Elder Ballard at BYUH

Recently there have been several talks given in church encouraging us to become more vocal about what we believe. More specifically, we have been told that we must communicate better with the world around us so that others know what we are really all about, and so that we aren’t defined by rumors or stories people have heard. In order to do this we need to be more diligent in our study of church doctrine and church history. I would like to be a part of making my faith better understood and will be doing my best to keep up on continually educating myself and keeping my mind and spirit sharp so that I can have a conversation at anytime and feel comfortable with it.

Here is Elder Ballard’s address to graduating students at BYU Hawaii on this topic. I think it is wonderful, and hope that it will give members a boost to realize that we can be more vocal and involved when it comes to the perception of our faith.

“…We are living in a world saturated with all kinds of voices. Perhaps now, more than ever, we have a major responsibility as Latter-day Saints to define ourselves, instead of letting others define us. Far too many people have a poor understanding of the Church because most of the information they hear about us is from news media reports that are often driven by controversies. Too much attention to controversy has a negative impact on peoples’ perceptions of what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints really is…

…That you may make your contribution wisely, carefully, lovingly, filled with the promptings of power of the Spirit of God, that you too can join in declaring with your words and your voice, the great and glorious message of the restoration to the earth of the fullness of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ…”

-M Russell Ballard 15 December 2007

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love Exposed by Matthew Nicolaysen

This photo was my brother Matt’s entry into a photo contest at BYUI for which he won first place! I think it is so creative and I’m so proud to have such a talented brother!

As part of his prize he won a very cool gorillapod. I’ve added this to my mental wish list, although I don’t know if it would get much use. I haven’t tried anything creative with photography for a while… When I saw this I also thought about my friend Stephanie in Texas who has a goal to take at least one photo every day this year. What do you think Steph?

Heartfelt Messages

As a kid I loved playing Mad Libs on long family trips. What better way to get a laugh than to stick words like “toot” or “snorkel” in a random story? With these easy forms, now I can fill in the blanks for even my personal and social obligations. Nice!

Baby Girls

Hannah has mastered the mouse and loves to play Holly Hobbie and Polly Pocket games on the computer. She also likes Caillou although we never watch the show on TV because the kid is so whiny it drives me nuts!

Sabrina is content for now watching Hannah play. Having just one computer in the house has become a bit of an issue. So many people use it now. We may need to make a sign-up sheet so that everyone gets a turn.

Can you get any cuter than Sabrina taking her “Baby Pupul” for a ride on the horsie. She yells, “Wee… Ha!”

Valentines for All Occassions

Need help telling that not-so-special someone just how you feel on Valentine’s Day? Woot has created a set of Valentine’s Day cards to help you send the message.

Kung Hee Fatt Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year! When I was in high school my family tagged along on a business trip with my Dad to Hong Kong. It also happened to be Chinese New Year which was especially fun. We learned all about the traditions and enjoyed the many decorations, and the public dragon dances.

It is considered good luck to have a dragon dance at your home or business. I remember seeing a dragon dance in a mall and thinking it was so fun. The dragons have an elaborate head which has expressive eyes that can show emotions. The body is a long train of fabric and several guys stand underneath it to work the body.

Red represents good luck and many people give each other little red envelopes with money inside. I think it’s similar to our valentines day in that way. Every year is represented by an animal and 2008 is the year of the rat. Many people don’t really know the year they’re born because nobody asks how old you are. They just say, “I was born in the year of the dragon (that’s mine).” The celebration is 15 days long and I remember sitting in our hotel room watching fireworks on the final day of Chinese New Year. There were barges out on the water where the fireworks were shot from and it was a beautiful show. Great memories!