My talk & temple reccomends

My talk went really well last week. Even though I was nervous prior to the talk I did okay. I think that it really just involved getting into the run of things again.

GREAT NEWS!!!! Ofelia and I just got our temple recommends for the first time in about 5 years. It feels so good and we will be going to the temple this Saturday with the youth to do baptisms for the dead. This will be exciting!

Court martial

I went into the court martial that I have been selected for as a juror member with a thought that most things like this would be fairly black or white. Boy was I in for a surprise. This is anything but black and white and is quite grey. It is easy to here both sides of the argument and want to side with both. Once the court martial is over I think I will be able to expound a bit more.

Can good people do illegal things?

I have been a panel member (jury member) for a special court martial these last 2 days. One of the qualifying questions that the judge asked us was "can a good person do illegal things?" It took a while for some of the other members to think about. For me it was fairly easy. Is some one bad just because they go 5 miles over the speed limit? Back in the 50s and 60s was a person bad for going against laws that were discriminatory against other races? The answer to both of these questions is no. Some of the juror members were adamant that a good person could not do illegal things. Interesting.

Talk in sacrament meeting

This week I am busy preparing a talk on the Atonement. I will be talking next week in sacrament meeting and this is the first time I have done this is a long time. I am nervous but am excited to be doing this.

One of my troops LDS but has been inactive for a while. It is interesting how I have various different hats when it comes down to it. I his boss, his confidant, the closest thing he has to a church leader, and it is hard to juggle everything at the same time. I was able to talk to him and give him a blessing at work. Hopefully he is able to straighten things out. I know how hard it is to come back once you have strayed from the path.

Trip to Orem, UT for my sister Lucy's wedding

Starting yesterday in the afternoon we left Alamogordo to come to UT for my sister's wedding. We drove until 1 am today and we stopped in Monticello, UT to spend the night. When we woke up today we went and saw the Monticello temple. We then drove ther est of the way to Orem and arrived at about 3 pm. It has been nice to see my family. Everyone but my youngest brother, who is on a mission in Mexico is here.

Splits with the missionaries

As Ward Mission leader I get to be a missionary again! It is wonderful and exciting to be able to meet people and talk to them about the gospel. Last night we went to teach three families. We talked to one family about the plan of salvation, another about tithing and the third family about convenants.

World of uncertainty

This world is one of uncertainty and the unknown. We have absolutly no clue what will happen to us tomorrow. That being said it is of vital importance that we make the most of each day as if it will be our last. What does this mean. It means we spend time with our family, we don't waste time doing things that won't benefit us in some sort of way. One of my favorite things to do is learn. I can never learn enough, whether it is on the internet or if it is from other people. Sir Thomas More said, "Wisdom and deep intelligence require an honest appreciation of mystery." We have to delve into the unknown.

National Prayer Breakfast

Today I went ot Holloman's National Prayer Breakfast. It was wonderful. A chaplain from the Special Operations Command (AFSOC) spoke. He spoke about having a good attitude and about who our heroes are. He mentioned some of his heroes. I contemplated my heroes, Jon Huntsman, President Hinckley, Sir Thomas More, and my dad. It is wonderful to have good examples around us to help us through life.

Gordon B. Hinckley, Prophet

It was very sad to see a wonderful man who we all loved pass away, but at the same time the knowledge that he is with the Father and that he is resting with his wonderful wife makes me happy. After 13 years it will be interesting to see what happens next. The fact that during his tenure as prophet the number of temples more than doubled is amazing. May the Lord bless his family so that they might have peace.

My wife and I taped the funeral. It was a beautiful ceremony.

Getting taken care of

The military is like a family as is the church. It is wonderful to know that no matter what is happening in my life both my Air Force and church family is always ready to jump to my aid. When my 2nd son was born he started having some medical issues. The church was quick to offer meals and to care for us. My boss and everyone at work was also willing to help. There are some companies that would have you take a sick day or leave without pay. I was told to tke a week and take care of my family. I didn't have to take leave and I continued to get paid. I am so glad to be part of two great organizations. The Air Force and the church help take care of my temporal needs and the church helps me with my spiritual needs.

First Post

Well, this is my first post on this blog. Some might be wondering what this blog will be about. It is going to be about my church experiences mostly and some what of how they relate to the Air Force and my life in both organizations.

Since I have been in the Air Force, I spent a large part of it inactive in church. For other members reading this you can probably relate a bit to some of my experiences. When I was enlisted, I was an air traffic controller working at a radar scope in Goldsboro NC at Seymour Johnson AFB. I had a great time controlling. The bad thing is that due to my shift work I had to work a week of day shift and another week of swing shift. Unfortunantly this meant that I couldn't get to church when I was working days. After a while I started not going even when I was able to. I just started getting used to not going. It was easy to just start slacking off and become lazy.