Fedangled Cool Stuff

Last week was the great and powerful day of Oz… ok it wasn’t but like the return of the Lord wouldn’t it be cool? General Conference was last week and it was really awesome! We got to hear young Tommy Monson's voice (he is never going to be old to me, he is too awesome). Now for some it is a time to see if the flesh is weak while our spirits are willing but I discovered this last conference in the spring; tweeting while in conference. I paid so much attention to conference and could not imagine how much I wanted to quote the prophets first. Twitter has changed the ways that I do Conference. I am engaged and really want to share the pearls of wisdom that come from the prophet’s mouth. It was like an online party with hundreds of people that really wanted to engage in the conversation. I will not say that it was all uplifting with the tweets of those that spoke foreign language or the rehash of jokes but for the most part it really was a good conference because many people were eager to share their experience in 144 characters or less.

It seems that technology has changed the way that we look at spiritual things; we blog about it, chat online about it, tweet about it Facebook about it etc. There is no medium that has not been removed from the opportunity to share the gospel. Back in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, I never thought that I would ever see such things when I was involved in Pacman and other 8 bit games.  Technology was still cassettes and then the new thing was CD and DVD. I recall that I refused to buy a CD of a favorite artist because I thought it really was going to go away. Several years later I was buying the CD because the tape that I had was ran into the ground by being played over and over.

The access to the gospel has changed too. Over the last few years I have seen elders show up with their smart phones and such with the scriptures loaded on their apps and it seems that ten years ago that would have been the farthest thought from my mind. I loved my quad from my mission and the more recent quad that I had bought back in the early 2000’s. I shake my head just thinking about it. I mean, really what is next?

The passage of time has done us great things. In the last 100 years we have moved from a society that started to allow women to vote (1919) and wear bikini’s (1950’s) (though is that really an improvement; the idea of smaller and smaller, less and less clothes) to being able to vote online and store photos of those bikinis on our phones. Our agency has is up for grabs and is being manipulated.

Someone once told me that the spirits of yester-year would not want the temptation that comes with all this new fedangled tech and rapid accessibility but when I think of what it has done for the good and focus on those things, I become excited to share my testimony via email and tweet good things about my country and countrymen. I revel in good things and teach my children ways to seek for good things and warn them about the seduction of evil. I don’t know if I could do what my grandfathers did or their fathers before them. My wife says that she is sure that she waited for indoor plumbing before coming to earth and I cant blame her. 

So with all that said I want to encourage you to appreciate what you have, take time to smile, turn off your electronic stuff for an hour and finally be happy, the Lord is with you; when you have done all of that you can turn back on all your seductive cool stuff and listen to a prophets voice again.

Have a good week. 

Image found at LDS.org.

Tongue of Fire

 

Image from Amazon 

I have had the honor to real a great book called Tongue of Fire, a great read and real page turner that I could not resist. The book was so full of twists and turns, I was certain that John, a new resident and the only Mormon of Mayfield. Who of had seen that such a friendly and service oriented new member of the community would end up in so much trouble from offering service to a church that lost its pastor.

The simple act of service turns this simple mans life (and his family's life) into a crazy pile of secrets that become discovered and unfolded. The reading just becomes more and more intense when the antagonist finds out the great and giving John is a Mormon and his son is the high school's first string quarterback. Now what John did to save a church by preaching a sermon becomes a mark for becoming a pariah and the house of cards that are falling threatens Johns marriage, Jacobs career as a quarterback and could have the whole family ran out of town.

I read this book and really it was a page turner David McKnight really creates a book that keeps his reader excited for hours on end with a great piece of literature. Those that enjoy this blog will really enjoy this book and its a great gift for Christmas.

Go read this book, you will love it.

That being said, I would like to reflect on the true power of the Tongue of Fire given to us by God. He has asked us to open our mouths not giving though as to what we shall say. Talk about risky. Our finite knowledge and wisdom cannot fathom the insight that the God omnipotent knows about his children. Perhaps I should of known better when I was a young missionary. I witnessed that every time that I 'opened my mouth' that miracles happened. I watched as gangsters, stoners and those that would of been though of not, turn their lives around. Not because I knew all the scriptures or spoke contentiously about theology with others but spoke with the power and majesty that is only the Lords and his alone. I barely grasped that I was his mouth piece. I thank God though that I was somewhat teachable and saw a glimpse of heaven in the eyes of those touched by the Spirit of the Lord. I now hope that I can pass that on to other Saints and my children as well.

Thank you.