An Elder Wirthlin Sampler

(Shamelessly cross-posted from my personal blog)

I think Elder Wirthlin was my favorite apostle, so I was shocked and saddened to hear it announced in my Computer Science 404 class on Tuesday that he had passed away Monday. I figured I'd do a little sampler of some of the talks that he's given that I've enjoyed a lot.

• This one really spoke to me: even though I'm a weird freak, I belong. I often think of his symphony of piccolos analogy.
  Concern for the One: "Tied to this misconception is the erroneous belief that all members of the Church should look, talk, and be alike. The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole."
  
  
• This talk pretty much sums up my philosophy of life and the importance of humor.
  Come What May, and Love It: "Have you ever seen an angry driver who, when someone else makes a mistake, reacts as though that person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam? Or have you had an encounter with an overhanging cupboard door left open at the wrong place and the wrong time which has been cursed, condemned, and avenged by a sore-headed victim?
  
  There is an antidote for times such as these: learn to laugh."
  
  
• A great charity talk, and it was the backdrop for the indelible Conference moment when he started shaking during his talk (apparently due to locked knees) and Elder Nelson got up to support him so that he was able to finish it. A beautiful example of charity in action.
  The Great Commandment: "True love lasts forever. It is eternally patient and forgiving. It believes, hopes, and endures all things. That is the love our Heavenly Father bears for us. We all yearn to experience love like this. Even when we make mistakes, we hope others will love us in spite of our shortcomings—even if we don’t deserve it. Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will."
  
  
  
• I remember my mission president speaking on this topic when I was on my mission, and I really enjoyed the idea, and this Conference Address from Elder Wirthlin had a lot of the same thoughts (and now I can't remember which came first!). Either way, great stuff.
  The Abundant Life: "The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a religion of mourning and gloom. The faith of our fathers is one of hope and joy. It is not a gospel of chains but a gospel of wings.
  
  To embrace it fully is to be filled with wonder and to walk with an inner fire. Our Savior proclaimed, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”"
  

Also, I'd recommend this post of reminiscences of Elder Wirthlin. I'll miss his awesome spirit, but now he can be with his wife, and the church will move on and we'll get even more great new leaders.

Did you guys like his talks? Any special memories of him?

Looking at Eternity through an Escherian Lens

Thy mind, O man! if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad expanse of eternity—thou must commune with God.

--Joseph Smith, from The Teachings of Jospeh Smith, ed. Joseph Fielding Smith, pg. 137


I was looking at all the pictures that Helen's mom took of the Escher prints and it reminded me of some random gospel connections in some of his work. For example, this first one, called "Circle Limit III" is how I've always envisioned God's omniscience. We are like the little fish things in the print: it looks like our universe extends infinitely in every direction--and it does!--but God is outside of it and looking down on it, so he can see everything in it all at once. And at the same time, he doesn't know everything, but he does know every possible thing going on in our universe. Just like we can see everything in the fish things' universe all at once but if we look up off the page we can't see everything at once in our universe.


This next one is what I think of as hell: always going in circles, perhaps with a false sense of getting somewhere and surrounded by people who think the same, but never progressing at all. The weird hoods that hide the climbers' faces just makes it better. I think Satan is one of the guys just sitting there beneath, watching or moping.

What do you think? Are my theological musings pointless or inspired? How do you try to comprehend the infinite? Have you ever used art or any other medium for trying to understand the eternities?

Mormon Bikers Unite!

I liked this post about Mormons biking to work a lot. It's presented in a Q&A format. A little taste:

Q: Dan, what does bike commuting have to do with Mormonism?
A: Well, bike commuting is a way for Mormons to show their willingness to take responsibility for their quality of life. In an age where SUV owners are actually setting fire to their cars to get out of ownership arrangements they can no longer afford, and where the news is characterized by mawkish profiles of “pain at the pump” and politicians either going to Saudi Arabia to grovel for more oil or calling silly Congressional hearings to whine at oil executives who manage no more than 12% of the world’s oil prodution, bike commuting is a way for us to reject the world’s flailing, pathetic response to financial adversity that results from our own consumption decisions. Besides, I read somewhere that if you go to heaven and mention that you lived in the time of $5/gallon gas and drove to work every day, a hush will fall over heaven and the pioneers will fall at your feet, rolling on the floor laughing at you.
Parenthetically, during the 1974 oil crisis, President Kimball responded to the crisis by asking members of the Church to start walking to church where possible, and he and Camilla led by example, walking to their meetings. Just one more reason he’s my favorite…

I'm so proud of our family, half of us ride bikes and/or walk to work often. Feels great, doesn't it? Let's keep it up!

Where were you?

I guess this post is aimed mostly at Mom and Dad. I read this really cool post over at By Common Consent about people's memories of where they were on June 8, 1978. Kind of like hearing about where people where when Kennedy was shot or on 9/11, but happy instead of devastated. Check it out, read the comments, there are some good stories in there. Dad, you were on your mission, right at the end of it, correct? Mom, you said the next week you were in a ward where a young black kid was able to pass the sacrament, right? Where exactly were you when you heard the news? What kind of changes have you seen in the church since then?

For Diana and Benjo (and me): how hard is it to even comprehend how different the church was back then? Any thoughts/impressions/whatever?

Bonus (x2): one of the responses on the original post linked to another awesome story here about the first black woman to serve a mission. Great story with her, and also read the fifth response there for another awesome anecdote about how that day changed peoples' lives miraculously!

What's your theological worldview?

I took an interesting quiz today designed to determine your "theological worldview" (whatever that means). Now, a quick disclaimer: No, I don't think a 50-question multiple choice quiz can accurately capture much of your spiritual feelings. Also, I think there is some serious bias in the questions and a lot of room for interpretation on some of the horribly ambiguous questions. Nevertheless, I don't think it's completely depraved, er, worthless, so give it a go here!

But, as usual, there is a catch! You MUST return here and post your results. MUST! That's right, no agency. Sorry. I found out I have a dictatorial worldview that has no respect for human choice. My actual results are in the comments...

Documentaries about Latter-day Saints

I just found a wonderful website by a BYU film professor that has short documentary films about everyday Mormons. It's called Fit For the Kingdom. I've watched the last four: Ramona is about a stay-at-home mom who used to be a professor at BYU, Rusty is about a recovering alcoholic weightlifter-poet, Leroy is about a crossing guard in Provo, and Heather is about a handicapped young girl who reminds me a lot of Laura Schwab.

So go to the website and watch some of them and then come back here and add a comment and tell us all what you thought. Please! It's worth it!

Nobody Knows

I thought this was a good review of Nobody Knows: The Untold History of Black Mormons. What are your thoughts? Want to see it? I want to buy it when it comes out on DVD.

Obedience through Blogging

Elder Ballard recently spoke at BYU-Hawaii's graduation ceremony, and told the graduates that they should participate in the "New Media", especially blogs. One salient quote is:

Now, to you who are graduating today, along with the other students at this wonderful university, may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet, particularly the New Media, to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration. Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true. You can download videos from Church and other appropriate sites, including Newsroom at LDS.org, and send them to your friends. You can write to media sites on the Internet that report on the Church, and voice your views as to the accuracy of the reports.

So in the spirit of Elder Ballard's speech to BYU-Hawaii grads, let's actively blog here about what's going on in our lives and in the world, what we find interesting or uplifting, and what our plans, dreams, and aspirations are. Happy blogging!