Sometimes we get stuck seeing things our way. Would you like to see some things through another set of eyes? Maybe it will make you think and stretch or maybe just chuckle or shed a tear. Here is my world through my eyes...
More pictures from Megan and Josh's wedding. This time we include pictures taken at the temple with family and friends. Once again all the pictures are taken by MP Photography. Next week I'll be posting pictures from the reception. We'll start with the posed pictures and then with the candid pictures outside the temple.
Megan with companions from her mission.
Josh with roommates/companions/friends.
The wedding couple with the groomsmen.
Megan and her sisters laughing of course, one of the things our family does best.
Megan and her bride's maids blowing kisses to me (you'd never catch groomsmen doing this).
The new couple with Josh's family.
Josh and Megan with her family.
I get a little tired of seeing so many pictures of newlyweds kissing and you
will notice that I haven't put many in my posts. But this once we needed to prove that we can
still kiss as good as newlyweds!
I recently learned about a professional basketball player in New Zealand who is a Bishop in the church there. He has become my most recent hero because he chose not to play basketball for the grand final championship on the Sabbath day. As a result his team lost. Paora Winitana is the starting shooting guard for the HBS Bank Hawks and was missed by his team.
He has played for a few different teams but when he started his professional career in 1996 he was Rookie of the Year in the NBL. He was captain of his team when they won the title in 2006 and he played on the silver medal team in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
When his coach was given a chance after the championship game he admitted that they might have been better with Paora playing but would not say unkind things about him. Instead he said the following: "These things happen in sport. Paora's my brother and he's come into his faith so I respect him even more. To stand there [on the bench] and go through that - I look up to the guy as a human being. If everyone strived to be like Paora Winitana, the world would be a better place."
It is evident that Paora Winitana is a good ambassador for the church and lives the gospel in a way that shines forth to others. It also seems clear that he doesn't do that in such a way that he comes across as "holier than thou". I appreciate good examples of those willing to live the gospel even when it isn't convenient.
Latter-day Saint basketball player Paora Winitana made a commitment long ago to spend Sundays with his family and as a day of worship.
He is sticking to his decision this Sunday and will miss the National Basketball League final."I love basketball, but I am a father, a husband and member of the Church first," he says.
"Basketball is what I do, not who I am."
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints set aside Sunday as a day to remember the Saviour Jesus Christ, to worship, and spend time with family.
Here are some highlights of an article from 2008 that feature his faith and family prominently which can be read in its entirety here:
Paora Winitana joins Adelaide 36ers NBL side
"It is one of a number of anomalies about the ordained minister with the striking resemblance to former pro wrestler and actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
"I'm very excited to be coming to Adelaide and grateful the club understands about Sundays," he said.
A bishop with the Church of Jesus Christ – Latter Day Saints, Winitana's faith prevents him from playing or training on Sundays.
...
Almost still a rookie at 31, Winitana played with the Breakers' breakthrough debutant in 2003-04, dropped out of the NBL to be with wife Tia and then-newborn son Paora, before returning to play last season with the Breakers' break-out team, NZ's first to reach the finals.
...
A youth leader and a rock-solid citizen, Winitana is keen to also continue his off-court calling in the "city of churches."
...
The NZNBL Rookie of the Year in 1996, he debuted for the Tall Blacks in 2002 after missing several seasons on a Mormon mission."
Here is a video that features Paora Winitana:
This from another article about the championship game that can be read in its entirety here:
As Wellington Saints coach Pero Cameron cut the net down from the hoop, about five metres away a well-known Hawke's Bay parent, beaming from ear to ear, played with his child.
Paora Winitana extended his arms in front of his chest in the shape of a hoop as his son, Mana, celebrating his third birthday, deftly sunk the ball with dead accuracy before yelping with delight.
That's all the action Winitana, a Mormon bishop, saw last night as the HBS Bank Hawks stumbled at the last hurdle of their Bartercard National Basketball League (NBL) campaign in Wellington.
...
Winitana laughed when asked if there was always next year, emphasising he battled with injuries for three years but this season played through without any hiccups.
"I played every game, bar the Sundays, and if I'm healthy I can always help," he said, revealing he had signed for two years with the Hawks.
...
Hawks franchise owner Rod Earnshaw didn't mince words, saying the timing of the play-offs in Wellington was nothing short of "political" considering they had banked on a Friday/Saturday series.
"It was changed because Sky TV could only cover [the grand final] on a Sunday and that had an immediate impact on us," Earnshaw said.
"I'm not a sore loser but I just didn't agree with the decision on Sky.
"I mean if you take the top man out of any team you're going to struggle," Hawks to 'learn from this', he lamented, lauding Winitana for standing by his religious beliefs and stance but feeling the code should accommodate for such commitment.
...
He took his hat off to the Hawks for a great season.
"The difference was we came out aggressive tonight and the guys were knocking down the shots," he said, adding Wellington upped the tempo and the Hawks got into foul trouble.
"Definitely, they [the Hawks] missed the Bishop. It's always good to have Paora on and they could have used him tonight," Johnson said
Francesca Battistelli has grown into a good Christian Singer. Many of her songs have good strong faith filled lyrics that are encouraging to those trying to follow Christ in a world that seems headed in other directions. Francesca grew up in Florida in a musical family. Her music is in the pop/rock style that appeals to young people but I enjoy her music as well. She was in her first group when she was 15 and performed a lot. After that group disbanded she decided to do the music that she wanted which was Christian music. Now she is married and has had her first child. She is maturing and growing up in the music industry that can be hard to stay grounded in.
She is maturing in her Christian attitudes as evidenced by this quote from her web site: "The more you walk in relationship with the Lord, the more you learn to trust him. I'm learning not to focus so much on the issues I think are so big right now—our bus has broken down, or someone said something that frustrated me. I'm learning to slowly let things roll off my back, to say, 'Hey, God knew about this before it happened and He's got a way out or a plan better than mine.' I've learned to stop freaking out and just trust that God knows what he's doing. He's not going to leave me in a bad place because He never has before."
The song I have chosen to highlight today is called Beautiful Beautiful. It is a song that I understand as teaching how we can change and grow when we recognize and allow ourselves to be influenced by the Savior.
Words and music by Francesca Battistelli, Ian Eskelin, and Andrew Fromm.
Here are the lyrics:
Don’t know how it is You looked at me
And saw the person that I could be
Awakening my heart
Breaking through the dark
Suddenly Your grace
(Chorus)
Like sunlight burning at midnight
Making my life something so
Beautiful, beautiful
Mercy reaching to save me
All that I need
You are so
Beautiful, beautiful
Now there’s a joy inside I can’t contain
But even perfect days can end in rain
And though it’s pouring down
I see You through the clouds
Shining on my face
(Chorus)
I have come undone
But I have just begun
Changing by Your grace
(Chorus)
Mark Mabry art of Christ coming to Nephites in the Book of Mormon
I was reading a blog by a fellow Mormon that inspired me to write a post about my experience with the Book of Mormon. I have read the Book of Mormon several times and in two languages. That certainly doesn't make me an expert on it, but it does indicate that I am pretty familiar with it. The first time I read it through was when I was a teenager and we were challenged in our early morning religion class before school to read it. I read it in about 34 days. At that particular time I found it exciting and enjoyable to read. It touched me with some of the things that were taught in it and I felt like it was what it purported to be, which is scripture.
I have grown up in the church and learned from the Book of Mormon right alongside the Bible. I attended three years at a private Christian middle school and had daily Bible classes. I have loved both books of scripture and found them both to coincide closely in teaching the words of Christ.
They both bring forth the importance of Christ and the hope that Christ has given humankind. One difference is that the Book of Mormon seems to concentrate more on the daily application of Christ's teachings as opposed to the Bible which seems more focused on declaring instruction from God to man.
I use them both in my life to guide me to understand what God wants me to know, to be inspired by his teachings and examples, and then to implement them into my life. The two together help me see the gospel in a more well rounded way and identify how the teachings apply to me as an American in this modern age. As one woman I respect (Chieko Okasaki) said "In principle great clarity, in practice great charity". The two books of scripture together give Christ's teachings more clarity in my mind, and coming from different cultures they help us to view their difference in implementation which allows us greater charity in seeing a larger variety of people attempting to live by Christ's teachings and example in the books.
In my quest to know if both books are truly from God for our benefit and growth, I have had my prayers answered and know that they are both true books of scripture which together are meant to guide us to correct doctrine and correct practice of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I hope that you will take the opportunity to study them both, and compare the fullness of God's Spirit that comes from both. I hope you will allow that Spirit to guide you in your application of the principles taught by prophets and our Savior in both books.
Here is a short video introduction to the Book of Mormon.
When I was a child listening on Fast and Testimony Sunday I had a hard time connecting with what people were saying. I needed something to help me pay attention and not get energetic and rambunctious. So I started keeping a tally of the number of men versus women bearing their testimony to keep me somewhat focused. I quickly noticed that repeatedly, month after month, women were more likely to bear their testimony. I began to wonder why that was the case. For years that seemed to be the case. Why were more women bearing their testimony than men, I wondered. Was there some difference between men and women that led to this inequality month after month?
In the past couple of years I have noticed that more men are bearing their testimony as well as more boys and young men. The numbers have equalized by my counting and it is not uncommon for men to actually outnumber the ladies in bearing their testimony.
Manly men need to bear their testimony. Of course I don't mean just in Fast and Testimony meeting, but in life. Men need to bear their testimony to their family. Manly Men need to make a stand and declare what they stand for. I remember hearing a talk in the last couple of years about the importance of fathers bearing their testimony to their children and I decided to write mine and put it in a book for my children. The example of a man bearing his testimony both in his own home to his children as well as in the meeting are important to his family and to other observers. Just the action of bearing our testimony can influence others for good, irrespective of what we say. It could be that there is a little boy like me that is keeping track and wondering why a testimony is important especially for a man.
When I was a teenager it became accepted practice, for a while, that if one of us stood up that we could encourage a specific individual to do so after us. So a teenager might stand to bear their testimony and mention a friend in the congregation and encourage them to bear their testimony too, while at the pulpit. Of course that would be embarrassing but we figured if we had the courage to go up and do it then our friends should too. I believe our action of verbalizing our testimony in a meeting helps others think that they could do the same thing, we literally encourage them by our example.
It is important that men strengthen their testimony by bearing it as well as living it. I think I understand how that works now. If we develop a testimony but keep it to ourselves, it tends to never get strong enough to have power in our lives or other's lives. Similar to faith without works, there are action parts to the testimony. If we put our testimony into words it requires that we think about it and that process of thinking and delivering helps define what our testimony is and isn't to ourselves as well as others. The delivery also serves as a declaration of our belief and makes others aware of it and consequently we can receive support in living up to it.
In a marriage our wife likes to hear us bear our testimony. She knows our beliefs probably more intimately than any other person and would be the one who could most accurately measure our testimony, outside or ourselves. She will appreciate hearing our words of testimony especially when they match our actions that she sees in our life. The testimony we bear verbally as well as the one we show through our actions in our life, and especially in our home, will bear great dividends. It will assure and comfort our family that we are trying to do the things that they know we should and that we likely teach them that they should do. Our actions in this regard strengthen our words and indicate that they are truly meaningful to us, consequently making them powerful to our families and friends. [Naturally if we tell our testimony at church and then do not show it at home then those actions will weaken the power of our words and weaken the faith and hope of our families.]
So as a Manly Man please bear your testimony of the Savior, the gospel, the church, the importance of families and the reality of a meaningful daily religion and it's power to help us in our daily trials. The dividends are that your family will be strengthened and be more unified in the Gospel and that other people will be influenced for good through the Spirit of your testimony.
This past Sunday I was the substitute teacher in Sunday School. The main parable of the lesson was the Prodigal Son. This quote in the lesson by Gordon B.Hinckley has really had me thinking: "Every parent ought to read it again and again. It is large enough to encompass every household, and enough larger than that to encompass all mankind, for are we not all prodigal sons and daughters who need to repent and partake of the forgiving mercy of our Heavenly Father and then follow His example?” (“Of You It Is Required to Forgive,” Ensign, June 1991, 5).
As a father my thoughts tend to turn first to what it must have been like for him. Here is a poem I wrote as I contemplated what it must have been like for the father.
Prodigal's Father
He sat and watched the horizon
remembering the day, feeling the feelings, again:
his failure, the guilt, the teetering hope.
The day life changed family changed peace and comfort changed to pain and loss.
"I know he has struggled, chafed under family rules but please Lord, bring him safely home."
This prayer mumbled aloft, thought again and again, prayed on hurting knees over and over again.
On Easter Sunday there is much to remind us of Christ. But to be honest most of the world turns to candy, food, eggs and fun things that as a minimum co-exist with Christ and as a maximum lead us away from him. We must be the leader in our home to show remembrance of our Savior. Not just on Easter but every Sunday and indeed every day.
On Easter we must be sure to attend church and let the Spirit touch our hearts with the reality of Christ and his caring and representation of our Father's caring for us. We must share our celebration of the Savior's victory with family and close friends. We must remember who we are and the value that we are to God. Then let this realization help us live as God has encouraged us to do to follow him, to show our recognition of our value to Him and our acceptance of His ways as our way. And don't forget because his atonement and resurrection are real, that our ability to repent and be forgiven is real as well.
We may choose to participate in some of the cultural celebrations of the Holiday, but don't let the candy and the egg hunts and a gift or two take center stage from our Savior. Let our homes remember Him.
As a Manly Man we must remember our Savior. We must recall he was resurrected after living his life as an example and completing the atonement. What does that mean for us as a manly man?
How can our example remind our families of our Savior and his life, death and resurrection? Will our actions assure them that this is what is important to us? That our values are in line with Him? Will they respect us enough to desire to follow in our footsteps? If they follow, will our footsteps lead them to Christ?
Luke 24: Highlights
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
5 ...Why seek ye the living among the dead?
6 He is not here, but is risen...
12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.
32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
49 ... be endued with power from on high.
53 And [they] were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
In the winter it is a common thing to hear about how each snow flake is different. It is amazing, practically unbelievable to imagine that every snowflake is unique and in some way different from every other snowflake. Particularly amazing when our naked eye, most often, cannot see the difference.
Then to think of people and how we each vary from one another in multiple ways--it is mind boggling. We have multiple different skin colors, hair syles, eye colors and shapes, heights and weights, and ways of dressing just to mention a few easily noticable distinctive characteristics. Then to overlay the variety of talents and abilities that people have adds additional layers of diversity. So many abilities! Many of them so subtle that people often don't even know they have them or that they are distinctive from other people.
I have talked to a number of folks who have one of those subtle, not easily noticed, abilities. To be honest I think most if not all people have these inconspicuous talents. They are often amazed when I point them out and even more amazed when they realize the uniqueness that they harbor. It helps them to see the world with more clarity when they begin to see their own uniqueness and realize that each of us is exceptional and irreplaceble.
When we think about talents and abilities we often think of the more glaring and visible ones. I once talked with a young lady who had multiple spectacular abilities and skills. She yearned for people to see past those to her other qualities that she considered more fundamental in making up her person. Singing, art, comedy, instrument playing, and athletic abilities are just a few of the abilities that are more easily noticed. Even if you take one category of abilities, for example athletic, there is a huge variance in a single talent. Even if you take a sub-category of that ability, for example basketball playing ability there is a great variety (think of why we have dunking contests and can differentiate between dunks enough to chose a winner).
When you consider another talent, like empathy, and consider some of the variations of that talent from one who can feel another's pain to one who can anticipate another's need.
Ultimately I must conclude that everyone has multiple abilities and everyone nust have multiple disabilities as well. I was reading an article by Orson Scott card that you can access by clicking on this line. It said: "Our bodies come with a mix of abilities and disabilities. What God cares about is not what we're born with, but how we use whatever talents we've been given."
To use our talents and develope them there must be a time of discovery and then a time of growth and maturity. Finally a time for using the talent as God intended. And then in the process of using it we can advance the talent and magnify it. When we consider all the desirable abilities and talents in the world it is crucial that we recognize our own and learn to use it for God's intent.
As we develope our abilities we then have a strong foundation for overcoming, minimizing or managing our disabilities. Though all disabilities will not be overcome in this life, by recognizing and tapping into the fruits of our strentghs (i.e. confidence, discipline, and determination that result from our recognizing and using our strengths for good) we can overcome or at least accept our inabilities. Some disabilities may actually not be fixed while others may be incapabilities.
It is possible that as Neal Maxwell hints at that our greatest ability to God may be our availability and our greatest disability our inavailability. "God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability." — Neal A. Maxwell
Ether 12:27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
This past Sunday, I watched the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's weekly broadcast, "Music and the Spoken Word." I've always had a powerful connection to music. I sing it, play it, hum it, listen to it, and occasionally even write it. Music inspires me, comforts me, and evokes strong memories for me. But my ears were not the conduit for the message I was to receive this day.
The television cameras focused frequently on those singers in the middle of the 350-member choir, especially at the seam where women and men stood shoulder to shoulder, the animated figure of their conductor superimposed over the junction of blue gowns and black suits. But on one sweep of the cameras, I noticed several choir members on the outermost edge of the upper row. As I considered their relative distance from the limelight--so to speak--it struck me that these choir members on the selvage of the chorale are just as vital to the group as those placed front and center. Their contributions are no less important, meaningful, or substantial, just because they are not always as visible.
This experience brought to my mind a poem by Carol Lynn Pearson titled "The Cast". I typed a copy of it onto a 3 x 5 index card close to 40 years ago, using my mother's old manual typewriter. (Most of the people who may read this have probably never even used an electric typewriter, much less its predecessor!) I still carry that card with me in my scriptures. Here's the poem:
"I lost the starring part in Our Town to Linda, a girl not half as good as me, who kept her eyes down for the whole tryout, and even stuttered.
"When the cast was posted and the high school drama coach saw me reading it through my tears, he put an arm around me and said, 'Now look--things are not always as they appear. This is not Broadway. It's an educational institution. We're here for two reasons: to put on a show and, more important, to help people grow. Someday you'll see.'
"So Linda played Emily, and she didn't even stutter. And I was third woman at the wedding, watching and wondering how he knew what she could really do if she had the chance.
"Since then I have guessed that God, being a whole lot smarter than my high school drama coach, might be offstage sometimes with an arm around a questioning cast: 'Now don't try to outguess me. Sometimes the first shall be last and the last shall be first. And I've got my own reasons. I need some strong ones to star and some strong ones to stand back. And I'm going to put out front some you might not choose. But you'll see what they can really do when they have the chance. Mortality is an educational institution. We've got to put on the show and too, we've got to help people grow.'
"As I walk through the scenes, watch the costumes move, and listen to the lines of the powerful, the weak, the rich, the poor; I look at the leads with less awe than most, and at the spear-carriers with more.'"
So the next time you're doubting your contribution, your role, your impact or your value, I hope you'll think of those singers in the last seats of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Your voice too is needed; keep on singing!
I have learned to love conference. It seems that when we learn to appreciate conference that we begin to understand and feel the value of our modern day prophet. That helps us to see that Heavenly Father really does care and love us today as much as any other time of the earth's existence. Not just that he loves us as a religious group but individually and as a world. President Monson is a prophet for the world, but we are the ones listening.
My daughter taught me something a while back about conference. She learned on her mission that in preparation for conference that if you will contemplate the questions you have about your life and/or the help that you need right now, and then pray with faith for the help to come, and then look and listen closely at conference that you will find the answers there. I have found that to be true. When we come prepared to listen and hear we will get the inspiration and guidance we are looking for.
Go to conference! And listen close for those answers.
Sometimes it seems that we lose people in their prime. I don't mean physical prime but rather spiritual prime. I am thinking of some discussions my mother and I have had over the years. She is in her 80's now and she sometimes comments that it is good that people get old and less attractive by the worlds standards, less able to do a variety of things due to physical decay and less able to do some things mentally. She says that if that were not the case that the young people would never have the opportunity to come into their own and to be required to be responsible and learn. It might be easy for them to be lazy and not accept the growth opportunities that they need just as their elders have needed them in their own day.
I get the feeling that my mother knows that to be correct but that she still misses some things from her youth. I am thirty years behind my mother but am beginning to see the changes that remind me of days gone by with a pleasant smile.
Of course there are advantages to being old particularly if we gain in understanding and spirituality. This great opportunity to see patterns and faith fulfilled in our own memories is very powerful and helps us accept this great world as an opportunity to grow with tests along the way to measure our growth and encourage us in the direction our God would have us go.
Then I think of my Mom & Dad, Mother-in-law and Father-in-law who have been great examples in their lives and have lead their families to the Savior and many other people as well. They have done great service and held leadership callings that have influenced people for good throughout their lives. Then I see that they are struggling now and use their well developed faith to get them through these times of trials due to age and otherwise. I imagine what the world will be like without them to be living examples to me and others and recognize that it will be my turn to be the same to my family, friends and others too. In a way it is a bit frightful to consider replacing them to some degree. But having seen their great example I often feel confident that I can follow them and then go through the new twists and turns with the faith they have exemplified and I have gained of my own thanks to their great example.
But I look forward to the millennium when we will not lose the great people in our lives through death. Instead we will be able to work with them (and work I fully expect it will be) to prepare the world for the last battle with Satan and for the end. How wonderful it will be to stand beside them in their prime and to contribute with them to the great plan of Happiness as it moves forward for a thousand years. I look forward to that time where we will not lose our great ones but instead will stand side by side in the great work of the Lord. Where those fully developed great ones of the Lord will once again be with us to help us and work with us. We will be side by side as equals but with different talents and abilities. What a day that will be!
I'll let the hope of that day comfort me through the difficult times of their lost abilities and eventually loss of life. Then in their footsteps I will carry on and be what they have taught me to be. Then finally we will be together as equals, having learned our lessons on the training planet of earth, to prepare than fight for our Lord in His upcoming victories.
Thinking of you Dad (Died 1995), Mom (80+ years old), Dad (in a coma 2+ months) and Mom (Faithful through the loss of almost all by the worlds standards but certainly not by the Lord's standard). Love your hopefully ever faithful son -- Dallas
If you are interested in seeing a singer who has moved away from selling their music with sex to singing and being an upstanding citizen then you need to see this Finnish Singer and read about how she has changed. She has had some success with her music but has changed and now wants to stand for what is right but still hopes to find success in her field.
Click on her picture to go to her web site.
Here is her latest video of her new English song:
Her song tells the story of what she thinks of being controlled by the music industry.
To read about her story and what made the change click on these websites:
Maybe this is an example of how we should plan for our new year by standing a little taller and not bending to the pressures of the world around us but instead choosing to be more aligned with what we believe is right.
Once again Dad has done something to give our faith a fresh shot of adrenaline. Lisa's sister was visiting and he wiggled his toes. Wondering if it was purposeful she commented on it and his toes wiggled again. Finally she ask him to wiggle the toes for a third time to determine if he really was responding to her. He did!
Even those skeptics among us must have had their faith pricked into action. Go Dad! keep up the toe wiggling, thumbs upping and all other forms of communication you can muster! Remember we love you!
By the way the best use for Skype I've heard of yet is coming up when we will talk with Dad in his hospital room for Christmas Eve.
In April conference of 2010 Elder Dallin Oaks spoke to the Priesthood in a talk entitled "Healing the Sick". Right from the start I knew his talk was going to be a classic and knew that every Melchizedek Priesthood holder should read the talk and study what it teaches. And that every wife, mother and daughter should know and understand what he taught as well. He starts out by pointing out three ways of healing the sick. 1. medical science. 2. Prayers of faith. 3. Priesthood blessings.
Of course I am still thinking of Dad who remains in the hospital following another surgery today this time to save his life. The day he fell on his driveway the Priesthood was mustered and two worthy brethren came to give him a blessing in the hospital. He likely wasn't aware of it and to my knowledge there was no one there to hear the blessing other than those two men and possibly some medical personnel.
Dad is getting the benefits of lots of medical science to try and heal him. I am aware of many people in his home state and here in our state who are praying for him. He is on the prayer rolls in at least two temples I would imagine with their numerous prayers with multiple people who are praying for him. Lots of faithful prayers are being said verbally and mentally on his behalf and Mom's I might add. Those prayers, many by people that don't even know them, are petitioning God for the best result possible.
Lisa called the faithful Priesthood holder who was the voice of the Priesthood blessing he received. He reported that his feeling was that Dad would totally heal but that it would be a slow process. With the events of today where Dad approached death according to medical science and thus needed the additional surgery turned my thoughts to that blessing. That blessing is comforting and possibly those feelings that he had came from Heavenly Father.
Elder Oaks states regarding the faith required for a blessing to have effect: "The major element is the faith of the individual when that person is conscious and accountable". Of course Dad wasn't conscious. Elder Oaks doesn't address what happens in this case but I wonder if the families faith doesn't become a major part of it's effectiveness. He further points out that the words of the healing blessing is not one of the essential elements. That regardless of the words spoken that the elements of "the anointing, the sealing, faith, and the will of the Lord" are the essential parts. He further indicates that in my words "the will of the Lord" is the element that trumps all the others. Even with the anointing, adequate faith by the person or possibly all those concerned, and even with positive words of comfort and healing, these are inadequate to heal someone without the Lord's will indicating that the healing is right for their individual circumstance. So in the end it comes down to the will of the Lord after all we can do.
So while Dad lies there unconscious and we fearfully contemplate what life would be like without him and pensively consider what life will be like for him and others if he survives and heals toward recovery, all still depends on the will of the Lord. Our prayers, our faith, our love for God and Dad will not heal him unless the Lord wills it. Probably all of us are too emotionally involved to have a good chance of grasping what the Lord's will is in this case, so regardless of what His will is we must have faith and do the works of righteousness as if all depended on us.
I think about why it is necessary to do what we can (faith, prayers, going to the doctor, Priesthood blessings) when our contribution is not the major determinant of the outcome. I suspect that in the end there is some great benefit that comes from participating even though sometimes our part may seem small. For example many of us have participated in prayers in the temple for those on the prayer roll. Just that little bit of service turns our hearts that much more away from being prone to selfishness and softening them to be more prone to selflessness. I suspect that there are other benefits in this as well.
In James 5:15 it says: "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." I'm uncertain who the "him" is in the verse. Will the Lord raise up the sick person and forgive his sins or the person praying in faith? Or both? Either way I want to be a part of that.
