2021 Passes Away, No One Attends Funeral

I read a poll this morning from Rasmussen reporting that a whopping 48% of respondents said they had a horrible 2021 and couldn't wait for it to be over. Well, they won't have long to wait. Just a few more ticks of the clock and we begin 2022.

Tonight Times Square will only admit those who are fully vaccinated

 
There is something fascinating to note in the human spirit. No matter what year a poll like that might be taken, most would say they were happy to see the old year pass away, and they would welcome with a positive attitude the commencement of the New Year most warmly. It's in our DNA, I believe, to be naturally optimistic and hopeful. The tendency is to wipe away the bad memories and embrace the good ones. 

There was much to dislike about 2021, certainly, but now we turn the page on the calendar with renewed hope for something better. Will all uncertainty disappear? No. But we are somehow refreshed in the exercise of seeing the bad memories buried. There is not a thing we can do to relive 2021 - it's six feet under, good or bad. And no one attended THAT funeral for sure.

Personally, I have been much more hopeful about 2021 than I was in 2020 when the pandemic was in full swing and there were so many variables and so many opinions and conspiracy theories. The development of the vaccines and the booster doses were most welcome in our household. COVID-19 and its variants have proven to be pesky at the very least, and deaths from contracting it continue unabated. I am grateful for the science that has tackled the problem head on.  

We have inflation now, something we haven't seen in years. 2021 was the year of the "great resignation" when many quit their jobs. Supply chain issues continue to plague us, though it seems to be getting better. The snow keeps getting deeper day by day this winter - a good sign for the water year - but digging out from under all that global warming in Woodland can be tiring for an old man like me. 

We logged in two more missionaries this year, and a temple marriage yesterday. It is so stimulating to see young people committed to doing the right things in their lives. I love my family, and I love my grandchildren especially. I'm not certain I could navigate the tricky bends in the highway of life as gracefully and skillfully as they are. 

Just when you think there shouldn't be any more wildfires out there, Colorado near Boulder is being devastated by the largest and most destructive wildfire in their history. Our daughter and her family live nearby and were packing bags last night in the event they would be evacuated. Thankfully this morning they were notified that the fire is not spreading and seems to be dying down. It's the very area they originally looked at to buy a home, then decided on Broomfield instead. It was a tender mercy to escape this disaster, and now they await news in how they can organize to help relieve the suffering. Hopefully with the Utah snowstorms we have been experiencing they will also find some real time deliverance.

What will 2022 hold for you and your family? It will all be in our hands to decide after midnight tonight. There is much that we have control over, but there will always be uncertainty. We can renew our New Year's resolutions (is that even a thing these days?), determined to get ourselves into better physical condition, and we can resolve to eat better, and we can weigh travel risks and rewards anew with more determination to find better answers than before, or we can simply pull up a comfortable chair, watch more football and basketball and munch on peanut M&Ms. It's all up to us.

Whatever your inclinations may be, I will pass along this bit of narrative I heard on the radio driving home from our grandson's wedding yesterday - if you're looking to snag a great deal on gently used gym equipment, the optimum time to buy is the last week in January. You might want to put off those resolutions at least until then.

Happiest Time of the Year

December 19, 1969

On December 19th, 2021, Patsy and I celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary. We chose to get married at Christmas time because there were a host of factors conspiring to set the date for us. I was awaiting orders for basic training at Fort Ord, CA, that were slow in coming. It was the height of the Vietnam War and she was in far-off Australia with her parents who were serving as President of the Melbourne Australia Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I got weary of waiting for my orders, and I suggested to Patsy and her parents that we move up the date. They all agreed, then it was time to find out if my Grandfather's schedule would accommodate our plans. He checked his calendar, and the date was set. 

I sat in the corridor outside the sealing room with two things on my mind before the ceremony began - I had never filled out a joint tax return, and I had never cut a Thanksgiving turkey. How strange is it that after all these years, having filed numerous joint returns and cut numerous turkeys that the memory is still so vivid? 

December 19, 2021

This year our anniversary fell on Sunday, and we were on Temple Square to attend the live "Music & The Spoken Word" broadcast. Lloyd Newell, the voice of the Tabernacle Choir, referred to us as some of the "fortunate few" who were permitted to be there for the slow return to normalcy. We were treated to vocal selections by Megan Hilty, an American singer and actress, and multitalented television and screen actor Neal McDonough who provided narration. They headlined the annual Christmas Concert recorded last week destined for release next year at Christmas on PBS and BYUtv. We were there because "we know a guy" - our son-in-law Jay Warnick is the man who is responsible for the grounds at Temple Square. The lights are limited by the construction project that is all-consuming on Temple Square.

After the broadcast, we strolled around Temple Square and peered into the deep excavation going on around the temple. The building itself is shrouded in scaffolding. Seeing it up close and personal gives one a better idea of the enormity of this undertaking. The leaders of the Church then and now have always been "big thinkers" as evidenced by what they did back then and maybe even more by what they are doing now. 

Back to the Choir broadcast. There were about 4,000 of us in attendance. It was taped, along with the three performances from last week. I was impressed with the powerful soprano voice of Megan Hilty, though I don't remember being aware of her before this performance. There is something that cannot compare with the feeling of hearing the Choir and all the guest performers who fill that enormous hall with music. We got there early and were treated with some rehearsal time before the program began. The Conference Center has certainly fulfilled the ambitions of President Hinckley who first envisioned its construction. I am certain I will never tire of listening to the Choir in that setting.

Neal McDonough was instantly familiar. He's appeared in over 100 movies over the years of his career. His narration was doctrinally drenched and Christ-centered. Lloyd Newell explained after the broadcast ended that Neal is a devout Irish Catholic, and he invited Lloyd to pray with him during the week. The McDonough family, his wife and five children, were in attendance. Their concluding number with the orchestra, the bell ringers and the buglers was rattling the rafters as the recording concluded to thunderous applause.

Here's a small snippet from the concert:

Merry Christmas to all this weekend.

A 500,000 visitor milestone

I couldn't let this day go by without acknowledging all the readers who have clicked on The Goates Notes over the years. Sometime overnight the total visitors to this site turned over 500,000 - amazing!

I pause here to talk a little bit about how I began blogging. Daughter Melanie thought I should start a blog way back when, to which I responded, "What's a blog?" I found that Google sponsored something called "Blogspot" and that's the platform I went with. I had lots of advice in those early years about how to increase readership, and I heard about algorithms and how to attract advertisers, and SEO, but clueless as I was I ignored most of it. This blog has grown organically, and it has touched readers in 26 countries that I know about based on the feedback I've received from Google. 

Along the way advertisers came along, and I started earning small dividends from it with each click on one of the ads that were installed on the site. I am still somewhat surprised at how the number of visitors has kept climbing through the years. To all of you I extend my thanks and best wishes for a very Merry Christmas season.

This has been a momentous month for our family. We had a traditional Thanksgiving feast and gingerbread house building on the next Saturday. Always a big day around here. Then we bade farewell to grandson Alex Goates, who is now in the Peru MTC, and last night a granddaughter, Molly Bayles, opened her mission call to St. Louis, Missouri, reporting March 14, 2022. That's the same mission where daughter-in-law Shauna served, and where daughter Merilee and her family are living until graduation from dental school next spring. 

We also barely returned last night from a little road trip over the weekend to hear all five Sharp grandchildren perform in a choral concert in Broomfield, CO. I'm not sure where the three girls and two boys will go with their Sharp Family Singers career from here, but they sing like angels and I can always say that I knew them when. I don't imagine there will ever be a time again when we might hear them all singing together, and it was so fun to hear a holiday choral concert to put us in the mood for the holidays. Some of Patsy's and my favorite high school memories involve singing in Lorraine Bowman's A'cappella choir and Madrigals groups at East High School. Music and Christmas are so synonymous for us. 

Equally thrilling was listening in on Sunday night to the First Presidency Christmas program featuring the full Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. Instead of its traditional Christmas concert, the Choir released an album as a compilation of fifteen years of past performances of the Choir's Christmas concerts. Once again in 2021 the concert was curtailed because of the pandemic. I noted today that their new Christmas album just hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard listings. It's a sign that things on the pandemic front are slowly returning to normal and it's so heartening to have that blessing in our lives again.

We drove back home through the mountains of Colorado, stopping in Steamboat Springs along the way. Our favorite shop in Steamboat was "Cowboys and Indians" - check it out when you go through there or online by clicking their link. Like Utah, Colorado has gone a record number of days without measurable snow accumulation. I was excited to see that a big snowstorm is headed our way this week.

I can't leave this entry without acknowledging the outstanding achievements of all “Big Three" football programs this year. Utah won the PAC-12 and a berth against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. 

Utah State won the Mountain West after a dismal one-win season last year, and BYU finished 10-2 for a berth in the Independence Bowl and garnered an invite to join the Big 12 in 2023. It's been by far the biggest year in Utah football for 100 years. When you come from a football crazed state like Ohio or Texas this just doesn't seem like that big a deal, but when you're talking Utah it's about as good as winning the Super Bowl.

All three coaches are in the final round of being nominated for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year honors nationally, but that award will likely go to Cincinnati's head coach, Luke Fickell, for their outstanding season finishing in the top six at the end of the year and a berth in a New Year's Day bowl. (update: Jim Harbaugh at Michigan won it). Whittingham led the way for PAC-12 honors with two of his players in year-end announcements.

My year in review would have to include successful brain tumor surgery, and managing somehow to avoid contracting the COVID-19 virus. I am perpetually grateful for our family who continue to inspire us with their faithfulness and their continued love and support of us as we inevitably deteriorate over time. 

We are concluding our study of the Doctrine and Covenants and Church history at the end of this year. I am continually and perpetually impressed with the achievements of Joseph Smith. His diligence and faithfulness in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against him are astounding. Next year we take up the Old Testament study. Already people are asking where they can get their hands on a good commentary on the Old Testament. My answer is to rely upon the impressions of the Holy Ghost. There is nothing intimidating about the Old Testament. It's 4,000 years of history of God's dealings with His children, and the story lines are as real as today's headlines. 

Let's look ahead with gratitude for a Happy New Year in 2022. 

And thanks for 500,000 clicks into The Goates Notes! My love to all of you.

#GiveThanks for Blessings

Helen and L. Brent Goates

It's that blessed season of the year when we can step aside from the demands of the world and #givethanks for the many blessings we enjoy. This is Thanksgiving week. I begin by giving thanks for the life of my father, L. Brent Goates, who passed to the other side this week five years ago. I love my Dad, and I still miss him every day since his passing. I find myself still reaching for the phone to check in on him, only to realize he won't be picking up the phone. Even the house he lived in has been demolished and replaced by a new home with new owners. What is left behind is a lifetime of memories of him and Mom. Giving thanks for them is a cherished part of this week's celebration.

Mom had this picture taken of them for no special reason, simply because it captured them in their "prime." They were a great example to all of us, and we still miss them when we gather as a family. 

Dad was a Utah fan for most of his adult life until he defected to the "dark side" and turned himself into a BYU fan. Some things in life are simply and emphatically inexplicable. But this week, he would be exulting in both football teams being nationally ranked. 

Whether red or blue, there has been plenty to cheer about this week, and I especially give thanks that on the eve of his 62nd birthday Kyle Whittingham officially became the winningest coach in Utah football history with 142. His team toppled No. 3 Oregon before a record crowd at Rice-Eccles stadium by a score of 38-7. Seriously, who can't be thankful for that? 

So, consistent with its history, the PAC-12 teams have once again beat up on each other this year to knock all the teams out of consideration for a national championship berth in the BCS bowls. I know it's just whimsical in comparison to all the more meaningful things in life for which I am grateful, but I will allow a little whimsy now and then. 

Utah will now contend for the PAC-12 championship in Las Vegas in December, then if they win out will likely get the Rose Bowl bid, a long-sought goal for Coach Whittingham.

This last few weeks we have been celebrating a new missionary in our family, Elder Alexander James Goates. On Sunday we gathered at their ward to hear him give his farewell talk prior to his departure for Peru. He is a great young man, excelling in areas where he has put his focus, including starting his own outfitting business and giving guided tours for fishermen in the Uintas, being a nationally recognized spikeball champ, and of course an outstanding scholar. He will be here for Thanksgiving dinner, then he will be headed out to Peru to take up his labors as a full-time missionary for the Church. We #givethanks for Alex. What a powerful example of goodness and humility!

General Ulysses S. Grant

I have been reading the complete memoirs of President Ulysses S. Grant recently. He was a contemporary of Joseph Smith, and it was his leadership during the darkest days of the Civil War that ultimately produced the victory for the Union troops over the Confederates. We often lament how divided we are today in our politics. You might want to consider reading Grant's memoirs for a little bit of perspective. He rose through the ranks as a somewhat reluctant though willing participant because he believed so ardently in the cause of holding the nation together despite the divisiveness of the country over the slavery issue. Like so many of his predecessors and successors as leaders of armies, he viewed war with absolute disdain and abhorrence because of the waste of men and material. Stories are told of battlefields so littered with dead bodies that one could scarcely walk across and find ground upon which to walk. He is a pivotal figure in our history as a nation and his words in his autobiography are inspiring. He was known in the end of the war as "Lincoln's General," and President Lincoln turned over the conduct of the war without interference from him. He would later be elected as the 18th President of the United States, and was still working on holding the fragile coalition of the states together. Grant might easily have been with the Lincolns at Ford's Theatre that fateful night, but Mrs. Grant was eager to return to their home to visit their children. Grant often lamented the fact that he had been absent, thinking he might have prevented the assassination if he had gone to the theatre that night. Booth also had Grant on his target list. So I #givethanks for heroes proved in liberating strife in our nation's history who filled such a vital role in our destiny as a free nation.

Gratitude for Living Prophets

Since the conclusion of last weekend's General Conference, my thoughts have been pre-occupied with the sweet memories of the messages of the speakers. I would have to say the very end of the conference was especially gratifying for those of us who heard President Nelson's announcement of a new temple coming to the Wasatch Back in Heber City, Utah.

Conference Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

It was the first time in recent months that the conference shifted back to the familiar confines of the Conference Center's expansive auditorium. Even though the general public was not admitted and the number of choir members was reduced in compliance with ongoing COVID-19 restrictions as a precaution, it was still powerful and edifying throughout.

I was moved to tears as emotion swelled up within me, thinking how powerful it was to hear the plain and simple truths expressed by our leaders. It has been tempting for some to proclaim the pandemic was God's way of punishing His children for disobedience, but you have never heard a Church leader make such a pronouncement. Instead, what we heard was a call for greater patience, understanding and empathy for everyone around us. There were so many gentle and loving appeals for civility and encouragement to stamp out hatred, bigotry and racism.

Elder Dale G. Renlund

Perhaps the highlight, at least for me, was Elder Dale G. Renlund's masterful address, entitled "The Peace of Christ Abolishes Enmity." In his talk, Elder Renlund spoke about his experience with the Finnish saints at the dedication of the Helsinki Finland temple in 2006. They had longed for that temple and sacrificed to bring it to fruition. In a temple committee meeting as they planned the events of the temple dedication, it was decided to allow their Russian brothers and sisters who had travelled great distances to have the privilege of attending the temple sessions on the first day of general operations. Elder Renlund explained his own father, a proud Finn, had criticized his Russian enemies throughout the years. Finns and Russians had fought wars against each other for centuries. When Elder Renlund explained what had happened to his father, he wept. He never again uttered a hateful word about the Russians until his death three years later.

The discipleship of the Finns came first, and was put above all other considerations. We have covenanted to become one in our Savior and He has broken down all barriers between us. Enmity is not of Him. 

The silly arguments that have persisted since the pandemic first was unleashed upon the world in 2019 have made me marvel at how easily we seem to be distracted. It has always been the case, it seems, that pandemics have a way of suggesting that God must be punishing someone, since its effects are unleashed in such an indiscriminate way. 

When Zion's Camp was making its way to Missouri, cholera broke out among the participants. Many died, many more became ill. Those who contracted the disease, it was thought, were in need of repentance, though no one knew the disease was transmitted from simply sharing infected cups, drinking water and utensils. 

Even the Savior was asked once, "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" Note the immediate assumption that someone was a sinner if they got sick or had an impairment. The Savior flatly said, "Neither hath his man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." (John 9:1-11). The Savior rendered no judgment, but sought to reach out to all who were afflicted, and He never made a value judgment about their worthiness to receive a blessing. He met them where they were in their lives, and He lifted and blessed them. We are taught to minister as He ministered "in a higher and holier way." Are you willing to make those same faulty judgments on your brothers and sisters today if they get sick with COVID-19 and you don't?

President Russell M. Nelson

President Russell M. Nelson highlighted our need for strengthening our spiritual foundation. In his Sunday morning remarks, entitled "The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation" he explained that refinements and adjustments have periodically been made to temple ordinances without changing underlying eternal doctrine. Sometimes in the temple we are guilty of focusing on the method of the instruction instead of the content. He invited us to examine our own lives to determine how we can strengthen our foundations in faith by making needed changes. The Restoration is a process, he said, not an event. The ongoing objective is how to bring the availability of temple covenants to the people wherever they live in the world. Ongoing revelation to our leaders will show the way ahead. Recent procedural adjustments have continued to be made. The Lord  wants us to have spiritual insights. He invites us to "Hear Him." 

The Lord is actively leading the Church. We must center our lives on Him. He leads through inspired living prophets among us. Of that fact I am a witness.