BUILDING THE BIG DIPPER

In May I took a three-day trip with the faculty of my Institute to visit significant sites related to the church history in this area. We called our trip the "Northern Settlements Expedition." We traveled north from Orem through Farmington and Kaysville and eventually made our way to the tabernacle in Brigham City. It was there that I began to have the thoughts that are the basis for these musings and meditations.

This was a beautiful building, the first of many monuments to the Pioneer spirit and determination that we visited, that caused the desert valleys of these mountains to blossom.
The building was constructed on what was once called Sagebrush Hill. The work began in 1867. On January 6, 1896 a stove exploded and the building was destroyed. On February 1 the decision was made to rebuild and 13 months later the construction was completed. The re-dedication occurred in March 21, 1897.

We were amazed at the beauty of the exterior and the interior. The remarkable hall around us was a mute and marvelous testimony to the faithfulness of the great saints who plowed the ground and planted the crops and built their houses and dug their ditches and still found time to build something as remarkable as this tabernacle.

From Brigham we continued north and located the tabernacle in Wellsville. This building was striking from the outside, but the inside has not been maintained as well as other tabernacles he have visited and will visit, and it is not currently in use for church services. We spent time in a museum in the basement, then moved to the assembly hall and sang “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet.” The construction here was unusual, a wide, shallow room with curved benches and an alcove in the front for speakers and benches and great acoustics. An effort is underway to raise funds to restore this edifice. I hope it is successful.

At the tabernacle in Logan we sat in the benches at the front—most of us—and listened to history from a local scholar. I wandered upstairs to the back. I sat on the northwest corner of the balcony one Sunday for Stake Conference. I was either a deacon or a teacher, and correspondingly stupid. I threw a paper airplane during the closing prayer when I was certain no one would notice. Next Sunday in priesthood, my quorum advisor announced what one of his quorum members had done. He did not use my name, and did not look directly at me, but everyone must have seen the pulsating red glow of my embarrassment as he described my antics. No one ever mentioned it to me, but I learned a painful and and worthwhile lesson.

I asked if we could visit the tabernacle font where I was baptized on March 27, 1954 by my oldest brother, Andy, who passed away last month. I do not think I have visited the baptistry in that building since that day. I entered the room rather casually, thinking about the renewing of an old memory. But the Spirit met me there and flooded me. Tears came as I looked into the font. Imagine that! It was so unexpected and so sweet. I received a more powerful witness about the importance of my baptism in that place than I have ever experienced before.


I spent time in the assembly hall of the building looking at the work done there. Who had the gumption and the get-up-and-go and the know-how to put this thing together? The place is spectacular! And these great saints, weren't done yet. they climbed the hill and built a temple too.

I marveled at the faith of those people with their wagons and their scrapers and their chisels and their horses and willpower, building God a house on the hill. What a miracle to build such a place! I have never been able to build anything worthwhile. I tried a doghouse once. I made it from pallets used to support stacks of sheet metal and the finished product weighed so much we needed a crane to move it. And the dog, a particularly bright Australian Shepherd, took one look and opted to sleep in the yard even in the of winter.

In Paris, Idaho, we stopped at the red sandstone tabernacle. No doors were open so we remained on the lawn. This is another beautiful building, another monument to faith and industry. The command of Brigham to build a tabernacle in Paris cannot have been any less daunting than the command of the Lord to Nephi to build an ocean liner. So what if they did were not sure how to do it? They had a commandment and they tucked in their shirts and rolled up their sleeves and began quarrying stone.

When the trip was over I kept thinking about building things.

When I was in 7th grade shop class, the teacher, Willy Dial, assigned the students to make something to take to their mothers. Kim Cameron made an end table. The intricately shaped top—like water puddled on a stone floor—was thick bleached pine. The legs were lathed and tapered. The whole thing was varnished to a rous finish. It was an amazing creation for a 7th grader!

I made a broom holder. We all need to accept our limitations and I thought I knew mine. My mom was not getting an end table or anything remotely like it from me. But a broom holder . . . I thought I could assemble and finish two pieces of wood, the base to be screwed into the wall, and the yoke, carved to admit the shaft of the broom and hold it by the wide bristled head. A little work with the saw; a little sanding; a little varnish on the bright wood: voila!

I built one, and it was so bad that my teacher refused to let me take it home. He put it were it belonged to await the next trash pickup, and gave me a broom holder from the back room for my mom. I got my first and only "D" in that class, an admission which will not surprise those of you who know my skills with tools.

But these early Mormons built tabernacles and temples and rock churches and tithing offices from one end of Deseret to the other. And they were not log structures like that two-week effort in Kanesville. They were rich and ornate and beautiful: stone and woodwork of the highest quality, built by men who loved the Lord and who were at the same time trying to wrest a living from the soil of their surroundings! I fear that my spiritual constructions may look like my broom holder or my dog house. What will I say to those craftsmen in the next life when they wonder why my home teaching was not finished, or my genealogy was not completed, or my family was untaught?

Now, in recent days, my mind has gone a step farther. I listened to a talk last Friday about the majesty of God and this has caused me to reflect on the things he makes.

God described himself to Job in most dramatic and unusual terms. The underlying message is that God is so great that no man can question his purposes or his actions. The following questions God asks come from Job 38 and 39. Each of the questions contains an inference of the greatness of God.

(38:4) Where were you when God laid the foundations of the earth?
(38:6) On what were the foundations of the earth fastened?
(38:8) Who shut up the sea behind doors?
(38:12) Have you ever commanded the dawn?
(38:16) Have you walked in the depths of the sea>
(38:17) Have you seen the gates of ?
(38:18) Can you comprehend the expanse of the earth?
(38:22) Have you entered the storehouses of the snow?
(38:25) Who cuts the channel for the torrents of rain
(38;29) From whose womb comes the ice?
(38:31,32) Can you bring forth the constellations?
(38:35) Can you send the bolts of lightning on their way?
(38:37) Can you count the clouds?
(38:37) Who tips over the bottles of rain when the earth needs rain?
(38:39) Do you hunt prey for the lioness?
(38:41) Who feeds the ravens?
(39:5) Who decided the wild donkey should be wild
(39:9) Will the wild ox consent to serve and help you?
(39:13) Why are the ostrich and peacock so different?
(39:19) Did you give the horse his strength?
(39:19) Did you decide what the horse should look like?
(39:26) Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom?
(39:27) Does the eagle soar at your command?

I wonder what kind of shop class God runs in the Celestial Kingdom. Because I am going to require some serious training before I undertake to bring forth any constellations or hang the suns and galaxies in the endless expanse of heaven. People have often complemented my on my photos of beautiful things. Shucks. Anybody can learn to take a picture of a rose. But making a rose . . .

NOAH-NOAH-NOAH

Greetings from Ted and Lydia:

I was sitting at my desk at the institute when the phone rang on Friday afternoon. My wife was on the line: "Come home now!" she said with that tone that communicates disaster. I came. For the third time in three months a connection under one of our sinks had broken. This time a hose came loose and the water came in a flood rather than a spray or a trickle. Standing water covered the north end of the basement from our bedroom through Justin's bedroom, and into the storage room.

After our first two experiences with with raging waters, we have made it a matter of prayer, asking the Lord to protect our home and our investment. Then this. It has been difficult not to look up and ask "Why?"

This thought comes to mind from Richard G. Scott:

When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this, now? What have I done to cause this? will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God. Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help? How can I remember my many blessings in times of trial? Willing sacrifice of deeply held personal desires in favor of the will of God is very hard to do. Yet, when you pray with real conviction, “Please let me know Thy will” and “May Thy will be done,” you are in the strongest position to receive the maximum help from your loving Father (“Trust in the Lord,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 17).

So I have been asking myself what I should learn from all of this water. A few ideas have come to mind, none worth sharing.

I talked to Margie today and told her of our trial. Where did this woman come from, anyway? She is wise and insightful beyond her years, and in fact we are talking about a number of years. In one sentence she taught me more about my predicament than I had been able to understand in 24 hours. "Thank goodness it wasn't Katrina," she quipped.

Indeed.


Andy had his farewell party today. Since he insisted that no funeral be held, and suggested a party instead, many of us met today at the Copper Mill in Logan---one of his favorite restaurants. I drove to Logan with Steve. We ate and laughed and loved and visited. We rejoiced for Andy. Steve commented on the difference between this gathering and the funeral for Lydia's father several months ago. There was a great deal of regret at that funeral--regret for divided families and festering bitterness and unhappy relatives. Andy's party was a celebration of a life by a bunch of folks who knew him and loved him and admired him.

While I was there, I remembered two cartoons he had sent me, I assume from a newspaper in Greeley, Colorado where he lived at the time. Andy sent cartoons to everybody he loved, and they were selected based on personality and/or profession. I got the ones that contained religious humor. The two I remember best were from a single panel cartoon called "Pot Shots" by Ashleigh Brillaint. One said, "It is easy to make lifetime decisions, when I realize how temporary they are." The other was, "If the meaning of my life doesn't soon become clear, I may need to request an extension."

Did it finally becomel clear? Or did he request and extension? Wally, his oldest son, thought he had.

I kind of hope this catches on around here: a party for the departed. It was wonderful.

FAINT NOT

Greetings:

The usual purpose of parables was to keep the indifferent and uninterested from learning more than was good for them.

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear (Matthew 13:10 - 16).

But in the parable of the unjust judge, we get the message before the parable even begins. I suspect that this is Luke at work and not a reflection of the way the Savior taught on this occasion, but I could be wrong. Anyway, the parable begins with this statement:

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (Luke 18:1).


We had an interesting discussion about this in class today. With regard to praying, what does it mean to "faint"? For that matter, what does the Lord mean when he says we "ought always to pray"? I found 17 places in the standard works where we are commanded to pray always, the first of which is in this parable.

Luke 18:1
Luke 21:6
2 Nephi 32:9
3 Nephi 18:15
3 Nephi 18:18
3 Nephi 18:19
D&C 10:5
D&C 19:38
D&C 20:33
D&C 31:12
D&C 32:4
D&C 61:39
D&C 88:126
D&C 90:24
D&C 93:49
D&C 93:50
D&C 101:81

The sense I have of this commandment is that we must never stop praying. No quitting or fainting is allowed. This is not a directive to pray 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is a directive to pray every day of every week and to pray meaningfully. Prayer sabbaticals are as dangerous as nuclear warheads.

The parable introduced in this way is interesting:
2. There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:1 - 8)

This hardhearted judge will not be controlled by his fear of the judgement nor by his concern about what his constituents think of him. In fact, the thing that finally moves him to some action in behalf of this widow is his concern that her continual comings might "weary" him.

Better to give her what she wants than to allow her to drive me crazy, he seems to be saying. The judge is not a symbol for our Heavenly Father. He serves as a foil. If this indifferent and self-centered judge will hear and answer the appeals of this importunig widow, how much more will our Heavenly Father hear and grant our requests. Verse 8 suggests that he will do this "speedily"--that is, I think, as quickly as he possibly can. That would probably be after we have learned what we need to learn and prepared ourselves for divine intervention in our lives.

The Savior is going to Jericho, and near the city limits he encounters a blind man begging by the side of the road.

35 And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:
36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.
37 And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.
38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
39 And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
40 And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him,
41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.
43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God (Luke 18:35-43).

How this man learned of the power of Christ we are not told, but from some source he knew that Jesus Christ could heal blindness. Perhaps one healed on another occasion had spoken to him: "If you ever encounter Jesus of Nazareth, ask for a blessing. He can restore your sight. When the sound of the passing crowds reaches him and he learns that the cause of the commotion is that Jesus is on his street, he begins to cry out to him. Of course he does. What else could he possibly do? Even when those leading the procession rebuked him he continued to cry out. This story seems to me to be a perfect exposition of the parable at the beginning of this chapter. Don't give up (don't faint) because some time passes or because people encourage you to quit making a fuss or because it seems hopeless. Cry out to him (The Book of Mormon uses the some form of the verb 'cry' about 100 times as a substitute for 'pray and 'prayer')."

There is another great reason to pray a lot. I found it in this article from the Wall Street Journal or one of those great newspapers like that:
Russell M. Nelson spoke of the willingness of God to answer prayers: I recognize that, on occasion, some of our most fervent prayers may seem to go unanswered. We wonder, "Why?" I know that feeling! I know the fears and tears of such moments. But I also know that our prayers are never ignored. Our faith is never unappreciated. I know that an all-wise Heavenly Father's perspective is much broader than is ours. While we know of our mortal problems and pain, He knows of our immortal progress and potential. If we pray to know His will and submit ourselves to it with patience and courage, heavenly healing can take place in His own way and time ("Jesus Christ--The Master Healer," Ensign, Nov. 2005, 86).

President Packer said it thus: Go quietly into the world. Go quietly about your affairs, and learn that in the still, small hours of the morning the Lord will speak to you. He will never fail to answer your prayers" [Boyd K. Packer: Commencement Address, 17 December 2005, BYU Hawaii].

Richard G. Scott from April 2007 Conference: He will always hear your prayers and will invariably answer them. However, His answers will seldom come while you are on your knees praying, even when you may plead for an immediate response. Rather, He will prompt you in quiet moments when the Spirit can most effectively touch your mind and heart. Hence, you should find periods of quiet time to recognize when you are being instructed and strengthened. His pattern causes you to grow.

It is true that the answers to our prayers may not always come as direct and at the
time, nor in the manner, we anticipate; but they do come, and at a time and in a manner best for the interests of him who offers the supplication (David O. McKay: CR, April 1969, p. 153).

LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Lydia sent Andy's obituary to many of you. I feel like there is an empty place at the table or an empty room in the house. I saw him infrequently but he was always there somewhere and he was always family and his presence was like an old and comfortable winter coat---worn rarely but ready and reliable always.

My feelings have been more poignant with the passing of Andy than even with my Mom. She was so good and so ready and had been so sick for so long. The thought of her release from these mortal chains was exhilarating almost. Andy was less ready, and of course he was my generation. I know this separation will take some getting accustomed to.

Eileen, my oldest sister, had her birthday yesterday. I won't say which birthday, but she may have watched Orville and Wilbur at Kitty Hawk.

Bishop Edgely, a counselor in the Presiding Bishopric came to the Institute yesterday to speak at our Friday devotional, but he came an hour early and spent 45 minutes with the faculty. He told us he had been in a meeting with the First Presidency that morning before coming to Orem, and that it was nice to have all three chairs at the head of the table filled. That has not always been the case. In his remarks, he described an interesting event.

He was in a meeting with the First Presidency in their room at the Church Administration Building on the 3rd of March, 1995, He was standing at his place making presentation when the door to the room opened and Michael Watson came into the room with the news that President Hunter had just passed away.

Bp. Edgely said he was watching President Hinckley at that moment, and had the sense or awareness of the passing the mantle. It happened at the moment of President Hunter's passing, or courses, but President Hinckley's awareness of it happened as he watched.

On Thursday I taught the first three chapters of Mosiah including the first part of Benjamin's sermon.

We are told in chapter 1 that Benjamin

"had three sons; and he called their names Mosiah, and Helorum, and Helaman. And he caused that they should be taught in all the language of his fathers, that thereby they might become men of understanding; and that they might know concerning the prophecies which had been spoken by the mouths of their fathers, which were delivered them by the hand of the Lord.

"And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, saying: My sons, I would that ye should remember that were it not for these plates, which contain these records and these commandments, we must have suffered in ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God.

"For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time" (Mosiah 1:2 - 4).

The brass plates were in Egyptian. I assume that the plates of Nephi were also in Egyptian and Reformed Egyptian (see Mormon 9:32). Therefore, anyone who wanted to study the scriptures in the original language was required to learn a foreign language. Whether Benjamin knew and taught his children some Egyptian, or simply taught them the messages that had originally been written in Egyptian I cannot say, but can confidently say that all experiences with scripture are part of a study of a foreign language.

Most of you remember your first exposure to Leviticus or to Romans, or even to the Book of Mormon. The construction, the language, the flow and format were all strange to you. Your first attempts at reading were like your first piano lessons. The initial effort was incredibly important but not very productive. Great effort and continued immersion in the fundamentals and then a great deal of time in front of an open music book were required to achieve excellence, and not many of my children really did. But the same is true of the scriptures. Skills with the language require continued immersion and a great deal of time looking at an open book.

You have known people who have paid the price---people who can sit at the piano and play almost anything, or who can open the scriptures and explain almost anything.

The verses above about Benjamin and the scriptures and his sons led me into musings about our own efforts to provide our children with the necessary tools to speak the language, so that they might be men and women "of understanding; and that they might know concerning the prophecies which had been spoken by the mouths of their fathers, which were delivered them by the hand of the Lord."

The labor could not be more intensive if we tried to teach them Egyptian or Laotian or Portuguese, but the results are infinitely more important. Benjamin knew that. I hope we do too. For you with little children, it is never too early make them a part of the process of learning the language of the scriptures. Never mind if they are too young to read, or even to listen as you read. Let them become familiar with the names and the sounds and the spirit of the scriptures. If you wait they are old enough to read and study on their own, you will find them old enough to say 'no' and to resist those early morning hours as my children sometimes did. But if the study of the scriptures has been a part of their lives from their infancy, then by the time they are old enough to choose for themselves, it will have become (as it did for Benjamin's son, Mosiah) an indispensable habit with them.

And there are great blessings that come from such study.

Benjamin desired to provide the best of every benefit and opportunity for his children. And he did, by teaching them the scriptures. Benjamin teaches us a great lesson about the benefits of the scriptures and gives great counsel about how to take advantage of those benefits:

"I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers, which are not correct" (Mosiah 1:5).

What a blessing to have the opportunity to “have his commandments always before our eyes.” Have you taken advantage? Or have you, by reason of neglect of the scriptures, dwindled in unbelief from time to time in your life? Have you sometimes “suffered in ignorance, not knowing the mysteries of God”? I have heard that Mark Twain once said, “ A man who won’t read is no better off than a man who can’t.” This is certainly true of reading the scriptures. If we do not read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price and the Bible, what advantage do we have over those who cannot read because they do not know about the scriptures or do not have them?

Sister Robin Hendricksen said while reporting her mission in my ward, "Scriptures that are falling apart usually belong to someone who isn't."

Amen!

THE CIRCLE IS BROKEN

Andy, my oldest brother, passed away yesterday on Halloween. Barbara called in the early afternoon to tell me that he was not doing well and was unresponsive, and that some of the children were with him. A few hours later she called to tell me that he was gone.

Andy was 20 years older than I am. He was in the Navy when I was born in 1946. He served a mission in North Carolina. We were separated by age and interest and geography until the last several years. I have been blessed to get to know him better than I ever did before. He was bright and witty--sharper than a honed rapier sometimes. He was giving. I visited him often in his Logan home and never left empty handed. He was tolerant sometimes, unless confronted with hot air or insincerity. He was more philosophical than spiritual mostly.

After the second call from Barbara, I sat at the kitchen table and my eyes were drawn to the poster on the wall with individual pictures of all the kids that we gave to Lydia last Christmas. I scanned the photos of my twelve children and felt . . . something. Mortality ends. There is eternity in all of us but not in our flesh and . One day all of my children. will pass the quiet marker between the worlds and will be in a new place with other people. I expect that I will not be around to see it, but one day the first of my children will slip away to a better place where Lydia and I will be waiting for them. It is the circle of life.

Andy had been ill, and had spend the past year or so in assisted-living facilities. His health was not not good and none of us expected him to be around for a long time, but a couple of weeks ago, the doctor thought he might have a couple of months. The end came quickly. This summer he was in Sunshine Terrace where we stopped to see him on our way to a sibling reunion at Bear Lake. He seemed happy enough, but resigned and not at all inclined to get up and go with us to the Lake.Andy has insisted that he does not want a funeral and that he wants his body donated to science and then cremated. He did say we could have a party for him so we will do that at the Coppermill in Logan a week from Saturday.

It must be nice for Andy to be in a place where almost everything works. I thought of this when Mom left. In fact, I made a comment at her funeral about how it must be for one who can hardly walk to experience the joy of flying! Brigham Young said this about the experience Andy had on Wednesday:

We are brought forth for the express purpose of preparing ourselves through our faithfulness to inherit eternal life. . . [When we die} what will be our condition, what will be the nature of our pursuits in a state of being in which we shall possess more vigor and a higher degree of intelligence than we possess here? . . . We shall . . . look about upon it and think . . . why this is the greatest advantage of my whole existence, for I have passed from a state of sorrow, grief, mourning, woe, misery, pain, anguish and disappointment into a state of existence, where I can enjoy life to the fullest extent . . . My spirit is set free, I thirst no more, I want to sleep no more, I hunger no more, I tire no more, I run, I walk, I labor, I go, I come, I do this, I do that, whatever is required of me, nothing like pain or weariness, I am full of life, full of vigor, and I enjoy the presence of my heavenly Father, by the power of his Spirit. (Brigham Young: JD, Vol. 17, p. 143)

I said at the beginning that the circle is broken, but of course it is not. It is a larger circle now, encompassing invisible worlds, but still wonderfully intact.

Goodbye, Andy.