It's been a while since I've entered the "blogosphere," as some call it. However, events of the past few hours have prompted me to make an entry. Between four and five hours ago I learned of the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley, the president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This marks the end of a significant era in the church's history. I won't attempt a historical sketch of the prophet's ministry or anything like that, but President Hinckley has been in office for slightly less than half of my life. I am somewhat saddened by his death, but I think I may be more inspired by it.
I work in media production. President Hinckley spent about twenty years as one of the church's leading officials in media and public affairs. His work revolutionized everything from missionary work to temple ordinances. The industry must honor him as one of its greatest. I must honor him as a visionary and an example worthy of emulation.
As a general authority, he was a man without whom the church would not enjoy the degree of respect it has attained among many not of our faith. His voice for friendship and cooperation within and without the church was constant. He took unprecedented steps in delivering the church's message throughout the world and in providing support for members in all parts of the earth. Because of him, I want to do likewise.
I think more than anything, I remember his unfailing faith in the potential of not only the church and its programs, but the individual members, regardless of station. He helped me feel that I could accomplish the Lord's purposes in my life and that I could overcome any obstacle in my path. He helped me believe in myself and in the power and willingness of the Lord to bless me.
I was at my parent's house when I heard the news. I was surprised by it, but not rudely. President Hinckley was 97 years old. Even though his energy made you think that he'd be alive long after you'd given up on mortality, everyone knew it was coming soon. I didn't expect it this soon. As I drove home with my family, I asked them what we could do to remember the prophet who helped shape so much of our lives. Nobody really had a response yet.
The obvious answer for me is to follow his teachings. Over the decades he spent in church leadership, he taught a lot of things, but they can be encapsulated in his oft-repeated saying, "Stand a little taller."
Be a little better, do a little more, live a little stronger. He encouraged us to work diligently at working diligently. He said he wanted to wear himself out in the service of the Lord, and he did. Because his death is motivating rather than discouraging, I know he was a true hero. The way we can best honor his memory is to follow his example. Many things have been leading up to it, but the closing of an era tonight has ushered in a new one for me. It is an era of repentance, renewal, and progress. It is a time of faithfulness and a time of change. I think President Hinckley would approve of the things I plan to do in tribute (in part) to him. More on this later.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Jeannie and the Priesthood.
Jeannie is my newborn daughter. She is nearly three months old now, and today we are going to observe a tradition that is part of the faith to which I belong. We are going to use the authority of the holy priesthood to give her a name and a blessing. You may be thinking, "didn't you just say her name?" That's not what I meant. She's had a name since a few moments after she was born, when we realized she was a girl and not the boy the doctors had said was coming. The ordinance of naming and blessing a child is about ceremonially bestowing upon the baby the name you have chosen for it and sealing that name upon her head - a name by which she will be known throughout her life and on the records of the church. Whether this ordinance is binding in eternity, I don't know. I know the priesthood by which it is performed has the authority to bind on both sides of the veil, but the scriptures speak of a new name. Replacing earthly names may be one of it's functions. It is not the only one, I know that.
The ceremony - or ordinance, rather - involves worthy priesthood holders who have been invited to participate taking the child collectively in their arms and, with the father usually voicing, praying over the child, bestowing the name and pronouncing blessings according to the will of the Lord as dictated by the Holy Ghost. Jeannie is my third child (all girls) so this will be the third time I have performed this ordinance. It is most sacred.
The name we will give her is the same as her legal name: Jeannie Alice Noelani Figueira. There are no mystical cult-like code names or pretended mysteries involved. It is straightforward and purposeful. Yet the effects are far reaching.
I do something for my daughters which I would have very much liked to have had done for me. I make a recording of the blessing and then transcribe it. In this way, when they are older, my girls will be able to read the blessing they were given as a baby. I do this in hopes that it may guide them and inspire them throughout their lives.
As far as the blessing goes, I won't know exactly what to say until the moment comes. The Lord fulfils his promise to give "in the very hour" the words which I should speak. I say this to illustrate that it is not a prepared speech. It is a blessing from God, given through the mouth of a father who by proper ordination possesses the authority to act in His name. This authority is called the priesthood - in this case the Melchizedek Priesthood - and man does not control it.
I hold this priesthood because I was given it by my father who received it from another in authority, and this genealogy of priesthood ordinations can be traced back to the prophet Joseph Smith, who received it from the resurrected apostles Peter, James, and John, who in turn received it from Jesus Christ himself. So when one acts by the authority of the priesthood, he acts in the name of Jesus Christ and therefore has the responsibility to do and say what Christ himself would do and say were he personally present. As you can see, this is not a thing to be taken lightly, and a man who holds this honor must live constantly in a manner to be worthy of exercising the gift should the need arise.
The priesthood holds more authority than only the blessing of babies. Through the Melchizedek Priesthood a man may baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; bestow the Gift of the Holy Ghost, confer the priesthood on others deemed worthy, receive revelation for those in his stewardship, bless and heal the sick and afflicted, cast out devils, preach the word of God, perform marriages for time and all eternity, dedicate graves, and do any number of other good works always according to the will of God. Some of these works, such as marriage for eternity, are restricted to those who hold a certain office in the priesthood while others, such as healing the sick and preaching the gospel, need only the occasion to call for them. Still others, like baptism, can be performed by any worthy priesthood holder, but must be done under the direction of one who holds the keys of the authority, such as a bishop. My office is Elder.
This was not intended to be a dissertation on the priesthood, but since the information is useful I will not remove it.
This was intended to be about how my heart is full at the prospect of blessing my child. I pray the Lord will grant me faith and cleanse me before Him, that I may be worthy to receive His word, and speak those things which are beneficial to my daughter and pleasing in the sight of God. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
The ceremony - or ordinance, rather - involves worthy priesthood holders who have been invited to participate taking the child collectively in their arms and, with the father usually voicing, praying over the child, bestowing the name and pronouncing blessings according to the will of the Lord as dictated by the Holy Ghost. Jeannie is my third child (all girls) so this will be the third time I have performed this ordinance. It is most sacred.
The name we will give her is the same as her legal name: Jeannie Alice Noelani Figueira. There are no mystical cult-like code names or pretended mysteries involved. It is straightforward and purposeful. Yet the effects are far reaching.
I do something for my daughters which I would have very much liked to have had done for me. I make a recording of the blessing and then transcribe it. In this way, when they are older, my girls will be able to read the blessing they were given as a baby. I do this in hopes that it may guide them and inspire them throughout their lives.
As far as the blessing goes, I won't know exactly what to say until the moment comes. The Lord fulfils his promise to give "in the very hour" the words which I should speak. I say this to illustrate that it is not a prepared speech. It is a blessing from God, given through the mouth of a father who by proper ordination possesses the authority to act in His name. This authority is called the priesthood - in this case the Melchizedek Priesthood - and man does not control it.
I hold this priesthood because I was given it by my father who received it from another in authority, and this genealogy of priesthood ordinations can be traced back to the prophet Joseph Smith, who received it from the resurrected apostles Peter, James, and John, who in turn received it from Jesus Christ himself. So when one acts by the authority of the priesthood, he acts in the name of Jesus Christ and therefore has the responsibility to do and say what Christ himself would do and say were he personally present. As you can see, this is not a thing to be taken lightly, and a man who holds this honor must live constantly in a manner to be worthy of exercising the gift should the need arise.
The priesthood holds more authority than only the blessing of babies. Through the Melchizedek Priesthood a man may baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; bestow the Gift of the Holy Ghost, confer the priesthood on others deemed worthy, receive revelation for those in his stewardship, bless and heal the sick and afflicted, cast out devils, preach the word of God, perform marriages for time and all eternity, dedicate graves, and do any number of other good works always according to the will of God. Some of these works, such as marriage for eternity, are restricted to those who hold a certain office in the priesthood while others, such as healing the sick and preaching the gospel, need only the occasion to call for them. Still others, like baptism, can be performed by any worthy priesthood holder, but must be done under the direction of one who holds the keys of the authority, such as a bishop. My office is Elder.
This was not intended to be a dissertation on the priesthood, but since the information is useful I will not remove it.
This was intended to be about how my heart is full at the prospect of blessing my child. I pray the Lord will grant me faith and cleanse me before Him, that I may be worthy to receive His word, and speak those things which are beneficial to my daughter and pleasing in the sight of God. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Testimony
I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the one and true kingdom of God on the Earth. I know that Jesus Christ will come again in glory to redeem his people and claim the Earth, which is his right. And I know that, inasmuch as I am faithful, I will be prepared to meet him at that day with gladness. How do I know these things? I have learned them of God, and not of man. I know them by the power of the Holy Ghost. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Unwritten Rules
"I try very hard to live my life by rules."
Of all the things President Del R. Jones of the Arizona Tempe Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has ever said to me, that may be the one I remember the best, and the one I strive the hardest to emulate.
He went on to explain that the rules he lived by were not made with exceptions. "Exceptions are few and obvious," he said. When we define an exception as part of a rule, the exception eventually becomes the rule. In other words, we spend more time trying to make exceptions than we do trying to live by the rules we ourselves have chosen.
I heard on the radio the other day an ad that said something like, "Some people take time off from skiing to have babies, work, or whatever." That's not an exact quote, but I always thought that people took time off from work and ordinary family concerns to go skiing. To me this personifies letting the exception become the rule.
Most of the rules I live by are unwritten - at least by me. They are guiding principles that apply to and influence my every day actions. At times in my life when I've tried to sit down and make a list of the rules I live by, I've usually come away frustrated because what I end up with is either so broad that it's essentially meaningless, or so specific that it's more like a technical manual than a personal code of conduct. I think to myself, "I can see it so clearly in my mind, why can't I translate it into language?"
That's not to say that I can't give absolute definitions to any parts of my code. For example, I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs. Period. No questions, no exceptions. That's black and white. I always go to church on Sunday. That one has had a few exceptions over the years (for sickness and other such circumstances), but the rule is unchanging, and the exceptions are not pre-defined.
The tricky part is the situational dilemmas of daily life. How do I approach a person about a given topic? How do I respond to certain types of behavior? What do I do with my free time? These are only a few of the questions we all deal with.
Though it may defeat the purpose, I will attempt periodically over the course of this blog to document some of my less tangible rules in a way that preserves their spirit - which is what they are all about. I'll try to give concrete definitions to the principles I live by, and that should help create a feel for the nature of the unwritten rules.
Of all the things President Del R. Jones of the Arizona Tempe Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has ever said to me, that may be the one I remember the best, and the one I strive the hardest to emulate.
He went on to explain that the rules he lived by were not made with exceptions. "Exceptions are few and obvious," he said. When we define an exception as part of a rule, the exception eventually becomes the rule. In other words, we spend more time trying to make exceptions than we do trying to live by the rules we ourselves have chosen.
I heard on the radio the other day an ad that said something like, "Some people take time off from skiing to have babies, work, or whatever." That's not an exact quote, but I always thought that people took time off from work and ordinary family concerns to go skiing. To me this personifies letting the exception become the rule.
Most of the rules I live by are unwritten - at least by me. They are guiding principles that apply to and influence my every day actions. At times in my life when I've tried to sit down and make a list of the rules I live by, I've usually come away frustrated because what I end up with is either so broad that it's essentially meaningless, or so specific that it's more like a technical manual than a personal code of conduct. I think to myself, "I can see it so clearly in my mind, why can't I translate it into language?"
That's not to say that I can't give absolute definitions to any parts of my code. For example, I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs. Period. No questions, no exceptions. That's black and white. I always go to church on Sunday. That one has had a few exceptions over the years (for sickness and other such circumstances), but the rule is unchanging, and the exceptions are not pre-defined.
The tricky part is the situational dilemmas of daily life. How do I approach a person about a given topic? How do I respond to certain types of behavior? What do I do with my free time? These are only a few of the questions we all deal with.
Though it may defeat the purpose, I will attempt periodically over the course of this blog to document some of my less tangible rules in a way that preserves their spirit - which is what they are all about. I'll try to give concrete definitions to the principles I live by, and that should help create a feel for the nature of the unwritten rules.
Who and Why
As the introductory post on this site, let me say a little bit about who I am and why I decided to create this blog.
Today is February 16th, 2007. As I surfed the web this morning, I came across a link to blogger.com, which I had never heard of. Intrigued, I took a closer look. I'll admit that I've wanted to have a blog for a while, but haven't actively pursued it. As I took the tour of this site, the thought came to me that here I could have a place to publish some of the thoughts I've had in a forum that might actually allow me to reach some people.
My credentials in many of the subjects I will address on this page are limited to my personal experience and observations. I am not a journalist. I am not a politician. I am not an expert on many things. I am a business student. I am also a father of three, an entrepreneur, an interested citizen, and a Latter-Day Saint. I try to be a keen observer, though I too often fall into the "casual spectator" category. Thoughts and opinions I have in abundant supply, as well as personally significant insights that may or may not be of value to anyone else. I don't claim any unique ownership of any of my perspectives. Most if not all of the things I know and believe I have learned from someone else along the way. So I guess that's the point of my blog - to chronicle some of my experiences and insights in the hope that someone else can learn - for better or worse - from me.
Today is February 16th, 2007. As I surfed the web this morning, I came across a link to blogger.com, which I had never heard of. Intrigued, I took a closer look. I'll admit that I've wanted to have a blog for a while, but haven't actively pursued it. As I took the tour of this site, the thought came to me that here I could have a place to publish some of the thoughts I've had in a forum that might actually allow me to reach some people.
My credentials in many of the subjects I will address on this page are limited to my personal experience and observations. I am not a journalist. I am not a politician. I am not an expert on many things. I am a business student. I am also a father of three, an entrepreneur, an interested citizen, and a Latter-Day Saint. I try to be a keen observer, though I too often fall into the "casual spectator" category. Thoughts and opinions I have in abundant supply, as well as personally significant insights that may or may not be of value to anyone else. I don't claim any unique ownership of any of my perspectives. Most if not all of the things I know and believe I have learned from someone else along the way. So I guess that's the point of my blog - to chronicle some of my experiences and insights in the hope that someone else can learn - for better or worse - from me.
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