From cold Brussels

Dear children,

We started last week under the snow. It was pretty to see but the roads were also very slippery. Dad had to take the sister missionaries to the apartment and had a hard time coming back home because the car was on a little incline and the wheels were spinning. It took him to try twice before he could continue on his way. The next day, they had salt on the streets and all was well.
Yes, it feels like winter in Brussels, and in the Ardennes people have been skiing.
We had missionaries arriving from the MTC. Two of them were a couple assigned to Den Helder. The next day, they drove there without problems because they had a GPS. But after arriving in town, they could not find there house. It took them two hours to find it. They finally asked for the Police’s help.
We were hoping to have all ready in Moucron for the Arhets couple but it is as much we could have done to this point. We will have to buy them new blinds. I washed some of the towels left for them but the brand new dryer did not work. So, the towels will be hard to the feel and Dad has to call someone to solve the dryer’s problem a.s.a.p.
We learned that the two couples waiting for their Visas got them and will arrive on Wednesday the 3rd.
That was great news.
Yesterday, it was a real pleasure to have Teresa and her family for Thanksgiving dinner. I loved it.
Today, there was a big change in our ward. In Brussels, we now have Brussels 1 and International wards meeting in the same chapel. There is Louise Ward in the center of town. Starting January 1st, the International ward, that Teresa and her family attend, will no longer exist. Part of it will go to Brussels 1 and the other to Brussels Louise and the latter will be called Brussels 2. So, we will have 2 languages in each ward. The Bishop for Brussels 1 will be the one that is now Bishop in the International Ward. He is an American with a Belgian wife and truly bi-lingual.
Dad has a meeting Wednesday evening at the chapel and should learn more about what’s coming up.
It is cold here in Brussels. I miss the warmth of St. George but it will come in its due time.
I love to read what you put on the blog.
I love you and am waiting for some of your news.
Love, Mom
PS: We were freezing at the chapel this morning as the heat did not work. Brrrrr

Things I am Thankful for.

Here is my list of things that I am very grateful for.

Life, family, a job to provide food & shelter, good health, indoor plumbing. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Turkey Bailouts

Thanksgiving

What is everyone doing for Thanksgiving this year?
We are keeping it low-key. Just the 6 of us. Emily will stay in Southern California since she is coming home in a couple of weeks for the wedding, then again for Christmas. Doug will fix the turkey like he does each year, and we'll enjoy the yummy traditional dinner.

"I Cain't Say No"

Elise Osorio in the musical "Oklahoma". She played the comedic flirt "Ado Annie". She did an incredible job. She sang a solo, duet and of course the cast songs. I tried to upload a video of one of her songs that I took with me digital camera, and the blog won't take it. I don't know why, maybe Alan, you can clue me in. I was also responsible for all the costuming in the play. It was a great success!

Talking Left, Governing Right (of left)

Obama talk hard left leading up to the primaries and during the primaries, but I am beginning to think he is a leftest only because he associated with leftests. He seems to be easily influence and persuaded about things he is told, true or not. In that sense, I am encouraged. He seems to be choosing people for his administration who know how the world works (not that I agree with the direction the want to go). He has assembled a good team of economists who understand the market economy. If he can stay away from all the leftest chatter he has listened to all his life and instead listen to these new people he is choosing, I will feel much better about our economic chances as a nation. Although Bush has done good work in terms of national security, he has been horrifically bad on the economy. Hank Paulson is horribly misguided and I can't wait until he is kicked out on January 15. Obama's economic team will have an easy time doing better than him.

Just imagine

As Thanksgiving approaches & we think about "the good ole Pilgrim Days" & all the things we should be thankful for...maybe we should be glad we've come such a long way from the origins of the things below!

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.

Here are some interesting facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However,they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.
The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water".

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs".
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor.

The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet,
so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the threshhold.

(Getting quite the education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old".

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat".

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock a person out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be saved by the bell or was considered a ...dead ringer.

...And that's the truth!
Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !

Voting Reform

Our nation as a whole is in serious need of voting reform. I have been closely following the recount in Minnesota between Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D) in the Senate race. Norm Coleman holds a 180-vote lead with mainly Minneapolis precincts left to finish their recount. I would not be surprised to see enough new votes found in Minneapolis to give the election to Franken. It is indeed a problem that votes can be manufactured out of thin air as it happened in Washington (state) four years ago in the governors race where more people voted in Seattle than were actually registered. However, the real problem is the absence of a system to verify voter eligibility. In Minnesota, no ID is required to vote and it is in fact illegal to do ask for it. It has been reported that in Hennepin county (where I lived as a grad student) 25% of all votes were same day registrations. This allows no time to validate any of these registrations. No one can know how many illegals voted, how many students from Wisconsin cross over to vote (yes, it has happened), or how many extra votes were slipped into the voting machines when no one was looking.

I think it is not too much to ask voters to register at least a week in advance and to show a valid ID at the polls. The moment such a proposal is made, conservatives are accused of trying to suppress the vote. All conservatives are asking for is a fair vote. This stealing of elections must stop and it would be easy to do so, but it does not serve the interests of the Democrat party because it is the primary beneficiary of voter fraud.

From snowy Brussels

22 Nov 2008
Dear children,
This week Dad went twice to Den Helder, Netherlands (4 hour drive). Yesterday, he was on the road at 3:45AM so he could return and still be able to attend the show “Oklahoma” at Elise and Ganae’s school. Elise played the part of Annie Ado and was adorable, funny and in one word ‘wonderful’. She is a very good actress with a very good singing voice. I think that people clapped the most for her at the end of the play. It is so nice to be able to do things like this while we are where Teresa and her family live.
Monday, we went to Mouscron again and the apartment is almost ready. We also went shopping for furnishings and other needs for two apartments that will be occupied by couples and spent over 2,000 Euros. It was necessary to upgrade two apartments that had been preciously occupied by Elders. When Dad went to Den Helder on Tuesday, he found the place totally trashed, dirty dishes were left in the sink and mold growing on the food in the fridge (the place had been unoccupied for 6 weeks). He brought 3 service missionaries to clean and paint and took them back home Friday. He said that they did a very good job.
Thursday, we attended the funeral of the sister I used to visit teach.
Again, I am waiting for a shipment from the Distribution Center in Frankfurt that should have arrived a week ago. I hope that I will get it Monday but Monday I would like to go back with Dad to Mouscron one last time to have everything ready except for a few details that they will be able to do themselves.
We are waiting for more family pictures especially from our grandchildren. They change so fast!
Today has been cold, and we have had snow, rain, sleet, and sunshine! It would be snowing big flakes and then ten minutes later we would have sunshine, and then another cloud would go by and it would dump more moisture in some form on us. It is freezing outside right now. We should have more snow and wind tomorrow.
We love you and care.
PLEASE DROP US A NOTE.
Mom

Happy Birthday to Yumi!

Happy Birthday to Yumi! Today, November 19th. It is easy to remember her birthday, because it is the same as mine!

A Few Responses

I thank Brian, Alan, Deric, and Teresa for their kind comments.  I am not confusing kindness or empathy with approval.  Naturally, I would like approval.  But Dad has been repeating your sentiments for years.  He often reminds me that he loves me unconditionally and that he does not approve,  I have no reason to doubt either statement.  

Brian mentioned the use of the word 'marriage' as it may apply to gay couples.  His comment is that the word ought to be reserved for straight people.   Actually Nick and I have long said that we don't care what it is called, we just want access to the same civil benefits that help straight people get along in life.  For me personally, I don't like the idea of marriage for the two of us.  A piece of paper  and/or public approval/recognition won't change my dedication to him.  But I do recognize that for many gay and lesbian couples, the word marriage signals to them maybe more that it does to me.  I imagine that it is as emotional for them to use the word marriage as it seems to be for many straights who feel like they are not ready to broaden the scope of the concept.  I support gays in this effort, but I just don't feel their passion for the word.  I do feel an ardent desire for equal access to the same benefits and considerations bestowed by government and in some cases, and by extension,  businesses.

Alan posed the question of whether marriage ought to be considered a limited or an unlimited right.  I think that the answer is limited.  Undeniably, society must set those limits and those limits logically ought to benefit society and individuals as much as possible.   However, the boundaries of those limits are subject to change.  Two obvious examples in this country:  there was a time when blacks as slaves were not allowed to marry between themselves in this country.  The limit was expanded.  There was a time when interracial marriage was not allowed.  The limit was expanded.  As well, consider that the limits regarding marriage are relative to culture establishing the notion that absolutes regarding marriage are not a given.  In Muslim countries, a man may choose up to four wives as established by Islamic law.   In many countries gay marriage is legal.  Given that marriage is not an absolute immutable right, it is reasonable to assume expansion of limits might occur.  The reasons for denying or accepting a change has been debated in the past and is being debated again.  New social realities require new debate.  Just as in the past, a new social reality is demanding this debate.   I only maintain that in a secular society, religious reasons for disallowing change in limits of marriage rights ought to carry little weight, otherwise the religious reasons wield too much power over those who are not religious or who hold different religious convictions.  It does become an imposition of religious beliefs on others.  

Likewise, marriage and purposes for marrying are no longer necessarily the same as they have been in the past.  The world is more complicated and marriage is indeed used by the government (regardless of the original purposes of marriage) in decision making regarding taxes, joint medical benefits, whatever.  The procreation of children and of creating a family is no longer the only reason for marriage.  Obviously a great many people who have no intention of having children, who are too old to have children, who cannot have children are allowed to marry.  They are allowed to marry simply for love, to signal that love to the community, and perhaps, to gain access to civil benefits. Basically why would you say no to them?  It follows then that the same question can be applied to gay people who what to marry for the same reasons, why say no to them?  Sometimes, tradition is just tradition and is no barometer of what is fair or unfair.   It is also interesting to note that having children without a partner or marriage is very common.   

All of the beauties of marriage and procreation will continue to be with us.  Broadening the limits of marriage has historical and cultural precedent in this country and in others, and in no way will detract from the institution of marriage as it currently exists.  

 

Super Busy

Dear children,
We did not have a busy week but a super-busy week. We ran from one thing to the other. We went twice to Mouscron to prepare the apartment for the new couple. After my first time, I made a list of items to buy, get or do. We have done much but there are still things to be done. We have 2 couples just waiting to receive their Visas. In a way I am glad they are because their apartments need some more work. Wednesday was really crazy: Dad had an appointment at the bank that did not want to miss at 2PM. That morning, we went to buy some furniture for couple apartments, they had long lines at the cash registers and Dad was afraid to miss his appointment. He was there at 2PM, only to be told that he was supposed to be there at 11AM and not 2PM. He came to pick me up at the office to go to the hospital visit a sister who is dying from cancer to which I am the Visiting Teacher. We were blessed to find her asleep and left her a note. Dad had forgotten that I had and appointment for my therapy treatment but since we left right away, we arrived on time. We got home at 7:30 PM really tired.
Friday noon, we grabbed a sandwich to eat in the van while driving to Mouscron. After working there until 6:30PM, we drove back and stopped at a restaurant for dinner. When we arrived home, I realized that I had left my scarf there. I went on the Internet to find the restaurant’s phone number and called. They are waiting for us to get it, it is not lost.
Yesterday, we had a good Zone Conference. There were about 80 missionaries attending. Our President always gives good advice. One of them was to write down the answers to our prayers that also come as impressions that we receive. He also talked about the parabola of the 10 virgins and how we need to be prepared spiritually to meet Christ.
We also were invited by my sister Monique for dinner. We had a good and enjoyable visit.
We are both tired but we are OK.
This week, Dad will go twice to Den Helder. If you look on a map it is at the northern tip of the western peninsula in the Netherlands. Those are long trips with lots of traffic. I am always glad when he is back in the Brussels area because that means that he is safe.
Last week the Assistants drove the mission van. They hit the median and went airborne. They were very blessed that the van did not roll. They called Dad saying that they had a flat tire but it was more than that because the tire and the cap were torn. There is still some damage to be repaired on the van but we have a new tire, rim and a new cap.
Dad is not “trunky” but he is becoming tired of all the responsibilities. We are looking forward to next Sunday when we will have Stake Conference.
That is all for the week and we are still waiting for your news. I may have to go on strike until I hear from you.
We love you.
Mom

Sea ice growing at record pace

Bad news for global warming alarmists.

The line for Federal Revenue Easement Estimate and Monetary Relief (aka FREE MONEY) is getting longer

Currently lined up for Federal largess at taxpayer expense are:
Mortgage and Bank companies.
AIG (insurance)
The Hartord (insurance) ($3 billion in profits last year! $2.6 billion in losses this year.)
GM and other auto manufacturers
American Express (hoping to become a bank, for obvious reasons)
The City of Philadelphia
The City of Phoenix
The State of New York
The State of California

I expect the line to get longer. Socialism is just around the corner.

Finnigan

Everyone is asking about Finnigan Paul Wortham. Phill and Arianne had their baby on the 7th of November....That's right 7-11. Finnigan is now at home and is happy and very healthy. He is going to be the valadictorian and student body president in high school. He will then go on a mission and then attend college either at Harvard or Yale. He will be drafted in the first round to some NFL team where he will earn money to support his grandparents. He will marry a super model. He will become a movie star and a rock star. He will then run for and become the President of the United States. Following that he will become an astronaut and be the first man (and former President) to set foot on Mars. He will buy up land faster than Donald Trump or Ted Turner. Basically a normal run of the mill life. At age 6 days....not a bad resumé. Now you all know a little more about my grandson Finnigan. Kim

Shawn and Dallan Karaoke

If you go to the link provided you will be able to see Shawn, Dallan, John King and Preston Burkhart doing Karaoke. This is the website of the Karaoke company and they have posted it. Shawn and Dallan are the ones singing if you can't tell. We go every Tuesday night and have a good time. I usually just sing a song by George Straight called "Love without end, Amen".

On being gay and LDS

After reading several times over the comments made regarding gay marriage, it has occurred to me that any discussion is made more difficult when there exists a lack of shared understandings.  We may not even be able to agree upon our understandings.  But I feel that some background of my position is very necessary if I have any hope of communicating it clearly.

First of all, there are a great many LDS families with gay members: sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts etc.    Our family is not at all unique.  The literally hundreds of LDS gay people I have met come from LDS families.  When any number of us are together, it is almost inevitable that the subject of our relation to the church will surface.  It is endlessly interesting to us and equally uninteresting to our many non-LDS friends who have to deal with the subject in our gathering.  Most of us have left the church, but the church remains with us:  our families, our society (in Utah mostly), our youth/upbringing will assure that it is always present.  

LDS families deal with the gay issue in a variety of ways:  some cast out the gay person and remain forever estranged from one another, some refuse to talk about it and don't, some talk about it very judgmentally, some supportively, some are very accepting, and some are so upset with the church's stance on gay issues that the family eventually leaves the Church.   I have seen all of these scenarios.  

Our family resembles most, I figure.  Loving, supporting of what good they see, and yet very disapproving.  I don't expect to change that. 

However, judgments are rooted in what we know or what we believe to know.  This is very natural.  It occurs to me that our family doesn't know a lot about me, my being LDS (well having been LDS) and my being gay.   Some families don't want to know much because it is difficult, not spiritually uplifting, embarrassing, or very uncomfortable.   Other families follow the travails associated with sexual identity decisions very carefully, some supportively, some not so very supportively.

You can of course elect not to read on.   I will not know the difference.

So, all that said, I grew up like everyone else.  Around the age of 11 or 12, like most of you, I began to be curious about attraction and intimacy.  For whatever reason, I never was curious about the opposite gender.  I knew that I was supposed to be curious about the opposite gender so I did my best to be interested and acted as if I were.   But that acting didn't change anything.

I was certainly alarmed when I realized the interest was centered on my same gender.  That of course wasn't easy but I figured that if I just did all that the Lord and the Church required of me that the same gender attraction both sexual and affectional would go away.   It didn't.  Dating very regularly after my mission and while living in Ogden brought no new insights.  I dated wonderful young women, but there just was not any spark.  I just wasn't interested and was always in a hurry to get the date over with so that I could do something, anything that interested me.   

It occurred to me to get married anyway.  I had dated very consistently (not all at the same time) three women all of whom were interested in me to be very sure.  I was close to asking the question several times, but just couldn't.  I had crazy panic dreams when I would wake up totally panicked that I was trapped,  dreadfully trapped.  The dreams usually had to do with a marriage day that I couldn't back out of.   I would wake up so relieved,  I felt like I had just escaped something really horrible.  It wasn't that these women were not the 'right one', I had zero sexual interest and only felt a friend-like affection for them as with all women.  I had just not set eyes on any woman and said to myself, "Wow! desire, desire, desire!"   Meanwhile, my attraction to the same sex was steady and my frustration growing.   I resolved to wait it out.  

And so I did.  But I felt myself stunting.  I was feeling insufficient in social situations, I wasn't myself, I was always hiding something, talking around a subject, and sometimes just plain lying.

When I moved to Salt Lake City and away from Aunt Marcene (who was nothing but wonderful to me for four years), I was finally completely on my own and I knew no one except for a good friend from Brigham City who often visited a mission buddy in our Ogden ward.  We both moved to SLC at the same time and decided to share an apartment.  Although we were never involved in anyway with each other and broke no laws of chastity, we did discover that we were both fighting same gender attraction.  We had long conversations, continued to go to the same ward, and advised each other to be careful in our decisions. But we both agreed that it was time to figure things out without the same pressures.  I will spare you details, but I allowed myself my feelings and to my surprise I had never felt more alive, more vibrant, and more interested in life.  It was a great weight lifted from my soul.   I remember expecting dark clouds to hang over me, to no longer receive the promptings of the spirit, to see life go downhill.  None of that was true, quite the contrary, and then came my first musings that things I had been taught were somehow very erroneous.  

There is one thing of which I can assure you:  for a vast majority of gays and lesbians, same gender affection is not a choice.  For me there was no choice.  I weighed the pros and cons of living a life that would be doomed to dishonesty even if chaste whether married or not.  Indeed I did chose for a long time to not respond to my natural attractions.  But that was debilitating. 

I could feel myself warping.  There was no relief forthcoming from the church or prayer.  I did talk to bishops and even a guy at the church office building.  Very short on empathy and long on admonitions.  Admonitions I did not need.  There were only two solutions proposed:  get married or stay celibate.  Imagine being told that you must marry someone to whom you are not attracted or remain celibate your whole life until you are attracted!  That already was not working at all.  

The only choice I had was to act or not.  I followed my instincts which I conclude were entirely superior to the existing advice.    

Before discussing gay marriage or full gay access to the civil arena, I wanted to clear up a few things so that you know what I mean when I make statements.  You may believe me or not.  

Deric mentioned the words 'norms', 'choice' and Teresa evoked 'protection of children' . Alan brought up the notion that rights and privileges need to be discussed in this context.  

Gays don't choose to be gay, they do choose to do something about it or to ignore it (if that is possible!)  It is not a choice for the vast majority.

Being gay is a normal human sexual and affectional state as most every psychological  and medical association claims.  Societal norms are changing fast, generation by generation, and being gay is no longer shocking, interesting, or abnormal in western culture. 

Gays are no more a predatory threat to children than are straight people.   

Being gay and living one's life accordingly is not inferior or superior to being straight and living that lifestyle. 

I fully grant that religions have the right to teach what they want and religious strictures may mandate certain beliefs that are not very adaptable to open discussions:  "The Lord said it, I believe it, that settles it."  

I believe that marrying is part of our right to the pursuit of happiness and not a mere privilege to be granted.

I will make further posts regarding various topics falling within this general subject matter.  

Gay marriage, a civil right beneficial to all.

Proposition 8 in California has brought back discussion of gays and their access to civil institutions, civil rights, and civil benefits.  The subject at hand is that of civil marriage.

Please note that I just repeated the word 'civil' four times.  I must underscore that  gays are not

petitioning our government to enact or enforce any laws that would infringe upon religion.   We respect the right of religions to function as they see fit.   Because we sometimes forget that American governmental agencies accept religious marriage as official for government purposes, we often confuse civil and religious marriage.  In many countries, the state does not recognize religious marriages for its purposes, rather any marriage to be recognized by the state must be performed by a state official in a non-religious setting.  Hence, marriages are often celebrated twice:  once and first civilly and then again religiously in the religious locality of choice.   

With his in mind, I would like to begin the discussion of how marriage for gays would be productive for society as a whole and harmless to religion as a whole.  I also recognize that one may be against allowing gays to marry for religious reasons.  

Given that gays and lesbians are now open or at least can be open about their lives in more and more settings, and given that all the while they continue to be productive members of society, it is appropriate that they petition their government(s) for recognition  and equal access to rights that have been hitherto denied them.   The right to marry and to have access to the governmental benefits of marriage is a great facilitator of the American dream.  To marry and spend one's life with one's chosen one is a key component of happiness.  Our Declaration of Independence says that all men are entitled to pursue happiness according to the dictates of their conscience.   Our efforts to have access to marriage is nothing more than our pursuit of happiness.  I cannot see why that should be resisted.  

Religious convictions may hold firmly that marriages among gays must not be sanctioned. 

However, I can think of no non-religious reasons that can withstand simple reasoning.  

Society is only as strong as the strength of its individual components.  If poverty ravages any community within our midst, we all suffer the results somehow.  If a subset of society suffers a disease, we all pay the price in some way.  If any group faces hardships , we all feel the repercussions in some way.  Gays have been criticized for being immoral, promiscuous, unbridled and irresponsible.  Societies since the evolution of modern man have realized the value of creating institutions, structure and order so that stability of the group can be achieved.

It is not fair to gays to criticize them for being irresponsible while simultaneously denying them the very institutions and structure in life that are designed to avoid the irresponsibility they are so reproached for!   Marriage in our gay community would help bring stability to our lives just as it does for our straight brothers and sisters.  If the gay community is more stable, so will be the greater society of which we are all a part.  Marriage creates boundaries, trust, structure, and interweaves the couple with the rest of the two families involved.  It would undeniably be good for gays themselves to be able to marry, it would therefore make for a more homogeneous stable society and stronger families.  

Religions would not be required to marry anyone that they would not like to marry.  A more stable, coherent society is better for the propagation and maintenance of religion than a chaotic divided one.  The integration of gays would be beneficial to the solidity of religion.  Many churches and religions have begun to realize this and accept gays with open arms allowing them the same participation and growth.  Many of these churches are growing.  

In essence, it is a matter of fairness.  If there be no harm done to others (excluding religious beliefs that it is sinful and therefore harmful to one's soul) and if it fulfills a couple's mutual pursuit of happiness, I can see no reason to withhold it.   If on the contrary it is withheld because of religious strictures, it can certainly be argued that religion is imposing its influence on others who do not share the religion and pushing their beliefs on others.  At that point religion is no longer just fundamental within its own domain, it becomes integrationist seeking to integrate its fundamental beliefs and dogma into government.  This is precisely what our founding fathers warned against.    

 

Kim's grandchild

Kim called and said his son and daughter-in-law had their baby yesterday. It was a 7 pounder and all is well. Both mother and daughter are resting comfortably. He said he couldn't post but would do so with details when he has access to a computer.

This is the one I remember the best!

Here's the one that I remember and that I have always loved!

A memory restored

When I was a very young boy, I remember hearing the words "Stop! In the name of love" on the radio, as well as the song "Downtown." For some reason I have always remembered these two songs. I couldn't remember who sang them, but with the wonder of the Internet I found out. The first was sung by Diana Ross and the Supremes and the second was sung by Petula Clark. YouTube seems to have everything. Here is Diana Ross without all the fancy dancing that singers do nowadays.

From Mom

Dear Children,

Friday morning, while I was alone in the office, I received a phone call from a man asking an Elder’s phone number. I asked him who he was and he gave me his full name, named also his wife and his 3 children and said that he had 2 questions:
1-What do I have to do to be baptized?
2-Could I pay tithing before I am a member of the Church?
I could barely believe my ears as it was too good. He then explained that Elder Leavitt and his companion had been teaching him and that he and his wife and had decided to be baptized. I gave him the phone number for him to call the missionary. I later called Elder Leavitt who said that it was a miracle because even though they attended church meetings several times, they did not seem to progress. They will be baptized next week. Isn’t this wonderful?
I have a splint on each wrist because of tendonitis. I will be fine since I am taking anti-inflammatory medicine and will start therapy next week. I have had that problem for 3 weeks but should get better soon. I must admit that it is frustrating to not be able to do all I want to do but it is not a big problem.
There are often demonstrations downtown and this last week there was a political demonstration against the Belgian government and Dad was stuck in traffic for 2 hours. It usually takes him 20 to 25 minutes for the same distance. He was very frustrated. For those who know our mission field, Dad went also to Bruges and St. Omer.
We will have Zone Conference this coming Saturday which is usually our Preparation Day. Those conferences are always very inspiring.
Don’t forget that it is Teresa’s birthday very soon.
We think of you and love you.
Mom
PS: PLEASE let us know how YOU are doing.

Discussion on Gay Rights vs. Privileges

If you do not wish to discuss this topic...pass over it. But, I just thought I would start a discussion and hopefully we can be open-minded...especially since it involves some of our family members.

Tone down Hope

With the elections over I accept the results. I just heard this from an Obama campaign manager on the radio. I do not recall who it was so you will just have to take my word for it but I assure you this is as near a quote as I can get.

"We won on Hope! We won on the message of Hope! Now we are tasked with the need to control the hope and expectations."

Less than twelve hours after the victory and the back peddling has started.

The Sun still burns!

The Osorios and the parents can attest to this since they live further east than I, but since I live the furthest east in the US than anyone, I just wanted to let all you west of me know even though Obama won, the Sun still rose this morning. I still have to take the boys to school, and I still have to submit my December schedule bid.

Let's hope the sun still burns in 77 days now. (jk)

The 10,000-year question

Congratulations to Obama and his supporters. Half of the nation is happy and the other half is disappointed. The pendulum has swung to its apogee, and it will eventually swing back. I don't have high hopes for the Obama and Dem control, but I do hope for the best. I find great relief that the campaign season has ended (but the next one has already started). In anticipation of tonight's result, I wrote the following, which describes how I handle disappointments in life. It is the 10,000 year question.
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Often when I am working on a particular project, I wonder if what I am doing is important at all. Since I translate patents from Japanese into English, I see many interesting ideas. Many of these patents are not ever put into practical application, and even if they are made into useful products, the technology often becomes obsolete within a few years.

At other times, I will watch a football game and the team I am rooting for does not win. After the game, I feel as if I wasted my time because I did not enjoy the result. Was the football game important to me at all even if "my team" had won?

At yet other times, social or political events will occur that cause me great disappointment. Such events often make me wonder, "Is this really important?" In some ways it would seem so, but in other ways it seems as silly as the football example.

The only way to really know if something is important is to apply the time test. If you experience a disappointment, or wonder about the value of what you are doing, ask yourself the following question.
"Will it matter to me personally in 10,000 years?"
If the answer is yes, then your question is probably related to a matter of human relationship (care for family, friends, and other fellow beings).
If the answer is no, then why should we be concerned?

As Mahatma Gandhi put it, "What you do is unimportant, but it is important that you do it." (Aren't chiasms wonderful?)

The hard thing about this life is that we must live in the here-and-now knowing that what we do is unimportant, yet somehow we don't always feel better knowing that it is important that we do it anyway.

The most offensive and revolting ad I have ever seen

No matter where your stand on Prop. 8 is, I would have a hard time with anyone thinking this ad to be suitable in a political discussion.

Milton Friedman on Greed

Milton Friedman won the Nobel Peace Prize in Economics in 1976.
Pay particular interest to the last question posed by Friedman.

Gay Marriage in California

Proposition Eight in California has become the second most expensive political campaign in the entire country, second only to the presidential campaigns.  Both sides each have raised scores of millions of dollars.   The LDS church has gone to unusually great lengths to encourage its members to get involved.  Mormons have been core donors and a major source of volunteers for the Yes on Eight Campaign.  But not all Mormons.  Steve Young and his wife are ardently against the proposition, they wrote a $50,000 check to No on Eight.   

It is the right of the church to get involved to the extent it does not break campaign laws in regards to charitable organizations.   It is every person's right to decide for  themselves.  

However the church's passion for this arena really confounds me.  The church does indeed make political statements.  It is not unusual for the church to prepare a press release with its opinion clearly stated.  It is the passion for this issue that is unusual.  

I don't understand the logic behind some of the statements made by church officials.

One such statement is that made by L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy.

He said, "Freedom of religion is at risk."   I mention this because I have heard this before.

I can't at all understand what he means.  There is no history of any church being forced to integrate persons into their congregations that they do not wish to accept, no history of any church being forced to baptize, bless, marry, or perform any ceremony for anyone or group of people that any church does not want.   No restrictions or new obligations of these kinds have been proposed.  What does Elder Clayton mean?  What is the real concern represented by this comment?   Can anyone explain this comment?  

Latest from mission

Dear children,
Tonight we have a concert at the chapel organized by our Mission President. Teresa, Elise and Ganae are going to participate upon our President’s request. I can hardly wait to hear them. I am so proud of them.

Dad went to Lille, France to get an apartment ready. He went into a bakery shop to get some wonderful French bread and also discovered a delicious pastry called “beignet aux pommes”. It is kind of an apple fritter but it is softer and better. Today, an Elder serving here in Brussels told me that he was going to Lille tomorrow just for the day. I told him about Dad and the pastry and he is going to bring two to us if he can get to a pastry shop.

When a missionary receives a package, before I put it in my other room, I write his name and where he is serving on my white board. I am having less and less room to write because missionaries are writing little note to me like “Thank you for all you do sister Wortham”, “We love you” and so on. It is nice to feel appreciated for the work.

The mission has had a hard time to keep the missionaries legal where they serve because they receive letters to do their legality and they trash them. They did the same with electricity bills before and were surprise to find out that they no longer had power.

Last night towards 10PM, Dad received a phone call from the Antwerpen Zone Leaders saying that they needed him to come to get their set of keys that was stuck under the emergency brake handle. Dad told them to solve this problem themselves. Dad would have been back after midnight. It took them a half hour to get it. They have two sets of keys but they other set was in the apartment, so they were stuck for a while. Starting today, each companion will carry a set of key. They have learned a lesson.

We are very eager to hear from you and from our grandchildren.

We love you.
Mom