Dare to Stand alone

Elizabeth & Emily

     What an embarrassing moment!  I just remembered  the time when our daughter Elizabeth  qualified to compete in the area finals in gymnastics for her age group.  It was pretty exciting to go off to Las Vegas where the competition would be held.  Then we found out it was to be held on Sunday.  We just thought it would be OK since it was her first opportunity to compete on a higher level.

     Even though I felt guilty for being gone over Sunday I just tried to rationalize that it was a great accomplishment.  Anyway, after the competition Sunday we left to drive back home and I felt an awful feeling inside of me and I knew we had made a big mistake not just for me but for our daughter.  At first I thought it was the gloominess in our surroundings.  Then I realized that the gloominess came from within me.  It just didn't feel like Sunday.  My Sunday's had always been a special day where I would feel the spirit and I felt that void.

     The embarrassing moment came when we learned later that my cousins daughter, won first place in the entire state of Utah in gymnastics, and was to compete in California against the best of the best from the surrounding states. I called to congratulate my cousin on the accomplishment of her daughter and she said.  "Yes it was great but when she found out the competition was on Sunday she declined and let the 1st runner up take her place.  She said it like it was no big deal. I didn't say anything else.  Here she was the State Champion and she stood up for what she believed in, "to keep the Sabbath Holy",  while I caved in to the pride of competing for a small regional competition.  I re-learned a valuable lesson that I needed to "Dare to stand alone and dare to stand up for what is right."

Zack Rogers

Submissive like a child

Colby and Tyler (cousins)

     A call came a few days ago from a Bishop in another ward, another stake, asking John and I if we would speak in his Sacrament Meeting Sunday.  We agreed, and then he gave us the subject.  It was to be based on two scriptures, both from Mosiah chapter 3:19 and chapter 5:15.

     I focused on the words 'becoming submissive to our Heavenly father like a child is submissive to their parents.  Also the key words in chapter 5 were being steadfast and immovable.  I recalled the perfect story of my grandson being perfectly submissive to his father and being steadfast in his assignment.

     I was awakened real early in the morning hearing a noise, I couldn't tell what it was.  I got out of bed and realized I was at my daughters home.  I walked into their family room next to where my two grandsons slept. There at 6:15 on a Saturday morning was my 7 year old Tyler picking up toys and sorting them into buckets.
I asked him "Tyler what are you doing? I am cleaning the family room.  But it is 6:15 in the morning.  "Well, my dad asked me to clean up as soon as I got up this morning. " I asked if his brother was suppose to help him and he said "Yes, but he hasn't woke up yet?  I asked if he wanted me to help him, but he said no its OK, I told my dad I would do it.  From the looks of the room he was about 50% done, yet there were hundreds of small parts to toys everywhere and he was in the process of sorting them where they needed to go.

Here was a small boy being willing to submit to his parent, as well as being steadfast in his job.  It seems he could have used a dozen excuses for not doing it, such as "It's too early in the morning, I'm still tired, Ryan isn't helping me, I didn't get these toys out why should I have to put them back."  this story touched me as well as those I told it to as a perfect example of willing to be submissive.  I determined as I shared that story with people I didn't even know that I needed to be 100% submissive to what my Heavenly Father ask of me and do it willingly.

It doesn't seem fair

Irena Sendler died May 12, 2008 (age 98) Warsaw, Poland.  She lived through WWII. 

Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist during the war.

She had an ulterior motive. Irena smuggled Jewish infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried.

She also carried a burlap sack in the back of her truck, for larger kids. Irena kept a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto.

The soldiers, of course, wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. Ultimately, she was caught, however, and the Nazi's broke both of her legs and arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she had smuggled out, in a glass jar that she buried under a tree in her back yard.

After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived and tried to reunite the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted. In 2007 Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was not selected.

Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming. Later another politician, Barack Hussein Obama, won for his work as a community organizer for ACORN. 


Now it's 102 years later (May 12th) since she was born.  Irena is a REAL HERO and should have received the Nobel Peace Prize.  The world may not recognize her as a great human being but I do. 


 Thank you Irena for your contribution to this world and Happy Birthday.