Thursday, February 29, 2024

Happy Leap Year Day

It's a bonus day in the calendar this year. Leap Year, as it has come to be known, is an attempt to adjust the calendar. This explanation from the scientists may help:

"A calendar year is typically 365 days long. These so called 'common years' loosely define the number of days it takes the Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun. But 365 is actually a rounded number. It takes Earth 365.242190 days to orbit the Sun, or 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 56 seconds. This 'sidereal' year is slightly longer than the calendar year, and that extra 5 hours 48 minutes and 56 seconds needs to be accounted for somehow. If we didn’t account for this extra time, the seasons would begin to drift. This would be annoying if not devastating, because over a period of about 700 years our summers, which we’ve come to expect in June in the northern hemisphere, would begin to occur in December! 

"By adding an extra day every four years, our calendar years stay adjusted to the sidereal year. . ." 

There's additional "fixing" that goes on to make finer adjustments, but you get the idea. All I know is that today I have an additional day to post another offering.

What I know is this, as we look forward to "springing forward" an hour in our clocks - the sun always wins as the seasons change in the Northern Hemisphere. No one greets that reality with more verve and sheer joy than me. When will that change occur? Daylight Savings kicks in this year on May 10th. It's a Sunday, so we turn our clocks ahead by one hour. 

Daylight saving time, also referred to as daylight savings time, daylight time, or summer time, is the practice of advancing clocks to make better use of the longer daylight available during summer, so that darkness falls at a later clock time. Then we reverse course in the fall and "fall back" an hour on Sunday, November 3rd this year.

Seems we're always tinkering with this or that, doesn't it?

I know this for sure: I love the full moons each month. I live in "dark sky" country at night. I open the blinds and allow the moonlight to fill the bedroom. And I love it as I observe the sun moving further north a little bit each day as it rises in the morning. The changes of season are evidence to me of an all-wise Heavenly Father, whose creations never cease to amaze me. 

I am particularly grateful to live in a day when science has advanced to the place where it is now. I was informed a few weeks back after a visit to my regular dentist, Dr. Cox, that I needed a root canal. The filling he had just provided went deep into the nerves in the tooth, and he recommended the additional procedure as a precaution against further damage. So I relied on son Jake's expertise (he provides marketing services for dentists), and he came up with a recommendation for an outstanding dentist nearby in Midway, who happens to love doing root canals. (Dr. Schmutz at the Prince Dental Group, if you need a good recommendation - I give him all five stars!) I was in and out of his office in an hour. State-of-the-art dentistry at its best. I suppose in the days of yesteryear the solution might have been an extraction just to deal with the problem, but now I still have my tooth, pain is eliminated, and science has prevailed.

Speaking of medical science, I am scheduled for a colonoscopy next week. (I know, "TMI"). I picked up my preparatory laxative yesterday. It's no wonder we all live longer these days. It seems there isn't a stone left unturned in my decaying mortal body that doesn't come in for scrutiny by someone these days. Next up will be another post-op check-in to see if my brain is still working. . . (oh boy). 

It's the nature of the beast for me, and I suppose it's just all part of checking all the boxes for old men.

It's also a reminder to me that my season of life is changing, and not always in a fun way either.

Thanks to Melatonin, I still have my dreams to keep me company. The other night I dreamt about being in bed with Patsy basking in the moonlight together, and that dream wiped out every other thought about root canals, colonoscopies, and brain dysfunction. 

God is so good to me.

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

"I Love Jesus"

This morning I stopped in for breakfast at my favorite bagel joint. The girl behind the counter was dressed like so many her age - you've seen the look - knit cap, heavy sweatshirt with the company logo, baggy sweats, sneakers, lots of piercings and tattoos, including a nose ring and earrings. But the most prominent piece of jewelry was a cross hanging around her neck. I asked, "Tell me about that beautiful necklace you're wearing." To which she responded, "It's because I love Jesus."

You know, so do I. She was a kindred spirit to me. 

That got me thinking about how many levels of love for Jesus there must be in the world today. We all tend to express it in our own way. As our conversation unfolded, she mentioned "The Chosen" is her favorite TV show. She loved how Jesus is portrayed in that series. "He is so kind," she told me. "He loves everyone, and He blesses everyone around Him." 

Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God. He came into the world unheralded and unwelcomed in a time and a place when His people were under subjugation to the Roman Empire. There was much of poverty and punishment to keep the subjects of the Emperor in check. Jerusalem was the acknowledged capitol of Judaism, but it was merely tolerated, not embraced by the Romans, who were an occupying army and were hated and despised by their subjects. The Temple stood as a beacon of hope for the Jews, but even the temple, its ordinances, practices and rituals had been corrupted. It was not a happy environment into which the Savior had come. He cleansed the temple environs twice during His public ministry. 

I have been musing since returning home this morning that my friend behind the counter must surely be content in her admiration for Jesus, enough so that she wore the cross boldly and gladly around her neck. I thought, "What outward symbol would I project? Would there be enough evidence to suggest that I am a disciple of Jesus, or would people observing my outward appearance wonder at my allegiance?"

The closest I came to wearing a cross in my life was my Sigma Chi fraternity ring bearing the image of The White Cross of Sigma Chi. Indeed, upon seeing it when I was serving as a missionary in Northern England, 1967-69, people would sometimes comment that I must be a Catholic father. Some would even take my hand and kiss my ring as a show of worship. 

What I have come to understand later in life is that His image must be reflected in our countenances if we are to accurately be a representation of His grace for us and an example to others. I hope people can seen in my face the commitment within my heart. You can't live a lie and hope to deceive others. 

I have been reflecting on the words of an old favorite hymn "The King of Love My Shepherd Is."

The words are powerful:

1 The King of love my shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never. I nothing lack if I am his, and he is mine forever.

2 Where streams of living water flow, my ransomed soul he leadeth; and where the verdant pastures grow, with food celestial feedeth.

3 Perverse and foolish, oft I strayed, but yet in love he sought me; and on his shoulder gently laid, and home, rejoicing, brought me.

4 In death's dark vale I fear no ill, with thee, dear Lord, beside me; thy rod and staff my comfort still, thy cross before to guide me.

5 Thou spreadst a table in my sight; thy unction grace bestoweth; and oh, what transport of delight from thy pure chalice floweth!

6 And so through all the length of days, thy goodness faileth never; Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise within thy house forever. (United Methodist Hymnal, 1989).

I make a point of suggesting this morning that our collective love for Jesus may take many forms, and many churches together make a beautiful chorus of praise for our Savior. We must embrace and admire the admiration each has for Him. We may not agree on every point of doctrine, but like my friend behind the bagel counter we can accept one another's testimony on whatever level it may present itself. 

In it all, let us reflect our love for Him by doing the best we can to truly represent Him.

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Dystopian or Utopian


“The standard of truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”

— Joseph Smith, 1842

How audacious can one person be? Toward the end of his mortal life, Joseph Smith made the foregoing utterance. This is the boy prophet who humbly knelt in a grove of trees in upper state New York in the year 1820, and was answered by a visitation from the Father and the Son. His inquiry was which of all the churches was right, and which should he join? He was told to join none, and that he would be the instrument of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. By 1842, he had traversed through a myriad of extremities, any one of which could have destroyed the work he was chosen to do. But he persisted in faith until he could make such a bold declaration. 

Contrasted to that vision of futurity, there has been a parallel track developing that runs in the opposite direction. While Joseph’s vision was utopian in every way, Satan’s vision is dystopian and gains traction among his adherents. A word of definition from the dictionary might be in order here:

dystopian

adjective

dys·to·pi·an (ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pē-ən 

variants or less commonly dystopic 

(ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pik 

-ˈtä- 

Synonyms of dystopian

: of, relating to, or being an imagined world or society in which people lead dehumanized, fearful lives: relating to or characteristic of a dystopia

A twisted romantic haunted by dystopian visions, Gibson borrows the language of science fiction and crafts doomed love stories with high-tech trappings.

—Maitland McDonagh

Dystopian visions are in a sense mythopoeic: depicting a creation myth in a future world of darkness and silence.

—Sarah Lefanu

Biotechnology is a force for good, but without adherence to the ideal of universal human equality, it opens the door to the soft tyranny of Gattaca and, ultimately the dystopian nightmare of Brave New World.

—Wesley J. Smith

Like many advances in science and technology, the dystopian implications of data mining have been described best by science-fiction writers.

—John Markoff

… Orwellian has become a word itself: an adjective denoting a dystopic world where language is cut adrift from meaning.

—Harvey A. Daniels

Letter by letter, we read of a society that seems to move from one dystopic nightmare to another …

—Simon Winchester

George Orwell wrote the infamous novel “1984,” describing a dystopian existence that gratefully did not materialize in its time. However, Orwell saw political leaders in Germany, Spain and the Soviet Union who had absolute power, and he realized the danger that this presented. He illustrated that danger with the world in his book, where everyone is monitored and must conform to the views of the elite.

The Tehran Conference was a meeting between Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Orwell thought the three could plan to divide the world amongst each other. In “1984,” Orwell uses this idea with the three super-states of Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. The three sides control the world and are in a never-ending war.

Orwell lived in England with his family during World War II, when acts of violence could occur at any time. This atmosphere is replicated in the book.

In a letter, Orwell mentions that he felt totalitarian regimes were on the rise in many parts of the world. He said the United States and Great Britain were exceptions, but neither nation had known defeat or suffering. He also brought up several ideas that would later be a part of “1984,” including that history could be rewritten by whoever was in charge.

I am among the millions for whom “1984” was mandatory reading in high school. It was chilling and a cautionary tale for freedom-loving people everywhere. It seems there is a steady drumbeat always and forever that runs counter to Joseph Smith’s optimistic vision of the future.


President Russell M. Nelson

President Russell M. Nelson has put the Church in position to fulfill that vision. We are determined to move forward with faith in its realization despite all the dystopian voices out there in the world.

We are in the midst of yet another runup to a presidential election in America. There are those who would have us believe the two major candidates vying for the hearts and minds of Americans will surely produce a meltdown of all we hold sacred. Either one being elected in 2024 will undoubtedly bring our representative republic to ruin. 

And yet, it seems there is no alternative that suggests itself at this writing in February 2024. Time will tell if a new “savior” is yet to appear on our horizon, but don’t hold your breath. My experience as an observer of politics for many years is that politicians can neither save nor destroy the nation. They simply do not have the power because our system of government was designed to divide power to prevent the type of totalitarian regimes Orwell warned about. 

That brings to mind another popular “Mormon myth” about the Constitution someday “hanging by a thread” and the country in its ultimate peril being rescued by the elders of Israel. First impressions of “the White Horse Prophecy” might be alarming. Did Joseph give this “apocalyptic” prophecy? Has it been used to support “American-centric” or militant ideals? Is there some weird secret doctrine that tells Mormons to take over the world?

It turns out, Joseph Smith probably didn’t give the “White Horse Prophecy” or at the very least, not the version which was recorded decades later by Edwin Rushton. That account was recorded in 1898, 54 years after Joseph’s death, and has been condemned by multiple Church leaders.

But the Constitution “hanging by a thread” idea can still feel uncomfortable, especially when coupled with it being saved by the “Elders of Israel” — and the historical record indicates that Joseph Smith taught those ideas. At the time, the Saints had been driven from their homes and experienced government-sponsored persecution, which may have impacted their views on religious freedoms as protected by the Constitution.

Today, the Church encourages civic engagement from its members, supports democracy and the peaceful transfer of power, and denounces riots and usurpations. While making sense of the political history of our religion, we can remember the gospel teaches a message of peace.

Think about the trajectory the Church is on today. We are building temples around the world at an accelerated pace. Each time a temple is dedicated the kingdom of God on the earth reclaims territory that might otherwise have been the domain of wickedness. We consecrate and make holy those environs. We do it “boldly, nobly and independently,” above all the competition that would claim it otherwise. 

Each of us individually has a stake in the work of salvation. A little twelve-year-old girl who goes to the temple to do baptisms for the dead, an elderly widow who serves as an ordinance worker, an unpaid harried and overwhelmed young bishop with a family and a career, a mother who nurtures and cares for her small brood of children, a missionary who goes into the world wherever he or she is called to serve, and an old man who sits at his computer early in the morning to encourage his posterity in the course of their marvelous destiny as I do this morning - all these in their path of discipleship are advancing the work toward the ultimate fulfillment Joseph described in 1842. 

I want you all to know these words were given to me sometime around 4:30 a.m. this morning as I lay awake after a completely restful and heavy night of sleep (a blessed outcome for me these days). I hope none of you is dissuaded in the least by the dystopian voices that bombard your consciousness, either from the written word, news reports, movies or whatever worldly source you encounter. 

Mortality has always been about your choices, your moral agency, and your Heavenly Father providing living prophets coupled with the words of the dead prophets to point the way unerringly back to Him. 

I would encourage all of you to read 2 Nephi 31, as I did this morning. It lays out “the doctrine of Christ” and is a sure and certain witness of the path we are to follow as disciples. As you all know, I am a great admirer of Elder Bruce R. McConkie. I will conclude with his words that describe a utopian plan for each of us:

“…everyone in the Church who is on the straight and narrow path, who is striving and struggling and desiring to do what is right, though is far from perfect in this life; if he passes out of this life while he’s on the straight and narrow, he’s going to go on to eternal reward in his Father’s kingdom.

“We don’t need to get a complex or get a feeling that you have to be perfect to be saved. You don’t. There’s only been one perfect person, and that’s the Lord Jesus, but in order to be saved in the Kingdom of God and in order to pass the test of mortality, what you have to do is get on the straight and narrow path — thus charting a course leading to eternal life — and then, being on that path, pass out of this life in full fellowship. I’m not saying that you don’t have to keep the commandments. I’m saying you don’t have to be perfect to be saved. If you did, no one would be saved. The way it operates is this: you get on the path that’s named the ‘straight and narrow.’ You do it by entering the gate of repentance and baptism. The straight and narrow path leads from the gate of repentance and baptism, a very great distance, to a reward that’s called eternal life. If you’re on that path and pressing forward, and you die, you’ll never get off the path. There is no such thing as falling off the straight and narrow path in the life to come, and the reason is that this life is the time that is given to men to prepare for eternity. Now is the time and the day of your salvation, so if you’re working zealously in this life — though you haven’t fully overcome the world and you haven’t done all you hoped you might do — you’re still going to be saved. You don’t have to do what Jacob said, ‘Go beyond the mark.’ You don’t have to live a life that’s truer than true. You don’t have to have an excessive zeal that becomes fanatical and becomes unbalancing. What you have to do is stay in the mainstream of the Church and live as upright and decent people live in the Church — keeping the commandments, paying your tithing, serving in the organizations of the Church, loving the Lord, staying on the straight and narrow path. If you’re on that path when death comes — because this is the time and the day appointed, this the probationary estate — you’ll never fall off from it, and, for all practical purposes, your calling and election is made sure. Now, that isn’t the definition of that term, but the end result will be the same.

“There’s great hope for Latter-day Saints. There’s great hope for anyone who will repent, believe, obey, strive, struggle and seek to work out his salvation. There isn’t hope for anyone who will not. Our revelation says, ‘Surely every man must repent or suffer; for I, God, am Endless.’ Well, either we suffer for our sins, according to the law of justice, or we repent, and through the atoning sacrifice, the Lord Jesus bears our sins and we become inheritors of mercy. Now we can go forward. We can have every reward that the scriptures speak of. We’re not an austere people. We don’t remove ourselves from the world. We’re deliberately in the world so that we’ll have opportunity to overcome the world. We can have in the Church every association and felicity and good feeling that anyone can have. Anything that’s wholesome and good is available to us. We’re denied nothing, and that’s good. In addition to that, we can have the hope of glorious immortality — meaning eternal life — in the realms and the worlds that are ahead.” (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, “The Probationary Test of Mortality,” address given at the University of Utah Institute of Religion January 10, 1982).

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Can People REALLY Change?

When you live as long as I have (76 and counting), you might find yourself reflecting upon your life experiences more than you did when you were younger and you were creating those memories. You will rub shoulders with a vast variety of souls in mortality. Some of the more interesting ones might even be in your immediate family. 

We often think others might be "out of touch" - sometimes they're just a little weird for our taste. We tend to seek associations with those of like-minded nature as ourselves. It's just human nature. We often dismiss others with, "Well, he'll never change."

Once in awhile, however, we are surprised to learn someone has changed who we haven't seen or been in contact with for many years. That leads me to discuss today's topic - can people really change?

My answer is a resounding "YES" - they can and they do!

Think about your own life. Have you changed from what and who you were during your youthful days of college? Have life's experiences tended to knock off some rough edges, rounding you into a more useful and accepting personality? Do you now seek the welfare of others more willingly and voluntarily than you did at one time? Do you count the cost and the potential return for you before you reach out in service to another, or do you give freely and voluntarily without a thought of possible remuneration?

We send missionaries all around the world today to seek those who want to change. We promote change. We advocate for change when it produces positive results. We bless lives instinctively. It becomes second-nature to us.

This morning a returning missionary couple shared their experiences during a humanitarian mission to first India, then they were re-assigned with nine months left to Cambodia. They cited examples of the most humble souls one could imagine who embraced the meager help this couple offered. In each case lives were blessed, changed, and improved. They weren't the kind of stories that will ever make the front pages of a newspaper, but eternally the impact of their service will be felt forever.

We tend to change most readily when we seek the awareness that change is warranted. When we do our own self-inventory as many do at the first of a new year, can we think of things others have said to us giving us some direction in what change for the better might look like? 

Is there ever a husband who doesn't freely offer course correction for his wife? Conversely, is there ever a wife who can't think of something her husband might do that could be helpful to her? Parents are quick to seek change in behaviors among their children. 

Most importantly, the Spirit of the Holy Ghost will always offer gently the ways in which we can change to bless others. These are always soft, gentle whispers so lovingly offered to us we may not be attuned to hearing them, but if we focus we can hear and feel those nudges. Acting upon them opens the door for change.

If we believe change in people is not possible, then why would we deploy tens of thousands of missionaries all around the world to see if we can share the gospel message with them? We have this abiding belief that they will embrace the fulness of the restored gospel, come unto Christ, join His Church here on earth, and then take steps to the temple where they are promised they can receive “all that my Father hath.” 

Imagine just how audacious that might seem to some. “I’m happy just the way I am,” they used to tell me in Northern England all those years ago. Or, “Got me own, luv,” was another frequent response when we posited changing churches. Those, of course, were the ones who could have cared less that I was in their home country on a two-year mission to save the world - their world - from certain destruction if they booted me off their doorstep. I learned how to deal with rejection in very real and precise terms in that experience.

But I also, on occasion, was a witness to those few precious souls who DID embrace the possibility of change. They gave up coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco and hard drugs for starters. They had to change before they could be baptized, and a few blessed souls to whom I carried that possibility actually did change in dramatic ways right before my eyes. As our visits together progressed, I saw visible changes in their homes. They cleaned up before we had lessons. They cleaned their clothes, they bathed and dressed their young children so they were “presentable” to us. One even told me they thought we were angels from the presence of God who had come to their home. And they changed. Asking an Englishman or woman to surrender their tea to us, then never drink it again was like asking some to cut off their arm. It was the acid test of their sincerity, and some just couldn’t do it.

I am bound to my eternal companion Patsy in bonds of celestial marriage. How does this relate to raising our children in today’s environment? We are bound together by celestial bonds and covenants as an eternal family. We love one another, we love being together, and we are sometimes saddened when one of us might weaken or falter in whatever extremity with which we are dealing at the moment. So we reach out to help one another in love. 

We are inspired by each other as we witness one rising above their challenges and succeeding as they move along life’s path. I know I have drawn strength from each of you as I watch from the sidelines. I thank you, each one of you, as I see you change, grow, and conquer your demons. 

The other night after I had upgraded to the new i-Phone 15, I hadn’t realized I would have to download all my apps on my new phone. The Google browser was just spinning, and I couldn’t figure out how to get it unstuck. Grandson Alex was here, I asked him my question, he took my phone, hit a few buttons, and bingo - it somehow “magically” downloaded in seconds. He said something that has stuck with me: “Grandpa, sometimes the best solution when it comes to technology is just to hit the restart button. That solves almost every problem.” I told him whimsically, “That’s why you've come home from your mission at just the right time, so you could help me change my phone.”

Isn’t that the way it is with each of us? Sometimes we get “stuck,” and we can’t seem to find the next step out of our dilemma, whatever it may be. We need a “reset.” How blessed we are to have the gospel to guide us to daily repentance. 

We reset ourselves, then begin again as we pursue our course in life and get back on the covenant path if we have wandered off it for a time. Changing for the better is what life is all about.

That's why we have a "reset" button on our phone and the Holy Ghost as our constant companion.

Saturday, January 6, 2024

Staring Down the Barrel of 2024

I went to the Provo City Center Temple the other day an hour before the start of an endowment session. I was all alone amidst a full session. I read the opening pages of The Book of Mormon, including this last verse of the first chapter. He made a quick departure from his historical account to make this editorial insert in the record:

I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. (1 Nephi 1:20).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced recently that there have been 200,000,000 copies of that inspired book of scripture published since the first press run of 5,000 copies in 1830. The coming forth of the Church and the publication of the book are themselves miracles that conventional wisdom would suggest never should have happened. The fact that makes conversion of each individual soul a miracle is the power of the spiritual blessings that accompany each conversion. 

I was asked for my birthdate the other day by a banker to confirm my identity. As the numbers rolled off my tongue, I commented, "That just seems like it was so long ago!"

And, indeed, as I stare down the barrel of a looming 2024, the gap between birth and death only grows larger. Someone wrote a poem about "the dash" years ago. I looked her up this morning and give her full attribution here:

The Dash by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
from the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own --
the cars...the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more,
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
with your life's actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash? 

As one who has recently entered the realm of widowerhood (is that even a word?), I find myself wondering what the date beyond my dash will be. I have the headstone for Patsy in the works in a quarry somewhere in Georgia as I write this. My name is inscribed on the granite block next to hers, but all that is missing now is that final date. So I'm still spending my dash. I wonder how I will be remembered. 

We have a large and wonderful posterity we created during our dash together here in mortality. At the threshold of this New Year, the slate is clean. What will I write upon it this year? It begins with this post to my blog. It has been said you can only wish people a "Happy New Year" for one week. I am within bounds here. 

We are embarking on a revision of my estate plan now. I am sponsoring an open forum among the children and their families to discuss their wishes for how I spend the rest of my dash. I welcome their input in the process. 

It sometimes seems like a daunting task with so many of us, all possessed of strong opinions and individual concerns. And, I would quickly add, really smart people. I have heard two words a lot recently - "impossible" and "unsustainable." Those two words have been weighing on my mind this morning as I write. Without context they are meaningless. I need more definition around the substance of WHAT seems so impossible, and HOW is whatever we are going to do unsustainable? 

The conventional wisdom from mental health experts suggests that we wait for at least a year before undertaking (see what I did there?) this task. No sudden moves, no major decisions, no lifelong ramifications just yet. We're still grieving Patsy's death. We are emotional beings. We are fragile. We can wait, we can assemble facts, we can posit solutions, and we can consult with estate planners. But let's go slow through the fact gathering stage.

I'm on board with all that. I love a deliberative approach. I want to do only those things that will bless and strengthen my posterity. Can a "one size fits all" solution be crafted? Probably not. Can we love one another when financial disparity enters the discussion? Can the "Pollyanna" high-level strategic vision be made to conform with a tactical plan that works? Can our feelings be held inviolate as we debate the merits of this or that? Can we make the impossible possible? Can we sustain the unsustainable? All these topics and more will be uncovered as we move ahead, ready or not, into a new year in 2024.

I wonder if anyone else "out there" might offer some perspective. I'm living what's left of my dash and I so want to get this right.

President Russell M. Nelson

I often turn to President Russell M. Nelson, now in his 100th year on earth, for his inspired insights. The man has experience - lots of it. He said:

"When you are confronted with a dilemma, think celestial! When tested by temptation, think celestial! When life or loved ones let you down, think celestial! When someone dies prematurely, think celestial. When someone lingers with a devastating illness, think celestial. When the pressures of life crowd in upon you, think celestial!" 

So, while I muddle along here in mortality I am attempting to do the "impossible" and the "unsustainable." I want to "think celestial."