The Holy Yew Becomes Holier

"That shady city of Palm Trees. . . ."

Palms don't grow in Britain. There are some surprising palmetto-types along the south and western coasts as the temperate climate is warmed by the Gulf Stream. And as Basil Fawlty explains, Torquay is the Riviera of Britain. . . .

So what do they use for Palm Sunday?

Yes, the Holy Yew!

My distant cousin, Henry Vaughan, knew this. And surprised I was to learn that when he wrote of the Palm Tree, it was the Yew! That poem makes so much more sense now so I share it here thinking of that peaceful resting place below the Yew in Llansantffraed Churchyard.

Too Little Credit Where Much Credit Was Due: Joseph Ridges

This nice little marker is just outside of my local sandwich shop near the corner of State Street and South Temple, across from Brigham Young's Lion House, Territorial and Church Offices, and the Beehive House. One of the architects is noted as Joseph H. Ridges, my 3rd-Great-Grandfather.

He is better known for building another "structure" or two, principally, the original Tabernacle Organ, now modernized and mostly replaced in all its intricate parts, but still retaining the essential features of Joseph's design. In the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum is a composite photograph reproduced here in a church publication:

Is the Pope Capitalist?

Apparently not.

A humble Pope Francis honors the poor and ill.

It has been entertaining to see the right-wing go after the Pope, of all people. I mean, if Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are all against the guy for his views on Capitalism and the Social Gospel, almost they persuade me to become a Catholic! Except that if anyone really reads the Book of Mormon, the revelations of Joseph Smith, or teachings of Brigham Young, they wouldn't be a Capitalist either. It's only the Anti-Christs in the Book of Mormon who preach that each man prospers according to his own genius!

Let's All Repent & Be Humble

A little harsh, perhaps, but let's all repent and do better. From Anonymous D:

After the lesson on self-reliance last Sunday I’ve come to recognize just how much the average Latter-Day Saint despises the poor.  The occasion was nothing more than an opportunity for the resident businessmen and bankers to moralize about the incredible laziness of the less fortunate and potential employees.  Even those who themselves have been out of work got in on the act.  My reaction was not anger but an overwhelming sadness.  It’s come to this. We actually despise the poor and the needy.  I could, as I sat there, hear the words of Moroni ringing in my ears.  

Humility & Pride (Guest Post)

My BYU Freshman Son gave me permission to share the talk he gave in Sacrament Meeting today as a guest post. He had been asking me for a little advice not using what I thought was my best idea (perhaps he was appropriately inspired not to). I'll share it at the end so as not to detract from this excellent talk:

Good morning Brothers and Sisters, [introduces self], I am primarily from Centerville, Utah, but I used to live in New Mexico. I am majoring in physics with a minor in music, and I plan to go into acoustics. I would like to start off by sharing a quote from a talk by President Benson. It reads:

“Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion. I repeat: Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion.”

Good Friday Music

Our Gospel Doctrine teacher seemed genuinely surprised that Jacob in the Book of Mormon counseled to become "fools before God." 2 Nephi 9:42 And commented very sincerely how that was such unusual counsel. I only whispered to my wife that the Apostle Paul went on quite a bit about becoming a "Fool for Christ" in the first few chapters of I Corinthians. That's OK. We can't all be wise enough to be fools. Eventually, we will learn to admit it as we humble ourselves before the throne of all wisdom and truth.

The Retreat

No, I'm not back-tracking on my blogging. I'm just enjoying my break. Even before the Holiday (holy day), I was thinking about issues of race with regard to Ron Paul and the curse of Western Society - not that false one of "Cain," but of all the things we've done wrong with regard to our brothers and sisters of a different tone of skin color. I'll work on this some more including a re-read of  the chapters on the Revelation on the Priesthood in the book on President Kimball's years as President of the Church, which I recommend to all.

I am also somewhat in shock by the Christmas gift I got from my son and his wife, with a little help from my wife and others of our children. I had a vague idea from pop-up adds that you can have a book made of blog posts. My family went ahead and did that for my first year of this blog. It would the height of vanity press except that I didn't do it myself. It was a thoughtful and respectful gift from family which humbles me and fills me with love and appreciation. And, of course, my wife accurately pointed out that it is a little circular vanity of me to take a picture of the book with the intent of posting it here on this blog. But it's not for public sale, you'll just have to read things here in cyber-world.

Priesthood Session LATE Blogging: October 1, 2011

This is now online for all to watch. It was probably online live.

While our chapel has now gone wireless, and I know the password, I think I will still refrain from live-blogging the priesthood session on my netbook which could prove too much of a distraction to others. Although it might keep me and others more awake. I'll just have to try and scribble some notes in the inevitable darkness (they turn out all the lights to watch the screen!). And I'll try to blog highlights later.

I still don't know why they don't just broadcast it on TV. It's not any big secret or anything. To the credit of the LDS Institute at the U, they will rebroadcast at 9 pm so people can see it after the football game with the U of Washington Huskies. We'll see if any of my boys make it up there.

Meyers-Briggs INFP: What Sir Galahad and I Have in Common

Sir Galahad by Arthur Hughes (1832-1915)

It's not exactly the purity (although far from me being some kind of libertine!) Rather it's the idealistic temperament we share. I feel the need to explain myself yet again, which, of course, is also part of the psychological profile.

The Meek Peacemakers

Our Gospel Doctrine teacher was solid today but he gets a little nervous with comments that take him off his preparation. So, I was quietly going a little deeper in thought on my own into the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5). I had already noted and marked the Temple-War connection there. (OK, to lay it out - "Peacekeepers" should be obvious. The Beatitude just above mentions "pure in heart" which equals "Zion" (D&C 97:21) and "Zion" is the same thing as "Temple." (Jeremiah 50:28) (Jeremiah rather explicitly linking Zion, Temple and War).

And I was trying to figure out the meek inheriting the earth.