"Every Woman is a Mother . . . "

Only a few minutes into President Russell M. Nelson's concluding talk in the General Women's Session last General Conference, President Nelson said something that made me do a double take.

Please note that anytime I use the word mother, I am not talking only about women who have given birth or adopted children in this life. I am speaking about all of our Heavenly Parents’ adult daughters. Every woman is a mother by virtue of her eternal divine destiny.

I was not surprised that President Nelson opened his definition of mother to include all women. What surprised me was that he said that "Every woman is a mother by virtue of her eternal divine destiny." I wonder exactly how literally he meant that statement to be taken, what it might mean for the final few stages of the Plan of Salvation, and exactly how he defines "destiny."

We know that, in the Plan of Salvation, it is possible for people to become eternal, heavenly parents, in more ways than one. If a woman has children and is sealed to them, then she and they will be a family unit for all eternity, so long as they all reach the Celestial Kingdom, but not all women have children. A woman who reach the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom together with her husband can have an eternal increase and thus become a mother, even if she wasn't one already, but not all women reach the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom. There may be other ways for women to have the title of mother as part of their "eternal divine destiny," but those are the only two that come to mind. Does President Nelson really mean that every woman will become a mother in either of those ways? Both of those ways require the woman to reach the Celestial Kingdom. Does President Nelson really mean that every woman will qualify for the Celestial Kingdom?

I doubt it. Most women are wonderful people, but even so, the Celestial Kingdom is a fairly high bar. There must have been at least a handful of women in the history of the universe who didn't quite make the cut. If "Every woman is a mother by virtue of her eternal divine destiny," maybe President Nelson takes "destiny" to mean something different than what it means to me. Maybe he's referring to each woman's potential to become a mother.

I don't know. To me, "destiny" has a specific meaning, but if President Nelson is willing to tweak the definition of "mother," perhaps he's willing to tweak the definition of "destiny" too. Or maybe there's something about women's "eternal divine destiny" that qualifies her to be a mother, even if she isn't sealed and doesn't have spirit children.

Or perhaps President Nelson never meant for anyone to take his statement as literally or examine it as closely as I just did.

Still, mother isn't just a noun. It can also be a verb meaning to nurture. If the definition of the noun mother can include "a woman who mothers," then every woman can be a mother, so long as each woman nurtures someone or something in some way at some point. That is an exceptionally broad definition of mother, but it's one way to make sure that every woman can fit under it. I don't think that's what President Nelson meant, but I'm not sure he did mean.

It's hard to imagine every woman literally becoming a mother, but maybe they will, or maybe the statement wasn't meant to be taken literally. Maybe all women are or will be mothers, or maybe at least some won't. It's hard for me to tell. For now, I'll take President Nelson's word for it, whatever he meant his words to mean.

How We Cope with Mortality

About halfway through his talk, President Dallin H. Oaks spoke of one of the unique qualities of LDS youth:

Your uniqueness was recognized in a University of North Carolina study of American teens and religion. A Charlotte Observer article had the title “Mormon teens cope best: Study finds they top peers at handling adolescence.” This article concluded that “Mormons fared best at avoiding risky behaviors, doing well in school and having a positive attitude about the future.” One of the researchers in the study, who interviewed most of our youth, said, “Across almost every category we looked at, there was a clear pattern: Mormons were first.”

President Oaks went on to explain the reason why members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints cope so well with mortality: We know the Plan of Salvation. We cope well with mortality because we know it's temporary and because we know what comes next. We know about the eternal blessings that come to those who "endure to the end," and we know about the great regret suffered by those who give in to temptation. We know that this Earth life is a very small blip of time in the perspective of eternity. We know that the many pains of life and the highs people seek to dull the pain are all temporary, and we know what will truly last forever.

Life is tough, and we feel that as strongly as anybody, but when life gets tough, we can take comfort in knowing that these afflictions have a purpose and that they won't ail us forever. This is a blessing I hadn't considered before, but it's a blessing I'm glad I have. I realize that I have been blessed by my knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and what is temporal or eternal. The hardships we suffer in life won't last forever, but the blessings we'll get for enduring well will.

Balance and Moderation

I am continually learning the importance of moderation. Many things are good, in proper quantities, but too much of anything can become bad. The trick is to regularly make adjustments, constantly seeking a proper balance. Work, rest, and recreation are all parts of a complete life, but they must be kept in proper balance. Keeping these aspects of life in balance can be tricky, but it may be essential to a fulfilling life. Spending too much time on any one thing can lead to serious regret, so it's important that we keep track of how we spend our time and that we budget our time in balance and moderation.

"An Innate and Great Capacity"

On the evening after the historic announcement that church is now switching to two hours instead of three, with the third hour's meetings to be conducted at home, President Henry B. Eyring spoke about Gospel Learning in the Home, and since his audience was composed entirely or nearly entirely of women, he focused particularly on them.

He spoke of women's "innate and great capacity to sense the needs of others and to love." This capacity helps them care for others and makes them natural nurturers. In a way, I'm somewhat jealous of this trait. Empathy is always a good trait to have, and Elder Eyring said that this empathy also "makes you [women] more susceptible to the whisperings of the Spirit."

I know that not all women feel like they have "an innate and great capacity . . . to love . . . [t]hat . . . makes [them] more susceptible to the whisperings of the Spirit," but I believe that all women do, not only because the nurturing of mothers is a natural advantage to all species blessed by it, but also because these quotes were given by a prophet of God. To quote him directly, Elder Eyring said, "As daughters of God, you have an innate and great capacity to sense the needs of others and to love. That, in turn, makes you more susceptible to the whisperings of the Spirit." If you are a "daughter of God," as all women are, Elder Eyring is talking to and about you.

I am grateful that the church is leaning more toward Gospel Learning in the Home largely because of how much of a blessing it will be for families to learn the Gospel from the women in their lives. It is good that families support each other in Gospel learning, and especially when much of the teaching and guiding is done by those who have a natural talent for doing so.

Competitive Games

I played a lot of games with a friend and his family today, but as I did so, I noticed a troubling trend with almost all games: they're competitive. There are winners. Players actively try to win the games, sometimes by actively trying to make the others lose. If I recall correctly, all of the players in each of the games I played today played cards that directly, negatively affected other players. I liked some of those games in spite of this, but this is one of the main reasons I generally prefer D&D.

Dungeons and Dragons is a cooperative game. In D&D, players work together to achieve a common goal. In D&D, everyone can win. D&D has its drawbacks, but forcing players to work against each other is not usually one of them.

I am not a competitive person. I don't much care for winning at the expense of others losing. I would rather work with other people than against them. That's one of the many reasons I like D&D. I like that D&D lets people have fun together without pitting them against each other. I know that competitive games can be important because they teach people (abstractly) how to succeed in life, but cooperative games can also be important for the exact same reason. Life doesn't always have to be competitive, and I'm glad that games don't always have to be competitive either.

Great Gifts at Great Costs

On Christmas, I got a gift about which I feel about the same way that I feel about the Atonement. Both were great gifts that came from great people at great costs, and I ultimately don't know how I should feel about that.
I know how those great people want me to feel about it. They want me to be grateful. They want me to appreciate and enjoy the gift without any reservations, and, to honor their wishes and sacrifices, I'll certainly try, but I can hardly help thinking about how much sacrifice went into these gifts.

People I love went through great pain to give me those gifts, and the compassionate side of me wishes they hadn't. I don't want either of those people (or anyone else) to have had to have suffered for me.

But there's no point in wishing that now. It's water under the bridge. The pill has been swallowed. The bitter cup has been drunk. The costs of these gifts were great, but those costs have been paid. The question now is what I am going to do with these costly gifts.

Of course, I am going to use them, and I am going to love these gifts and those who gave them to me. And if I think about the sacrifices that went into producing those gifts, I will try to focus on the love that motivated those sacrifices instead of the pain those sacrifices caused them.

I can't sing I Stand All Amazed with all my heart because it isn't "wonderful to me" that Jesus paid such a great price to pay for my sin. It isn't wonderful that Jesus died for me or that He had to die for me. But that isn't what the hymn says! The hymn says "Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me enough to die for me!" (emphasis added). Christ's sacrifice wasn't "wonderful"; His motivation was.

So, that's the part I'll focus on when I think of these gifts. On their own, these gifts are wonderful. I love them, and I'm grateful for them. I'll use them with great appreciation. Naturally, I wish these gifts hadn't cost my loved ones so much, but the love that went into the sacrifices that produced these gifts is what makes these gifts so special, so that's the part I'll focus on. For my own sake, I'll try not to think about the great sacrifices that went into them. Instead, I'll focus on what great gifts they are and the great love that went into making them.

Gathering Light During Seasons of Light

My family spent most of the day playing a game called Photosynthesis.  In this game, players place trees on a board, which collect energy each round. Players can use this energy to make their trees grow and plant more trees, which then gives them more energy. However, this game has a trick to it: The sun changes its position each round, and the trees create shadows which block the light from other trees. Depending on how players place and grow their trees, they could end up gathering lots of light on some turns and very little light on others. This energy is incredibly important because players need energy to grow their trees, collect more energy, and ultimately earn points and win the game. In the game of Photosynthesis, as with spiritual matters, it is essential to gather an abundance of light, especially when that light is plentiful, so we'll have enough light to get us through the seasons when the light is less abundant.

We have just experienced a season of light. Christmastime is a special time for Christians of all denominations, and many non-Christians celebrate religious holidays this time of year as well. Even those with other beliefs or no beliefs often get caught up in the spirit of the season and share in appreciating and sharing the light. By all accounts, even if we're only talking about the decorations, Christmastime is a season of light.

However, that season is winding down now. Soon, the gifts will all get put away and the lights will be taken down, and the world will go back to normal, which is far less light than it is at Christmastime. When that time comes, it will be our responsibility to ourselves and those around us to hold on to as much of that Christmastime light as possible. Light is abundant now. We should gather up as much of it as we can and hold on to it for when we or someone near us really needs it.

I know this message is arriving too late to be applied, but thankfully, Christmastime isn't the only time we can gather light. We can also gather light on Easter, at each General Conference, whenever we visit the temple, and, to a lesser extent, each time we take the Sacrament. Every time we feel The Spirit, we have an opportunity to draw on some of His light. So, we don't really need to worry about where our next round of light is going to come from.

However, we also shouldn't underestimate how much light we're going to need. The world is darkening, and it's going to take more and more light to hold the darkness at bay, let alone drive it back. That's why we need to make the most of times like this, when we can gather the spiritual light we know we're going to need later. It may already be too late for this season, but there's still some lingering light in our fresh memories of the last few days. We should try to hold on to that light until our next opportunity to gather light in abundance.

Christmas Joy

Today, I celebrated Christmas with my family. We got together, exchanged and unwrapped gifts, ate together, and played games. It was a wonderful day. Today felt like Christmas, and that taught me something about what makes Christmas feel like Christmas to me.

The most obviously Christmassy thing we did today was exchange gifts. We didn't sing carols or look at lights, and we didn't spend much time talking or thinking about Jesus, but I think we had a portion of Christ's spirit with us anyway, because of the joy we felt. We enjoyed giving each other gifts. We enjoyed making each other happy. We enjoyed spreading joy between us.

Naturally, Christmas is mostly about the birth of Jesus Christ, but I think that the main purpose of Christmas is to experience and spread joy.  Even focusing on Christ and His birth leads us to  experience feelings of joy. I think that joy is such a central part of Christmas that Christmas wouldn't feel like Christmas without it.

Sing All Ye Citzens of Heav'n Above

This morning, I sang several songs with the other members of my ward's choir. For the last of our songs, O Come All Ye Faithful, we invited the congregation to join us in singing the second and third verses. Of these, the second verse was particularly fitting:

Sing, choirs of angels,

Sing in exultation;

Sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above!

I enjoyed having all members of the congregation join us in singing those words. I believe that we were all members of the "choirs of angels" who sang at Christ's birth. We were all pre-mortal "citizens of heav’n" then, we all knew who Christ was, and we would all have been excited about Christ's birth. Plus, we would all have been angels at that point, giving us, by definition, angelic voices, so we would have had no excuses not to sing.

Singing and praising God aren't just for a handful of people. Everyone is welcome to join the choir. And for that choir performance in particular, I imagine that we all did join in.

(How) Should I Decide Krusk's Fate?

I've been thinking about putting the fate of a marriage in the hands of a single die roll.

I am currently playing D&D as a pirate called Krusk Bloodfist. Before he was a pirate, Krusk was a regular sailor named Greg Davidson with a wife named Holly. (Any similarities to any real couples are purely coincidental. I just stole the names because they'd be easy to remember.) Greg's last interaction with Holly was him catching her in bed with another man. Assuming she was being raped, Greg pulled the man off of Holly and beat him to death. After this traumatizing event, Holly shut herself in their home, and Greg decided to give her some space and get himself a drink. The drink was drugged, Greg was shanghaied, and the two haven't been able to communicate with each other since.

Now, about two months later, Krusk Bloodfist is the captain of a pirate ship on a heading for the Port of Peril, the town in which his wife lives. Very soon, Krusk/Greg is going to have the conversation I've been thinking about for over half a year.

And it looks like I'm going to have to decide how that conversation goes.

Normally, the outcome would be up to a combination of me, the DM, and the dice. Krusk Bloodfist is my character. I decide what he does, or at least what he tries to do. Holly Davidson is not my character. I may have created her, but that doesn't mean I control her. In game terms, she is a Non-Player-Character or NPC (as opposed to Krusk, who is a Player Character or PC). The DM (Dungeon Master) controls the NPCs. However, this particular DM doesn't seem too strongly invested in my character's backstory. I don't think he'll be making any decisions for or about Holly, so both sides of this fateful conversation fall to me. I can decide what each person says, how each person feels, and how they decide to act.

I am having a hard time making those decisions.

I intentionally left a lot of questions unanswered about this situation, especially as they relate to Holly. I intended to let the DM make those decisions (whether Holly was raped or unfaithful and how she feels about all of this, especially after two months of unexplained absence), but it looks like I'll have to make those decisions after all, and I'm not sure which decisions to make.

One idea I had was to let the dice decide. I could easily roll dice to decide whether Holly was raped or not, whether she wants to stay married to Krusk, etc., but that seemed like a lot of die-rolling. A faster and simpler method is to roll a 20-sided die to decide, on a scale of 1 to 20, how well this conversation goes for Krusk. I'm tempted to use this method, when the time comes. This way, I could learn the fate of Krusk's relationship when he does, maintaining the anticipation as long as possible. It would also be quick, so I wouldn't have to take up too much game time resolving something about my character's backstory. It's not really relevant to the other players, so I don't want to waste too much of their time.

In preparation for the most important die roll of Krusk's life, I created a sort of chart that describes what each result would mean. I started with what the best and worst case scenarios would look like, then decided what the middle-most result would be, and filled in another few possibilities from there. As I wrote about these potential outcomes, I felt that some of these outcomes are more desirable for me than others. The best and worst case scenarios are dramatic, and the middle-most outcome is tragic, which makes it interesting for me, but the other outcomes I've written are kind of "meh." I might revise them. Or I might choose which potential outcome I like best and not roll the die at all.

It would be easy to let the die decide, on a scale from 1 to 20, how well things go for Krusk when he goes to talk to his wife. Or I could just decide how well things go, basing my decision on what would be the best or most interesting outcome. I could roll the die, and then reroll it if I don't like the result. But that's cheating. I should either decide or let the die decide. Either I'll leave it completely up to fate, or I'll take fate into my own hands.

Either choice has its pros and cons. If I choose Krusk's fate, that's somewhat anti-climactic. If I let the die choose, I run the risk of getting a result I don't like. One could argue that I should roll the die because we can't control fate. Krusk took his chances, and so should I. But one could also argue that we can influence fate, and when we can, we should. It would probably be morally good for me to choose what I think would be the best outcome for this D&D group and the story we're making together. It's a decision of very small importance, but if it could influence the happiness of others, I should at least consider it.

Krusk's fate has not yet been decided. I haven't even decided how his fate will be decided. Maybe I should flip a coin. No, I need to decide. I need to at least decide if and how I will decide Krusk's fate.

The Zeal of the Legion

One thing I failed to consider when I discussed the advantages of the Azorius Senate over the Boros Legion is the extent of their motivation. From what I can tell, the Azorius obey and enforce the law mostly because it's the law. Some of them write and enforce laws that they hope will make Ravnica a better place, but many of them enforce the law largely because it's their job. The Boros, on the other hand, seem more passionate about it. Many of them are actively trying to do good, and few of them are "just doing their job." I think that's part of what I've been missing lately: Passion, Activity, Zeal. In addition to Azorius discipline, I could use a good deal of Boros zeal to help me stay motivated. It's been said that all evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing. The Boros don't fall for that. The Boros are anxiously engaged in their work. I should be more like that. As long as Satan is trying to make me lethargic, I would do well to fight back with zeal.

"Many Hours"

Tonight, in our family scripture reading, my family read 1 Nephi chapter 8, in which Lehi describes his dream of the tree of life, and one part toward the beginning stood out to me.

At the start of the the dream, Lehi found himself in "a dark and dreary wilderness." Not a great start. Soon, an angel appeared and led Lehi through "a dark and dreary waste." So, even following an angel, Lehi's situation doesn't seem to be getting a whole lot better, and in fact, may even be getting worse. And evidently, this walking goes on for quite some time because Lehi said "And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies." Personally, I would like to think that, if I found myself in "a dark and dreary waste," it wouldn't take me "many hours" to start praying. But I'd bet it would.

This world is not the nicest place we could be living in. This planet has a lot of problems, both natural and man-made. Earth is (at least sometimes) a "dark and dreary" place. Whether it's a "wilderness" or a "waste" or a "field" ripe with potential may be a matter of perspective, but it clearly isn't its best self right now. Going through life is a struggle that brings even the strongest people to their knees.

Yet, even some of the wisest people are reluctant to go to their knees in response to facing the challenges of earth life. It took Lehi, a prophet, "many hours" traveling through "a dark and dreary waste" to realize that maybe he ought to pray about his situation.

I find it easy to relate to that. I often go for long stretches of time, longer than "many hours," between meaningful prayers, despite facing personal challenges that really test me. "A Dark and Dreary Waste" could be the title of my biography if I don't make some drastic changes. I acknowledge that my life isn't anywhere near as dark or as dreary as many other people's lives, but it's still dark and dreary enough to make it obvious to me that I should pray regularly. Yet, I don't. And I imagine that others don't either. We need God's help, but it takes us so long to admit that and ask for it.

To Lehi's credit, he did have an angel guiding him, which might have led him to believe that further aid was unnecessary. We fall into that trap, too. We have prophets and scriptures to guide us, and many of us have loving family members to aid and guide us as well. However, regardless of whatever mortal or even celestial support structures we may have, we still need to pray. Nothing can replace frequent, meaningful communion directly with God.

We need to pray. And it's best that we not wait "many hours" before doing so.

The Reward Expectation Paradox

Sister Cristina B. Franco spoke of The Joy of Unselfish Service, but even just the title gives me some concern. I'm not sure it's possible for a Christian to truly be selfless.

When one has a knowledge of the Gospel and the blessings that come from being righteous, doesn't that knowledge play into one's decision-making, at least subconsciously? When we do something nice for someone, even though we know that there's nothing in it for us, don't we know, somewhere in the backs of our minds, that there actually is something in it for us? We know God rewards righteousness. We know that, if we do good unselfishly, we can expect a reward. But if we actually expect that reward, we're less likely to get it.

It's tricky. If a person is unselfish, they can expect a reward, but if they actually expect the reward, they're not really being unselfish, so the reward for unselfishness won't come. But, if a person who only does good for the reward realizes that they're not going to get the reward but does good anyway, they actually will get the reward. This whole situation creates some weird reward expectation paradox. You receive the opposite of what you expect, and if you change what you expect, you change what you'll receive as well.

I suppose the real trick, as will all paradoxes, is to not think about it. If you don't think about the blessings, the existence of those blessings won't factor into your motivations, at least not consciously, so you're more likely to get the blessings you're deliberately not thinking about.

Almost

A little over a week ago (or longer, I don't remember), a sister in my ward gave a talk that included a very interesting point that centers around the word "almost." She said that if we almost keep the commandments, then we almost get the blessings that come from keeping the commandments. Clearly, the message was that we should keep the commandments if we want to get the blessings, but this teaching led me to wonder, can we move the "almost" and have the sentence still be true? If we keep almost all the commandments, will we get almost all the blessings God offers us?

Theoretically, perhaps. Each blessing is predicated on a commandment. If we keep a commandment, with get the blessing that goes with that commandment. Theoretically, the more commandments we keep, the more blessings we get. Yet "more" doesn't always add up to "almost all" or even "most."

God offers us a lot of blessings, and many of them are locked behind stricter requirements than just "keep this one specific commandment." Some of God's best blessings, like living in the Celestial Kingdom, require a pattern of obedience to many of God's commandments and a commitment to try to keep them all. And what is arguably the greatest of all the gifts of God, eternal life, is locked behind the requirement of perfection.

In fact, that might be enough to prove the argument right there. It's unclear how to quantify blessings, but I doubt we'd count omnipotence as just one blessing, like a single talent. Omnipotence could almost be counted as infinite talents, and thus be counted as infinite blessings, meaning that "almost all" of God's commandments require incredibly high standards, not just keeping some or most or even "almost all" of the commandments. If we want to get all the blessings that come from obedience, or even most of those blessings, we are going to have to (at least make a diligent effort to) keep all the commandments.

The bottom line is that "almost" isn't good enough. Whether we're almost keeping the commandments or whether we're keeping almost all of them, neither way will qualify us for almost all of God's blessings. Exact obedience is difficult, and repentance will be required, but it is the blessing we should all strive for. Almost all of God's blessings depend on it.

Act Like It's Christmastime

Today was the last day of tutoring. It was also the day I returned the textbook I rented, turned in my last writing assignment, and signed up for next semester's classes. For me, this semester is basically over. This means that I can finally relax for a little while and focus on more important things, like family and Christmas. So far this season, I've been less interested in Christmas than I'd like to be, but now that school is over, I intend to change that. I plan to put up lights, wrap presents, sing carols, and generally participate more in the seasonal celebrations. It's going to be a good Christmas season. I'm starting a little late this year, but, starting tomorrow, I'm going to act like it's Christmastime.

Boros vs Azorius

I'm going to cut to the chase with this blog post. While I feel that I am best represented by the Boros Legion, I acknowledge that I would be better off as a member of the Azorius Senate.

The Boros are basically the military of Ravnica. They deal with massive threats, like riots, rampaging monsters, and open attacks by the guilds who want to bring about the end of the world as we know it.

Meanwhile, the Azorius are more like Ravnica's law-makers and police. As law-makers, the Azorius set the rules, and as the police, the Azorius respond when those rules are broken.

In terms of their goals, the Boros and Azorius are similar. They both want to maintain order and stability within Ravnican society by working against those who would undermine that society and/or tear it down. However, their methods are worlds apart.

Usually, the Boros answer violence with violence, believing that the best defense society has going for it is a good counter-offense. In theory, this method could work. If the Boros managed to eliminate the Rakdos cultists (and the raiding Gruul Clans, and the infectious Golgari Swarm, and the subversive House Dimir, and the monster-making Simic Combine and Izzet League), peace in Ravnica could easily be maintained in the absence of those who would disturb that peace. However, there are many huge problems with this idea.

For starters, it is literally impossible for the Boros to win this way. The magical Guildpact that binds all the guilds of Ranvica prevent any of them from utterly destroying any other. Even if the Boros could destroy one of those guilds, even their vast military power would be insufficient to destroy them all. Despite the Boros's best efforts, there would always be those who threaten society. And tying in vain to destroy those who sow conflict merely creates more conflict. The violence of the Boros is a necessary tool to use in response to massive, immediate threats to Ravnica, but it will not, by itself, solve the problem of violence in Ravnica.

But the Azorius just might. Some members of the Azorius Senate (mainly its arresters and enforcers) are capable of engaging in a fight, when a fight is unavoidable, but the Azorius would rather avoid those fights with preventative measures and resolve them as nonviolently as possible with defensive measures that subdue their opponents instead of offensive measures that destroy their opponents.

The Boros fight fire with fire. The Azorius dowse the fires and make efforts to stop people from starting fires in the first place.

Ultimately, I think that the Azorius are more effective at fighting evil than the Boros are. The Azorius have their shortcomings, but their disciplined, defensive approach to evil is, in many ways, far superior to the Boros's combative response to evil.

Relating these fictional guilds' strategies to my real-life battle against evil, the Azorius have a lot to offer me. Their strict adherence to (divine) rules can inspire me to greater diligence, which is normally a weak point for me. The Azorius also have a stronger emphasis on detection and prevention than the Boros, and though the Boros often manage a swifter response than the Azorius, the Azorius' response may be more effective. I would do well to alter my sin-combating strategies to incorporate more Azorius methods. I may still prefer Boros to Azorius decks when it comes to playing the card game, but when it comes to all-too-real spiritual conflicts, I would rather be Azorius than Boros.

The Greatest of All the Gifts

Yesterday, I said that the Atonement of Jesus Christ was the greatest gift of all time, at least in terms of how much love went into the gift and how much joy comes from it. However, I knew even then that there was one strong contender for the title of the greatest gift ever, and it has some scriptural authority to back up its claim:

And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God. - D&C 14:7

That seems pretty conclusive, so what is it that makes eternal life a greater gift that the Atonement of Jesus Christ? If we're going by our previous metrics, we must compare the love that went into those gifts and the joy we get out of them. And, since both of the givers were motivated by an equal, infinite amount of love, there's really only one metric we need to measure: joy. Does eternal life give us more joy than Christ's Atonement? I would say yes for at least two reasons.

First, we shouldn't forget the sacrifice factor. one factor that detracts from the joy I receive through the Atonement of Jesus Christ is remembering how much Jesus Christ had to sacrifice to make it happen. Second, eternal life seems more positive than Christ's Atonement. The Atonement of Jesus Christ negates negatives more than it adds positives.

On the other hand, there are reasons why this comparison might not be necessary. For starters, my metrics could be entirely wrong. Also, while eternal life is the greatest of all the gifts of God, the Atonement was brought to us by Jesus Christ; perhaps they are each the greatest gifts of their respective givers, and neither gift is known to be greater than the other.

Ultimately, I think the question is mostly moot because the gift of eternal life presupposes the gift of Christ's Atonement. When one receives eternal life, it is only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. One could argue that receiving eternal life includes receiving Christ's Atonement, which would make eternal life definitively greater.

Yet, of course, none of this really matters. It's not a contest. It doesn't matter which gift is greater by which standards. Both gifts are excellent and essential, and we should all seek both, no matter which gift is "greater."

What Makes a Good Gift?

It's not the monetary cost or value of the gift, as many Christmas stories attest. Good gifts don't have to be expensive.

They don't even have to come at a great personal cost. Gifts of service may be appreciated more if the service was a great sacrifice, but a caring recipient might be turned off by the fact that the giver sacrificed so much.

I would argue that not even love is a good indicator of a good gift, depending on our definition of a "good gift." A gift may be the product of a great deal of love and still not be well-received, whereas another gift might be greatly appreciated, even if little thought went into the gift.

Personally, I think that the measure of a good gift is the joy it brings to the recipient. Part of the purpose of a gift exchange is to spread joy. If a gift brings joy to its recipient, I would say it was a good gift, even very little time, money, sacrifice, or thought was put into the gift. If the gift makes people happy, it's a good gift.

However, this means that the goodness of a gift depends largely on the mood of the receiver. If a person is already in a joyful mood, it wouldn't take much to make them even more joyful, but if a person is in a bad mood, it might take an especially good gift to make them feel any joy at all.

It seems unfair to judge the goodness of a gift on the mood of the recipient. Perhaps a gift is a good gift to receive if it brings the recipient joy, and perhaps it's a good gift to give if it was motivated by love.

Of course, these ideas are not doctrine, and many of them may need revision and/or replacement, but I still think they're a good rule of thumb. Cost and value don't matter. Sacrifice doesn't matter. What makes a gift good is the amount of love the giver puts into it and the amount of joy the recipient(s) get out of it.

By those metrics, the Atonement of Jesus Christ is easily the greatest gift of all time.

The Purpose and Meaning of Life

I had a brief conversation this afternoon about the importance of finding meaning and purpose in life. Without a clear purpose, it's hard to stay motivated. Yet, while some people make certain arguments about what the meaning of life is or how we each have to find our own purpose, we members of the church are blessed with additional knowledge about what the true meaning of life is. We know why we're here. We know what we're supposed to do while we're here. We know the purpose and meaning of life. I wish I had been bold enough to say something about it. We know the answers to some of life's biggest questions, including questions that have plague humanity for as long as anyone can remember. We should be generous in sharing those answers with others so they won't have to wonder about the purpose of life anymore either.

“Never Suppress a Generous Thought.”

The main point that I take away from Sister Michelle D. Craig's talk, Divine Discontent, is a short saying that originally came from Sister Kimball, the wife of President Spencer W. Kimball: “Never suppress a generous thought.”

I love that! “Never suppress a generous thought.” Sometimes when I have an impression to do something for someone, I wonder if it was a prompting or just my own thoughts. But I am reminded that “that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.” (Moroni 7:13)

Whether they are direct promptings or just impulses to help, a good deed is never wasted, for “charity never faileth” (1 Corinthians 13:8)—and is never the wrong response.

I think I might adopt that saying as some kind of mantra. I am told that I often help people, and I do often help my family and friends, but there are also times when I have an opportunity to help strangers, and I sometimes let the opportunity pass, not wanting to make things awkward for either of us.

I also sometimes worry that I'm not as in tune with the Spirit as I should be. I often can't tell whether a thought in my head is divine inspiration or my mind playing tricks on me. However, in light of the scriptures Sister Craig has shared, that may not be a great concern. Whether the thought is divine or deranged, it is a good thought so long as it is a thought about doing good. "Every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good . . . is inspired of God."

So, it seems that every generous thought is actually inspired by God, making each generous thought a divine prompting — a direct and personal commandment from God. I think I ought to take my generous thoughts more seriously and act on them more often.

Serving God by Serving in the Church

As one might expect from the title "For Him," Primary General President Joy D. Jones focused her talk on serving in the church for the purpose of serving God. We don't serve in the church in order to get the praise of other members of the church or to get other blessings. Ideally, we don't serve in the church just out of a sense of obligation, either. Rather, we should serve in the church out of a desire to serve the One whose church it is. God has done so much for us, the least we could do is to pay it forward by serving those whom God has asked us to serve. Even if we don't strongly love those whom we've been called to serve or the service we've been asked to do for them, we can still serve anyway, if for no other reason than to show our love and devotion to God. We don't have to love our callings. We don't have to love Ministering. We just have to love God enough to do them anyway, for His sake, and to learn to love His other children in the process.

Boros vs Rakdos

In the Magical city of Ravnica, there are ten great guilds, all of which are locked in an endless struggle for control, but instead of naming and describing each of the ten guilds of Ravnica, I'm going to focus on just two: Boros and Rakdos.

The Boros Legion is, with one notable competitor, perhaps the most Paladinic guild in Ravnica. Led by an angel named Aurelia, the Boros Legion is composed mostly of soldiers who battle against the forces of evil and chaos, holding those dark forces at bay.

One of those dark forces the Boros Legion holds back is the Cult of Rakdos. Led by the demon after which their cult is named, the Cult of Rakdos poses as some kind of morbid circus, causing as much pain, suffering, and chaos as it can while providing the less-morally-inclined with all the guilty pleasures a city can offer.

These two guilds provide excellent stand-ins for the ultimate battle between good and evil, at least in my own heart, and these two guilds in particular work very well for me in particular for a few specific reasons.

As I've already said, the Boros Legion is one of the most Paladinic guilds in Ravnica, and Boros narrowly beats out its closest competitor, at least in my mind, by embodying not only the devotion to goodness that I hope to emulate but also the fiery energy that is simultaneously one of my better and worse traits. Like me, the Boros are soldiers who fight against evil. Like me, the Boros possess a good deal of energy, but sometimes let their rage get the better of them. I fit well amongst the ranks of the Boros Legion.

Meanwhile, the Rakdos fit well as my main antagonists. Not only are they the most unapologetically evil guild in Ravnica, but they also mask that evil under the guise of fun. A handful of my faults involve what sorts of entertainment I seek and how much time I spend consuming it.

The Rakdos are also a good antagonist for me because they're not subtle. I've been fighting Satan long enough to know what tactics he uses against me. Those tactics don't involve stealth or cunning because, unfortunately, they don't have to. I know how Satan fights me, but I have yet to find and implement effective countermeasures again him. So far, my best response has been to fight harder, which is a very Boros answer.

The most encouraging and discouraging thing about this conflict involves something called the Guildpact. Over ten thousand years ago in Ravnica's history, the ten guilds of Ravnica ended a bloody conflict by signing a binding magical contract that prevents the guilds from attempting to destroy one another. The Boros cannot completely eliminate the Rakdos and the Rakdos cannot completely destroy the Boros. They can, and frequently do, have violent skirmishes, but unless the Guildpact is changed or broken (again), their conflict will be eternal.

And so will mine.

I cannot destroy Satan and he cannot destroy me. The best either of us could hope to do is bind and repress the other, but neither of us will ever stop fighting for freedom and control. This is encouraging because it means I cannot lose, but it's also discouraging because it means I can never really win. I can never stop fighting. I can never set my sword or shield down. I will be stuck fighting my demon for at least the rest of my mortal life, barring some sort of miracle. Because of my Savior's Atonement, I will never be hopeless, but because my foe is immortal, I will never be safe.

So, I go on fighting, and I will keep on fighting for my entire life. We might change tactics, as I probably should, but just like the conflicts that play out in Ravnica, the conflict inside me will never truly end.

Be Raised Incorruptible

This evening, I had an opportunity to participate in a Handel's Messiah Sing Along concert. As part of this concert, I joined several other basses in singing 48. Aria for Bass: The Trumpet Shall Sound, which reminded me of a thought I had at least a year ago and apparently hadn't blogged about yet. The Trumpet Shall Sound (and the recitative that precedes it) describes the moment of resurrection as Paul described it in his epistle to the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 15:
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

 This change means more than just becoming immortal. Living forever is only part of the benefit of being resurrected. Another part of the benefit is becoming "incorruptible."

I wonder what that means in this context. I could be as simple as meaning that we can't get sick or maimed or anything like that. Living forever is a given, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we will be whole and healthy. Thankfully, we have a promise that, once we have been resurrected, we will never become ill again. All our illnesses will be cured, and all our injuries will be healed. However, these benefits may all be considered under the "immortality" part of the change Paul described. Perhaps the "incorruptible" part extends beyond one's physical condition and instead focuses on our spirits.

When I think about corruption, I generally think about moral and/or spiritual corruption. Basically, in my mind, corruption is what Satan wants to happen to us, and while it has nothing to do with our physical bodies, it has everything to do with our mortal natures. Our ability to habitually make bad choices is a large part of what makes us corruptible in this sense. If we become "incorruptible" when we get resurrected, then that change could occur in a number of ways. It could mean that we can no longer make choices, or at least not bad choices. It could mean that we are impossible to persuade, or at least to effectively tempt. It could mean that we are so set in our ways that no force, not even Satan, can pull us off of them.

Or maybe I am completely misinterpreting "incorruptible."

In any case, resurrection is a great blessing, and I'm looking forward to receiving it after I die, even if it doesn't make me immune to temptation, as I would like to hope.

Holiday Stress vs the Christmas Spirit

I attended a live nativity tonight, but it didn't affect me as strongly as it had in previous years. This may be because I was still carrying some residual care from earlier in the day. Just before my family attended the nativity, we spent at least a few hours rushing about, buying things, trying to get things done. When we watched the live nativity, it had a calming effect on me, but that may be mostly the result of having an opportunity to sit down and not have to do anything, not even interact with others. Perhaps, if I had spent some quiet time sitting still and calming myself before the live nativity, I would have been in a better position to feel the Spirit I'm sure was there during the nativity.

So, my advice to all of you is to try to cut down on some of the business of the holidays. It's good to make and buy gifts and treats for others, but don't burn yourself out doing it. And if you're an introvert like I am, try to find a way to excuse yourself from the crowd and spend some alone time with the Savior. It's always important to make sure you can feel the Spirit, and that's especially true at Christmastime. If something makes it difficult for you to feel the Spirit, try to spend less time with it and more time with the Savior. We can't always manage that, because some holiday traditions, like shopping, are largely unavoidable, but I think we should try.

Habits sans Motivation

I read recently that habit will carry you through the motions of an action, even when motivation is non-existent. I suppose that's true, because it's very late, and I'm pretty tired, and though none of my ideas are fleshed out enough to blog about, I'm forcing myself not to go to bed until I've blogged about something. So, yeah, habits. Habits can be powerful. Try to develop good habits that will help you do the right thing, even when you don't want to, and try not to develop bad habits that will tempt you to do bad things, even when you're trying not to. These days, I blog partly, if not mostly, out of habit, but it's a good habit, and I'm glad that I (with God's prodding) chose to develop it.

Inner Peace on Earth

One of the blessings of the season is "Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Men." Goodwill is in good supply, if we look in the right places, but peace seems to be harder to come by. There is so much stress and toil in the world, so much danger and anger, so many catastrophes and other problems, it's a wonder that anyone can find any peace.

Yet, there are those who do. There are those who enjoy relative peace, though it seems that everyone has their own aggravating problems, but even among those facing the worst problems and trials, there are a few who know peace. That is because peace does not always mean an absence of trouble. Sometimes it means serenity in spite of one's troubles. There is an inner peace that can prevail regardless of our external circumstances.

There is an inner peace that can sustain us through our trials, and we access it through faith and hope in Jesus Christ. Through His Atonement, He can make right everything that is wrong with the world, including ourselves. Personally, a good deal of my peace comes from the knowledge that God is loving, wise, and merciful.

Despite the trials we experience in this Earth life, and despite the calamities that happen around us, or even to us, we can have peace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of His Atonement and Resurrection. Things may be bad now, and they may get worse as life progresses, but I know in my heart for absolutely certain, things will get better. All we need is faith, hope, and patience, and we can have inner peace.

The Blessings that Got Me Home

I often consider the blessings I have, particularly in the context that other people don't have those blessings. For example, I missed a train the other day, the one that would have gotten me to the bus I wanted to catch. I could easily have waited for the next train, and gotten on the next bus more than an hour later, and that would have been fine, but I knew that taking that route would get me home much later than I wanted, so I called my mom for a ride.

There are multiple layers of blessings there. I have a cell phone. I have a transit pass. I live in a country where public transit exists and is safe and usually reliable. I have a family I can count on to help me when they can. We have a car. We have a safe, comfortable home. I didn't have responsibilities that would have made it important for me to catch the earlier train. I felt safe waiting either for the following train or for my mom to pick me up. And, since Mom did pick me up, I got home an hour earlier than I thought I might.

Most of those blessings stem from living in a developed country in a city without too much crime. Some of them stem from being relatively well off. One of them, feeling safe, stems from being either naive or male. Almost all of them stem from forces that were or were almost entirely out of my control.

God gives everyone blessings. It may be fair to say that He gives some people more and/or better blessings than others, but all of us have blessings that other people don't have. I'm not sure what I should do with or about these blessings, but I figure that, at the very least, I should acknowledge them, be thankful for them, and recognize that there are other people who weren't born as lucky. We all have blessings that other people don't have. Sometimes we can share them, and other times we can't, but we should always acknowledge them and be thankful for them. It's too easy to become spoiled and to take everyday blessings for granted, but not everyone has the blessings that we consider "everyday" blessings, so we should at least be thankful for the blessings we enjoy every day.

"Don't Forget..."

Tonight, as I was making myself some hot chocolate, I noticed something that greatly frustrated me: A problem has reemerged. Specifically, The Mysterious Water Problem. Fortunately, the problem is no longer mysterious, and I immediately knew how to fix it. Unfortunately, the solution was still taxing and irritating, and I was already tired. The hot chocolate helped improve my energy level and mood, and my brother helped me clean up as well. As my brother and I wrapped up the first phase of cleanup and were about to call it a night, my brother told me "Don't forget your hot chocolate." I responded by saying that, in the face and wake of this kind of problem, I definitely wasn't going to forget my hot chocolate. However, that reminded me of something I had forgotten. I had forgotten to pray.

When sore trials came upon you,
Did you think to pray?
When your soul was full of sorrow,
Balm of Gilead did you borrow
At the gates of day?

Oh, how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will change the night to day.
So, when life gets dark and dreary,
Don’t forget to pray.

Finding water on the counter (again) is a relatively minor trial, but I was certainly sore of it. I wasn't "full of sorrow," but I was definitely weary. I had a very good reason to pray for grace, patience, and help, but I didn't. I just gulped down a few mouthfuls of hot chocolate, banged my head against the wall a few times, and got to work. Praying definitely would have helped me, yet I had forgotten to do it. It hadn't even crossed my mind. I hope that, the next time I face a frustrating trial, I remember this experience and, more importantly, remember to pray for help.

Dancing Blissfully Toward Misery

I had a weird assignment today. I had to help a student with some brainstorming for a paper arguing why a certain video presented an effective argument in favor of same-sex marriage. But here's the kicker: It kind of was one.

The video itself didn't really present an argument (at least, not the parts I saw). It presented a man who had practiced very hard to perform a dance for, and then propose to, the man he loved, who was a professional dance instructor. The dance was alright, and the fact that the dancer had practiced that dance, evidently as a surprise performance for his future husband, showed a good deal of devotion. Plus, having a hobby you can pursue together is almost definitely a good thing for any couple. I can imagine those two being very happy together.

In fact, that's what made the video as convincing as it was: happiness. At the moment of the proposal and for several long moments thereafter, everyone in the video seemed so very happy. And, well, I am in favor of happiness.

My only hangup here is that the happiness won't last, and I don't mean that in the same sense that applies to all relationships. The honeymoon phase doesn't last forever. It's as easy to fall out of love as it is to fall into it. That's not what I mean. I expect that that couple could be just as happy as any other couple for about as long as almost any other relationship might last.

But I know that their relationship won't last forever. We are eternal beings, and gender is an essential part of our eternal identities, but same-sex marriages are not part of God's eternal plan. Celestial marriages can last forever; same-sex marriages can't. I expect that the couple in the video did, does, and will enjoy a good deal of happiness, but unless they change their paths drastically, they will not experience lasting joy.

I am in favor of happiness, however one can get it, except at the cost of misery. The couple was happy in the video, and probably for a long time afterward, but I'm afraid that their happiness won't last forever, and I feel bad for them about that. Eventually, they will wish they had made different choices, so I also wish they had.

I don't have anything against same-sex couples any more than I have against other sinners who argue that their brand of sin should be accepted, celebrated, and normalized. I wish that they had made decisions that would have led them to eternal joy. It saddens me that they so blissfully travel down a path that leads to misery and that they seem to be so effective at convincing others to follow them.

Crossing the Dark Cultural Hall

Often, the darkest room in the church I attend is the Cultural Hall. It's basically a basketball court in the middle of the church, with hallways and classrooms all around it. Because of its central location, it's a great shortcut for traveling from one corner of the building to th other, or even just for slipping passed the crowds that gum up the hallways. Yet, because it doesn't have an exterior wall, it also doesn't have any windows, so when the lights are off, the only light in there are the EXIT signs and light coming in under the doors. Yet, even when it's near pitch black in there, the light under the doors at least tell me where the doors are, so I can easily travel from one door to another, making effective use of the shortcut, even though I have to walk through near total darkness to do so.

My confidence in traversing the dark cultural hall stems mostly from the fact that I can see my destination. As long as I know where I'm going, I can just walk in that direction, and I know I'll get there. In theory, this could almost work as an analogy for life. We can't always see as well as we would like, spiritually, but we know where we're trying to go, so as long as we keep heading in that direction, we should be fine.

However, there is one problem with this analogy: the cultural hall typically doesn't have any obstacles in it, but real life always does. We face countless challenges in mortality, and seeing them clearly tends to be essential to overcoming them and avoiding them. Without spiritual light, we're doomed. If there were obstacles in the cultural hall, they could cause serious problems for anyone who tries to pass through it. However, the cultural hall has something that life doesn't have: a light switch at every door. With those light switches, I could easily turn on a light in the cultural hall and not have to try to cross a shortcut in the dark. In real life, the obstacles are often much harder to spot and avoid, though with enough spiritual light, it is still possible.

Navigating through life is much more difficult than crossing an empty room, but as long as we keep headed toward our destination and have at least enough light to see the obstacles in our path, we should be alright.

Last Second Service

Today was, or was supposed to be, a special day of service for members of the church, but I had completely forgotten about that until my sister, who had been having an "off" day, came out of her room after a long nap and asked me to make her some quesadillas for dinner. As I did so, she reminded me about this day of service by telling me that this, making her dinner, counted.

I wouldn't have thought that doing such a small thing, especially for a family member, really counted as service. It seems too small and too (for a lack of a better term) expected. People are supposed to help their family. There's nothing "special" about that.

But I think that it still counts for something. If service is simply helping others, then making my sister some dinner certainly counts for at least that much. Whether it could be considered to be a special act of service, even though it was such a small gesture, is debatable, but small acts of service add up, and while I might doubt the importance of the service I do, I certainly wouldn't want others who offer similar service to do so. Mom cooks us meals all the time, and I want her to know that that counts and that we appreciate it.

So, sure, I guess that making my sister a light meal counts as doing some service for her, and I did it before midnight tonight, so I guess it counts as doing it "today," even though it's not "today" anymore as I'm writing this. It was only a small act of service, and it happened only about half an hour before midnight, but I suppose it technically counts as today's act of service.

Two Reasons Why the World Is Imperfect

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf slipped slipped just a single word of a German vocabulary lesson into the last talk of the Saturday Afternoon Session of last General Conference:

There is a word in German, Weltschmerz. Loosely defined, it means a sadness that comes from brooding about how the world is inferior to how we think it ought to be.

 Considering how imperfect the world is and how much and how often that imperfection bothers us, I think that Elder Uchtdorf was right to say that "Perhaps there is a little Weltschmerz in all of us."

As a cure for Weltschmerz, Elder Uchtdorf suggested turning to "the transformative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ and in the Savior’s redemptive power to heal us of our soul-sickness," and that is probably the best solution, but I have thought of another solution that might also help: understanding why the world is the way it is.

By divine design, this world had to be imperfect. If it were perfect, with no troubles or trials of any kind, it wouldn't be a proper test for us. And in order for the world to be perfect, it couldn't have imperfect beings on it, making imperfect decisions that negatively affect the other imperfect beings. If the Earth were to be perfect and remain perfect, we couldn't live on it. In fact, now that I think about it, I'm not sure our pre-Earth life was perfect. I can't currently recall ever hearing that it was. Perhaps imperfection is all we have ever known. Certainly, imperfect is all we have ever been, so even though the world is imperfect and definitely has room for improvement, so do we.

So, the world is far from perfect, and that's partly because there are imperfect people making the world even worse, but those imperfections make this world a perfect testing ground for us. These imperfections help us test our mettle and fortitude if the face of afflictions that can't be helped. They also help us test our wisdom and goodness in avoiding and solving the problems that can be avoided and/or solved. Our trials can help us become better people, but that couldn't happen if the world were too perfect to have trials in it.

We need trials to grow, so we need the world to be imperfect so it can grant us the trials we need. So, rather than being upset about how bad the world is, let's try to remember why the world has to be that way and try to channel our negative emotions into creating positive change, even if that change is only in ourselves.

Of course, it's still a good idea to pursue Christlike qualities and try to improve the world with the guidance of the Gospel. But if following the Gospel doesn't make the world perfect (and it doesn't), just remember that if the world were perfect, we wouldn't be on it and that we need the world's imperfections to help us overcome our own.

Salvation Comes Through Christ

Elder Paul B. Pieper addressed the fact that salvation can only come through the name of Christ. He quoted a handful of scriptures that all basically said "There shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come." To be saved, we must rely on the Atonement and Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our on personal righteousness is insufficient. We all sin. We all need the Atonement to make us clean again. And we all need the Gospel to guide us away from the pitfalls in mortality. No one can make it back to the Celestial Kingdom without the divine teachings and purifying power of Jesus Christ. We need Jesus. We cannot achieve our eternal goals without Him.

Enduring Affliction Despite a Successful Save

When something especially bad is about to happen to a character in D&D, the controller of that character sometimes gets to make a Saving Throw. To make a saving throw, a player rolls a d20, adds the character's relevant Ability Score Modifier, and then adds whatever other modifiers might apply to the Saving Throw, like a Proficiency Bonus, or even another die granted by Bardic Inspiration or a spell like Resistance or Bless. If the total result is high enough, the character "makes" their Saving Throw, and the negative effects are negated or reduced, whereas a roll that's too low causes the character to fail their Saving Throw and suffer the full effects of whatever they were trying to avoid or resist. But what I think is interesting is that, even when a person succeeds on their Saving Throw, the negative effect isn't always completely negated. If you're caught in the area of a Fireball spell, you're going to take at least some Fire damage, even if you make your save, unless there's some other effect that says you don't.

Similarly, when we face trials, we will almost always have to endure some amount of affliction, even if we seek and receive the Lord's help in facing the trial. God may lessen the affliction, but He will rarely eliminate it because He knows that our spiritual and personal growth depend on learning to endure. That's part of the reason we're here on earth in the first place. God had to put us in a place where He could give us challenges. He isn't going to make life too easy for us now by taking all our afflictions away completely.

We should seek the Lord's help in facing trials, and we may often get it, but we should remember that, even with Celestial aid, we will still have some hardships that we need to endure.

Praise and Correction

This morning, I read some advice on teaching, and one piece of advice that resonated with me is to offer praise more than correction. Correction is often necessary, but people don't like to be corrected, so it's helpful to temper any needed correction with some deserved praise. Additionally, it may be possible to offer correction without passing criticism. Instead of telling someone what they did wrong, one might show them an example of someone doing it right. Highlighting positive examples is much more pleasant than singling out negative examples, and I imagine that people would respond better to the former method anyhow. Most of us are not often in a position that requires us to judge others, but when we are, we might do well to remember that one catches more flies with honey than with vinegar. Correction is often essential, but when it is, some praise could be very helpful too.

A Day of Helping

Today was a good day, and as I spent the last few minutes reflecting on my day, I think I found out why it was good. At several points over the course of the day, I had and took opportunities to help people, and people took opportunities to help me.

I helped people at work in the morning, in the afternoon, and again in the evening. I am blessed that I essentially get to help people for a living. I also helped people at home, if you count doing my chores as "helping." I helped someone in my class by studying with her, and she helped me.

Come to think of it, several people helped me today. Bus drivers and train drivers helped me get where I needed to go. My supervisors helped me get tutoring appointments and get paid for them. My teachers and fellow students helped me learn. And my family helped me in more ways than I can count, not the least of which was by providing me with a loving place to come home to at the end of a good, long day.

I think that part of the purpose of existence is to learn to help each other. I'm glad I was raised in the habit of helping others, and I'm glad that there are people in my life who regularly help me. It feels good to help those who need it and to get help when I need it. Today was a good day for me because I and just about everyone I met with today helped each other make today a good day.

Back to Work

This week has been fun. The poor air quality of last week and early this week meant that school was canceled for the first half of the week, and Thanksgiving meant that school was canceled for the second half of the week. But now, we need to get back to it and hopefully make up for lost time. I have a test to take and students to tutor, and tomorrow looks like it's going to be the busiest day I've had in a while. This is a good thing. While I enjoy rest and generally prefer it, I also benefit from the structure of a regular school schedule and appreciate opportunities to be helpful. I can't necessarily say that I look forward to tomorrow in the same way I might say I look forward to the weekend, but I do look forward to getting stuff done, and work is essential for that. Balance is important. I've had a lot of rest lately. It's time to get back to work.

The Element of Fire

Now that the Paradise Camp Fire is finally put out, I won't feel weird blogging about Elder Garrit W. Gong's talk Our Campfire of Faith. In this talk, Elder Gong spoke of how campfires provide light and warmth. He spoke of campfires in positive tones and never in the whole talk mentioned fire's destructive nature and ability.

As an element, fire is unique in representing two diametrically unique ideas. Earth is always solid and stable. Air is always light and breezy. Water is changeable, and one could make the argument that the fluidity of water stands in contrast to the rigidity of another form of water: ice. However, one could also argue that ice is  practically its own element or that the rigidity of ice further proves water's fluidity. Water is so changeable that even its changeability is changeable. And water is never both fluid and rigid at the same time.

Fire always embodies its contrasting nature. Fire is always both creative and destructive. Fire is always both helpful and harmful. Fire always creates bright flames and dark ash. Fire symbolizes both the feeling of the Holy Ghost and the feeling of hell.

Fire's destructive qualities are well-known. Fire is famous for burning things and people, causing pain and destruction wherever it goes. I don't think I need to emphasize this point too strongly. Everyone knows that fire can be very, very bad.

But not everyone knows or realizes how good fire can be. Handled correctly, fire can be very useful. Fire provides warmth and light. Fire can cook food. Fire can provide energy for transportation. Almost all cars, most heaters, and some power plants all rely on fire. Fire does a tremendous amount of good.

If I had a classical element (as many personality quizzes have claimed that I do), my element would be fire. I have life, energy, and vibrancy. I am occasionally creative, and some would say that I bring light and warmth into their lives. However, I also possess some of the negative traits of fire. I sometimes get angry and feel destructive. I drive the Spirit away about as often as I attract Him. I have both good and evil inside of me, and I do both good and evil, just like a fire.

In time, I may learn to be careful with my flame so I don't burn myself or anyone else. I may learn to stop destroying things of value and instead only consume proper fuel and the dross in my soul. I may become more bright and pure, like the fire of a lamp or candle, and more useful, like a stove or heater, and less chaotic and destructive, like a house fire or wildfire. I hope to reduce the negative aspects of my nature and instead exemplify only the best parts of fire. Because fire can be good and bright and pure and wonderful. And so can I.

A Normal Holiday Night

Today (and, to a lesser extent, yesterday) felt fairly normal to me. I had some nice dinners with family, but that's almost a weekly occurrence for me. Apart from catching a few glimpses of the Macy's parade and having fancier place settings, I would hardly have noticed that yesterday was a holiday at all. Sure, I spent some time with some family members I don't see often, and that was nice, but even then, I see them often enough that seeing them again tonight didn't feel unusual.

Maybe that's part of the point of the Holiday Season. In Thanksgiving and Christmas, we have two major, family-oriented holidays. People annually travel hundreds of miles to be with their family for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. This way, many family members rarely go for much more than a year without seeing each other, which helps keep families close. I'm thankful that I regularly get to spend quality time with family and that there are strong American traditions that help keep family get-togethers normal.

Repent and Prosper

In my personal scripture study, I came across Helaman 4:15 "And it came to pass that they did repent, and inasmuch as they did repent they did begin to prosper."

We know that we are blessed for our obedience to God's commandments. We also know that some of those blessings are material and that God has commanded us to repent. Repentance is mostly just changing for the better, refraining from a habitual sin, or starting to keep a commandment. And when we start keeping commandments and stop breaking them, God often blesses us for doing so.

I don't know what challenges are in your life or what blessings you need right now, but I do know that one way to persuade God to grant you those blessings and help you overcome those challenges is to do your best to keep His commandments. None of us is perfect. We each have sins that we commit and commandments that we break. If we repent of those sins and keep those commandments, or at least try to, that may help to show God that we are worthy of the blessings that will help us prosper. It worked for the Nephites. It can work for us, too.

Thankful for Everything

In the spirit of the season of Thanksgiving, I've been trying to add a few more thanks to each of my prayers, and I've been reminded that we have a lot to be thankful for. Of course, we should be thankful for all our blessings, including both material and immaterial blessings, but we should also be thankful for our trials for helping us become stronger, tougher, and wiser. It's hard to think of anything that doesn't fall into either of those categories. It seems to me that just about everything is either a trial or a blessing or both. So, in essence, we really should be grateful for everything. We can look at anything and think to ourselves how it brings us joy and/or how it can help make us a better person. Every aspect of life, including life itself, is a gift from God, and we have reasons to be thankful for each and every one of them.

Miraculous Rain

According to the internet, Albert Einstein once said "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." Case in point, it's going to rain tomorrow. Now, that could be just a meteorological happenstance. It could be something that was just going to happen anyway. It may even be something the meteorologists had predicted since well before we knew it was going to be important. Or it could be a miracle, an answer to prayers that thousands of Californians have been saying over the last week or so.

California is currently experiencing a large and deadly wildfire, the deadliest on record, if I'm not mistaken. This fire is so big that the smoke from it has caused severe air quality issues all over the state, including here in Sacramento. We wanted to pray for wind to dissipate the smoke, but we knew that the wind would fan the flame and make it even more dangerous and harder to fight. So instead, we prayed for rain, rain that will help clear the air and put out the fire. And it looks like we're going to get it.

Over the next few days, we're set to receive a great deal of rain, hopefully enough to weaken or maybe even extinguish the fire. One can only hope and pray, but it seems to me that prayers are sometimes answered. It's encouraging to feel like God cares about us enough that, despite our many flaws, He sees fit to help us solve our problems. He gives us His sorely needed guidance (which we often ignore), and He even occasionally grants us miracles, even though we don't deserve them. God is kind and merciful, and I fully believe that He was responsible for sending us the rain we are, thankfully, about to receive.

Prompted to Do Good

This afternoon, I was out shopping with my Mom and sister. On our way home, we stopped to get some gas, and I almost let my Mom get out and pump the gas, but my sister asked if I was willing to do it, so I did. Then later, at home, there was a basket of clean towels on the table, and I figured I'd get around to folding them eventually, but before I did, Mom came and started folding them, so I joined her, apologizing for not having folded them myself earlier. In each of these cases, I did something good, but only when I was prompted to by another person.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. Of course, it's good to do good, regardless of the circumstances, but it's better to do good of one's own volition, rather than waiting to be asked or prompted. Still, the Holy Spirit is almost always prompting us to do good. It may be better to do good before being prompted to, but there's certainly nothing wrong with following a prompting to do good.

Perhaps I'm merely trying to justify myself. I know that I should have done better. I should have volunteered to serve and help. Or maybe I'm being too hard on myself. I did ultimately lend a hand, and I do help and serve regularly. I know that, if I'm too negative about myself, some people will remind me that I am a good person, and I agree. I do good frequently, but I could do more good, especially if I cut down on the amount of time I spend on doing nothing. I believe that, no matter how good a person is, there is always room for improvement, but no matter how much room a person has for improvement, there is also some good in them.

It is good to follow promptings to do good, like the ones I got this afternoon, but it is better to do good without having to be prompted.

The Rates of Growth of Grass and Weeds

In my blog post yesterday, I used grass as an example of change and growth taking time, but in a comment on that blog post, my Mom correctly pointed out that while "It takes time for grass to grow; it doesn't take much time for weeds to grow." This is a very important point. True growth, positive growth, takes far more time and effort than other kinds of change. Good habits take time and effort to develop; bad habits seem to develop on their own.

There are many reasons for this. In our eternal trajectory, we are trying to travel uphill, though traveling downhill is the path of least resistance. It is far easier to make bad choices than good choices partly because there are far more of them and partly because the good choices require more discipline. The natural man is more interested in growing briers and thorns than in growing grass or flowers, and Satan doesn't help much either.

There are many forces working against us, growing weeds in the gardens of our hearts. To keep our gardens clean and growing well, we must frequently weed our internal gardens and continually strive to foster the growth of good plants. It isn't easy, and it takes far more time to gain progress than it takes to lose progress, but that's we need to be faithful and diligent. We need to take an active role in our internal gardens to keep our good habits growing steadily and to prevent them from being overrun with weeds.

Change Takes Time

Elder Ulisses Soares opened his most recent talk by talking about the Amazon River, which, it turns out, is more like two rivers than one:

My home country of Brazil is very rich in natural resources. One of them is the famous Amazon River, one of the largest and longest rivers in the world. It is formed by two separate rivers, the Solimões and Negro. Interestingly, they flow together for a number of miles before the waters blend, due to the rivers having very different origins, speeds, temperatures, and chemical compositions. After several miles, the waters finally blend together, becoming a river different than its individual parts.

Elder Soares then went on to speak about how unity can result in increased strength, but I want to focus the two rivers of which the Amazon River is composed. According to Elder Soares,those two rivers remain distinct flows of water until miles after the two rivers meet. Despite being in physical contact with each other for a long time, it still takes a long time for the two rivers to fully blend together. This particular factoid seemed surprising to me; however, as a general rule, this phenomenon is totally normal. Change takes time. Just as it takes time for grass to grow and for seasons to change, it takes time for rivers to blend. Some changes take longer than others, and the time these changes take may vary for a variety of reasons, but all changes take at least some time.

That includes changes within ourselves. I believe that all of us can think about something about ourselves that we would like to change. Unfortunately, those changes cannot come instantaneously, but fortunately, we do have some time. It can be frustrating when progress seems slow and especially when we don't seem to be making any progress at all, but change happens over time, especially as we try to keep working toward that change.

So, if you're trying to bring about some change in your life, keep trying, but be patient. Change doesn't always happen quickly, but it does happen. It's only a matter of patience, perseverance, and time.

Exploration and Expression of Character

One thing I love about D&D and certain other games is how they allow the players to explore their own psyches. Before the game even gets started, players are enabled to create (or at least select) their own characters. These characters serve both as tools for the players to use to interact with the adventuring world and as reflections of the players themselves.

I've spoken before about how D&D characters can serve as reflections, and in my case, role models for their players. I like to play as paladins, fighters, and clerics, characters who fight evil in the defense of the good, because they reflect my desire to be good and do good. I explore and express my desire for virtue through them.

However, I also design my characters to be good in combat. I try to optimize my characters' average damage per round, and I get excited when they unlock powerful new abilities. These traits allow my characters to excel in the many fights that break out in most D&D games.

As a role-playing game, D&D has two main components: the role-playing component and the game component. My favorite part is the role-playing component, where I get into character and confront difficult moral predicaments, hoping, with the aid of the DM and the other players, to weave together an epic and memorable story.

However, I also enjoy the game component, in which players have their characters attempt to do something, and then they, the players, roll dice to see what happens next. This is the part of the part of the game that is actually a game, and I enjoy trying to win it, especially with help from my teammates. I find it fun to play strong characters who are good at fighting monsters.

I'm not sure what all that says about me, but I know it says something different than if I usually played bards or rogues. The play experience is different for the different characters, as the different classes tend to play different roles in the party. For whatever reason, I gravitate towards characters who can handle themselves in a fight rather than those who try to solve their problems with sneakiness or cleverness.

Maybe that means I'd rather be strong than sneaky, or maybe it means I think I'm stronger than I am clever. I know I could make a character who can, starting at a rather low level, can effectively disguise himself as just about anyone he has ever met, but I don't think I'll ever play that character because I'm not clever enough to fully take advantage of that sort of ability.

Meanwhile, it's much simpler and easier to play a more basic, combat-focused character. I have noticed that I tend to prefer most of my challenges to be simple and/or easy. Maybe I play fighters and characters like them because combat is simple, tactical challenge that relies more on the luck of the dice than on clever improvisation.

D&D is endlessly interesting to me in how it allows me to express and explore my personal character through what sorts of characters I create and how they and I interact with the game. I'm learning a lot about myself, including (I hope) how I can become better as both a player and a person. D&D helps me do something I enjoy: building good, strong characters, including my own.

How to Destroy Temptations

That's right: "Destroy." Temptations can be destroyed.

I have often heard of temptations being described as traps. Traps, at least the actual, physical traps, can be destroyed, but I didn't think that the "temptations as traps" analogy went that far. However, according to Helaman 5:29, the analogy can stretch that far, thanks mostly to another analogy:

Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, . . .

(There's more to the verse, but it's not relevant right now.)

I can think of at least one thing that is "quick and powerful" and that "divide[s things] asunder." A sword. And this isn't the first time the word of God has been compared to a sword.

It's not too hard to imagine how a physical sword might destroy a physical trap. Swords can cut through nets and snares fairly easily, and even tougher traps would eventually break if you hit them enough times.

But how does the word of God destroy temptation? Many temptations are built on lies, and the word of God is the truth. Such truths could disprove many of the lies upon which temptations rely, thus destroying those temptations. The word of God can also overpower, if not destroy, temptation by helping us gain a stronger motivation and desire to to good and resist temptation. And if we keep the commandments, we can have God's Spirit with us, and He can help us avoid having to face temptation in the first place.

I think the Word of God destroys temptation the same way we might "destroy" a supposedly logical argument: By disproving its premises, by showing its logic to be faulty, and/or by providing a stronger counterargument. Doing so may not physically destroy temptations because temptations are not actually physical objects, but if we keep the commandments and turn to the word of God in the face of temptation, we can destroy Satan's hopes of getting us to yield to temptation, and that might be good enough.

Privilege

During the past two days, I've had an opportunity to think about privilege. It has been smoky in Sacramento for the past several days, but this smokiness has been little more than a nuisance to me. In fact, I've noted a few times how amazing the smoke looks, something like a gray fog that, when it's thick enough, turns the sunlight orange. The smoke hasn't bothered me any more than being a slight inconvenience at having to put on a smoke mask and reduce the amount of time I spend outside. I am increasingly coming to realize how much of a privilege that is.

Not all people have smoke masks. By the time we heard on the news that some fire stations had smoke masks, most of the local fire stations were already out of stock. There weren't any masks at the first place we checked, or the second, or the third. We did, eventually, manage to get smoke masks, but only because we had smartphones that could tell us the location of every fire station in Sacramento and a car that could drive us to them. We were privileged to have been lucky enough to hear that news report in time. We were privileged to even have a TV at all and to have enough leisure time to watch it and spend an evening tracking down masks like it was some kind of scavenger hunt.

Others, I know, aren't so lucky. There are those who are too poor to own cars or smartphones or televisions. There are those who don't even have a roof over their heads or any other indoor space where they can get away from the smoke. There are those who have lost everything they owned to the fire that is causing all this smoke, and there are those who never owned that much in the first place.

Privilege begets privilege. The privileges of owning a car and a smartphone and a TV have bought my family another privilege: the privilege of having smoke masks. Those masks (and access to rapid transportation and many indoor spaces) will help us stay healthy, despite the smoke in the air outside, and that health will continue to buy us more privileges, like strength and lower healthcare costs. I've never thought of my family as being wealthy, but we do enjoy a great number of privileges which work together to get us even more.

I don't deserve the privileges I have, and those who don't have them don't deserve not to have them. None of us deserve many of the blessings or the afflictions that come into our lives. Sure, there are some blessings we "earn" through righteousness and some afflictions we "earn" through wickedness, but none of those account for the blessings and afflictions we were born into. I was born into a fiscally-afloat family of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the most richly blessed country in the world at a time of unparalleled technology, some of which I can afford. Most people only have a few of those blessings, if any.

The question now is what is to be done about this realization. I was born to privilege. What should I do with it? Of course, I can spend some of it satisfying my own desires; I don't think too many people would fault me for that. But what else? I should certainly use my blessings to help others, but how? It seems foolish to give everything away, even for charity's sake, but I should give some, perhaps more than I already do. And I should also give service. I readily use my smartphone to answer others' questions and communicate with those who regularly need help, and I serve with my health and strength as well. I suppose I could use my blog and Facebook page to give a voice to the voiceless, though I'll have to choose judiciously which voiceless I give voice to; however, engaging in internet politics is hardly the best use of anyone's time. Still, I should try to think more about what additional good I could do with my privileges, and I'll have to try to muster the will-power to do it.

This unfortunate smoke experience has helped me to realize how fortunate I am. Now, I should try to find ways to share my good fortune with others.

Just One Person

Today, I traveled about 10 miles, round trip, spending a total of about an hour and a half in smoke-hazy air, waited a total of two hours, and worked for one hour, all to help just one person.

It was worth it.

I don't want to give away too many details without anyone's permission, but it turned out that I was uniquely qualified to help this one person, and the person really needed my help. I was glad to be able to help.

Besides, it wasn't an unpleasant experience. For most of those six and a half hours, I felt satisfied and happy.

Plus, it may not be entirely accurate to say that I only helped one person. I only tutored one person, but now that I look back on that time, I answered other people's questions, helped a little bit with some paperwork, and shared laughs with at least three other people. I imagine that those three people's lives were made maybe slightly better by my being there than they would have been had I stayed home.

I also have myself to consider. I had a good experience, and I am going to get paid for some of that time, including all of the time I spent helping my student, so while I was helping "just one person," I was also helping myself.

I'm not sure it's possible to help "just one person." We all touch so many lives. Even an entirely selfish person might inadvertently help others by giving them experiences from which they can learn.

But even if I had somehow managed to help only one person, that still might have been worth my time, because, if nothing else, at least I helped that one person. That may not have had a big impact on the world in general, but I know it had at least some impact on at least one person, and maybe that's all one really needs. I can be satisfied with knowing that at least one person's life was better off by having me in it, and I know I accomplished at least that much today. I'm satisfied.

And, thankfully, I don't have to stop there. Helping even just one person can end up helping quite a few people, and I'm glad that that was the case today. I was blessed too be able to help a handful of people today, even when I was only focusing on one.

Pass Up Passing Judgment

I know that God wants us to do a lot of things on our own, especially the things we can handle on our own and/or will need to learn eventually anyway, but there are also some things that are best left to His judgment, such as most cases of passing judgment on others.

We are not supposed to judge others, or at least, we're not supposed to judge them unrighteously, yet many people do. People mete out accusations, judgments, and punishments as though it were their place to do so, and admittedly, in some cases, it is, but not for most of us. To everyone who has not been specifically chosen as a judge, the Lord has said, in Mormon 3:5 and several other scriptures, "Vengeance is mine, and I will repay." Instead, we should probably follow the advice of a post I just shared on Facebook: "Just love everyone; I'll sort 'em out later. -God"

Years ago, I criticized a shirt that said "Only God Can Judge Me." My stance may have softened slightly since then, and I acknowledge that there are some people with the authority and responsibility to judge. However, while there are some people who must judge others, most of the rest of us shouldn't. It's difficult to know a person's motivations or intentions, and it's usually not any of our business anyway. There is often no need for us to pass judgment. Let's let God (and His delegates) handle that.

The Temporary and the Eternal

Something that's been on my mind lately is how temporary most of mortality is. Most things end. Most callings are temporary. All trials are. Many of the situations we find ourselves in are temporary. In fact, even mortality itself is temporary.

There are many lessons we can draw from this fact. The first is that, if you are experiencing trials, take heart. Your trials will not last forever. Your trials, however long and painful, will eventually end. You will find relief.

The second is to not get too attached to anything temporary. Some people set their hearts on worldly goods or build their identities on their social status, but these things don't last. I suppose one can get attached to their bodies, but even then, one shouldn't get too attached to any particular physical characteristics because one never knows how much one's resurrection might change.

The third lesson is drawn from the exceptions. Most things in life are temporary, but the best things aren't. Our family relationships are eternal. Our minds and hearts (and all that they contain) also come with us into the afterlife. These are the things that we can set our hearts on and get attached to. These are the things that matter. These are the things that are certain to endure, even when just about everything else comes to an end.

Mortality is mostly compose of things that are temporary.  Our trials, possessions, and social conditions won't be part of our lives forever. When our mortal lives are over, only a few, eternal aspects would remain. These are the things on which we should focus our attention. Our families and our testimonies are among the few things that truly last. Most things in life are temporary, so it's important to focus instead on the few things that last forever.