Mormon Lessons From Disney

With General Conference this weekend, I am so so very excited to hear the direction and guidance of our apostles and prophet! But this Disney video does have some good reminders, so here's a few until after Conference.

• "When You Need Help Pray"- And pray when you're grateful, and when you're happy. Pray when you're sad and hurt. Pray for understanding and for strength. Pray not because our Heavenly Father doesn't know what we are going through or what we need (because He does), but pray to show obedience and willingness to turn to Heavenly Father.
• "Remember Your Parents Love You"- Your earthly parents and your heavenly parents.
• "Put on the Whole Armor of God"- I love how she says 'these weapons of righteousness will triumph over evil". Ephesians 6:13-17 details all the armor.
• "Give of Yourself to Help Others"- To sacrifice is to give up something valuable or precious, often with the intent of accomplishing a greater purpose or goal.
• Don't Judge Others By Their Appearance"- Or solely on any one aspect of their person ( their religion, politics, career, etc). Yes, judgements need to sometimes be made regarding how we interact with someone, but it should never be with condemnation or judgement.
• "Don't Forget Who You Are and Don't Forget Who Your Father Is"- We are all children of a loving, eternal Heavenly Father. We each have a divine nature and the potential to become like our Father.
• " When Someone Dies That Doesn't Mean They're Gone" - See previous post. I Know I will see my entire family again.
• "Never Trust the Adversary Because They're Always Something He's Not Telling You"- He will make promises upon promises, telling you all the great things you will get to do, all the "freedom" you will have. Yet he will only further limit your ability to choose after certain choices (drugs, alcohol, etc) because of the consequences.
• "Don't Give Into the Treasure of the World"- Like I said, the things of the world are alluring and promise "freedom" and riches, but they will distract us from those things of eternal value.
• Endure to the End and You Will Recieve A Far Greater Reward"- Eternal life with our Heavenly Father and the opportunity to progress to become like Him is the greater gift we can be given.
• " No Matter How Bad Things Look...The Bad Guys Always Lose"- We need to keep an eternal perspective. Sometimes it seems that wicked people are wealthy, popular, successful, and beautiful. But that is only in terms of the world and with material/secular things and the judgement that really counts is that of Heavenly Father.
• "And the Good Guys Always Get Their Happy Ending"- Again, eternal perspective. On the reverse side, good people often go through trials and hardships that make a happy ending seem so far away. We need to have faith and remember that Heavenly Father will bless us eternally, though sometimes not right here, right now.

Lots of Disney love! But more importantly I can't wait to hear from the prophet today!.

Until We Meet Again

Until I see you again Grandpa Luce. Pass on my love to Grandma Luce, Charley, Grandad, Grammy and Papa. If you see my Grandma Koerner, tell her I love her too. Until we meet again.

Good Things to Come

"My declaration is that this is precisely what the gospel of Jesus Christ offers us, especially in times of need. There is help. There is happiness. There really is light at the end of the tunnel. It is the Light of the World, the Bright and Morning Star, the “light that is endless, that can never be darkened.”³ It is the very Son of God Himself. In loving praise far beyond Romeo’s reach, we say, “What light through yonder window breaks?” It is the return of hope, and Jesus is the Sun.⁴ To any who may be struggling to see that light and find that hope, I say: Hold on. Keep trying. God loves you. Things will improve. Christ comes to you in His “more excellent ministry” with a future of “better promises.” He is your “high priest of good things to come.” Jeffrey R. Holland

Lily Photo Update

She looks like Jasmine in this picture, especially with that little giggle : )

Daddy Nik and puppy Ginger showing Lily some love.

She looks a bit confused at the purpose of the bumbo seat....

Hopefully I can pass on my teddy bear collecting to my beautiful niece.

And my deep love of Pooh Bear ( and Tigger).

She even loves to dress up!

I couldn't ask for a more beautiful niece.

Love, Aunt Kristi

Beauty in Silence

Remember when I went on about the beautiful simplicity of 1950's films and when I gushed about my tiny obsession with West Side Story? Well, this weekend I was diving into my Spanish studies so I thought WSS in Spanish was a perfect way to relax. Being so intent on comprehending the foreign language, the moments of silence are starkly evident throughout the film. They say that 85% of all communication is non-verbal, but the wonderful part about that is that it leaves room for a myriad of interpretations. I've seen the film hundreds of times, literally, and yesterday new thoughts and ideas about it's concepts and pieces expanded within all the moments of silence. Like the silence that separates the Jets from outside sources--for most of those boys, their gang really was all they had. It kept them safe, protected from the hurt and disappointment of the world- minus some bruises and bloody noses. And it reminds the viewer why they pull together after Riff dies. Silence can protect and insulate, but it can also alienate and isolate. It's a powerful tool we need to be mindful of wielding.

Silence sometimes can say more than all the dictionaries in the world and other times it allows us the time to find the right words. And when all the words, in all the languages, fail us, silence just lets us feel.

In the view of the galaxy above, for each of the million points of light from stars or planets, there are probably another billion points of darkness (at least to our human eyes). Not of emptiness or dead space, just unknown or unable to be seen by our frail eyes and sometimes even by our advanced technology. Just maybe the most beautiful complex galaxy yet to be discovered lies within the "empty" space we so casually dismiss at times. And for all the explosions, collisions, black holes, meteor showers, etc- for all the sound out there..... there is also a measure of silence.

In our lives, our daily conversations, in our relationships, silence has it's place. Not as an obstacle of communication or as a punishment for perceived wrongs. We each need our silence, our quiet time, our secrets. Because what we think about and not say, what we hold close instead of spilling out says just as much about us as does all the blabbing. And as I'm sure many of you know, I could keep writing on the topic, but I'm embracing the silence.

Opposition in All Things

Newton's third law of physics states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and that applies to much more than just physics. (Skip the next paragraphs of my political science text if you want to get straight to the discussion part, otherwise enjoy the complexities of Rummel : )

"This philosophy is remarkably similar to the yin-yang of classical Chinese philosophy, elaborated in the commentaries of I-Ching. The yin and the yang are complementary principles or forces, explaining all processes of development and decay. Yin is the negative, passive, weak, or destructive element existing in all things, and yang the coexisting positive, active,
strong, and constructive element. All change manifests an interaction between these forces; harmony is their equilibrium, conflict their opposition.

This philosophy can also be found in the Pair of Opposites of Buddhism, or in the blending of the two antagonistic forces (the life-monad versus matter) in non-Aryan Indian philosophy , in
medieval Christianity (as in the coincidentia oppositorum of Nicholas of Cusa), and in contemporary non-Marxist philosophies. A belief in a fundamental
opposition in all things has had its greatest modern influence through Marxism, and especially Engels' interpretation. For Engels, the unity and struggle of opposites was one of the dialectical laws through which change is understood. Without a tension between opposites, things would be unchanging: the overcoming and being overcome of opposing forces explain all natural and human history.

Contemporary Maoism combines this Western dialectical view of opposites with the classic Chinese perspective. Contradiction--the unity of opposites--is a universal principle explaining change. Things must be studied from the inside, for their development is a self-movement (an imminent causation) due to internal contradictions. One must grasp the principal contradictions, as between proletariat and bourgeoisie in capitalism, to understand the course of change, for it will constitute a struggle between these opposites and the eventual triumph of one over the other.

As a philosophical principle, the unity and struggle of opposites are
prominent in my perspective on human nature and conflict. Consider. Perception is the outcome of a struggle between opposing forces--the powers of reality bearing upon us and our outward-directed perspective-between opposing vectors. Reality itself is a complex of opposing powers struggling toward manifestation. Life is then a struggle of opposites toward realization. Harmony is a balance among such opposites. For society, the struggle is the balancing of powers among
people--the manifest determination of their interests, capabilities, and wills: the harmony is the structure of expectations. Thus the conflict helix, the process of balancing, balance, disruption, and balancing, is a unity of opposites through which society changes and evolves. Conflict transforms itself into harmony and harmony into conflict; war into peace and peace into war. Both are aspects of the same process, an inseparable unity in our psychological and
social fields" ( Rummel, Understanding Conflict and War, Vol 3).

Ok, my inner geek took control for a minute there, but that is some cool stuff!

An even more reliable source explains that "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so …righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad..." (2 Ne. 2: 11).

As comforting as the knowledge of opposition is to explain the hardships we all endure, we do know that it is only one of many. We each have our agency- the ability to choose, to make decisions every day. While I do believe that opposing forces fight for balance and create change, I would argue that we as individuals are those forces. Our choices on one side of the fence or the other, our allegience to good or evil makes all the difference. And yes, I really do believe that there are only two sides. Heavenly Father's side or Satan's side. There is no fence-sitting, no middle ground on this. Our choices are often the root of hardship or pain when we choose to follow worldly counsel or trends. Problems we encounter can be consequences from our actions and/or sins. But, now that I've touched on agency, let's go back to the opposition thing.

Since the day I opened my mission call, actually, scratch that. Since the day I put my papers in, totally and completely submitted them, the flood gates of opposition have burst open. Family problems, discouragement, fear, work conflicts with institute (as minuscule as that sounds), etc, etc, etc, etc. I think you get the picture without all the gory details. Satan does not want me to go on this mission. And it makes me that much more determined to serve, and to serve faithfully, and to serve with every fiber of my heart, might, mind, and strength.

In the beautiful hymn, I Know that My Redeemer Lives, it says "He will wipe away my tears", not that he will take them away. If everything was smooth and easy then this life would be according to Satan's plan, because it can only be easy if everyone is making the right choices. Which is, hello, taking away our agency. So, with a firm hold on my free will, I eagerly prepare for my mission.

One of my favorite general conference talks ever, given by Richard Edgley in 2010, centered on faith. He said these words that spoke straight to my heart: "Because of the conflicts and challenges we face in today’s world, I wish to suggest a single choice—a choice of peace and protection and a choice that is appropriate for all. That choice is faith. Be aware that faith is not a free gift given without thought, desire, or effort. It does not come as the dew falls from heaven. The Savior said, “Come unto me” (Matthew 11:28) and “Knock, and it shall be [given] you” (Matthew 7:7). These are action verbs—come, knock. They are choices. So I say, choose faith.Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen, and choose faith over pessimism."