Reminders

A fact of life: our memory often needs help.  What would I do without my phone alerting me with daily reminders?  My loving wife Kay is also good at reminding me.

For example, I’m reminded of the Boy Scout motto: “Be prepared.”

“The Scout motto means that you are always ready to do what is necessary to help others.  …”  – BoyScoutTrail.com

Work.
Be grateful.
Pray always.
Study scriptures.

Get an education.

Love your neighbor.
Read to your children.
Do your ____ teaching.
Avoid debt.  Save money.

...  Sound familiar?

In General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Oct. 2004, President James E. Faust recalled, “We have much reason to hope.  Joy can be ours if we are willing to sacrifice all for the Lord.”  – Ensign, Nov. 2004, 21.
He quoted President Howard W. Hunter's reminder: “God knows what we do not know and sees what we do not see.”  
– Conference Report, Oct. 1987, 71; or Ensign, Nov. 1987, 60.

I anticipate more reminders this weekend as we receive instruction from God’s prophet, Church authorities and officers – sisters and brothers.  It will mean those things are most important for us today, as they have been in the past.

Smart Philosophy Too

One of the more colorful characters in our family's life is Rowland Smart, our East Mill Creek pioneer “blogger” to whom I introduced my readers on April 1, 2012 (no fooling.)  Although "Rowly" passed on, I use the present tense because I'm sure he is livelier than ever, probably coaching deceased parents and grandparents on how to raise their kids who struggle in this mortal life on earth (Smart language).  As previously noted, Rowly never married or had children, but somehow knew the secrets to happiness in marriage and family life, as he (at around 90 years old) often shared them with us, along with farm artifacts and vegetables from his garden.  Maybe he continues to reach out, prompting us from the other side; (we need all the help we can get.)

Brother Smart’s November 1992 monthly message he wrote (and had me type with limited editing) for his friends and neighbors, titled “Why I’m So Thankful to God”, was evidently handwritten on Sunday 9/27/92: “I want to share my feelings this day Sept. 27th as I walked out of the church house.”  Four full pages without margins – backside of old company ad-letter prints I’d given him.  He and I avoided wasting paper and money on our publishing projects – he only paid to photocopy my computer printouts.  I was fully compensated with fruits and vegetables.  (Side note: my 11/3/2013 “Smart Gratitude” post shared his November 1988 message, featuring a story about his “patrolling one of the Utah Power & Light high-voltage transmission lines” and meeting a homeless man.  From my “Smart Philosophy” file folder today, I randomly picked one written four years later on the same topic – maybe Rowly is trying to tell me something.)   

“… as I walked out of the church house.  I looked up at the head of Neff’s Canyon and Mt. Olympus.  …  Looking at that beautiful calm sight made me feel how close God was …  I thought of the 33 years I walked and skied over the Utah Power Company system …  Thanked God for the strong body he gave me that I never got tired.  I traveled each day 15 to 20 miles … one day was 56 miles … came out at Lava Hot Springs, Idaho.  …  The many rivers and creeks I’ve crossed on cable crossings.  …  They were high above the creeks and canyons; I never looked down, for fear of getting dizzy and falling off …  You know He is with you …  At times of grave dangers, that little voice has warned me of the danger and gave [given] me the right feeling … to save my life …  Now I’m old and still alone in this world.”

“Remember to take time out in your daily chores and play, to look at the beauty of this Great Earth and its living things … upon this great creation He has made for you and I [me] …  Thank Him for it, and all He has gave [given] to you, both health wise, and everyday life wise.  – Rowland Smart”

Play on Words

This month when other guys are thinkin’ football plays, I’m thinkin’ word plays.  I know – it’s weird … but fun, strangely enough!  The playing field has no bounds (except ”pc” and keeping it “clean”), so players can usually run without getting called out.  No pressure from emotion-charged fans who think they know more than the coaches and referees.  And it is generally addiction-free; (come to think of it … a double meaning, in light of sports news today, sad to say.)  Few fans become addicted to play on words.

The big arena I watch is marketing, the high point for millions being the Super Bowl.  The next is Super Bowl XLIX (49) – for those of us who lost track of Super Bowl numbering – to be played 2/1/15 in Glendale AZ, glad to say.  (en.wikipedia.org)

I won’t be attending that one, but may record on VHS tape to watch the ads and touchdowns later, or watch on YouTube, hoping to catch some exciting plays on words.  If my tape recordings of past ads were easily searchable like the Internet, I could share some great 20th-century plays before they go to the high-tech burn plant next month; (my wife Kay is encouraging me to lighten our load and save the earth.)

Here’s one as a starter play (as I see it) while I keep my eyes open for others:

A full-page 1991 business-magazine ad by Evans / Salt Lake (advertising agency) sports a long list of client companies in a single column centered (lots of white space) above this large, bold bottom-line kicker:

Somebody Up There 

Must Like Us.

Brief Prayer Quotes

Yesterday, a special day of fasting and prayer, I looked for short quotes …

and wanted to share three of my favorites:

“Pray Always”

Elder David A. Bednar, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

"For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth”  (Moses 3:4–5).

“We learn from these verses that the spiritual creation preceded the temporal creation.  In a similar way, meaningful morning prayer is an important element in the spiritual creation of each day—and precedes the temporal creation or the actual execution of the day.  Just as the temporal creation was linked to and a continuation of the spiritual creation, so meaningful morning and evening prayers are linked to and are a continuation of each other.”

– General Conference, October 2008

"Make [group] prayers brief"

"We ought to worship Him with our hearts and not with these long, flowery sentences.  ...  We can pray by ourselves and we can take as long time as we wish ..."

"When others are kneeling down with us, we ought in our prayers to be direct and brief, and not pray about everything there is on the earth and imagine that we must mention everything in detail or the Lord won't know about it.  He does know ...  If we pay attention to the Lord's prayer  that He taught His disciples, we will see the beauty of that, how simple it was and direct; it contained no superfluous words ..."  (See St. Matthew 6:9-13)  – Gospel Truth Volume 2

Discourses and Writings of President George Q. Cannon, compiled by Jerreld L. Newquist, ©1974 Deseret Book Company, p.172

"Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks ..."  

– 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

I know from experience, and pray that we will all find true happiness through sincere prayer to our Father in Heaven.

Click to enlarge – stranger looks like he's praying.  Press Escape.