the Lord would want us to be. But in order to get a loan, I have to prove that I have steady employment. While I still am at work as often as I can be, if we gave them a paycheck history, until my ability to be at work improves drastically, we may not be eligible for a loan. This worries us because we want to move from this apartment to a place of our own. The worries about how to afford a place of our own are compounded by not knowing where to look. The Lord has told me that we need to remain in the AF East Stake, if at all possible. Every time I ask, I have received the same answer: I have not finished all the things I was brought to this stake to do. I don't know what the Lord has in mind for me, but, whatever it is, I hope I will be worthy to do it.

My work is having a BBQ up Provo Canyon on September 13 from 5-9 pm. It should be a fun event. It will be really neat to introduce Amy to my coworkers. Most of them who know me have heard by now how Amy and I got together, so they're anxious to meet her.

In just a few short weeks, my older sister Joanna and her son, Grant, will return to Utah for the final stages of Joanna's pregnancy and for the delivery. We will be so excited to see them. The one bummer about that is that Lyle may or may not be able to be there in person for the birth of the twins. We are all praying like crazy that something will work out for Lyle to be there. He missed being there for Grant's birth. It will be very hard on Joanna and Grant to have to deal with the babies coming without Lyle being there for it. So I would ask for your prayers on behalf of my sister: that the last part of the pregnancy might be easy on her and that her husband can be there for the birth. Thanks in advance, friends!

Well, that's what's going on in our lives, in a nutshell. Hope you are all well and are still enjoying these posts. Best wishes to you, my readers! You are the reason I blog. Happiness to you in your life ahead!

Possible Change in Job Status and Wages

Hello, all! I know I said I would try to do another general update sometime this weekend, but time got away from me. There was, however, one item of personal news I couldn't wait to post. Early last week at work, I was told that one of our TLs (Team Leaders) would be leaving ROI and that the management was asking those interested to apply for the open position. Everyone I talked to said that they thought I'd make a great TL, so I decided to apply. On Wednesday night, I touched up my resume and printed it out, along with my letters of recommendation and a cover letter to our managers in which I highlighted some of the reasons I would make a good TL,  and I handed it in on Friday.

Getting the TL position would mean a possible change in schedule so I might once again have evenings to enjoy with Amy and for other events. It would mean a substantial pay raise. Everyone I told at work was excited for me and said that they hoped I would get it and that they thought I'd be great at it. I even told the woman I might be replacing about it (she's leaving for a better job), and she said she was excited for me, that she thought I'd do great as a TL, and that her team would love to have a guy like me heading them up.

As I was as headed out of work on Friday, I told another TL who has become a good friend. She is having some issues giving up her smoking habit, so I gave her a bit of a pep talk about the importance of getting rid of that habit, especially for herself and her recently born baby. She thanked me for my concern and told me that I would have her full support if I was selected as a team leader. Friday was the deadline to apply, and I imagine all candidates for the job (there are only a few of us, including a friend who has been on floor support before, which is the training position to become a TL) will be interviewed sometime this week and a determination made regarding the position soon after that.

Most of the people on my team have expressed their support to this other guy, but I have plenty of support from those that might be on my team as well as most of the currently serving TLs. It will be interesting to see what happens with that. I took today to fast that I might be able to get the position if it's the Lord's will, and I also fasted that my friend, the supervisor who is trying to give up  smoking, might receive the help she needs to kick the habit once and for all.

I seek an interest in your faith and prayers as I go through this process. I know that the worst that can happen is that I don't get the position, but I need all the help I can get. Even if I don't get the position, I will likely be asking for a raise in the near future. I believe I am the lowest paid employee @ ROI Solutions, and several people have told me that that's not right, and that I need to challenge that, stick up for myself, and request that I earn on average at least as much as most of the other ROI employees. So, even if I can't become a TL at this time, I hope I can get a pay raise.

That's all for now, as the hour is late. Please stay tuned for a report about how this will be resolved, hopefully by the end of the week. I appreciate all of you who read my blog, and I hope life is going well for each of you. Until I write again, all the best!

Clarification of My View and the Church's View on the Issue of Same-Gender Attraction

I was recently reminded by this article of the importance of ensuring that, when anything is stated or claimed in the public domain, all members of the Church must be certain that any views expressed in the public domain, such as blog posts like this, should ensure that Church doctrine is accurately relayed. To that end, I have included the link above to address and clarify my earlier expressed view of the Church's stance on same gender attraction. I have found another news release by the Church that further addresses this point. You will find it here. The more of this interview I read, the more convinced I became that I needed to use a link to it to clarify not only my stated position, but how the Church feels about this subject, and how they addressed many of the common questions about the Church's stance on same-gender attraction. This will not be the first time I have had to clarify something I said, and it probably won't be the last. To paraphrase a line from the original version of That Darn Cat!, "[I] have a most attractive way of putting [my] foot in [my] mouth." Now all that remains is for me to apologize if I have misrepresented the Church in my stated opinion, and to assert that both links above sum up my feelings and the Church's stance perfectly. Thank you for your understanding.

First post: Independence Day: Its' meaing and significance

Several people have  spoken to me about starting a blog, so I finally decided to do it. As this blog's title implies, I will be regularly "sounding off" about life: its' joys, sorrows, matters of interest to me, etc. This blog will cover a variety of topics, and will be a better way for me to keep track of my life. I've tried over the years to keep a regular journal, and it hasn't worked out very well for me, especially lately. But I am great at surfing the web, so it's my hope that this blog will keep me motivated to post regular updates about my life and kind of serve as a journal that everyone interested can read to keep up with my life.

It is very fitting that my blog should be started on Independence Day. Why? Because this day is significant to me for several reasons. Having dealt with the preliminaries, I will now post a word or two about what Independence Day means to me.

The first reason Independence Day is significant to me is because of the freedoms I enjoy. I love living in a land that promotes life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I treasure the freedom to worship the way I choose. I love living in a land where the gospel was restored in this last dispensation, never again to be taken from the earth. I am a firm believer in respecting the opinions of others, even if and when I disagree with them. I live by a motto in my life: "We can disagree without being disagreeable." Disagreements can and will come as a natural and regular part of life. What is unnatural is to take these disagreements as a personal affront to  one's values and beliefs. It is possible to not see eye to eye with someone but to still be respectful of them and their views. Civility in public and private discourse will always yield the best results, more so than any other option.

The second reason Independence Day is significant to me is because of those who have gone before, whether their fight for freedom has been more visible and  prominent or private and sanctimonious. I particularly remember those I know who have fought for the freedoms I enjoy. These include but are not limited to my brother-in-law, Lyle Hickman, my paternal uncle, Gary Stokes, my paternal grandfather, Dean Stokes, my good friend Matt Price, our Founding Fathers, and so many more I don't have room to name.

Also no less significant are those who have died for the causes they embraced. I am thinking particularly of Joseph Smith and all the other martyrs  of any religious cause and any others who have lost their lives in pursuit of freedom, religious or otherwise. And most importantly, my Savior, Jesus Christ, who died that I might live forever and be made pure and clean and have eternal life, His greatest gift to me. I owe Him a greater debt than I can ever repay.

Finally, and definitely most importantly, this day is significant to me and ever will be because of what happened to me on this day four years ago. On that day, and every Independence Day since, I have taken my sweet Amy to the grounds of the Mount Timpanogos Temple. There on a quiet bench on the temple grounds in 2010, I proposed marriage to her, and she accepted without hesitation, full well knowing the sacrifices she would willingly make to keep us going. I have made it a tradition to take her to the temple grounds every Independence Day since and re-propose to her. In this way, I renew my commitment to making our marriage work whatever the cost. I have embraced this tradition as a way to celebrate our love and relationship anew every year, and it will be a tradition I carry on forever.

As a final note to this post, my thanks to my sweet Amy for her help in making this blog more artistically pleasing. Her sense of what works and what doesn't will be a great blessing and asset to the success of this blog. Love you, sweetheart, now and forever!

Well, that does it for this blog post. Until I find something else to "sound off" about, I wish all my readers every happiness and success they desire and express my hope that the Lord will bless and prosper you all until my next post. Best wishes, dear readers, for a wonderful Independence Day!