Of Mice and Nate...

WARNING: Some images in this post may be considered graphic, offensive, or simply make you say, "gross."

Back in October, Vicki and I were forced to move for the second time in less than a year. We loved our little home in Millville, Utah, but the owners had decided to sell the house and the new owners opted to live upstairs, where we were, rather than downstairs where they originally told us they planned to.

Vicki and I were skeptical that they really would prefer to live downstairs so as soon as we knew they were interested in buying we started the search for a place to relocate. Over the last five years, we have developed a pretty efficient and accurate system for finding places to rent, but we had only two weeks or so to find a place that met our standards. On top of that Vicki was seven months pregnant and our housing needs were increasing by one.

After lots of searching, we settled (notice the emphasis) for a three-bedroom two-bath house in Hyrum. It was the only one of the options we both thought met our needs, even though it was well above what we felt we should pay for rent (we have never paid more than $600/month in rent and utilities 'til now).

We had a lot of help from friends and family (thanks) and moved in on October 15th. Two weeks later we realized we weren't alone.

I had left an unfinished cup of 7up or Sprite— don't remember exactly which one of the clear lemon-lime libations it was— out on the counter next to the fridge after a night of gaming (PS3). It was the next day that Vicki, whilst reaching for something in the cabinets above bumped the cup with her baby bump and knocked it over, spilling its contents to the floor and under the fridge.

It was one of those moments where a pregnant woman realizes just how pregnant they are and that their fifth appendage can be dangerous if not controlled. It also revealed how dirty and unkempt our new home was.

I moved the fridge to clean up the spill before it got sticky, but I remembered too late that you never move a major appliance unless you plan on spending the next 24+ hours cleaning your entire house. Upon moving the fridge, I instantly recognized the tiny brown pellets that should make any home owner/renter feel angry, scared, violated, and intruded upon.

We had mice.

It wasn't clear initially if the rodent roommates were still around or had merely once occupied a home that renters before us failed to be as concerned with cleanliness as much as Vicki and I.

I had my wife and our yet-to-be-born child leave the room, put on my mask and started cleaning. As I cleaned, I began to believe more and more that the nest behind the fridge had been vacated long before we had moved in. I thought my speculations were confirmed when I removed the back covering of the fridge and was instantly cast in an episode of CSI: Muridae.

Evidence that our rodent friend had quite literally moved on was comforting to Vicki and myself. From what I could tell, cause of death was hyperthermia due to the mouse getting a bit to close to the motor of the refrigerator.

Time of death was unknown and was difficult to determine due to the amount of dust and lint collected around the motor fan making it appear like years had passed.

As I used a close hangar to peel the coagulated corpse from the frame of the fridge to dispose of it, I remembered what I thought was a vision I had the night before the spill.

While playing Playstation 3 the night before the said beverage spill, I had thought I saw the shadow of a mouse run underneath the fridge.

Temples in Utah

*

Bountiful

* Brigham City

Why Temples? What happens inside? Can I go inside?

*

Draper

*Jordan River

* Logan

* Manti

Monticello

* Mount Timpanogos

* Ogden

*

Oquirrh
Mountain

* (Payson)

* Provo

*

Salt Lake City

*

* St. George

*Vernal

Logan Utah Temple

(Brigham City Utah Temple)

Ogden Utah Temple

Bountiful Utah Temple

Salt Lake City Utah Temple

Jordan River Temple

Draper Utah Temple 

Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple

Provo Utah Temple

(Payson Utah Temple)

Vernal Utah Temple

Manti Utah Temple

Monticello Utah Temple

St. George Utah Temple

On Top of the Valley...Beginning the Climb

One down, 29 more to go.

Last Saturday (June 25th) just before noon, my buddy Tom Atwood gave me a phone call and asked, "Do you want to knock off an item on your list today?"

To which I obviously responded, "Heck yes. Let's do it."

About two hours later Tom, his girlfriend Nicole, and myself were beginning our ascent up the Deep Canyon trailhead of the Wellsville Mountain Wilderness area near Mendon, Utah.

It was a beautiful day for a hike, and I was thrilled to get out of the house and take a break from technology (Playstation 3, NCAA 11, cell phone, and a computer screen).  My short pockets were filled with ziplock baggies of sunflower seeds and baby carrots, and hanging from my belt was the water bottle carrier I sewed in Boy Scouts keeping my bottle of Gatorade cool and close by. Nicole couldn't find the My Little Pony backpack that belonged to her sister so they filled her "normal" hiking backpack with sunscreen, Nature Valley granola bars, and water. The backpack was about the only serious looking hiker that was in our little trio.



The hike began surrounded by some farmer fields, but quickly disappeared into a grove of maple trees. The trail was slender and surrounded by vegetation, and was a constant incline the whole way. The Wellsville Mountains are said to be the steepest mountains in the United States and North America. The base of the range averages only about 5 miles wide and the highest points are well over 9,000 feet.


The trail rose out of the maples and aspens and ran parallel to the empty river bed that the melting snow and rain use each year to stream down to the valley. My calves and lungs were burning, my heart was pounding, but the beautiful surroundings lessened the pain.

Eventually the narrow dirt path that sliced through the vegetation disappeared amongst the sagebrush and lingering sheets of snow. So we just made our way left towards the closest high peak we could see. We trudged our way through the thorns and bushes like a bull in a china shop. Seeking aid from the cutting branches we decided to hike up the hillside of snow. Nicole and I slipped and crawled our way up the stairs created by Tom's footsteps, taking a break every so often to relieve the burning in our legs and burning in our fingers and hands from he cold snow.

It wasn't long before we realized we obviously were no longer following the trail and had become trailblazers. We pushed through, Tom still leading the way as we literally crawled our way up the ramp of snow.

After hours or walking, climbing, slipping, crawling, slipping, and crawling again, we made it to the top. It was worth it.

At the Top with Tom. Cache Valley in the background.

The peak we hiked to was still covered with snow, but we took some time to take some pictures and have some granola bars, carrots, and water. Then we realized we had to get back down, and we all agreed the way we came up was not an option.

We began to plan our descent. From the top of the peak we could see the Cache Valley to the East and the canyon we had climbed up. To the West we could see some more peaks a little lower than us and a glimpse of the cities, interstates and Willard Bay of the Great Salt Lake. Down below us we could now see a V-shaped rock where the actual trail as suppose to take us. We climbed across the peak and did some surfing down the snow covered face. Surfing down the snow buried all the memories of the tough climb up.

Nicole preferred the butt-surf technique while Tom and I tried to stay up on our feet. After the surf, we made our way down to the V-shaped rock took in the great views looking over the Eastern side of the mountains. We took a few more photos and then surfed our way down the actual trail hidden under the snow. When the snow ran out we made our way back down the trail.

After the drive home and some showers we (Tom, Nicole, Vicki, and myself) headed to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate with a lime rickey and prime rib.

It was so rewarding to cross the first item off my 30 by 30 list and to do it with a best friend and hero of mine. Growing up in the shadows of the Wellsville Mountain range in Cache Valley it has always been a goal of mine to ascend above the shadow to the peak. I look forward someday to do the entire hike which starts at the Deep Canyon trailhead in Mendon and goes across the ridge line and eventually ends down at the southern Rattlesnake Trailhead in Sardine Canyon just past Sherwood Hills Resort. The Wellsville Mountain Wilderness area I think contains over 14 miles worth of trails and is said to be a great area for viewing hawks and other wildlife. We started in the late afternoon so obviously only had time to hike the first part, but I plan to visit the rest of the wilderness area and other trails.

I think it was very fitting that this was the first item I crossed off my 30 by 30 list; the first step in an enjoyable, yet challenging climb.

Thoughts on 181st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

I was asked to give a talk on conference. Here are my notes of the talk given in the Millville 2nd Ward on April 17th, 2011:

Brothers and sisters I am humbled to stand before you today and pray that the Lord will bless me with the ability to speak by the spirit and that he will bless you to hear by the spirit that we may all be edified. I hope that you will each have a prayer in your heart that some portion of what I say will be meaningful and strengthen your testimony of the Savior.

I begin by asking you all to think back a few weeks and recall the events that took place in your life on the weekend of April 2nd and 3rd.

Where were you? Were you able to listen to General Conference? How did you do so?

I assume many of you basked in the joy and traditions that come every six months when the leaders of the Lord's kingdom on earth share with us what Elder Holland referred to as their “testimonies of love and warning.” Some of you may have spent the days in your pajamas in the living room watching the broadcast on television surrounded by loved ones. Some may have had the opportunity to travel to Salt Lake City and witness from the chairs of the Conference Center. Many others watched on laptops, listened from radios, or even viewed the prophets, Apostles, and General Authorities on a hand held device. Personally I had a mixture of the above methods as I spent most of that Saturday in waiting in or sprinting through airports as my flights were off schedule due to fatigue crack inspections.

I, like Elder Holland, ask you to reflect “not only on the messages you heard but also on the unique phenomenon that general conference itself is—what we as Latter-day Saints believe such conferences to be and what we invite the world to hear and observe about them. We testify to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people that God not only lives but also that He speaks, that for our time and in our day the counsel you have heard is, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, “the will of the Lord, … the word of the Lord, … the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.”

How blessed we are to have a Father in Heaven who loves us enough to provide us with Prophets and Apostles who speak to us on his behalf in our day. How blessed we are to KNOW he provides such direction. Perhaps more wonderful and awe inspiring however, is the blessing of how easy it is to access His words and share them with others.

HOLD UP PHONE
I hold here in my hand a device that has an endless supply to the Lord's words. Prophets testimonies from the beginning of time written in scripture, the glorious revelations of the Restoration, and the Hymns, testimonies, and teachings of the prophets of the latter-days all in the palm of my hand and at the touch of my fingertips.

But the good does not come without opposition.

In the Sunday Morning Session Elder Holland recounted to us the story of Brigham Young and the dream he had just prior to the pioneer saints' exodus from Navuoo of an angel atop a hill, now known as Ensign Peak where after the trying journey west Brother Brigham led the Brethren of the church and they unfurled a makeshift banner made from a bandanna and walking stick to symbolize the partial fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy that the Lord would “setup an Ensign to the Nations.”

Elder Holland then went on to testify that the annual and semiannual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are a continuation of that declaration and prophecy. He spoke emotionally of the preparation process that each speaker goes through. The fasting, the prayer, the starting, stopping and starting again, and the tears and sleeplessness they likely wrestled with to be true to the individual prompting each of them had received from the Lord.

How easily it is for us sometimes as teachers, mothers, fathers, friends, co-workers and priesthood and auxiliary leaders to relate.

These “marvelous new methods of communication” (phones, internet facebook etc) as Elder Holland mentioned allow the Lord's voice to go out around the world to not only the members of the church but an ever growing proportion of non-members.

It was only a few hours before in the early sunday session tha Elder Uchtdorf said,

“With so many social media resources and a multitude of more or less useful gadgets at our disposal, sharing the good news of the gospel is easier and the effects more far-reaching than ever before. In fact, I am almost afraid that some listening have already sent text messages like “He’s been speaking for 10 minutes and still no aviation analogy!”

Elder Uchtdorf was right. More than 52,000 tweets were posted with the hashtag reference LDSConf, (if you don't know what a hashtag or trend is ask the youth in the ward) which is double what was shared only 6 months before during October's conference. It was the first time the church streamed conference live on Facebook and even allowed people to use the embeded code to stream conference on their own websites or blogs. The LDSConf hashtag conversation ranked as high as #2 on Twitter in the US involving more than 2,000 different Twitter users. Reaching to a network of more than 1 million followers. Tweeps if you will... Many of which who were unaware of the Restoration of the Gospel or what the trend was referencing.

Vicki and I both personally participated in the conversation during sunday morning and I referred over 24 people who asked what LDSconf meant to a link that led them to the live broadcast.

Uchtdorf went on...“perhaps the Lord’s encouragement to “open [your] mouths” might today include “use your hands” to blog and text message the gospel to all the world! But please remember, all at the right time and at the right place. Brothers and sisters, with the blessings of modern technology, we can express gratitude and joy about God’s great plan for His children in a way that can be heard not only around our workplace but around the world. Sometimes a single phrase of testimony can set events in motion that affect someone’s life for eternity.”

Many of us have access to an use things such as Twitter, Facebook, and blogging, but are we using it for the good that it can be?

Sure we have the Angry Birds app on our phone but do we also have the Mormon Channel app?
Many of us likely have setup our Facebook profiles but have we setup our own personal profile on Mormon.org yet?

The top three profiles on twitter by number of followers belongs to Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, and Britney Spears, but are we following @LdsNewsroom, etc.

Our Facebook friends and Likes may include local celebrities like Tai Wesley or The Utah Jazz, but what about Mormon Messages, or Church other church pages.

I understand that there are those of you out there that are not part of twitterverse or the Social Network, some may fear for privacy or other reasons that are understandable, I only ask that if you are using the devices and technology that you use it the way to fulfill your call to Testify and warn the people.

In D&C 88:121 the Lord warns us cease from all our light speeches and light mindedness, which regrettably is what most of these personal publishing technologies are used for, but they can be used for so much more. We don't need to laden or burden cyberspace with lengthy and prideful statements of self-righteousness, a simple declaration of gratitude or joy as Elder Uchtdorf and the other leaders of the church suggest will suffice.

It is interesting and I think of no simple coincidence that in the revelation given to Thomas Marsh and other saints called to preach the gospel—that being us-- the lord used the word “send”. In D&C 112:1 he proclaims, “Verily thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Thomas: I have heard thy prayers; and thine alms have come up as a memorial before me, in behalf of those, thy brethren, who were chosen to bear testimony of my name and to send it abroad among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, and ordained through the instrumentality of my servants...Let thy heart be of good cheer before my face; and thou shalt bear record of my name, not only unto the Gentiles, but also unto the Jews; and thou shalt send forth my word unto the ends of the earth. Contend thou, therefore, morning by morning; and day after day let thy warning voice go forth; and when the night cometh let not the inhabitants of the earth slumber, because of thy speech. Let thy habitation be known in Zion, and remove not thy house; for I, the Lord, have a great work for thee to do, in publishing my name among the children of men.”

14 Now, I say unto you, and what I say unto you, I say unto all the Twelve: Arise and gird up your loins, take up your across, follow me, and bfeed my sheep. 19Wherefore, whithersoever they shall send you, go ye, and I will be with you; and in whatsoever place ye shall proclaim my name an aeffectual door shall be opened unto you, that they may receive my word.

22Inasmuch as they shall humble themselves before me, and abide in my word, and ahearken to the voice of my Spirit.

28But apurify your hearts before me; and then bgo ye into all the world, and preach my gospel unto every creature who has not received it;

33Verily I say unto you, behold how great is your calling.


Elder Uchtdorf talked about receiving the savior piece by piece like a puzzle.

The best way to share is by what we do and who we are.

Are to do lists should reflect what is on our to be lists.

Just do it. Just Be it.

I must admit that part of my standing at this pulpit today is out of selfishness as I am reminded of the promised blessings of strength, personal edification, and sanctification to those who share their testimonies. In D&C 62:3 the Lord gives the promise that our “testimonies are recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon,” and our sins can be forgiven by this simply yet sometimes terrifying act. Terrifying because unlike incorrect statements or misspellings posted on Facebook or Twitter I do not think heaven allows you to delete such recordings.

We have the opportunity and means to do much good. Let us not be distracted. Let us not be afraid and let us not wait for the Savior to be given to us. We are children of our heavenly father with divine potential. Other stand in need of your help in realizing that they too.

Let us wave the ensign to all the world with our fingers, our mouths, our cell phones our computers and our deeds.

Easter is coming up.

Testimony.

Big Weekend in Mormonism

Follow the Prophet.

Tonight at 6pm (8pm EST) is the Utah State University Aggies vs the Brigham Young University Cougars game.

This game is held every October because Utah State is the only team that will play BYU on a Friday night. The reason the game is held on Friday rather than Saturday is because the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has their Semi-annual General Conference the first weekend in October.

So I encourage you to root for the right team (Aggies) tonight. The game can be seen on ESPN  and ESPN3.

Utah State hasn't beat BYU since 1993 when I was nine years old and in the USU Huddle Club. That was the first time I ever saw a crowd storm the field, let alone tear down a field goal post. USU can't help but feel like they have a chance at revenge this year. Adding to the rivalry is the two former Cache Valley Football stars that will be returning to Northern Utah. BYU freshmen JD Falslev plays Wide Receiver and returns kicks for the Cougars and grew up playing for the Sky View High School Bobcats a few miles north of Logan. BYU quarterback, and former Logan High School football star, Riley Nelson (who announced he was leaving USU and transferring to BYU via email in 2008) will not be on Merlin Olsen Field due to season ending shoulder surgery meaning the young inexperienced Jake Heaps, a true freshmen will be starting only his second game.

The Aggies also find themselves trying to overcome some injuries of their own, including their coach, who had a spill from being lightheaded and has been wearing a neck brace throughout the week. The Friday night inter-state rivalry is a blessing to Utah fans, specifically in Cache Valley as they get football a day early. The local high school intra-valley rivalry between Logan High and Mountain Crest High was played yesterday, with the home team winning by a point. Even if you don't have an interest in, the LDS General Conference, or the Beehive State rivalry, it should be an entertaining game, and heck, its college football on a Friday night.

I also encourage you to catch some of the LDS Conference if you are able. The messages are uplifting if not merely informative. They are broadcast online during, and after the conference on the church website. There are two sessions Saturday and two sessions Sunday.

You either love or hate BYU if you live in Utah and are a member of the LDS church. I am emphatically the latter. I know that many of the general authorities and leaders of the church have at some time in their life attended some school in Utah, so I have always wondered who the General Authorities and other leaders of the church root for in this annual skirmish.

I often picture them sitting at their desks in their study making final corrections to their talks while the game plays in the background on the television, internet, or radio. Interrupting their final preparations with the usual fist pumps, cheers of success, and jeers directed at the broadcast as the game rolls on. I thought I would look at who has legit ties (none of those honorary degrees in a pitiful attempt to recruit them) to USU and BYU.

Here is a quick rundown with my opinion of who they root for in the yearly USU v. BYU match-up. You can make your own assumptions, according to their biographies. If I am incorrect in my analysis I encourage comments below.

The First Presidency: 

• President Thomas S. Monson: Neutral
• Attended University of Utah for Undergrad, therefore can not be a die-hard BYU fan.
•  Got his MBA from BYU and some honorary degrees.

•  Elder Henry B. Eyring: BYU
• Undergrad at University of Utah, and therefore has a hard time rooting for the Cougars.
• Master's and Doctorate at Harvard.
• Taught at Stanford and was President of Ricks College (now BYU-I). With schools like Stanford, and Harvard on the list, and being a President of the BYU of the North, he most likely easily looks over his Ute origins and pumps a fist or two for the Cougars.
• Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Leans USU
•  Grew up and went to school in Germany. Got MBA in Switzerland (a neutral country).
• Was a fighter pilot in the West German Air Force but trained in Texas, therefore has to have a soft spot for football and the Air Force Academy, which just happens to currently be in the same conference as BYU, so he likely feels obligated to not root for the Cougars.

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

• Elder Boyd K. Packer: USU
• Born in Brigham City, Utah which is just a short drive through the canyon to USU.
• Bachelor's and Master's Degree from Utah State University.
• Ed. D. from BYU.
• Also a pilot, that served in the Pacific during WWII.
• Sealed to his wife, Donna in Logan Utah Temple. 
• Despite the degree from BYU, he loves USU not only because of his attendance and proximity to Brigham City, but because of their great Education program.
•  Elder L. Tom Perry: USU
• Born in Logan, Utah.
• Perry, Utah (small town outside Brigham City) is named after his ancestor.
• B.S. in Finance from USU.
• Has been known to frequent the Coppermill Restaurant and other businesses in Logan.
• Sealed to his first wife, Virginia, in the Logan Utah Temple.
• Elder Russell M. Nelson: Neutral
• B.A. and M.D. from the University of Utah. Ph. D. from University of Minnesota
• No real leanings here, but two degrees from U of U count against BYU, which evens out his likely inclinations to root for "the Lord's team."
•  Elder Dallin H. Oaks: Leans BYU
• Born in Provo.
• Accounting degree from BYU before getting Juris Doctorate from University of Chicago Law School. He then taught Law at Chicago.
• President of BYU for nine years. Justice of the Utah Supreme Court.
• Though he is likely a Cougar fan we will give him some credit as he is likely a Chicago Bears fan and is a firm believer in the Constitution of the United States.
• Elder M. Russell Ballard: Neutral
• Attended University of Utah.
• Close relationship with the Hunstman family. 
• Know to have said he "Loves coming to Logan" in Stake Conferences in the area.
• Most likely a Ute fan who enjoys watching BYU lose no matter who it is.
• Elder Richard G. Scott: USU
• Mechanical Engineering degree from George Washington University.
• Nuclear Engineer. Father worked in US Department of Agriculture.
• Born in Pocatello, Idaho just north of Logan. Has to be a Aggie fan due to it close proximity to his hometown and its excellent engineering and agricultural programs.
• Elder Robert D. Hales: Leans USU
• Bachelors Degree from University of Utah. MBA from Harvard.
• Fighter Pilot in U.S. Air Force. (See Uchtdorf explanation).
• Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: BYU
• Was President of Brigham Young University from 1980-1989 and Dean of College of Religion at BYU.
• Bachelor's and Master's from BYU. Master's and Doctorate from Yale.
• This guy likely bleeds Blue (the wrong type).
• Elder David A. Bednar: BYU
• Bachelor's and Master's from BYU. Doctorate from Purdue. 
• Taught at Texas Tech University and University of Arkansas, therefore, has to be a football fan.
• President of Brigham Young University-Idaho 1997-2004.
• Elder Quentin L. Cook: USU
• Born in Logan Utah.
• Sealed to wife, Mary, in Logan Utah.
• Political Science degree from Utah State University. Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School.
• I've met him. He is an Aggie!
• Elder D. Todd Christofferson: BYU
•  Born in American Fork, but grew up in Lindon just north of BYU.
• Bachelor's degree from BYU. Juris Doctorate from Duke University.
• Elder Neil L. Anderson: Leans USU
• Born in Logan, raised in Pocatello, Idaho.
• Undergrad at BYU and MBA from Harvard.
• Served in Utah North Area Presidency.
• Granted he went to BYU, but my guess it was because he got a stellar scholarship or something like that. He cannot deny his Logan roots.

In case you are keeping score that is 7-5-3 for USU amongst the prophets, seers, and revelators.

A further analysis would call for a look into the the Area Seventies, Area Presidencies, Auxiliary Presidencies and Presiding Bishopric, but I will leave that up to your own curiosities.

Although this interpretation and examination is based on complete conjecture and speculation, not to mention lathered with bias, lets just say that tonight will be one of preparation and reflection for the leaders of the church, and the excitement of tonight's game will be the perfect kickoff for the 180 Semi-Annual General Conference.

Despite my general feelings in regards to the act of "storming the court/field," I do not see it as a complete impossibility for Aggie fans tonight to christen Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium with its first student body storming. I mean it has been 17 years, and a "winning team, losing team" chant hasn't yet been done in Romney with the conviction that a win tonight would bring.

Pedantic Fixation: Mormon Message and Some Running

Pedantic Fixation: Mormon Message and Some Running: "So everyone has seen at least one Mormon Messages Video right? The movies the church makes from some of the talks at General Conference and ..."