She sits silently and I see the wheels begin to churn in her mind.
The water passes through our feet silently and all the world is alive, moving with the slow breeze.
She turns to me and makes note of the beauty of God's creation, the dynamic relationship nature has with itself.
The lowly trees which dip into the waters while still anchored in the riverbank, the orange glow of the evening sun spread throughout the high branches, the chill of the pellucid Provo River against our toes.
I stare at her at she looks back out into the wilderness. That same stirring swirl begins to take place in her head...she smiles to herself and we both sit in a beautiful silence.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sitting on a Mountain
I don't deserve this.
I don't deserve the low tree limbs scratching the dry grass.
I don't deserve the quiet wind blowing through my hair.
I don't deserve second chances.
I don't deserve the sunlight dancing with the shadows.
I don't deserve this perfectly shaped rock I sit upon.
I don't deserve the blessings an inconsistent faith brings.
I don't deserve the love that radiates from her voice.
I don't deserve to capture another perfect sunset falling in the Western sky.
I don't deserve the beauty of my family.
I don't deserve eternal love.
I think I'm finally coming to understand this whole Atonement thing...
Friday, August 6, 2010
Sharon in Salt Lake
Everything Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings touch turns to gold.
Last night was one of the best shows I've seen in a long time. We danced for about 2 hours straight...so did Sharon.
Last night was one of the best shows I've seen in a long time. We danced for about 2 hours straight...so did Sharon.
I wasn't going to post this but.....
First off, I'm posting this for posterity:
"The LDS Church did not make a direct contribution to ProtectMarriage.com, the Prop. 8 campaign. But it did send a letter to each LDS congregation in California asking Mormons to give time and money to support it. A church spokesman told media that the church estimated the value of its non-monetary, in-kind contributions at $189,900 — less than 1 percent of the total funds donated to the "Yes on 8" campaign, which raised $40 million."
Prop 8 was overturned in California today.
What followed was a slew of facebook statuses in bitter thanksgiving, many throwing down the religious opposition as if they were unlearned bigots.
It made me silent. I've rarely spoken on the issue from the side of the "religious bigots".
I became a bit nervous for the Church and for my heavy past involvement with the gay rights movement. I saw some things directed at me or at the very least alluding to me and my new set of beliefs.
How do you respond to this?
You don't. Not directly anyways. I refuse to create conflict. Especially on the internet or in a public forum.
I have my beliefs. You have yours. I'm sorry that they don't always mix. But I will never shut you out. I will listen and respect you.
I know what I know. And what I know is what I've experienced.
I didn't quit anything. I didn't intend to create divisions. I went forth with what I know is right. I'm not a creature of habit. I don't follow orders blindly. I listen to that burning sense of truth that I feel. I follow the peace and understanding that is not a part of my worldly mind, but a part of the core of my soul.
My Savior has always been here. It's just recently that I have noticed His love and guidance.
I am sorrowful for California.
Not because I hate gay people.
Not because I am homophobic.
Not because I follow orders blindly.
None of those represent me.
I am sorrowful because others have not come to know the truth that is within the Church.
I've grown a testimony of the institute of marriage and its divine nature between a man and a woman. I may have thought differently in the past. But that was merely because I followed the ways of man, or rather, the rhetoric of a world that every day takes a firm stance against the Christian beliefs and morals we are ROOTED in.
Since then, I have found true truth. I have experienced God's all-knowing hand. I've come to know it, feeling Him work within my life and the lives of others.
So because of this, I believe in His Church. I believe in His church because it is through His church that I truly came to know Him. Never before have I come to know so intimately the will and love of God. I believe in His prophets, which he has placed on earth from the very beginning.
Through the scriptures and the prophets, God has revealed to us His commandments on marriage.
Why then would he let Prop 8 be overturned?
HE did not let it be overturned. It was the stubborn ways of man that seem to only further pervert the true ways of God. It has been written. It has been spoken. It has come about numerous times in the history of mankind.
In scripture, we see God's people survive many hardships, oppositions, and wars. But we also see His people fall to these causes in many instances.
Through these victories against God's commandments, we only gain a better idea of the significance and responsibility we have in upholding them. Christ's Church has never and will never fall from the earth. Man may create opposition...but through Christ, we believers endure to the end.
I watch the isolated Utah thunderstorms pass over the silhouetted mountain-tops. I can't help but remember that after the storm, there is peace...the woeful storm only nurtures the ground below.
(Please keep in mind that these are my opinions. I do not write this to provoke conflict, this is merely my outlet for thoughts, feelings and beliefs.)
"The LDS Church did not make a direct contribution to ProtectMarriage.com, the Prop. 8 campaign. But it did send a letter to each LDS congregation in California asking Mormons to give time and money to support it. A church spokesman told media that the church estimated the value of its non-monetary, in-kind contributions at $189,900 — less than 1 percent of the total funds donated to the "Yes on 8" campaign, which raised $40 million."
Prop 8 was overturned in California today.
What followed was a slew of facebook statuses in bitter thanksgiving, many throwing down the religious opposition as if they were unlearned bigots.
It made me silent. I've rarely spoken on the issue from the side of the "religious bigots".
I became a bit nervous for the Church and for my heavy past involvement with the gay rights movement. I saw some things directed at me or at the very least alluding to me and my new set of beliefs.
How do you respond to this?
You don't. Not directly anyways. I refuse to create conflict. Especially on the internet or in a public forum.
I have my beliefs. You have yours. I'm sorry that they don't always mix. But I will never shut you out. I will listen and respect you.
I know what I know. And what I know is what I've experienced.
I didn't quit anything. I didn't intend to create divisions. I went forth with what I know is right. I'm not a creature of habit. I don't follow orders blindly. I listen to that burning sense of truth that I feel. I follow the peace and understanding that is not a part of my worldly mind, but a part of the core of my soul.
My Savior has always been here. It's just recently that I have noticed His love and guidance.
I am sorrowful for California.
Not because I hate gay people.
Not because I am homophobic.
Not because I follow orders blindly.
None of those represent me.
I am sorrowful because others have not come to know the truth that is within the Church.
I've grown a testimony of the institute of marriage and its divine nature between a man and a woman. I may have thought differently in the past. But that was merely because I followed the ways of man, or rather, the rhetoric of a world that every day takes a firm stance against the Christian beliefs and morals we are ROOTED in.
Since then, I have found true truth. I have experienced God's all-knowing hand. I've come to know it, feeling Him work within my life and the lives of others.
So because of this, I believe in His Church. I believe in His church because it is through His church that I truly came to know Him. Never before have I come to know so intimately the will and love of God. I believe in His prophets, which he has placed on earth from the very beginning.
Through the scriptures and the prophets, God has revealed to us His commandments on marriage.
Why then would he let Prop 8 be overturned?
HE did not let it be overturned. It was the stubborn ways of man that seem to only further pervert the true ways of God. It has been written. It has been spoken. It has come about numerous times in the history of mankind.
In scripture, we see God's people survive many hardships, oppositions, and wars. But we also see His people fall to these causes in many instances.
Through these victories against God's commandments, we only gain a better idea of the significance and responsibility we have in upholding them. Christ's Church has never and will never fall from the earth. Man may create opposition...but through Christ, we believers endure to the end.
I watch the isolated Utah thunderstorms pass over the silhouetted mountain-tops. I can't help but remember that after the storm, there is peace...the woeful storm only nurtures the ground below.
(Please keep in mind that these are my opinions. I do not write this to provoke conflict, this is merely my outlet for thoughts, feelings and beliefs.)
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