I had an extended dream last night that I was able to recall when I awoke. It seems Janet and I were somewhere in Asia in a small village. An attacking force overran the village and we were separated and I was taken captive. I remember feeling very bad that I didn’t get to say goodbye to Janet. I was treated well by my young captors. After they decided that I was unarmed and harmless they placed me in the custody of a young girl who tried to educate me in the world’s news and views from her perspective. Then I was rescued and returned to my wife and society. My initial reception by society was one of surprise and happiness. But society rejected my narrations as the product of brainwashing. They were sure that their culture was infinitely superior to the one from which I had been freed and that my tale of the pleasant life lived by my captors could not possibly be true. Something like, “my mind’s made up, don’t bother me with the facts.” I wonder if this dream has anything to do with New York?
August 24, 2014
August 18, 2014
Quotes
“Man is destined to be a God—and has to act as an independent being—and is left without aid to see what he will do, whether he will be for God, and practice him to depend on his own resources, and try his independency—to be righteous in the dark—to be the friend of God, and do the best I can when left to myself, act on my Agency as the independent Gods, and show our capacity.”
Office Journal of President Brigham Young, 28 January 1857, Library Archives, Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.
William James
Suppose that the world’s author put the case to you before creation, saying: “I am going to make a world not certain to be saved, a world the perfection of which shall be conditional merely, the condition being that each several agent does its own ‘level best.’ I offer you the choice of taking part in such a world. Its safety, you see, is unwarranted. It is a real adventure, with real danger, yet it may win through. It is a social scheme of cooperative work genuinely to be done. Will you join the procession? Will you trust yourself and trust the other agents enough to face the risk?
16. Sterling M. McMurrin, “Some Distinguishing Characteristics of Mormon Philosophy,” Sunstone (March 1993, Volume 16:4, Issue 90), 41.
17. Ibid., 42.
18. Ibid., 42.
August 17, 2014
Dark Matter
There is a classic painting I like of the philosopher looking behind the starry sky to see what really is. Science recently discovered that everything we see–everything science can measure–makes up only four percent of the matter and energy in the universe. The rest is something they know nothing about, so they call it “dark” as in dark matter and dark energy. This discovery should serve as notice that much still remains to be discovered. Those who say, as some cosmologists once did, that we are on the verge of the grand unified theory of everything are whistling in the dark (pun intended). I predict the day will come when our current explanations will be revealed to be the childish speculations they really are. Let us go enthusiastically forward into the mystery, free of the illusion that our current theories will survive as the final explanation for anything.
Mystery
August 15, 2014
Report
Dear President Corbitt and Jayne,
Knowing the demand on your time and attention that your current assignment makes, especially at the beginning, we have been very hesitant to bother you with news of our lives. But we thought you might enjoy a report on the events of the last three days. On Wednesday, Marlene and Murray Altman arrived from their condominium in Breckenridge, Colorado. We took them to the top of Hidden Peak on the Snowbird Tram, then fed them a home cooked meal and sat out on the deck and watched the sun go down until it was dark. On Thursday we went with them for a tour of the Humanitarian Center, Welfare Square, lunch at the Garden Restaurant in the Joseph Smith Building, and a tour of Temple Square and the Conference Center, all conducted by Elder Richard Hinckley. He was wonderful and he and Murray Altman hit it off, talking business man to business man. John Taylor joined us for lunch and we told him how grateful we are to have gotten to know you. In the afternoon Janet and I took the Altmans to the Ogden Temple open house then to dinner at the Grand America. Needless to say they were exhausted when we put them to bed. This morning they had breakfast and headed back to Colorado. We think the visit went wonderfully. Marlene said she already has had several e-mail enquiries from other AJC members asking for a report of her visit. We are confident the report will be a favorable one.
We know you are doing famously in your new calling. We won’t require a report until you are finished. The Lord bless you.
Your friends,
Larry and Janet
August 10, 2014
Fishing
The Oregon Petersons, Anna, Andrew, Emily, and Isabella, are visiting. Brent, the three grandkids and I went fishing at East Canyon Reservoir today. Andrew, Emily, and Isabella each caught the first fish of their lives at the end of a long day of diligent fishing. As we drove home we discussed the need for perserverence in every successful project.