Farewell Dear Prophet

A few weeks ago we had a satellite Stake Conference and our prophet, President Gordon B Hinckley, spoke to us. He looked a little unsteady, but delivered a wonderful message about the importance of respect within marriage and family. It was pretty clear that his testimony and concern for all was still strong and vibrant even if his body was fading. So it wasn’t too surprising to hear of his passing tonight. He mentioned frequently that he missed his wife terribly after her passing, so it is comforting to know that he is now with her again.

There is a very nice article about his full life on the Deseret Morning News:

President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through explosive growth during his more than 12 years as president, died at 7 p.m. today of causes incident to age, surrounded by family. He was 97.

He traveled the world during his tenure, which was marked by a number of significant milestones, including the “Proclamation to the World on the Family,” construction of dozens of small temples and the creation of several new quorums of the Seventy. He called for increased fellowshipping of new converts and reaching out to other faiths. Church membership has grown from 9 million to more than 13 million members during his administration.

His ministry was characterized by a strong desire to be out among the people. He traveled more than half a million miles and spoke to hundreds of thousands of members in more than 60 nations, employing his mastery of electronic media to bring unprecedented press attention to the church.

Thank Goodness for Sisters

I have a wonderful sister and fabulous sisters-in-law, but I’m writing today about one of my local sisters. On Friday afternoon I got a call from my friend Heidi checking in on me because she knew I wasn’t feeling well. She said, “let me come get your kids for the afternoon, we’ll go to the park or something.” I told her that they would be fine and I was planning a movie afternoon. She then persisted that she really wanted to do something and suggested dinner. I said, “no, no, really it’s ok.” She insisted that she do something to help me, and pretty much made me pick either taking the kids for a while or bringing us dinner. As everyone knows, dinner is the part of the day I dread the most, so I picked dinner. Heidi arrived with all 3 of her children helping to bring in a nice dinner for my family. What a great example of service and providing relief for me when I was not even sick enough to need the help, but knowing that I could really use the help. She is a great example to her kids and a very kind friend. Thanks again Heidi!

What Kind of Geek Are You?

So, an artist named Scott Johnson had some free time and decided to draw up cartoons for all the different types of geeks he could think of and post them on his website here. When he was done he had 56 of them. I first thought I would take a look and see if I matched any of them. It got a little sad when my matches reached the double digits (I mean, come on, who doesn’t love Tron?).

Click on the link below to see all 56 geeks. Go ahead, see how many you match up with. Think you don’t match any of them? Here’s a fun game, find a spouse, roommate or some other “loved one” and have them see if they can find any matches for you. I think you’ll be surprised at all the wonderful and depressing insights you gain from that little exercise. 😉

Where Do I Start?

My Mom has revived her emergency preparedness blog, Totally Ready! She will be posting regularly about tips and steps to take to be ready for disaster or tragedy. Her first campaign is to get everybody rolling on preparing themselves and their families by using baby steps. Every Monday she will list 7 things to do that week to get you prepared. They won’t take a whole lot of time, but if we keep with it, we’ll be prepared in no time. She has three things we can do now as a head start before she really gets going on Monday. Check out her new look, new ideas, and let her know if you plan to join in!

My Contribution to the Recession

The government just lowered interest rates to save the market from it’s downward spiral. Economists say that the housing market slump will not be helped much by it, and that more reductions are expected. I can’t help but think they are going about this all wrong. Does it help the homeowner (who knowingly took a home loan that was way above what they should have paid) to give them a break on their interest? Maybe it keeps some from defaulting on their loan, but then it is really the banks that loaned them the money in the first place that are at risk right? Not really, because they can foreclose on the homes to recover the money they lost. But it seems that it is in the best interest of “the economy” that consumers spend their money. So if consumers are losing their homes, they will have no money to spend in the stores. Oh, so I guess that’s why it’s so important to make sure these greedy homeowners get saved from their poor budgeting. All to avoid the dreaded R word: recession.

———————-The End of my Soap Box————————-

I have set myself a new goal after going through our playroom and giving away half of the things in there. It was difficult to part with the stuff for some reason, but Rob made me do it, and it hasn’t been missed. We need to reduce the amount of clutter in our house, and get out of these horrible student loan debts, so and the easiest way to do that is by reducing the amount of stuff we buy. I am such a sucker for a great deal that I will walk into a store with 3 things in my head that I need, and walk out with a full cart of things that were great bargains, but really unnecessary. How many shirts does one kid need? Will I really use that Christmas platter marked 70% off? Do my hips need the bag of Valentine chocolate kisses?

So here’s my plan. Every time I go into a store I will go with a written list. This will mean planning ahead of course, and that’s the hardest part. Once inside the store I can only buy what is written on that list. If I see something on sale or that I think I need, I will have to pass it by. I figure if I get home and still remember what I passed up, I can write it on another list to get the next time. So far it has been two weeks and I haven’t bought anything that wasn’t needed. It feels so liberating to not be trudging through more junk around the house, and now when we review our budget we don’t say, “Where did all the money go?” So now that I’m not shopping, I can spend my extra time getting the house clean, doing projects, blogging etc. etc. Somehow I don’t really feel like I have any more time though. Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

It’s Great to be Eight

Tonight was Emma’s “Great to be Eight” night. All of the children in our stake turning eight years old this year came together to learn about what their baptism will be like. There were several speakers that gave short talks about different aspects of baptism and the logistics of their actual baptism day. So mark your calendars, Emma is scheduled to be baptized on October 11, 2008! We are ready to welcome as many visitors as we can for her special day. She is so excited to make this important step and wishes she could do it now!

Article of Faith 4

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Mark Chapter 1: 9-11

9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

I found this great letter in a Friend magazine from 1971 and took the liberty of substituting Emma’s name for the original “Tommy.”

Dear Emma,

I have just heard that you were baptized this month, on your birthday. It made me happy indeed, because your baptism will mean so much to you all the rest of your life.

When we are baptized, when we reach eight years of age, we enter the Church of Jesus Christ, and we receive the many blessings of the Church. We must be baptized to fill the Lord’s commandment.

Baptism is not just a custom in our Church. It is something we do because the Lord commands it. Baptism is as old as the gospel. Adam was baptized, and by immersion, just as you were. And millions of people since that time have also been baptized.

It was Jesus who gave us baptism. He gave it to Adam, and he gave it to all of us who have lived since that time. And he himself was baptized, to show that everyone over eight must receive this ordinance.

Do you know why it is that we are immersed in baptism? Some churches believe in an ordinance which they call baptism, but it is merely the sprinkling of some water on the head of a child.

Immersion is the only true way of baptism, and it has a real meaning. All your life you have believed in Jesus. You have learned how he taught the people, blessed little children, and even raised two boys and a little girl from the dead. But then he was taken by cruel men and crucified.

Our Heavenly Father used that crucifixion, though, to bring us many blessings. Jesus suffered greatly when he died, but his Father, who is also our Father in heaven, permitted Jesus’ suffering to pay the penalty for our sins if we repent of them.

It is when we are baptized that our Heavenly Father allows Jesus’ suffering to pay for our sins. In this way we receive forgiveness through baptism.

But why are we immersed? It is to represent the burial and resurrection of Christ. As he was buried in the tomb, so we are buried in the water. As he came forth from the tomb to a newness of life as a resurrected person, so we come forth from baptism in water to a newness of a religious life on earth, serving the Lord and keeping his commandments.

So you see, our immersion is to help us remember the burial and resurrection of Christ. This is one reason baptism is so important to us. It will always remind us that Christ died for us, and that he was resurrected. As surely as we come forth from the waters of baptism, just so surely will we all come forth from our graves after we die, and live forever with the Savior who made all of this possible.

So Emma, be thankful for your baptism, and know that now you are a true member of the Church of Jesus Christ. He expects that from this day on you will always remember him and keep his commandments, so that someday you may see him and live with him in the eternal heavens above. May the Lord bless you always, is my prayer for you.

          Yours sincerely,

          Mark E. Petersen

Another City?

Have you ever wondered what kind of salary you would need to make in another city to continue your current lifestyle? Or in other words, ‘How much would I need to make if I moved to…?’ I found a cost of living calculator that I loved several years ago, but it was removed from the site. I went looking for another one, and this calculator takes a distant second place, but gives a good comparison of the two cities. I do this when I start to miss family or feel antsy for a change…

Pro and Cons to living in Orange County:

Pro: The weather is mild and beautiful year round.

Con: The cost of living is lower just about everywhere else. Average home price here is $681,500.00

Pro: A million things to do

Con: Most of it costs money

Pro: Close to the beach

Con: Lots of freeways and traffic

Pro: Lots of parks for the kids

Con: The houses are so close together that your neighbors know more about you than you think.

Pro: Schools are well rated

Cons: They are crowded and some kids are spoiled by parents who feel guilty about working so much.

Pro: No shoveling snow

Con: No snowmen for the kids

Pro: There is lots to do when family comes to visit

Con: Family has to come to visit. There are no spontaneous gatherings.

(sigh) There is no perfect place is there?