Wishing You A Belated Merry Saturnalia!

Before it gets to be too far gone to bring this up, I wanted to link to some interesting articles on Christmas. This one is from my favorite columnist at NRO, Jay Nordlinger, talking about the assault on Christmas. This article comes from the Wall Street Journal detailing a brief history of the holiday - this is a really great read. And then this article from a Catholic perspective, gives a great explanation of the holiday but grounded in Christianity. Finally, there is this piece that I found on National Review Online (NRO - I don't know if I've ever clarified that abbreviation before).

Professor Wilhelmsen makes an interesting point in his theological discourse regarding the usurpation of the pagan holiday for the purposes of tranposing Christianity:

A solar cult of the Mithraic religion competed with Christianity for dominance within the Empire. Set up to climax the older Saturnalia which lasted from December 17 to December 24, the feast of the Sun climaxed a period of merrymaking when all classes of society mingled together in a carnival spirit of gift exchanging, the carrying of torches, and the wearing of colorful and outlandish costumes. In grafting the spirit of that pagan celebration onto Christmas, the early Fathers transmuted heathen revelry into Christian joy.

The last link is one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I try and avoid doing this, but I'm going to quote at length from the article. I'd really like you all to be able to partake in this because it will lead quite well to my last point. Anyway, you might think that the excerpts I include from articles are too lengthy as it is, but trust me...I do pare it down a lot from what I would initially like to include:

It’s easy for anyone with one part brain and two parts wit to puncture an incandescent bubble of faith. Sometimes, everyday life does the same. It was on a Delta jet somewhere above North Carolina that I first doubted everything I’d learned in catechism. Peering through clouds, those swirling puffs of fog that our ancestors thought concealed Heaven; looking down at the specks of cars and homes and skyscrapers writ small, one grasps with alarming clarity the idea of personal insignificance. In the clouds, a vision of a personal God retreats as quickly as the oxygen supply.

But then, you land. And it isn’t long before God creeps back in. Faith cracks, it mends, it matures. It takes in new information and adjusts. Like a GPS navigator, it recalculates constantly, sometimes a little too often, sometimes not often enough.

Or, is it just that damned temporal lobe acting up again? Perhaps. Or maybe it’s not my circuit board that’s misfiring, but Hitchens’s; there appear to be more of my kind than his. Usually, normalcy is something to be desired; not in the skeptic’s world.

But for those of us who don’t need a God Helmet, who intuit a Presence all on our own, what Hitchens writes doesn’t matter. Here is a man who admits he has no faith, nor capacity for it, but presumes to write volumes on the topic. Meanwhile, holly-sprigged rubes like me welcome Christmas and its admittedly pagan customs because we find in it, amid the carol-singing and present-wrapping and eggnog-swilling, little bursts of joy as inexplicable as a black hole, or a massive wet planet skipping through space.

At church this past Sunday a guy attended who has been investigating for some time, but I think at this point he is developing his own unique brand of faith. As we're leaving he starts asking how we, people who claim to belong to the true church, could celebrate a holiday with pagan origins. I like that my answer would come from the bits and pieces of these various articles offered by people from different faiths.

In spite of differences that we might have in points of doctrine regarding the Godhead/Trinity, Christ's literal resurrection, or any number of other disputed tenets, one thing we can agree upon and celebrate together is the birth of our Savior. It's less about being accurate with the day of observance and more about the universal recognition of the ethereal nature of the miracle we celebrate. In His birth we have the fulfillment of prophecy; in His birth we have the reaffirmation of the vital pillars that support the Plan of Salvation. This time more than any other people are more inclined to act Christlike than at any other point during the entire year. Moreover, it brings faith and charitable living to the forefront of our collective consciousness'. I can't think of one valid reason to not celebrate Christmas that would outweigh all of these tremendous benefits. Not a one.

More On Stem Cell

Admittedly, I had not looked much into the issue of stem cell research when this debate originally began to surface a few years ago. Regarding this issue, I briefly looked over the two sides of the argument and went with my default position of being conservative and didn't think much more about it. With the recent developments I've been reading a little bit more about the issue and have found it just riveting. Really.

I found this article this morning via Powerline that will soon be appearing in Commentary magazine. A point man from the Bush administration wrote this article about how Bush's policy on stem cell research was forumlated. It really is just fascinating - please read it. The writer gives a clear picture of the months of deliberation that went into the policy formulation. Reading this article reaffirms my personal stance on the necessity of electing officials who will seriously consider the ethical ramifications of the policies that they adopt. I really think it is just so vital to have a president that embraces religion if only because that person will then operate from a perspective that seriously weighs the moral stances of the various faiths that he is representing. It's not enough that the person respect religion, but practices it himself so as to really appreciate the ethical weight that accompanies his decisions. As time goes on it has become more and more clear to me that President Bush has been a stalwart in crafting political policies that reflect these kinds of considerations.

Regarding the issue, the foremost stem-cell researcher said, "If human embryonic stem-cell research does not make you at least a little bit uncomfortable, you have not thought about it enough.” One point of argument that I had previously failed to fully grasp with this issue was just how much our eventual position reflects our respect for life. That may be something that you've already considered, but have you really thought about that in depth? I consider myself pretty informed with these issues, but this was one thing that I still feel like I failed to fully appreciate.

An incident that occurred between the President and a spokesperson for National Right To Life illustrates the President's commitment to doing what was right, not necessarily popular:

When a member of the National Right to Life delegation took out a public-opinion poll to bolster his claim that opposition to stem-cell research would be a winning issue politically, Bush swatted the paper away and replied with uncommon sharpness: “This is too important an issue to take polls about. I am going to decide this based on what I believe is right.”

From a conversation in the oval office between the President and bioethicists, the President said:

I must confess I am wrestling with a difficult decision. It’s a difficult issue for me. On one hand, it offers so much hope; on the other, so much despair. I worry about a culture that devalues life. I think my job is to encourage respect for life. On the other hand, I believe technologies and science will help solve many medical problems, and I have great hope for cures.

And one last excerpt from the article:

A few days later, I brought into the Oval Office my copy of Brave New World, Aldous Huxley’s 1932 anti-utopian novel, and as I read passages aloud imagining a future in which humans would be bred in hatcheries, a chill came over the room.“We’re tinkering with the boundaries of life here,” Bush said when I finished. “We’re on the edge of a cliff. And if we take a step off the cliff, there’s no going back. Perhaps we should only take one step at a time.”

Read the article.

Oi To The World Saturday Night

I had another multi-concert weekend. You know what's funny? Yesterday I was actually thinking to myself, "when was the last time I saw a punk show? I need to go again..." I think I've been really, really spoiled the last several months. It's been a heckuva concert fall and winter for me. I had seen these guys only once before, New Year's Eve 1998. They're a pretty silly band. Mostly they just talk about nothing, it's kind of great.

I'm not a huge fan of theirs, but the show was definitely a lot of fun. The first half of their set they played all Christmas songs, a la the Christmas Album they released a few years ago. I thought they added a nice touch with fake snow blowing into the crowd. The second half they played a lot of signature songs - My Girlfriend's Dead, I Have A Date, etc. I was pretty tired that day and I really didn't feel like going to the show before I actually arrived, but once I was there I was really glad I went. Gotta love adventure mode.

I think concerts are pretty much the greatest thing in the world. End of this story.

Unwritten Law and Lagwagon

I think this is one of my favorite songs to see them perform live because he just gets so into it. I hadn't seen them play it this way before, but this time around what they did was play the Hit List version of Rest Of My Life where it's a little more bitter than the original version and then after the first chorus he breaks into She Says. I thought it was pretty sweet. And at the shows that I've seen him perform this song when he gets to the chorus where it kind of blows up he throws the guitar behind him. I love the theatrics involved with the shows, it really does make a big difference.

The opening band had decent music, but their presentation just felt all wrong to me. It makes a big difference to have a lead singer and even band members who can really get into the emotion of the music and not just sound good musically, but then deliver as far as it comes to the actual performance and presentation of the song. Unwritten Law does a really good job of this, but my one complaint with them is that they don't maintain energy between songs. They played Lonesome which would be one of my favorite songs to see live, but then they always take like a ten minute break at the bridge and he talks and introduces the band - totally unneccesary. I would much rather they just keep the flow from one song to the next. Other than that, I love the way they sound live and the delivery of the finished product. Great, great stuff.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed Lagwagon. I had just seen them back in October and I've seen them several times before, but I just forgot how much I really enjoyed their music in general. They played several songs off of Blaze and Hoss and those are easily my favorite albums of theirs. More than any band I've seen, I think Lagwagon does the best job of mixing the music they perform live between old and new stuff. My favorite moment(s) of the evening was when Joey (singer) steps off stage to "take a break" and asks one of the guys standing on the side to sing Never Stops. The guy was so revved up for the song and kept talking about how it's the best song in the universe. As he is singing in lieu of Joey, right at the part where it slows down (about 2:30 through the video) and gets back into fast rhythm he does a full body head bang as the rest of the band completely stops playing and they all just stare at him as he looks up at them confused about why everything went silent. If you weren't familiar with the song, then you probably missed the joke. Then at another point they did a similar thing, but rather than stop completely they delayed the note as he lurched forward in anticipation of the music. Since the concert I've listened to that particular song at least a dozen times. I love how concerts can awaken you to certain music or reinvigorate old love that you had. That's exactly what happened for me last Friday night at The Grove.

The Two Of Us, We Dream Like One

Don't be fooled by the title. It comes from a Yellowcard song called Inside Out and I only wanted to use the "dream" part of that line for this post. The other night following soccer I had a dream when I went to sleep that went a little something like this:

I had a mission dream. I had these a lot upon returning home from the mission and now they come up occassionally. In times past, the feelings surrounding serving another mission in these dreams are usually about what a huge inconvenience to me it would be and I'm feeling very reluctant to go back out again. And it has to do with varying reasons - I'm afraid I don't remember the language anymore, have to disrupt school, feels burdensome when I wasn't anticipating serving another one so one, etc. This was the first time that I accepted the call and was grateful to go. Maybe that's a transition point for me in my own personal spiritual development, maybe not. Who really knows unless it actually happens, right? This time around I have the same mission president as I did before. Making a cameo was a girl from high school that I'm not sure I even had one conversation with in my entire life, Amy Anderson. I think Dave knew her alright. I'm pretty sure she only came up because I'm dating an Amy. Anyway...what was most vivid was the part about having to ride a really tall, probably about 25' or so, bicycle. I'm struggling with making it turn and basically not topple over because the base is basically very slim and I feel top heavy trying to control and balance and all that stuff.

The tall bicycle has been a theme in several of my dreams over the last year, maybe more. Courtesy of Dream Moods, I get this interpretation from them:

To dream that you are riding a bicycle, signifies your desires to attain a balance in your life. You need to balance work and pleasure in order to succeed in your current undertakings. If you have difficulties riding the bicycle, then it suggests that you are experiencing anxieties about making it on your own. To see a bicycle in your dream, indicates that you need to devote time to leisurely pursuits and recreation.

This was the first time that I had ever read one of those interpretations and actually thought to myself, "wow, I think that could actually apply." There have been a few times when a dream actually revealed a lot to me about my subconscious cognitions. One even felt like revelation because it regarded a question that I had been praying about for some time. Back to this dream though...I just thought it was really interesting. Also, I just think that it's funny that my brain would think of such an elaborate metaphor to illustrate subconsciously in a dream what I'm feeling consciously when I'm awake. I think that the above quote captures pretty well what I'm feeling, but I think it's also coupled with concerns about school, work, my mom, etc.

Do you have any recurring themes in your dreams? I know readership has been down lately, but if you do drop by please share whatever things you've had recurring in your dreams in the comments link. This one is relatively new for me. I used to have dreams about falling a lot. Teeth falling apart was another. That's all I can think of right now.

The painting pictured above is Dali's Persistence of Memory. It's one of the signature pieces of the surrealist movement. It is on display right now at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art until January 6th. Let's go see it. I included it with this post because I remember my humanities professor at BYU talking about one of Dali's methods of deriving the unusual imagery that he portrays. While falling asleep he would hold a fork in his hand hanging off whatever he was laying on and when the fork fell out of his hand it would land on a plate that he placed below so that the sound wake him up. Then he would paint those images that came to him while transitioning from wakefulness to sleep (is that a word?). Makes sense when you look at his work.

Live At The OCPAC - The Rockettes!

I guess the show we saw last night was the same one that's performed in New York every year at Christmas time. It was really, really great. Despite how tired I felt at the show, it was so much fun to see. The video is one of my favorite pieces from the show. We had terrible seats, but for this particular number I think it worked out well because you could see the formations much more clearly. In any case, it's definitely worth checking out.

Under My Thumb

Maybe you're wondering why I haven't had more political stuff lately. To be honest, I'm surprised that I've kept up my stamina with following the political landscape. Usually I'll follow for several months at a time, then get tired of it and move on to something else. I don't think there has been a whole lot to report on lately. Most of what's out there is all popular conservative voices combining against the Huckabee surge. Rest assured that if that guy wins the nomination, then just go ahead and write in the Democratic nominee as the next US president. The guy really just seems like a lightweight and he's just not equipped to withstand the intense scrutiny that he will go through in the running. Here are some recent comments Huckabee has made. Here is a link to some questionable pardons he's made. And then this one is talking a little bit more about people's distaste for Hillary Clinton. This is the original article as it run in the Washington Times.

Now for a change of pace. I've read a couple of really, really great church articles. This one is a talk by Elder Neal A. Maxwell on becoming a disciple. And over here is Elder David A. Bednar's talk on living waters. More specifically he talks about how to transition from reading to studying to actually searching in the scriptures. I've read it a few times, but the part that stuck out to me this last time around was the insight he pulls from Lehi's vision of the tree of life. There is a difference that he notes in that story that I never really paid much attention to before he mentions it in this talk, but he talks about the difference between clinging and holding fast to the rod of iron.

Lately my scripture study feels like it has gone flat. I'm reading and studying, but I haven't felt like I've gotten a lot out of my study recently. This talk gave me some good insight and ideas on how to improve that and if you've been feeling the same, then I would highly recommend this talk to you.

Do you guys feel like there is a lot to be excited about? I do. I'm not even sure about what exactly, but life is good. Hope you're feeling the same.

Just Thinking Out Loud

I’m giving up on work today. That’s right. I cannot seem to get myself on task today at all. I think that part of this is coming from just having no down time whatsoever in the last couple weeks and so now I’m just looking to unwind, and unfortunately, it seems to be happening here at work. I’ve also got some more things on my mind with Christmas and holidays, stuff with my mom, and school and everything seeming to converge all at the same time.

I had a really cool conversation with my dad last night. Last night marked the first time I brought him up to speed on my mom’s plight over the summer. To tell you the truth, I had actually been avoiding him because I knew that this conversation was going to come up sooner or later and more for my mom’s sake than my own, I didn’t want to have it. After having spoken with him, I only wish now that I had approached him sooner about the whole thing because he definitely was in a position to where he could have helped alleviate the situation. However, I almost think it might be better this way for my mom, if only for this reason – sometimes people just need to learn to take care of themselves and suffer the consequences.

Consequences are really difficult to face. Often we spend a lot of time and energy trying to avoid them, only to have them come and take effect in the end. They are, by nature, completely unavoidable. But I think my mom has been living consequence free for the past several years. Mostly since the time she and my dad split up. Now her consistent poor decision making is catching up and it is going to hit her where it hurts. As awful as it is to watch her go through this, I think these are some necessary growing pains that will have to happen. My dad astutely pointed out last night that sometimes it isn’t until we’re older, or when more is at stake, when we learn these very important and sometimes very painful lessons.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that statement by Dr. Drew, “bringing the consequences to bear.” That applies as much to wayward teenagers experimenting with drinking and drugs as it does to any area of life where we live carelessly and become our own worst enemies. I’ve seen it in my own family where my aunt continually shields her kids from their own mistakes, to the point where they have only continued to regress and now have been both transferred to other lesser high schools. This happens when people get abortions because of careless attitudes about procreative gifts. This happens when parents absorb their children’s poor spending habits and assume their children’s debts, or continue to support them while they live negligently. I’m sure you can think of many examples in your own life.

I would think that as a parent your greatest hope for your child is that they become a contributing member of whatever community, church, or world that they live in. Not just a consumer, but a producer. In Orson Scott Card’s Alvin Maker series, I love that the central character’s greatest talent and the means by which he helps to make the world a better place is his ability to create. His enemy in the book is vaguely referenced as the Unmaker. How often do we play each of those roles of maker or unmaker in our own lives? When or how do I help build, fortify, and benefit the people around me or to what extent do I become a drain, sapping energy and resources from those I come into contact with?

Another interesting thing is having relationships with people that you are forced to love. Sometimes those kinds of relationships offer the greatest surprises for us in terms of increasing our ability to forgive, developing patience, and just loving despite another person’s shortcomings. I think one easy example of this is the mission companion that you just never get along with, but I think something that everyone can relate with is the relative that seems relentless in his/her pursuit of testing your ability to exercise that love. It is no coincidence that we are members of the unique family units that we have. The family that we are apart of now gives us the laboratory setting of learning how to exercise decency and compassion in what will eventually be a very large scale affair.

My dad has some very quirky things about him. Although he comes from a latin culture that is typically very affectionate, when I see him he shakes my hand. He has embraced his German roots and disputes the reality of the holocaust. He thinks it’s rude for me to fall asleep on his couch. And sometimes he just feels very cold and cynical. In spite of these and other traits that can really get under my skin, I do my best to appreciate him and maintain a relationship with him because he will always be my father. What I liked most about my time with him last night was just how much he surprised me with his brightness and his humanity. I’m speaking pretty abstractly right now, but that’s the overall impression I had of him after I left him. It was nice for me and more than that, it felt good to feel close to him and to want to be closer to him. Regardless of the type of the relationship, I think it’s always good to feel that kind of yearning.

Up All Night

That's an Unwritten Law song. At one point I wanted to just have all my posts have song titles and I thought I was being creative, but apparently there are TV shows that would do the same thing with naming their episodes. I think it was That 70's show that named all their episodes from different seasons after Led Zeppelin songs and other bands songs. Anyway...I couldn't think of anything so that's what I decided to do.

I got an interesting link, courtesy of April the artist formerly surnamed Tartar (right?). It is here. And guess what it's about.The church is encouraging the members to use new media (i.e. internet, blogs, etc.) to develop the conversation surrounding the church. There is so much information, and misinformation, that there is no way it can be entirely covered by the authorities of the church. So it is depending on the members to spread the word, more particularly, the truth and help people learn from the horse's mouth, so to speak. It's a brief article so please read it.

A couple weeks ago my bishop gave the lesson that focused on Sister Beck's conference talk, Mothers Who Know, and he brought up an interesting point that was meant only as a side comment to the topic. By the way, I love that something controversial comes up and it kind of rubs people the wrong way and the church simply will not back down because some shmoe is upset. Anyway, my bishop is a Marriage & Family therapist and was in conversation with a colleague of his and she had said that for men in the church, it's not so much a matter of if a man starts looking at pornography, but when. That kind of startled me. The threat of pornography is just so pervasive, and we really have to take advanced measures to safeguard our virtue. We really do. Since he gave that lesson I have been meaning to ask him when I had a minute with him alone about what kind of prevalency rate he thought pornography use would be among male members of the church. I was thinking something like 50-60%, but then he said, "oh at least 80%." That startled me even more and so I asked, really? He responded by saying, "Chris, of all the male patients that I have come into my office, at least 95% of the men have problems with pornography. And I know that is just of the men that are coming in for therapy, so I can only assume that there are many, many more who are out there trying to deal with this stuff on their own, who aren't saying anything. At least not yet." Pretty crazy, huh?

When I think about graduate school and the direction I'd like my career to take, a couple things really interest me. Underneath the social psychology umbrella of topics that I think would be really interesting, understanding the outcomes of media influences really interests me. And then within that field, I think it would be really interesting to delve into the kind of research that people like Dr. Judith Reisman have pursued and really develop good, reliable, valid research about the pornography question. If only because I feel like there is just so much misinformation out there regarding the issue. I have many other interests within the field, but that is one of them.

Tonight I went to my friend Aaron's house to celebrate his birthday with his family. I felt really privileged to be among the few that were there because the guy really does have a lot friends. I will always be amazed by just how good it feels to observe and be with a family that really practices the gospel. We all mentioned something like like about him, we laughed a lot, we read scriptures, and we even prayed together. It really was just an honor to be among those people tonight. That right there is what brought me to the church. When it all comes down to it and you see that kind of family, that right there is one of the best reasons of why the church is true. It fosters a strong family that is happy and genuinely appreciative of one another. I really can't point to a better fruit of righteous living than that.

If I weren't so tired already, I'd do more to thread the common theme between these various topics, but I think my readers are smart enough to make up their own. Have a good one.

I Love Culture

It's true, I do. I am getting oodles of it these days, and will be through next week. For now, I'll just review what's occurred most recently.

Saturday was a morning at the LA temple and then the afternoon at the Getty. Have you ever been in a three hour session? That was my first, and also the largest that I've ever participated in. There must have been about 100-120 people there. I love that temple though.

And of course being so close to UCLA campus, we had to swing by Diddy Riese. Now they're up to a $1.50, but still so worth it. Check out this blog post because it contains a response from the owner of the store in the comments portion. Kinda cool.

The afternoon was spent at the Getty. We moved pretty quickly, probably due to the fact that we had already been up in LA all day long by that point. I hadn't been in about a year, but I actually remembered a good amount of the more significant pieces. I think it's about time that I start visiting the more obscure pieces of art that don't get the same love from museum patrons. One of my favorite things about the museum are the photo exhibits, but this time around they had an exhibit focusing on nude photography so of course, we spent the rest of the night with our eyes glued to the glorious human body. Or maybe not.

What I like about art is that you don't have to be an expert or a critic to really enjoy it. I feel like the idea behind it generally is to stimulate thought or emotion from the audience, and anybody can do that who will take a minute to just breathe it in. I'm really aching to go and see more museums, maybe like a DC trip and see the Smithsonian, or venture over to Europe and soak up what they have over there. I’d really like to see some work by Rodin. I think his stuff is amazing. Of all the classes that I took at BYU, humanities was probably one of my favorites, but I’m just that way. I really like literature and art and all that junk.

I think it would be really cool to have some original artwork. Even better, I would love to be in a position to become a patron to the arts and support some budding artist through their creative gestation. I guess I have to work on paying off my car first, but maybe some day. Here is a place where you can check out a pretty cool program that I came across earlier this year.

And on Wednesday night we went to go see the inaugural performance of the Orange County Mormon Choral Organization. They sang an assortment of Christmas carols. It was really fun. I had never been to the Segerstrom Hall before, and the performance was beautiful. They had an adult choir, as well as children and teen choirs too.

Now this weekend I’ll be going to see Christmas Carol, and next week the Rockettes, Unwritten Law and Lagwagon, Chewie’s Christmas Party, and then the Vandals that night. Peace…on Earth, good will to all men.

Dance Party?

There is so much going on. Last night I went on a little harbor cruise in Newport as part of a Christmas party. I thought it was really fun. I used to detest that Huntington crowd, or those party people, but there are some really stand up people amongst them who are just great.

Karaoke is so great to watch, but you know what I like more? Watching people dance. I'm guessing that about 20% of all guys will ever really let themselves go when it comes to dancing. And what's really great about watching people dance is that it doesn't really matter if they're good or bad, just as long as they really commit to the beat. I can think of at least 5 people last night who I probably could have watched dance the entire evening. You know what I think also really does it for me? Facial expressions. When that gets incorporated into the dance, it just makes it so much better. Amy's roommate does this move which I think is funny, but it really gets me the way her facial expressions compliment the move. It makes it that much better.

There was a guy there who had some kind of mental or social disability and he was dancing, but a girl was there dancing with him. I couldn't tell if she was just doing it so that he would have a good time, or if she was partly making fun of him, but she was so committed to the music. I kind of think it was the former, because from the first second the music started going she seemed to be sold on dancing. Another guy reminded me so much of Robbie Haglund. His style of dress, his gregariousness, and even his dancing. He had such exaggerated movements and was just screaming for attention. It's funny, but what I liked about him was that he was all about having everyone look at him, and then what I liked about the girl was that it really didn't seem like she had any care whatsoever if other people were around or not. He was driven by the attention, and then she was just driven by the music. She would have been going like that if she were by herself in her bathroom listening to music and just dancing around.

My absolute favorite though was this one dude who at first glance was just another goofy mormon guy - tall, lanky (doesn't lanky just automatically mean they're tall? usually), and came dressed in some kind of frilly shirt like he was from 17th century England. But I saw him dancing and he was just perfect. He was just so fluid in his movements, and when the beats came he hit them so hard. And he seemed to know every song and had some kind of funny motion for every single kind of sound that would come up. It was an incredible combination of jerky at times, but then so fluid at others. It's just so fun to see people let loose, especially dancing. It's like there is just no restraint and a total expression of inner feelings in outward movements.

Video notes - the guy who does the robot in the Footloose clip is amazing. The guy in the So You Think You Can Dance clip is...amazing crazy crying crazy.

Romney For President

I think that was my longest absence from the blog. Sorry folks.

National Review just gave their endorsement for Mitt Romney as the Republican candidate. That's a pretty big deal. Here is the script of their endorsement. Then this is a portion of an interview with one of the people at NR that explains a little bit more about what went into the decision to settle on Romney.

A comment was made on my last post about Romney's speech on religion, that his two biggest stumblingblocks were his religion and his stance on abortion. This was a commentary that she had overheard. I can see why people might jump to that conclusion - that he only spoke about his religion to get away from the abortion issue - but I just don't think that's true. The flip-flopping question will plague him the entire campaign. And he addressed it very simply in the online YouTube debate for the GOP candidates saying simply,

If people in this country are looking for someone who's never made a mistake on a policy issue and is not willing to admit they're ever wrong, they're going to have to find somebody else. On abortion, I was wrong.

The reason I think that opinion is wrong is that he had yet to really confront the religion issue, whereas the abortion question, he has had to reaffirm his stance several times. This most recent declaration I think is pretty emphatic and pretty direct. For most people, the problem they have with Romney is that it feels like he will say basically whatever needs to be said in order to get a leg up. I don't doubt that that might be true. The part that I don't like is that it seemed that he adopted a stance on an issue that directly conflicts with the church's position on the issue. Whether or not he actually endorsed abortion or not I think is not entirely relevant. Whatever he was wrong about, if it was his personal promotion of abortion or just that he advocated a policy permitting abortion, he clearly states that he was mistaken.

You might remember another prominent conservative who flip-flopped on abortion as well, Ronald Reagan. The guy even changed his entire party affiliation, going from Democrat to Republican. Want another example? Winston Churchill. Sometimes people really do change. Regarding this issue, Churchill said, "If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain." I guess I'm more brain than heart.

One last thing about the GOP candidates: we really have a pretty good field to choose from. Romney is my favorite because I really do believe he's the best representation of a conservative, but the other candidates are also very viable possibilities. Although Giuliani isn't socially conservative, he would have a tough foreign policy and I think fiscally pretty conservative in his roots. McCain, probably the most liberal, is someone who stands his ground regardless of what is going on around him. Thompson is pretty much a corpse at this point. The only one I don't really like is Huckabee. He has little experience and just doesn't seem like someone who can go toe-to-toe with any of the Democratic candidates. My biggest concern with Romney is that we like him as a conservative, but will the nation like him as president? While he can keep the conservative base together better than anybody else, it's still unclear if he can get any portion of the liberal voters.

I was thinking about how tiresome it is that the campaigns started essentially a year ago and we are still a whole year away from the actual election. However, I started thinking about the job that these people are applying for and it really should be under the most intense scrutiny. Is there a more important position in the entire world? Being what it is, we should really pay attention to what is going on with it and know exactly who and what it is that we are supporting.

December 7, 1941

Today marks the 66th anniversary of the attack at Pearl Harbor. I wonder what it was like to be an American during those times.

Just recently, Freedoms Watch created some television advertisements that NBC is refusing to run. I'll post one of the commercials below and maybe you can tell me why they wouldn't want to show them, because they seem very appropriate.

Here is some more information on the story. Below is what I believe their real response sounded like.

Dear Soldiers,

Happy holidays and a big eff you from us.

Best wishes,

The morons at NBC.

Feels Like A Good Day Today

Sometimes when I’m at work, I’ll write my blog in an email window from Outlook so that I have the appearance of working. Pretty sneaky huh? This usually happens when I don’t really have a whole lot to do. And you wanna know why that is? I had a very good week and a half at work. As of last Wednesday we had about 12 open positions and I had about 250 employment agreements to draft up. So I finally got my act together and started doing work at work and it actually worked out pretty well for me. In about a weeks time we’ve been able to get seven people into background for the positions we had available, and then two of the other positions no longer need to be filled. Booyah! And I stayed late most of this week and cranked through those agreements and finished earlier than I anticipated. Now I’m left with little to do and we even get out a little early today in anticipation of our office Christmas party. So begins the Christmas extravaganza.

I’ve been trying to finish up my statement of intent for my BYU application and it has just been the hardest thing in the world. The funny thing is that I write all the time for this dumb blog, but when I need to actually put together something that has a lot of bearing on my life I can’t put together anything. I think that’s probably something that I’m going to be putting together while at work.

Anyway, does anybody besides Laura remember this joint from Ice Cube? It’s west coast rap so it might not fit your taste, and it really isn’t very appropriate, but oh well…it’s Ice Cube at his best. I love that even the cops showing up at his house can't ruin his day.

Looks Like A Home Run

So did you guys read or watch the speech? What were your feelings on it? I caught about half of it before I left for work yesterday. I even came in late to work because I was entranced by Mitt. If nothing else, did he not look entirely presidential? I've heard that word thrown around a few times regarding this candidate or that one, but yesterday is when I really felt it the most. Aside from being just a handsome and stately looking man, he was articulate and spoke with passion that he seemed only barely able to restrain. It was a really good speech and should generate nothing but positive press for him. There was a lot of debate about whether or not he should even address the issue of religion. I think there were probably more yays than nays regarding that topic, but the consensus seemed to lie with the fact that it just seemed so difficult to pull it off without any negative blowback. I'm going to link to various reactions, and then I'll quote a few directly. Here is one post, another one, and still another courtesy of Hugh Hewitt. One from Dan Riehl here. One from Laura Lee Donoho here. This is from the editors at National Review. And this last one from the guys at Powerline.

This is from Donoho's post:

After viewing the speech, I have a new found respect for the good man, Mitt Romney. He delivered the speech brilliantly, sincerely and with grave respect. As I watched the speech I could picture Romney delivering it from the Oval Office. Romney has always seemed to have all the right qualities and stature to be the Republican nominee for 2008 but for some reason came off a little too slick. He doesn’t now.

The best neighbors our family ever had were Mormons. We are still in touch with this wonderful family and because of my upbringing and our experiences with this particular group of believers I have never made the judgment that I would not support a man (or woman) because they were members of the LDS Church.

This one is from Hugh Hewitt:

Mitt Romney threw a long ball today and scored. There can be no objective argument against that conclusion. Why? Because Romney is running for the GOP nomination, and his remarks, both in delivery and substance, were lavishly praised by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Medved, and James Dobson, not to mention Mark Steyn, Fred Barnes and Charles Krauthammer -and these were just the seven people I heard on a long drive south to San Diego and then in a hotel room before leaving to post this and give a speech. I am sure when I get a chance to review the blogs more widely late tonight, there will be many others, though in fact every single one could denounce Romney and it wouldn't matter given the line-up of assessments just listed, to which I add mine from earlier today.

Here are seven of the most influential conservative commentators in the U.S., and their opinions on the Romney success are all aligned with mine. Thus, objectively, the speech cannot be judged as other than an extraordinary success for Romney. It does not, of course, guarantee him the nomination, but no other Republican has had a comparable day since the campaign began, and Romney's triumph comes four days before the absentees are available for casting in New Hampshire. Romney's success
today has also clearly panicked Mike Huckabee who was on with Glenn Beck tonight warning that the "ruling class" in America is growing more distanced from the people --the sort of arch-populist class warfare nonsense which has never had a home in the GOP mainstream.

And this from James Dobson:

Gov. Romney’s speech was a magnificent reminder of the role religious faith must play in government and public policy. His delivery was passionate and his message was inspirational. Whether it will answer all the questions and concerns of Evangelical Christian voters is yet to be determined, but the governor is to be commended for articulating the importance of our religious heritage as it relates to today.

Holiday Cards for Wounded Soldiers

This season, communities across America are invited to mail holiday greeting cards along with personal messages of support to wounded service members at military hospitals around the country through a unique partnership between the American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes Inc.

With the support of the Department of Defense, Walter Reed Army Medical Center and with help from Pitney Bowes Government Solutions, the American Red Cross will collect, review and disseminate holiday greeting cards to wounded military personnel. For security reasons, the Red Cross will only be able to accept holiday cards, not packages. Red Cross volunteers will receive and bundle the cards to be shipped by Pitney Bowes Government Solutions. Then, Red Cross volunteers at military medical facilities will distribute the cards to patients and their families in time for the holidays.

"So many Americans want to show their support and gratitude by reaching out to wounded service members at Walter Reed and other medical centers during the holiday season," said Neal Denton, American Red Cross Senior Vice President for Service to the Armed Forces. "With the support of the Department of Defense, Walter Reed leadership and Pitney Bowes, we can bring a little cheer to those soldiers," added Denton.

"It is an honor to provide this small measure of comfort at holiday time to those who have sacrificed so much," said Pitney Bowes President and CEO Murray Martin. "We want to make it as easy as possible for all Americans to show their appreciation to the men and women who serve this nation so proudly and selflessly."

Holiday cards should be addressed to:

We Support You During Your Recovery!
c/o American Red Cross
PO Box 419
Savage, MD 20763-0419

Be sure to affix adequate postage. Cards must be received no later than December 27. Cards received after this date will be returned to sender. Senders are reminded that "care packages" are not part of the program. Cards and notes only - and please refrain from using glitter or any other inserts that would not be appropriate in a hospital environment.

Romney Speech

Currently, this particular website is having some difficulty with displaying the video. I'll repost it as soon as it's available. You can read the text below to his speech.



In case you missed the speech, you can watch it above. Here is the full text:

It is an honor to be here today. This is an inspiring place because of you and the First Lady and because of the film exhibited across the way in the Presidential library. For those who have not seen it, it shows the President as a young pilot, shot down during the Second World War, being rescued from his life-raft by the crew of an American submarine. It is a moving reminder that when America has faced challenge and peril, Americans rise to the occasion, willing to risk their very lives to defend freedom and preserve our nation. We are in your debt. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. President, your generation rose to the occasion, first to defeat Fascism and then to vanquish the Soviet Union. You left us, your children, a free and strong America. It is why we call yours the greatest generation. It is now my generation's turn. How we respond to today's challenges will define our generation. And it will determine what kind of America we will leave our children, and theirs.

America faces a new generation of challenges. Radical violent Islam seeks to destroy us. An emerging China endeavors to surpass our economic leadership. And we are troubled at home by government overspending, overuse of foreign oil, and the breakdown of the family.

Over the last year, we have embarked on a national debate on how best to preserve American leadership. Today, I wish to address a topic which I believe is fundamental to America's greatness: our religious liberty. I will also offer perspectives on how my own faith would inform my Presidency, if I were elected.

There are some who may feel that religion is not a matter to be seriously considered in the context of the weighty threats that face us. If so, they are at odds with the nation's founders, for they, when our nation faced its greatest peril, sought the blessings of the Creator. And further, they discovered the essential connection between the survival of a free land and the protection of religious freedom. In John Adams’ words: 'We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion... Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people.'

Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.

Given our grand tradition of religious tolerance and liberty, some wonder whether there are any questions regarding an aspiring candidate's religion that are appropriate. I believe there are. And I will answer them today.

Almost 50 years ago another candidate from Massachusetts explained that he was an American running for president, not a Catholic running for president. Like him, I am an American running for president. I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith.

Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin.

As governor, I tried to do the right as best I knew it, serving the law and answering to the Constitution. I did not confuse the particular teachings of my church with the obligations of the office and of the Constitution – and of course, I would not do so as President. I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties of the office and the sovereign authority of the law.
As a young man, Lincoln described what he called America's 'political religion' – the commitment to defend the rule of law and the Constitution. When I place my hand on the Bible and take the oath of office, that oath becomes my highest promise to God. If I am fortunate to become your president, I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest. A President must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States.

There are some for whom these commitments are not enough. They would prefer it if I would simply distance myself from my religion, say that it is more a tradition than my personal conviction, or disavow one or another of its precepts. That I will not do. I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers – I will be true to them and to my beliefs.

Some believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy. If they are right, so be it. But I think they underestimate the American people. Americans do not respect believers of convenience. Americans tire of those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world.
There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked. What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. My church's beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. Each religion has its own unique doctrines and history. These are not bases for criticism but rather a test of our tolerance. Religious tolerance would be a shallow principle indeed if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree.

There are some who would have a presidential candidate describe and explain his church's distinctive doctrines. To do so would enable the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution. No candidate should become the spokesman for his faith. For if he becomes President he will need the prayers of the people of all faiths.

I believe that every faith I have encountered draws its adherents closer to God. And in every faith I have come to know, there are features I wish were in my own: I love the profound ceremony of the Catholic Mass, the approachability of God in the prayers of the Evangelicals, the tenderness of spirit among the Pentecostals, the confident independence of the Lutherans, the ancient traditions of the Jews, unchanged through the ages, and the commitment to frequent prayer of the Muslims. As I travel across the country and see our towns and cities, I am always moved by the many houses of worship with their steeples, all pointing to heaven, reminding us of the source of life's blessings.

It is important to recognize that while differences in theology exist between the churches in America, we share a common creed of moral convictions. And where the affairs of our nation are concerned, it's usually a sound rule to focus on the latter – on the great moral principles that urge us all on a common course. Whether it was the cause of abolition, or civil rights, or the right to life itself, no movement of conscience can succeed in America that cannot speak to the convictions of religious people.

We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism. They are wrong.

The founders proscribed the establishment of a state religion, but they did not countenance the elimination of religion from the public square. We are a nation 'Under God' and in God, we do indeed trust. We should acknowledge the Creator as did the Founders – in ceremony and word. He should remain on our currency, in our pledge, in the teaching of our history, and during the holiday season, nativity scenes and menorahs should be welcome in our public places. Our greatness would not long endure without judges who respect the foundation of faith upon which our constitution rests. I will take care to separate the affairs of government from any religion, but I will not separate us from 'the God who gave us liberty.'

Nor would I separate us from our religious heritage. Perhaps the most important question to ask a person of faith who seeks a political office, is this: does he share these American values: the equality of human kind, the obligation to serve one another, and a steadfast commitment to liberty? They are not unique to any one denomination. They belong to the great moral inheritance we hold in common. They are the firm ground on which Americans of different faiths meet and stand as a nation, united.

We believe that every single human being is a child of God – we are all part of the human family. The conviction of the inherent and inalienable worth of every life is still the most revolutionary political proposition ever advanced. John Adams put it that we are 'thrown into the world all equal and alike.'

The consequence of our common humanity is our responsibility to one another, to our fellow Americans foremost, but also to every child of God. It is an obligation which is fulfilled by Americans every day, here and across the globe, without regard to creed or race or nationality.
Americans acknowledge that liberty is a gift of God, not an indulgence of government. No people in the history of the world have sacrificed as much for liberty. The lives of hundreds of thousands of America's sons and daughters were laid down during the last century to preserve freedom, for us and for freedom loving people throughout the world. America took nothing from that Century's terrible wars – no land from Germany or Japan or Korea; no treasure; no oath of fealty. America's resolve in the defense of liberty has been tested time and again. It has not been found wanting, nor must it ever be. America must never falter in holding high the banner of freedom.

These American values, this great moral heritage, is shared and lived in my religion as it is in yours. I was taught in my home to honor God and love my neighbor. I saw my father march with Martin Luther King. I saw my parents provide compassionate care to others, in personal ways to people nearby, and in just as consequential ways in leading national volunteer movements. I am moved by the Lord's words: 'For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me...'

My faith is grounded on these truths. You can witness them in Ann and my marriage and in our family. We are a long way from perfect and we have surely stumbled along the way, but our aspirations, our values, are the self-same as those from the other faiths that stand upon this common foundation. And these convictions will indeed inform my presidency.

Today's generations of Americans have always known religious liberty. Perhaps we forget the long and arduous path our nation's forbearers took to achieve it. They came here from England to seek freedom of religion. But upon finding it for themselves, they at first denied it to others. Because of their diverse beliefs, Ann Hutchinson was exiled from Massachusetts Bay, a banished Roger Williams founded Rhode Island, and two centuries later, Brigham Young set out for the West. Americans were unable to accommodate their commitment to their own faith with an appreciation for the convictions of others to different faiths. In this, they were very much like those of the European nations they had left.

It was in Philadelphia that our founding fathers defined a revolutionary vision of liberty, grounded on self evident truths about the equality of all, and the inalienable rights with which each is endowed by his Creator. We cherish these sacred rights, and secure them in our Constitutional order. Foremost do we protect religious liberty, not as a matter of policy but as a matter of right. There will be no established church, and we are guaranteed the free exercise of our religion.

I'm not sure that we fully appreciate the profound implications of our tradition of religious liberty. I have visited many of the magnificent cathedrals in Europe. They are so inspired … so grand … so empty. Raised up over generations, long ago, so many of the cathedrals now stand as the postcard backdrop to societies just too busy or too 'enlightened' to venture inside and kneel in prayer. The establishment of state religions in Europe did no favor to Europe's churches. And though you will find many people of strong faith there, the churches themselves seem to be withering away.

Infinitely worse is the other extreme, the creed of conversion by conquest: violent Jihad, murder as martyrdom... killing Christians, Jews, and Muslims with equal indifference. These radical Islamists do their preaching not by reason or example, but in the coercion of minds and the shedding of blood. We face no greater danger today than theocratic tyranny, and the boundless suffering these states and groups could inflict if given the chance.

The diversity of our cultural expression, and the vibrancy of our religious dialogue, has kept America in the forefront of civilized nations even as others regard religious freedom as something to be destroyed. In such a world, we can be deeply thankful that we live in a land where reason and religion are friends and allies in the cause of liberty, joined against the evils and dangers of the day. And you can be certain of this: Any believer in religious freedom, any person who has knelt in prayer to the Almighty, has a friend and ally in me. And so it is for hundreds of millions of our countrymen: we do not insist on a single strain of religion – rather, we welcome our nation's symphony of faith.

Recall the early days of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, during the fall of 1774. With Boston occupied by British troops, there were rumors of imminent hostilities and fears of an impending war. In this time of peril, someone suggested that they pray. But there were objections. 'They were too divided in religious sentiments', what with Episcopalians and Quakers, Anabaptists and Congregationalists, Presbyterians and Catholics. Then Sam Adams rose, and said he would hear a prayer from anyone of piety and good character, as long as they were a patriot.

And so together they prayed, and together they fought, and together, by the grace of God ... they founded this great nation.

In that spirit, let us give thanks to the divine 'author of liberty.' And together, let us pray that this land may always be blessed, 'with freedom's holy light.'

God bless the United States of America.

International Day Of The Ninja

Annoyed by the white man's Mediterranean antagonist to established authority, the pirate? Are you wishing for the rightful celebration and recognition of the assassin of the Orient? The day you all have been waiting for is finally here:

Today is International Day of the Ninja. This long overdue ninja extravaganza is brought to you by Ninja Burger, Askaninja.com, the letter N, the number Death, and 40 billion ninjas. Tonight, the El Rey Theater will host a celebration in honor of this most deadly and sneaky of assassins. The guys from Ask A Ninja will be in attendance.

Wondering why you've never heard of this day before now? Isn't that just so ninja to be able to keep something so magnificent, yet so devious underwraps for so long? Think about it.

Whatcha Mean Harassment?

Whenever I do a new hire orientation at work I'll put on a video about sexual harassment. I actually think it's really funny because they show all types of harassment. I wish they'd show some gay dudes harassing another guy, but no such luck. There is one shot in particular where the point of view of the camera is looking up from near ground level out from a corner of a room and a guy is bending over toward the camera, and in the background you can see two women gawking at his fine hiney and he just shakes his head in disgust. What I love about that is that is totally not what reality is like. That sentence is just plain bad.

On Kevin and Bean some time back they had male callers phone in about their female coworkers sexually harassing them. My favorite part was that every guy was so stoked about being sexually harassed. Isn't that just so male? I was reminded of all this because this morning I overheard some of the women on my side of the office talk about one of our leasing people. I guess this particular guy is easy on the female eyes, so much so that he's widely regarded as being the best looking guy in the company. The best comment I heard about him was, "oh yeah, I'd like him to lease me an apartment, know what I'm saying?" I just laughed about it, but if I were ever to say something like that about any of the women, I'd probably be facing a lawsuit. Then that made me laugh because if they were talking about me that way and I was within earshot of the conversation, I'd just laugh it off.

I Love To Link

Sometimes I just have nothing when it comes to giving titles to my posts. Romney decided over the weekend that he will indeed be addressing the issue of his religion this upcoming Thursday. More commentary on the topic from my buddies at Powerline.

Then there is this piece about abstinence education and the Virginia Governor's decision to discontinue the funding of those programs. I love the argument by so many people that kids are going to have sex regardless, so really the only option is to promote safe sex because abstinence is futile. Numbers don't lie people - abstinence education decreases rates of teen pregnancy as well as diseases. I wish I had the article still, but they've been trying it in Africa where AIDS is an epidemic and it's really working. One point that I'll mention from this article that I think is important to note is that while it may not be completely successful in helping kids abstain from premarital sex, it does delay first encounters with sex as well as teen pregnancy. These kinds of campaigns are worth donating money to. Think about it...

And then this post from another blogger. This particular blog is just so negative, as well as this particular post titled "Soulja". What annoys me about it is that I'm totally interested in politics and talking about that crap, but I'm not ever going to hit up a party with the idea that I'm going out on a Friday night to discuss the economy and foreign policy. Lighten up, please. But I will go to a party and will try my hand at learning a new dance. A for instance you ask? How about two years ago when Greg and I pulled out Darrin's Dance Grooves and we learned Bye Bye Bye. Yup. The other night I started watching the video below and spent about an hour working on "the V" and my crip-walk. You're right, I am that cool. What I love about this post is that most of you are thinking, "what a dork," and Greg is watching the video practicing it also. Anyway...you're at a party and that means that for most people they're looking for diversion and relaxation, not an intense debate about the state and direction of this country.

Bits And Pieces

Last night I went to a concert, mostly so that my buddy wouldn't have to go by himself. I'm not sure that he would have went by himself, so I think I also had that consideration in mind. It's a little punk band called Authority Zero. To be honest, I just couldn't get into it at all. It felt like a lot of noise to me. I did like some of their more mellow stuff, which for most bands is probably still really hard. I liked the reggae-influenced songs they had, but then that made me feel like just going to a reggae concert. Anyway, what I think I disliked most about the concert was that they didn't actually get on stage until about midnight. Have you ever heard of that? Usually concerts end a little early, like 11 or so, which I think is perfect. By the time they got on, I was already so tired, so in addition to not even liking them that much, I just wasn't really to be at a concert because I was already so tired. But the band who preceeded them had the bassist from Unwritten Law. I thought that was odd, but I guess if your band isn't touring or not putting together an album, then it only makes sense to go out with other bands and you can get some extra cash.

I'm going to post more on this later (I feel like I keep saying that, or at least I've been thinking it a lot), but on Friday, November 30th, I hit my ten-year anniversary as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Shouldn't I get a watch or something like that? I can't believe it's already been ten years. Dave baptized me, Greg Reid confirmed me. The girls played I Know That My Redeemer Lives on the violin, accompanied by Greg. Joyce even sang a song too, but I can't remember it now. Something I've been thinking about today was the second discussion with the missionaries when they invited me to be baptized. I really had no idea what it was that I was committing to. I really didn't. If I had known then what I do now about what the church requires, I don't know if I would have agreed to it so quickly. At the end of the discussion, the missionaries invited me to be baptized.

I told them that I didn't know that I wanted to be baptized. I had just gone through six discussions with my brother's church and they had asked me if I wanted to be baptized in their church. And I just wasn't feeling it with my brother's church (this is an editing comment - I didn't realize until Amy pointed it out a couple of times to me, but sometimes I use too many pronouns, I'm working on it). With the missionaries, I wasn't really feeling any overwhelming desire to join the church. Or even just a whelming desire (that's right, it's a word. Not just a word, but it actually means to submerge, or overcome utterly, so why do we say "overwhelm" all the time then? Doesn't that seem repetitive? anyway...) to join. I nothing'ed the church. I liked it, liked the people, and everything just fine. I just didn't really think anything about why I needed to get baptized. Until they asked me. So when I hesitated, they suggested that we kneel down right there and pray about it. That is a pretty bold move, ladies and gentlemen. A lot of missionaries wouldn't ask that right on the spot like those ones did.

I think it was just the missionaries, Dave, and myself at that discussion. We kneeled and said our own silent prayers. In my head, it was the most simple prayer ever. "Should I get baptized?" I asked silently. You know what happened? Nothing. I didn't feel anything. In fact, it was probably only about 30 seconds long that we prayed. I stopped praying and got up because I was afraid that I wasn't going to get an answer. And all I could really think was, "just say yes so that you don't have to keep praying anymore." Isn't that funny? This is the first time that I have ever expressed those thoughts aloud in any kind of forum whatsoever. I mostly thought that and wanted to move on so quickly because I had the idea in my head that the answer would be something grand, or at least be very powerful. I thought I'd start crying, or I would feel a warmth in my heart, or anything at all. I probably thought that because I had actually felt those things in varying degrees at different church related functions - Doug's farewell, the airport with Doug, even the first discussion. I thought it would be something more identifiable like those things that I had felt before.

Never did it occur to me that I had actually received my answer. It really came in a way that was perfectly suited to how I would be able to read it. I just remember feeling like I should stop the prayer because I might not get an answer, but that I should just say yes because that just felt like the thing to do. I've been thinking a lot today about what I really said yes to when I agreed to get baptized. I know I didn't explain this very well, but it's really hard to explicate much more than I already have.

Essentially, by agreeing to be baptized I agreed to everything that followed it as well. I agreed to serving a mission, to taking upon myself temple covenants, giving up a portion of my income, my time, talents, and so many things with which the Lord has blessed me. I also said yes to receiving the companionship of His spirit, to peace in times of despair, to a hand up when my knees are weak, and to the joy of living as a member of the Church. I remember thinking soon after I was baptized so much about how difficult it seemed to me then about living an entire life just as God has asked. I didn't have a lot of things to give up on - alcohol, drugs, immorality - but in a short time period of about a few months my view of life was lengthened from what I thought would be just my time on earth to all of eternity. It was daunting, and a very real concern that I had when I joined the church. It took me about a year to get comfortable with really knowing that I was going to live the gospel, or at least try my very best, for the rest of my life. Well, I didn't mean to write so much on this topic, but more will come another day.

You know what really amazes me about the church? promptings and actually feeling like there is communication between myself and God that goes beyond anything that is actually verbally expressed. Elder Bednar asked in a meeting one time, "what are we learning that has not been said?" Tonight as I watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional I realized that I'm so busy this next month with Christmas activities. On the 7th I have my work Christmas party. On the 11th is Amy's Ward Christmas Cruise. The 12th is Christmas Choir Festival. The 13th is Amy work party. Tentatively I have seeing the Christmas Carol planned for the 15th, but I want to push that to the following week so that I can go to my Branch Christmas party. Then the 21st Unwritten Law is playing with Lagwagon. The 22nd is Chewie's Christmas party, but I might leave early to go see the Vandals play a Christmas concert that same night. Isn't that absurd? Oh, and the 20th Amy and I are going to go see the Rockettes perform at the OCPAC. As I watched tonight I felt very strongly that while these things are going to be fun, I better not get so caught up in the "Christmas spirit" that I actually miss out on living the spirit of Christmas. Make sense? I'm going to be doing a lot of fun things this next month, but it's really not going to mean much this holiday season if I don't do anything to make someone else's season a little bit brighter as well. There have been other things here and there that I've thought and felt this last week. I'm just so grateful that there is a very conscientious and concerned Father in Heaven that attempts to reveal to me those things that I could be doing better. After ten years of being a member of this church, I feel like I'm only just now figuring out how to identify what it is that He is trying to communicate to me.

I realized today that I haven't been blogging as much because I've been really tied up in reading Harry Potter. I just finished the second one this week. I just love those books and am so glad that there are five more for me to go through. I have to give a shout out to Greg for inspiring me to do that because he just recently read through all seven in the last couple months and I've been meaning to read them for the longest time, but am only just now finally doing it. There are so many books that I'd like to read. There's just not enough hours in the day.

The Raiders won today. That, my friends, constitutes a winning streak. I know it stands at two and will probably end there because they play the Packers next week, but in the last several years there have just not been many of those so I'm going to celebrate it. Jamarcus Russell finally made his debut. The future looks plenty bright right now.

One last thing...Dave shared this last year with me, at least I think it was Dave. He was talking to me about a particular thought that had been expressed in church, or by some General Authority about the word "Christmas." It is so indicative of worldly trends and of the adversary's efforts to take the Christ out of Christmas, as we see so often in the abbreviation X-mas. How can "X" ever serve as an adequate replacement for the name of our Savior? Since then, I've never written it that way.

Here's just another one of the many times where I will wish you all a very Merry Christmas, or as President Hinckley expressed tonight, that I hope that if there is any way that I can be of service to you, that you would know that you could call on me. And also, that I hope we could all express that similar attitude toward those we come in contact with in our daily comings and goings. In the words of the Boss himself, "Merry Christmas Baby!"