Let Him Do It with Simplicity

This entry is part of my general conference application series.

Let Him Do It with Simplicity, by Elder L. Tom Perry
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles


"Walden Pond was our special place to pause, reflect, and heal."

As Elder Perry walked us around his—and Thoreau's—special place: Walden Pond, I felt the call to live a simpler life, "to experience the spiritual benefits of a simplified lifestyle."

One of the challenges of this mortal experience is to not allow the stresses and strains of life to get the better of us—to endure the varied seasons of life while remaining positive, even optimistic.

This quote reminds me of the life-changing (hopefully) observation that Elder Robbins made in 1998: "Becoming angry is a conscious choice, a decision; therefore, we can make the choice not to become angry. We choose!" (link to talk)

The problem with Elder Robbins' quote is that after reading it, we can no longer honestly say "He made me mad!"; instead we have to admit, "I chose to become angry." Hopefully Elder Perry's call to a simpler life will help us to remain positive, optimistic, and anger-free.

After expounding on the simplified lifestyle aspects found in Thoreau's four necessities of food, clothing, shelter, and fuel, I had the powerful realization that I already have an incredible help in having a simplified life. It struck me as a poetic (and true) couplet:

Simplified life — Wonderful wife

I'm grateful for my wonderful wife who helps our little family "experience the spiritual benefits of a simplified lifestyle." Regarding the four necessities, she:

-encourages us to "eat nutritious food, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep," particularly the last item. (Food)
-teaches our children the blessings of modesty (in word and deed), including that through modesty, we "invite the Spirit of the Lord to be a shield and a protection to us." (Clothing)
-helps us "not to live beyond our means." She lovingly helps us to "practice and increase our habits of thrift, industry, economy, and frugality." (Shelter)
-follows the principle that "if we choose the right way, we are sustained in our actions by the principles of righteousness, in the which there is power from the heavens." (Fuel)

In other words, because of who she is, and all she does, my sweet wife helps our little family live the gospel and find lasting happiness through simplicity.

Welcome to Conference

This entry is part of my general conference application series.

Welcome to Conference, by President Thomas S. Monson


After mentioning a few cultural events produced in conjunction with new temple dedications around the world, President Monson remarked, "I am an advocate for such events. They enable our youth to participate in something they truly find unforgettable. The friendships they form and the memories they make will be theirs forever."

I recall a few roadshows from my youth. With the swiss-cheese-like memory I have from my youth, I'm surprised I can recall so much from the small contributions I made as a young child. It turns out President Monson was right!

In addition to cultural events for youth, I participated in a play on the Prophet Joseph Smith about a year ago that I was reflecting on recently. As part of our recent family vacation to Houston, we visited the George Ranch Historical Park (link here). Here we enjoyed touring a bit of history where actors were in character from times that corresponded, remarkably, with events from early church history. I had fun meeting a Mr. Jones in 1830 on his stock ranch where he lit a fire with flint and steel and told us about how hard it is/was to make coffee from raw beans. While Texas (then Mexico) is quite far from Fayette, New York, where the church was organized in 1830, it was still fun to see how life on the frontier may have been for many early saints.

You can see Mr. Jones' tool and tanning sheds in the background of this picture.

This is where I admit to a huge failure. President Monson also charged for us to pray for the spreading of the joy of the gospel in many parts of the world. While I was at George Ranch talking to Mr. Jones (in 1830, remember), I wanted to talk to him about the organization of my church that happened that very year. However, I was afraid that because he was "in character," and at work, that my comments and discussion wouldn't be appropriate. (Note the key "I was afraid.") So, while I did openly discuss the time of the church's organization with my children minutes later in Mr. Jones' back yard, I didn't talk about it with Mr. Jones himself (I had an "in" with the coffee and the 1830 connection!). I don't think that my prayers to help spread the joy of the gospel will be very effective if I ignore opportunities that are placed right in my way.

President Monson's talk reminds me of the joy of church cultural arts, and the need to both live and share the gospel in concert with our prayers for the work to move forward.

Watch out, Mr. Jones, next time we visit the George Ranch, I've got an amazing story to tell you!

General Conference Application

While watching the most recent general conference for our church (back in October), I decided that I wanted to do something to help me remember and apply the ideas and feelings from the various talks. I decided that in addition to reading (and re-reading) talks, and listening to talks on my commute, I would briefly record some thought, memory, or application spurred in my mind by the talk.

Many of the subsequent entries will be in my general conference application series.

Photo by Tim Whiteaker

New Pictures

Despite the stresses of the end of another semester, we had a fun month (December). Pictures and brief commentary can be found here.

December 2008

Also, our little family took our first vacation that didn't involve extended family. We drove to Houston, which we've wanted to do as long as we've lived in Austin. We had an amazing week of family fun. You can share in the fun vicariously by looking at some pictures, here.

Wac-A-Mole?

Background Music

We were all playing in the front yard this afternoon when our four-year-old, David, asked us to make noise for him while he hit the T-ball. We wondered what he meant, and it turns out he wanted us to provide background, or theme music for him. Our sweet children have always been musical, and apparently our wishes have come true and we now live in a musical!

David's request reminded me of the Calvin and Hobbes strip, below:

While I don't really want my boy to turn out like Calvin in some ways, they do share similarities: David inherited my hard-to-handle spiky hair, he has a stuffed animal he thinks is real (read an account here), and, like in this strip, he thinks life is more fun with music and laughter.

This experience, and many others, reminds me of the scripture which fairly sums up life in our home: "If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving" (D&C 136:28).

Merry? Check.

Singing? Check.
Music? Check.
Dancing? Check.

Normal fun day at home: Priceless.