Twice a year we detail all the cars in the mission. This is done in concert with a Zone Conference. The missionaries arrive an hour early and get to work.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
"You Need All the Virtues You Can Get!"
Our mission has a newsletter, called the Sickle Thruster, that is published weekly for our missionaries. The front page consists of an essay that I write each Monday afternoon, based on thoughts and impressions that I've had over the past week. The back page of the newsletter contains updates on our weekly mission statistics, training tips, recipes from Joyce, and messages from our office staff.
Here is this week's Sickle Thruster essay:
Many years ago I lived in Silicon Valley in California and worked in the computer industry. One day I was able to assist Rob and Taylor, two young entrepreneurs who had an idea for a new company, but were in need of financing. I put them in touch with a friend who was a venture capitalist. Venture capitalists are the people who fund many of the start-ups in Silicon Valley. My friend liked the idea presented by the two young entrepreneurs and his firm agreed to provide the necessary capital. The company got started and several months later introduced their first product, a software application called PowerPoint.
About this time Rob and Taylor came back to my office and handed me an envelope. Inside the envelope was a stock certificate for a certain number of shares in their company. This was their way of thanking me for my help. Because the company was still very young, the stock was worth only pennies. But the entrepreneurs told me that patience was required because they felt that in due time it would become a good investment. I can remember Rob saying these exact words to me, “Patience is a virtue…and you need all the virtues you can get!”
Eventually I was able to sell the stock – not for a fortune, but enough for a nice dinner at a good restaurant. I have no idea what I ate that night, but I still remember those interesting words, “Patience is a virtue…and you need all the virtues you can get!”
What is virtue? It relates to the moral excellence of a person. It is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. It is the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. The opposite of virtue is vice. One commits a sin when he knows the right thing to do, and chooses not to do it. Conversely, one is being virtuous when he knows the right thing to do – and does it!
In many nice restaurants one can order a delicious steak dinner. The dinner will arrive on a large plate with the steak, a baked potato with sour cream and chives, a vegetable and a salad. And often, sitting directly next to the steak is a sprig of parsley. The parsley is called the “garnish”. In this context the word garnish means to decorate food with something that adds to its appearance. The green color and ornamental structure of parsley adds a nice decorative touch to the dinner plate and can also be eaten if desired. This word garnish has an additional definition, which is to embellish, or make beautiful.
Now consider the following scripture as it relates to the words virtue and garnish:
“Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven,” D&C 121: 45.
Have you given quiet consideration to the phrase, “let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly”? Virtue – the quality of doing what’s right. Garnish – to make beautiful. Said in another way, it is, “Let the goal of always doing what’s right beautify your thoughts all the time.” We must insist that virtue sit directly next to our thoughts, influencing what we think, say and do.
During our time as missionaries we are separated from the world. Gone are the daily distractions and intrusions of a world full of carnal temptations. It is during this unique time that we are free to adopt a new way of thinking and a new way of living. We can agree that we need “all the virtues we can get”. And we can invite virtue to sit adjacent to our thoughts – teaching us and reminding us that we have the power to choose “the better part”.
We are “free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself,” 2 Nephi 2:27.
Around 1730, while in his late 20s, Benjamin Franklin listed thirteen virtues that he felt were an important guide for living. These virtues consisted of temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. He knew there was a better man inside waiting to emerge, but it would require diligence and dedication. He desired to “let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly”.
Franklin tried to lead his life following these virtues. He placed each one of the virtues on a separate page in a small book that he kept with him for most of his life. He would evaluate his performance with regard to each of them on a daily basis. He would also select one of the virtues to focus on for full week.
Of humility he wrote, “In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had compleatly overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”
While in your twenties, why not conduct a similar experiment? Chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel (our missionary training guidebook) teaches that Christlike attributes develop as one uses agency righteously. “Christlike attributes are gifts from God. You cannot develop them without His help. With a desire to please God, recognize your weaknesses and be willing and anxious to improve.”
This inspired chapter lists eight attributes, or virtues, that you can move to the forefront of your mind. You can create new habits that allow these attributes to garnish your thoughts unceasingly, so that your “confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.” The attributes taught in Chapter 6 are: faith in Jesus Christ, hope, charity and love, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence and obedience.
For our mission to achieve our great goal of helping to build the Church, we need all the virtues we can get! Can we commit individually and collectively to yield our wills to Jesus Christ. Can we demonstrate our great love for Him through our willing obedience? Can we seek to have virtue, in all its wonderful dimensions, garnishing our thoughts, words and deeds? In so doing we will be calling down from heaven the power we need to do His work.
Here is this week's Sickle Thruster essay:
Many years ago I lived in Silicon Valley in California and worked in the computer industry. One day I was able to assist Rob and Taylor, two young entrepreneurs who had an idea for a new company, but were in need of financing. I put them in touch with a friend who was a venture capitalist. Venture capitalists are the people who fund many of the start-ups in Silicon Valley. My friend liked the idea presented by the two young entrepreneurs and his firm agreed to provide the necessary capital. The company got started and several months later introduced their first product, a software application called PowerPoint.
About this time Rob and Taylor came back to my office and handed me an envelope. Inside the envelope was a stock certificate for a certain number of shares in their company. This was their way of thanking me for my help. Because the company was still very young, the stock was worth only pennies. But the entrepreneurs told me that patience was required because they felt that in due time it would become a good investment. I can remember Rob saying these exact words to me, “Patience is a virtue…and you need all the virtues you can get!”
Eventually I was able to sell the stock – not for a fortune, but enough for a nice dinner at a good restaurant. I have no idea what I ate that night, but I still remember those interesting words, “Patience is a virtue…and you need all the virtues you can get!”
What is virtue? It relates to the moral excellence of a person. It is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. It is the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. The opposite of virtue is vice. One commits a sin when he knows the right thing to do, and chooses not to do it. Conversely, one is being virtuous when he knows the right thing to do – and does it!
In many nice restaurants one can order a delicious steak dinner. The dinner will arrive on a large plate with the steak, a baked potato with sour cream and chives, a vegetable and a salad. And often, sitting directly next to the steak is a sprig of parsley. The parsley is called the “garnish”. In this context the word garnish means to decorate food with something that adds to its appearance. The green color and ornamental structure of parsley adds a nice decorative touch to the dinner plate and can also be eaten if desired. This word garnish has an additional definition, which is to embellish, or make beautiful.
Now consider the following scripture as it relates to the words virtue and garnish:
“Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven,” D&C 121: 45.
Have you given quiet consideration to the phrase, “let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly”? Virtue – the quality of doing what’s right. Garnish – to make beautiful. Said in another way, it is, “Let the goal of always doing what’s right beautify your thoughts all the time.” We must insist that virtue sit directly next to our thoughts, influencing what we think, say and do.
During our time as missionaries we are separated from the world. Gone are the daily distractions and intrusions of a world full of carnal temptations. It is during this unique time that we are free to adopt a new way of thinking and a new way of living. We can agree that we need “all the virtues we can get”. And we can invite virtue to sit adjacent to our thoughts – teaching us and reminding us that we have the power to choose “the better part”.
We are “free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself,” 2 Nephi 2:27.
Around 1730, while in his late 20s, Benjamin Franklin listed thirteen virtues that he felt were an important guide for living. These virtues consisted of temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. He knew there was a better man inside waiting to emerge, but it would require diligence and dedication. He desired to “let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly”.
Franklin tried to lead his life following these virtues. He placed each one of the virtues on a separate page in a small book that he kept with him for most of his life. He would evaluate his performance with regard to each of them on a daily basis. He would also select one of the virtues to focus on for full week.
Of humility he wrote, “In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had compleatly overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”
While in your twenties, why not conduct a similar experiment? Chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel (our missionary training guidebook) teaches that Christlike attributes develop as one uses agency righteously. “Christlike attributes are gifts from God. You cannot develop them without His help. With a desire to please God, recognize your weaknesses and be willing and anxious to improve.”
This inspired chapter lists eight attributes, or virtues, that you can move to the forefront of your mind. You can create new habits that allow these attributes to garnish your thoughts unceasingly, so that your “confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.” The attributes taught in Chapter 6 are: faith in Jesus Christ, hope, charity and love, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence and obedience.
For our mission to achieve our great goal of helping to build the Church, we need all the virtues we can get! Can we commit individually and collectively to yield our wills to Jesus Christ. Can we demonstrate our great love for Him through our willing obedience? Can we seek to have virtue, in all its wonderful dimensions, garnishing our thoughts, words and deeds? In so doing we will be calling down from heaven the power we need to do His work.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Band of Brothers
Joyce and I took our Zone Leaders to Valley Forge National Park, the place where George Washington and his ragtag army spend a miserable winter in 1777. This was the year after the Declaration of Independence had been signed and the Revolutionary War commenced. Philadelphia was the capital of the United States and the British army had taken over the city. The American army was without food, clothing, munitions, medical supplies, communications and hope. Yet the hand of God was evident in many miraculous ways. The British army, though much larger, stronger and powerful was unable to defeat the upstarts. Ten years later the Constitution was written -- a stunning set of ideas, contrary to any roadmap ever created for a country. The basic idea was that the land was to be ruled by the vote of the people, where all are created equal. This same document insisted in the right of every person to worship according to the dictates of his own mind and soul. And thus the ground was laid for the restoration of Christ's original Church on April 6, 1830. (For more information on the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please go to http://www.josephsmith.lds.org.)
Without the vision, determination, courage and belief of the founders and fighters of the American Revolution, we would still be in the dark.
"And also it is an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart. For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it. Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven." Doctrine & Covenants 123:19-21.
Without the vision, determination, courage and belief of the founders and fighters of the American Revolution, we would still be in the dark.
"And also it is an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart. For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it. Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven." Doctrine & Covenants 123:19-21.
Lucy Goosey
The Mission Home backs up to a beautiful stream. With spring in full force, the trees are finding new leaves, flowers are blooming and birds of all kinds are singing to the heavens and below. Which brings us to the story of Lucy who has taken up residence on the green lawn that runs to the stream.
Lucy is a stranded, lost goose. Geese will often mate for life. But something has gone horribly wrong. Flocks of geese were flying overhead a month or so ago. They would stay on the back lawn for a few days. And once nourished and rested they would fly north for the summer. All except Lucy.
Lucy now waits and waits and waits. "He said he would be back in just a few minutes." Minutes have stretched to weeks. Did he forget? Did he get caught in the jet stream? Did he find someone else? Did his goose get cooked?
And what is really going through Lucy's little brain? She senses something is amiss. But try as she might, she is unable to find words to express the emotions.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Best Therapy in Town - A Two Year Mission!
Many of us forged our view of life while still apprenticing in the Smithy's shop. During our teen years we constructed a way of dealing with life that seemed to work - even if it was dangerously self-centered and self-protective. Through trial and error we found a way of responding to the insecurities, insults, put-downs, peer pressures, and performance expectations. The point was to protect oneself from pain, humiliation and comparison. We also learned to feed the appetites and passions that play to our weaknesses. And as part of this we became experts at blaming others for our weaknesses and failures all while rationalizing our indulgences without guilt.
The Smithy had a hot forge. We welded our own designs. And the Smithy would say, "Good design...bad design...it don't matter...a weld is a weld."
As a Mission President, I receive 60 new missionaries each year. Each comes with his or her pre-established view of life. Some see things clearly and are on a good track. Others are very confused, yet they have no sense of the confusion because they've been living it so long that it has become who they are.
And thus I marvel at the undeniable "fix-it" power that a mission can have in the life of a young adult. Serving two years as a missionary (or 18 months for our sister missionaries) can be the best, most powerful, most potent, most cleansing rehab program on the planet.
Missionaries who choose to "let go and let God" experience the reality of the true Refiner's fire. Missionary service requires self-sacrifice and obedience to a set of rules that most young adults would refuse to follow: 1 hour each day of scripture study; a strict daily dress code; no TV, radio or other forms of entertainment; no Internet, cell phones, text messaging or email to friends; arising promptly at 6:30AM every morning and in bed by 10:30PM each night. And during the day missionaries are encouraged to be highly reliant upon spiritual impressions to guide them in their work as they teach the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to all whom will listen. This requires frequent, sincere prayers for it is a difficult assignment!
Recently one of our missionaries was struggling with everything. He was deperately unhappy and yearned for his old life as a free and unencumbered teenager. Meeting with him late into the night, I offered to get an airplane ticket home within 48 hours. And I also invited him, as an alternative, to take part in a three week experiment. I promised him that if he would be willingly obedient to the mission rules for three weeks that he would experience freedom and happiness that he has never before felt. It seemed counter-intuitive: "obey a strict set of rules as a restless 19 year old and I'll be happy??"
How could I make such a promise? Because I have great confidence in the teachings of Jesus Christ -- that He desires us to be truly happy and to have peace of conscience and clarity of purpose while on the earth. And that the only path to this outcome is through obedience to His way of life.
Please enjoy reading the words of this missionary, now three weeks into the experiment: “This last week has been an interesting one for me. I have come to realize some things. I have never even thought that such a point in life would ever come when your views on everything would revolve around your religious beliefs. I never took time to think about how important the Gospel Of Jesus Christ really is. It is the foundation. Everything else is built on it. But all to often we put aside the things that should govern our decisions for something else. A Gospel view on life is essential to progression I believe. Because I have been reading so much from the Book Of Mormon, I have become to think differently. I believe that when we aren't thinking right it is because we are not as involved in the Gospel as we should be.”
Daily scripture study and sincere prayer opens one to a softening of the heart. The scriptures teach that when one approaches God with a "contrite spirit and a broken heart" they are rewarded with a cleansing of pain, imperfection, deception and afflictions of all kinds. This is one of the promised gifts or blessings that come from the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
We see it in our missionaries. And we see it regularly in the people we teach who "come unto Christ" and begin to "think differently" about who they are and what life is all about. It is a joy to be a witness of this profound change.
The Smithy had a hot forge. We welded our own designs. And the Smithy would say, "Good design...bad design...it don't matter...a weld is a weld."
As a Mission President, I receive 60 new missionaries each year. Each comes with his or her pre-established view of life. Some see things clearly and are on a good track. Others are very confused, yet they have no sense of the confusion because they've been living it so long that it has become who they are.
And thus I marvel at the undeniable "fix-it" power that a mission can have in the life of a young adult. Serving two years as a missionary (or 18 months for our sister missionaries) can be the best, most powerful, most potent, most cleansing rehab program on the planet.
Missionaries who choose to "let go and let God" experience the reality of the true Refiner's fire. Missionary service requires self-sacrifice and obedience to a set of rules that most young adults would refuse to follow: 1 hour each day of scripture study; a strict daily dress code; no TV, radio or other forms of entertainment; no Internet, cell phones, text messaging or email to friends; arising promptly at 6:30AM every morning and in bed by 10:30PM each night. And during the day missionaries are encouraged to be highly reliant upon spiritual impressions to guide them in their work as they teach the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to all whom will listen. This requires frequent, sincere prayers for it is a difficult assignment!
Recently one of our missionaries was struggling with everything. He was deperately unhappy and yearned for his old life as a free and unencumbered teenager. Meeting with him late into the night, I offered to get an airplane ticket home within 48 hours. And I also invited him, as an alternative, to take part in a three week experiment. I promised him that if he would be willingly obedient to the mission rules for three weeks that he would experience freedom and happiness that he has never before felt. It seemed counter-intuitive: "obey a strict set of rules as a restless 19 year old and I'll be happy??"
How could I make such a promise? Because I have great confidence in the teachings of Jesus Christ -- that He desires us to be truly happy and to have peace of conscience and clarity of purpose while on the earth. And that the only path to this outcome is through obedience to His way of life.
Please enjoy reading the words of this missionary, now three weeks into the experiment: “This last week has been an interesting one for me. I have come to realize some things. I have never even thought that such a point in life would ever come when your views on everything would revolve around your religious beliefs. I never took time to think about how important the Gospel Of Jesus Christ really is. It is the foundation. Everything else is built on it. But all to often we put aside the things that should govern our decisions for something else. A Gospel view on life is essential to progression I believe. Because I have been reading so much from the Book Of Mormon, I have become to think differently. I believe that when we aren't thinking right it is because we are not as involved in the Gospel as we should be.”
Daily scripture study and sincere prayer opens one to a softening of the heart. The scriptures teach that when one approaches God with a "contrite spirit and a broken heart" they are rewarded with a cleansing of pain, imperfection, deception and afflictions of all kinds. This is one of the promised gifts or blessings that come from the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
We see it in our missionaries. And we see it regularly in the people we teach who "come unto Christ" and begin to "think differently" about who they are and what life is all about. It is a joy to be a witness of this profound change.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Spring Clean Up
On Saturday April 5, forty-six Philadelphia-based LDS missionaries joined thousands of other city dwellers in a big spring clean up. Mayor Michael Nutter sponsored this hands-on event that had the following goals:
* Recruit over 10,000 volunteers
* Clean up 5,000 neighborhood blocks
* Clean more than 50 commercial corridors along major thoroughfares
* Clean 10 neighborhood recreation centers
* Clean 10 areas in Fairmount Park
* Remove over 1 million pounds of trash and litter from across the city!
Our missionaries wore bright yellow "Mormon Helping Hands" t-shirts and were assigned to 6 different projects in various parts of the city. One of our missionaries exclaimed, "If the people living here would obey the Word of Wisdom (our health code) and the Law of Chastity (our 'no sex outside of marriage' principle), there would be very little to clean up!!" And how true he is. The parks of Philadelphia are full of used drug paraphernalia, empty alcohol containers, left-over condoms, etc. Not only are many people continuing to mess up their lives, but they still aren't cleaning up after themselves!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Countdown for Spring
Spring comes a bit later in Philadelphia than in Seattle. But today I saw five forsythia -- an early warning sign that spring is about to be sprung. I'm now looking for three tulips. Five, four, three, two ... it's getting closer. Once I find three tulips I'll be anxiously waiting for one warm, sunny day!
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