Eternal Joy

Eternal Joy
By Appreciable Goodfaithpoet

Standing in the twilight with you
Seeing the temple as though it were new

With glowing lights adorning its face
I thank God for such a wonderful place

The beauty of heaven has come to the earth
Helping us see our own special worth

I feel so much peace from our father above
And to you I offer my heart full of love

My sweetheart forever I hope and I pray
That I'll always remember the joy of this day

I will always obey the spirit's soft voice
I will stand with you always for this is my choice

I'm so grateful we entered the Lord's Temple doors
For throughout all the ages my darling, I'm yours.

Latest Mormon News and Events 3/30/2008

I apologize, I've been finishing up some school projects and have finally got them all wrapped up. So here is the latest news from the last little bit.

The Modesto Bee (a city just outside of Fresno, California) has an interesting article written comparing Mormon culture, the Salt Lake bar scene, and the natural beauty of Utah. The descriptions of Mormons at the beginning is not wonderful, but at least the author explains some of the beliefs.

Roger Cutler, the Attorney that engineered the sale of a portion of Salt Lake City Main Street to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is set to retire after a long and distinguished career. The Salt Lake Tribune reports. The guy deserves a pat on the back.

The Daily Herald has an interesting story about Edwina Booth, a 1930's movie star and a Utah native. She stayed in the London Mission Home on her way to Germany in 1935. Josephine Constance Woodruff Fehlburg, once widely famous worldwide as Edwina Booth, died May 18, 1991, in the Medallion Convalescent Hospital in Long Beach, California, at age 86.

The Deseret Morning News reports on the "Escape Polygamy" project in Utah.

The Northwest Arkansas' News Source (NWAnews.com) reports the first Mormon chapel site in Centerton, Arkansas is dedicated by "nonChristians", at least in their words, "there were no Christians there, at least in the traditional sense of the word." I couldn't help but chuckle at that because if you look in any dictionary Mormons fit the definition of Christian. I think what Tom Treweek meant to say is "there were no Christians there, at least in the traditional sense of the word [as defined, not by a dictionary, but by the Benton County Daily Record]." An additional funny piece is the claim that Wal-Mart hires excessive numbers of Mormon returned missionaries from Brigham Young University to work in Bentonville, Arkansas. Sometimes gossip is fun to write about.

I found a list published by the Associated Press that one might call, "the dirt" on religious behavior. It lists a bunch of negative things that religious people have done. Oregan City Follower's of Christ group may be complicit in the death of a 15 month old, Saudi's behead citizen for shooting a neighbor, Zion Lutheran Church offers free tuition to members and nonmembers, Mormon missionaries may have defaced a Catholic shrine in Colorado, oh, and a convicted ex-Connecticut governor spoke on Easter Sunday. My question is why does the Associated Press title the section Religion News in Brief? What a sorry bunch of reporting.

The Milford Daily News (that is Milford, Massachusetts, not Milford, Utah) has a great article about Family History - "Yesterday's [Family History Conference], believed to be the only free one of its kind, drew out genealogical researchers including former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's granddaughter, Alexis." Now if only we can get Danielle Ameden to spell Mormon correctly: "Many of the people who flocked to workshops like 'Finding Descendants with Online Sources', 'Colonial Immigration', and 'Italian Genealogy: As East As Uno, Due, Tre' don't belong to the Morman church."

The Acorn serving Aguora Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Oak Park, and Westlake Village in California reports the Mormon Relief Society (one of the largest Womans organizations in the world) of those cities gathered blankets, clothing, and toys for the Lighthouse Women's and Children's Shelter in Oxnard, California.

An interesting article in the Times Online , a UK publication, about Katherine Heigl from Grey's Anatomy and 27 dresses. The article quite a ways down talks about how her parents converted to Mormonism when she was 7. When she was dating, she didn't end up sleeping with her fiance because of some of the things she believes. The article says, "Her parents converted to Mormonism when she was seven – more of that later – and although she is no longer a fully practising Mormon, “there is something of that still in me. I wanted to keep a bit sacred”. They moved house to the same area in the Hollywood Hills. He would come and stay with her while they were dating, but he had also been touring for a lot of that time, so until now they had no experience of even a joint washing cycle. She says she thought about just staying in that house and redecorating “to make it feel like ours, but I also felt it would be easier and more exciting to start afresh”... She was only seven, out shopping with her mother, when her 15-year-old brother, Jason, was involved in a fatal road accident. He was in the back of a pick-up truck. A girl who hadn’t had her licence for long was driving. It was raining. The car spun out of control. The accident happened 40ft away from their front door. Upon arrival at the hospital, Jason was braindead. His family donated his organs, and Heigl is still a passionate supporter of organ donation. At that time, Katherine’s mother was Lutheran and her father Catholic. The tragedy led to their conversion to Mormonism because a couple of Mormon families were a great comfort to them. “I give the Mormon church a lot of credit for helping them,” says Heigl." Best of luck to Heigl in her career.

Christmas Reverence

Christmas Reverence
By Appreciable Goodfaithpoet

The winter sun goes early to bed
As Christmas lights shine warm and bright
All passing eyes with the lights are led
To the manger scene a wondrous sight

My daughter was out in the evening air
In the quiet coolness of the winter snow
She went and got herself a chair
And sat before the mangers glow

She sat a long time with reverence resounding
and quietly looked at the little Christ Child
Love and joy in my heart was full and abounding
To see her sitting out there so meek and so mild

I saw her through the window and when she had returned
I asked what she was thinking to see what she had learned

My six-year-old daughter's response was thus...
"I was thinking about how he died for us."

Yes, when we see a manger scene let's try to do the same
To think about Lord Jesus and praise his holy name.

Those in error lost

Those in error lost
By Appreciable Goodfaithpoet

Our God wants us to love all
Forgiving those who will offend
We can obey the Savior’s call
That wrath and strife may end

When hate and pride come in to stay
They hurt and cloud the mind
As hate and pride get in the way
Pure joy is hard to find

When people cling to hate
Their sorrow multiplies
They’re heading for a tragic fate
As their compassion dies

How much better is the Lord’s way
For, when he was upon the cross
He spoke the words we all should pray
(To forgive those in error lost)

Yes, as we follow Jesus
And pray as he would do
These prayers can’t help but please us
As we pray for ourselves too.

We never see completely unles we stop and look

We never see completely unless we stop and look
By Appreciable Goodfaithpoet

Old mount baldy now becomes a bright red-head
As the lovely sunset, slowly moves it's light
Up the gloomy mountain with a slow and silent tred
Day is closed and fading now softly into night

After the light was gone from view
I found myself in awe
That mountain to me had become like new
For the first time it's beauty I saw

Though I'd lived my whole life in the spot where I stood
And seen Old mount baldy in sunshine and rain
I had never noticed that it looked so good
When we take time to see things we have so much to gain

For in each of our lives joy and beauty abound
We are loved by so many and some times we don't know it
When the light of Christ shines love can always be found
Like the light of the sunset, to our eyes he can show it

I hope we're all thankful for the blessings we share
Sometimes we don't value our loved ones while they're here
And though we can't remember when they were not there
It is good to remember they can't always be near

For as we each travel in the light from above
We see the value of others and thank God for their love

The hearts of the children

The hearts of the children
by Appreciable Goodfaithpoet

I thank my parents for the words of love and truth
That became my building blocks in youth

From these foundations continue to rise
A structure of goodness to reach to the skies

These precious materials I try to share
With each of my children with great effort and care

We are building Eternity every day
With each act that we do and each word that we say

I'm so thankful for all those who have gone on before
Those who taught their children how to love and adore

Their kind words re-play daily in our home still
And down through the ages their love we can feel.

We all need a friend

We all need a friend
By Appreciable Goodfaithpoet

Sometimes we all feel lonely
Those are common tears to cry
We feel that we care only
That we sit and sadly sigh

The spirit's a gift the Savior sent
When he ascended to dwell above
This gift he left when life was spent
Can make a place in hearts for love

The gift of the Holy Ghost
Can fill our heart with peace
This Comforter can help the most
To make our heartache cease

God's love can dry our tears
No matter why we've cried
The Spirit calms our fears
Warming hearts up, from inside

Sometimes, we feel that we're alone
When friends are hard to find
Some leave our God, who they have known
And depart from peace of mind

The tragedy of this dark path
Is very hard to bear
They lose the peace the Spirit hath
For he can't follow there

Our constant friend in life
The one who dwells inside
Must abandon them to strife
As their commitment died

Oh, let us keep this one true friend
And walk with God each day
For, we'll go home at this life's end
If we endure and pray

If we want to conquer sadness
Finding peace in every hour
Let's receive this gift with gladness
And be filled with love and power.

The Most Important Knowledge

The Most Important Knowledge
By Appreciable Goodfaithpoet

There’s so much knowledge in the world
On which to feast and dine
So many ways that truth is hurled
Toward my open mind

Yet, the most important truth
That we can understand
Comes by learning in our youth
To obey the Lord’s command

The feasting that is best, to me
The most important dish
Is the word the Lord gives us for free
Feeding thousands with two fish

For the teachings of Lord Jesus
Though simple and so small
Are packed with truth and goodness
That can feed and strengthen all.

The Soothing Summer Breeze

The soothing summer breeze
By Appreciable Goodfaithpoet

Sometimes the wind can move you, and make your heart beat fast.
But, a whirling violent vortex is a thing that cannot last.
For, in that wind is always strife, bringing chaos into life.
I prefer a gentle breeze that’s always constant.

I’ve seen the flames, with a devil’s tongue, leaping to the sky.
Burning up the innocence, to make the forest die.
Passion must be held in check, for sin can make your life a wreck.
I prefer a gentle breeze that’s always constant.

I’ve seen a twister on the lake, spouting water high.
It lifted up a fishy, though It's not safe for trout to fly.
Excitement can bring danger. It’s unwise to kiss a stranger.
I prefer a gentle breeze that’s always constant.

I’ve seen a snow-white devil, in it’s frozen hate.
Throwing snow up all around, angry to face it’s fate.
It seems to know the ageless truth, that it won’t make it out of youth.
I prefer a gentle breeze that’s always constant.

I’ve seen a dusty funnel cloud, out in the desert waste.
It seems to run toward its end with sad and reckless haste.
A desert is so bare and dry, that love born there will surely die.
I prefer a gentle breeze that’s always constant.

Our love and friendship both have grown, stronger through the years.
We’ve cried together many times, with sad or joyful tears.
Your love for me is always there, an answer to my fervent prayer.
You are the gentle breeze that’s always constant.

To my Sweetheart, Dressed in White

To my Sweetheart, Dressed in White
By Appreciable Goodfaithpoet

There you are, in flawless white.
As a brilliant star, through gloomy night.

I love your soul, and I'm glad to be
Bound by our goal to partake from God’s tree.

We're sealed forever, and though we die,
We'll soon be together, You and I.

I do not recall, time preceding this life.
Yet, someday I’ll know all about you my wife.

Someday this veil, which hides the past
Itself will fail, and part at last.

I then shall know, the one by my side
As we both go, up to God and abide.

So, before the casket closes, I’ll kiss you one more time.
And know that like our roses, next spring you’ll be sublime.

Yes, then I’ll know you fully, as in blazing light we dwell.
In the presence of the holy, and the great Immanuel.

Happy Easter 2008 Reflections of Christ artwork on display in Arizona

Today is Easter.

We don't give gifts at our home, we share our thoughts about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. My wife wrote cards to each of our children sharing her witness that Jesus saves. It was wonderful to see how happy my kids were this morning.

Please take a moment to visit the web page for an Easter pageant held in Arizona. The music and artwork are amazing. I am sure your heart will be touched as mine was. The artwork is on display in Mesa, Arizona and the collection is called Reflections of Christ. Truly inspiring.

Thoughtful reader, I wish you the best, and I too believe it is time to celebrate, for Christ has surely risen from the dead. Rejoice, and be glad.

Here is a short clip of the filming of the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist.