Life
A Has Been
In his declining years my father was fond of saying, “I’m a has been. I has been a better man.” Similarly it occurs to me that I has been a lot of things in the nearly 56 years of my church membership.
Read MoreNew Beginnings
At this minute (9:10 a.m., 13 April 2021) grandson Isaiah is boarding a plane in Boise to begin a new life. He has spent the past six weeks in our home doing an at-home, on-line mission training due to COVID-19 restrictions. He is departing on his mission. He is launching out into the world to begin two years of service to the Lord and to his fellow men. In the process he will become a man. He will learn about his capabilities. He will become conversant in a new language. He will develop a working relationship with the Lord and with the Holy Ghost that will bless the rest of his life. He will return in two years shining. He will have new ideas about how he wants to spend the rest of his life. The rest of his life is now beginning.
Read MoreWhat Would I Tell 12-Year-Old Me?
The title of this article is a question asked in the April 2021 general conference.
Twelve-year-old me was timid, shy, afraid, unsure, ignorant, full of self doubt, weighed down by sin, and unable to break free of habits; but desirous of being good, doing good, and of becoming better.
To This End Was I Born, #2
As Jesus stood before Pilate, Pilate asked Him: “Art thou a king?”
Jesus answered, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.” (John 18:37).
Ya Gotta Have a Cadence
While visiting with my brother, Tim, today he said, “Ya gotta have a cadence.” I like that. I like that a lot. It puts into focus what I’ve always felt and believed.
Read MoreHearts of Flesh
I read in Ezekiel 11:19 that the Lord “will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh.” That set me to thinking about hearts, specifically about Kerns hearts.
Read MoreSunrise
I have an appointment each morning with the rising of the sun. I try to be in front of my big window as the sun slowly prepares to make its appearance.
Read MoreMine Forever
Each morning sunrise is a treat and a blessing. Each is special. Each is different. God chooses different arrangements of the clouds and different colors. One morning may be red, another yellow or orange, and the next blue. The 34 peaks that are my eastern horizon are constant and always there, except when they’re hidden by stormy days, or days when the valley is encased in fog. Each morning is spectacular. Each is worthy of my participation.
Read MoreLiving Life in Crescendo
I began life as a shy child. As a teenager I was nervous, and scared of crowds and the future. I wasn’t happy. I wanted to be, but everything looked dark. I wanted to be a good person. People thought I was good, and thought that I was happy, but I really didn’t like who I was. I had no idea how to change things.
Read MoreIn the World but not of it
Sunday I went early to church to see a member of an earlier ward, and then sat in my pickup finishing the lesson preparation for my 11-year-old Primary class. With the front of my pickup nosed into the bushes that line the east fence of the parking lot, I became aware of rustlings in the dry leaves, and of the soft noises that quail make as they talk to one another.
Read MoreMe, a Shepherd in Israel
This is the topic the stake presidency gave Marjorie and the other stake leaders upon which they are to speak this coming year. When I heard it, my mind immediately added punctuation so that the topic became, “Me?!! A Shepherd in Israel.” I might also add the phrase, “Are you kidding?”—I’m a nobody, and everyone else knows it. I’m just a common person and am not capable of herding people around.
Read MoreDefining Moments
I took my son to the temple for his marriage. He and his bride were taken away by a temple worker to review paper work and have a preliminary interview. I was left to sit and wait near the top of the stairs inside the entrance to the Boise Temple.
Read MoreThe Gospel Purpose and Plan
24 October 1994
Katie received a blessing in which she was told that her life was fitting into the gospel purpose and plan. As she has reflected on that statement, she asked if I would write about how my life does that. I agreed to think about it.
Life Got Good at 20
I did not enjoy high school. I was miserable. For this reason I have never attended a class reunion. I used to say that I’d attend our 50th reunion
Read MoreMy Forgetter
As I grow older I find that some of my abilities and functions are slowing down. One part of me, however, is becoming more active.
Read MoreLife’s Disappointments
Life doesn’t necessarily turn out the way we expect.
Read MoreTo This End Was I Born
In answer to a question posed by Pilate, Jesus said, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.”
Read MoreTested, Tried and Stretched
In the conference just past (October 2014), Elder Richard G. Scott spoke about our being “tested, tried, and stretched.” As he said “stretched,” he held his fists close to one another, and pulled them apart as if stretching an object between them.
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