The spiritual application of horoscopes

Today at FHE, the person assigned to give the spiritual thought was stuck on a train and was unable to make it; so literally at the last minute, another member volunteered to do it. The thought was short and to the point, but as someone sitting next to me commented, it was probably the best FHE thought he had ever heard. I had to agree. And since it was quite a perfect syzygy of events and connections, I thought I'd share it here.

First, the speaker shared a scripture he had come across in his scripture reading the night before:

For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.

-1 Nephi 10:19

Second, he recounted a discussion he had with his sister at the breakfast table this morning. Apparently she is big into horoscopes and had the paper out to read about how her day would go. The speaker admitted that he feels horoscopes are a 'load of stuff and nonsense' and said he told his sister as much. When she protested, he explained his opinion:

You read the horoscopes in the morning, so of course that's what you're going to think about during the day. You process everything that happens in reference to what you read, and so you MAKE your horoscope come true. One day try not reading your horoscope until the end of the day and then see how 'true' it is. I think you'll find that it's not really accurate at all.

And that, he said, is when the penny dropped.

So third, he remembered his scripture reading from the night before. (A miracle. For though he usually reads his scriptures at night, he often wakes up in the morning with the page still open where he began, having failed to internalize what he'd read.) He then applied his logic about the worth of horoscopes to the worth of daily scripture study:

If he were to read his scriptures in the morning, that's what he'd think about during the day. He'd process everything that happened to him in reference to what he had read, and thus he would stand a better chance of DOING what they commanded and MAKING the promises of kept covenants come true. By reading at night, there was still the possibility that some of his actions during the day might be reflected in the scriptures, but much of their power and value would be diminished.

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So what I got from his thought is this: As the scripture states, when we diligently seek for spiritual manifestations to strengthen our faith, answer our questions, and give us comfort, the Lord is fully prepared to bless us with what we need and even what we want.

This is the best argument I have ever heard in favor of morning reading, and as a night-reader myself, I've made a goal to switch the the morning and see if I can make myself a good horoscope or two (:

What am I doing here?

Why am I studying here in London when I could be back in P-town studying like a scholar, scholar?

A blog for Adriane, et al.

Dear Adriane,

I'm still fighting jetlag, but in my late-night facebook trawling whilst attempting to numb my brain into a REM cycle (and I just spent way too much time there trying to find verbs that could carry an extended laundry metaphor before I gave up to switch my actual laundry), I came across this article posted by my cousin Susan on her page and it sure made me sit up and take notice.

So read this: (I'll wait. Oh, and you can double-click to make it bigger.)


So after the first column these were some of my initial thoughts:

1. I want to fly to Washington right now so I can find Tacoma and punch her stupid, insensitive face.
2. If all her single, childless friends feel the same way, heaven forbid they ever breed amongst themselves and propagate their stupidity exponentially.
3. I really hope I've never even approached this level of insensitivity and am so, SO sorry if I have.

Then I read Carolyn's response, and had some more thoughts:

1. Should I ever have children, I'm naming my first-born child Carolyn. Even if he's a boy I don't care. I'll give his future wife this article and she'll thank me.
2. She is treating Tacoma much more humanely than I'd ever be able to.
3. This is one of the best explanations of the role of a mother that I have ever seen, especially a young mother. Having never been a mother, I hope this doesn't sound presumptuous or offensive, but what I've seen of the Herculean efforts mothers make on a daily basis which must more often than not make them feel like more like Sisyphus makes this ring true to me.
4. She sums up in one sentence why I am not ready to me a mother: 'It's resisting constant temptation to seek short-term relief at everyone's long-term expense.' A further distillation can produce a single word: Unselfishness.

So, I'd just like to give a brief shout out to my best friend, the uh-MAZ-ing mother of my two most favourite 'nephews' and the funniest person I know. I hope you know that I've seen how much work and sacrifice and effort and sweat and laughter and love you put into each and every moment, each and every day.

I honestly shake my head in awe at what you do while I use selfishly my MA program as an excuse to relax and enjoy...

You are my hero.

Love,

Meagan

In Memoriam Wells L. Brady

We keep the day. With festal cheer, With books and music, surely we Will drink to him, whate'er he be, And sing the songs he loved to hear.

-Tennyson

In Memoriam A.H.H.

I'm back in Orem for a few weeks helping the fam with the move and today, as we amassed enough giveaways to stock DI for the next year, Tay and La introduced me to some of the quality American television I've been missing for the last few months via Hulu. Throughout the day, these two commercials from American Airlines deservedly got a lot of air time.

My grandpa served in the U.S. Navy before, during, and after WWII and I welcome opportunities like today to remember the sacrifice he and others like him made for our country.

My cousin Kevin is third generation navy, and he reverently keeps my grandpa's uniforms in pristine condition. Recently, he posted some pictures of them along with explanations of the different ribbons and markings:

'Ribbons in WWII were just that....ribbons! Handsewn on. From top left to right then bottom left to right:
- Navy Good Conduct medal (2 awards) - 8 years of 'not getting caught' as we used to say
- American Defense Medal (with star indicating overseas service) For service in the military PRIOR to December 7, 1941 (Pearl Harbor)
- American Campaign Medal - For service in the US during WWII
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with three bronze stars indicating specific actions in the Pacific)
- WWII Victory Medal - For WWII service'

Grandpa died over 11 years ago, but our family never fails to reminisce about the good memories we have of spending time with him and learning about his life. His military service was only one small part of who he was, but it helped shaped him, it help shaped this country, and it helps shape us.

I sometimes forget that veterans don't always qualify for senior citizens' benefits, so it helps to have these reminders that there are men and women out serving their country today who will be the heroes of future generations, as my grandpa is to me. In fact, they are already heroes. And I salute them.

April marches on.

As does the madness.

So it's April. And apparently it's been that way for quite a while. And realistically, it'll probably be May before I resurface again. But I'd just like to point out that not all madness can be a bad thing:

Yep. That's me who ended up in second place.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. So hopefully I'll squeak through this month and see y'all later.