Who wants to drink it now?

I held up a glass of cool water from the drinking fountain.

"Here is a nice, cool glass of water," I told the class. I took a drink and sighed, refreshed.

"Give me a drink," one of the kids said (as if on cue, when in fact, he just has a tendency to say whatever pops into his head, even at 6:30 in the morning).

"Okay, I'll give you a drink." Then I drank from the glass again, swished the water in my mouth, and spit it into the cup. "Who wants to drink it now?" (Two hands went up, of course, but they got the point)

I explained that this was a bit like relying on others for our understanding of the scriptures. It's OK, and it will nourish you, but it's better to go to the source. In fact, just reading the scriptures isn't enough, because the real source is God, so the kids needed to seek their own testimonies of the truths taught in the scriptures.

And for 5 minutes this morning I had their attention.

This object lesson is part of a three or four part lesson I am in the midst of. First, I handed out a list of "truths," such as "Heavenly Father answers prayers," "Joseph Smith was a prophet," and "the Priesthood is God's power on earth." I asked the kids to check a truth that they felt they had learned by the Holy Ghost. Then, I asked them to briefly describe the experience (in writing).

One of the students couldn't think of anything. I told her that it was okay, and if she didn't feel like she had felt the Holy Ghost yet in her life, we would perform a "spiritual experiment" a la Alma 32. However, first I wanted to ask a few questions to see if I couldn't jog her memory.

"Have you ever prayed and felt like your prayer was answered, or felt different afterward?"
"I can't think of anything."
"Have you ever performed baptisms for the dead and felt different in the temple?" (btw, feeling "different" is not necessarily the Holy Ghost, but it could be, and if she answered in the affirmative, I could ask follow up questions to determine whether she felt is was the Holy Ghost)
"I got in trouble when I went."
"Fine. But did you feel different in the temple?"
"I don't know."
"Have you ever received a priesthood blessing in which you felt the Holy Ghost testify that it was from him?"
(...thinking...) "My patriarchal blessing."
"Good. And how did that feel?"
"Awesome."
(Due to lack of time, I didn't explore more yet, but we'll get there. I did mention how special patriarchs are.)

I didn't know if all the kids would recognize an experience in which they felt the Holy Ghost. If not, that would have been okay. As mentioned above, we would have performed a "spiritual experiment" by praying and seeking a confirmation from the Holy Ghost. But everyone thought of at least one experience.

Today was stage two. We learned about the value of the scriptures to teach doctrine and improve ourselves (2 Tim. 3:14-17) and I asked the kids to find a scripture that related to their experience. I gave examples of scriptures involving prayer, the priesthood, baptisms for the dead, and others. Some of the kids used my suggestions and others looked up scriptures on their own.

Tomorrow we will enter stage three. We will learn about testimony, and I will ask each kid to write their testimony of the experience. What did the Holy Ghost teach them by testifying to them of the spiritual truth?

In the coming weeks, we will flesh out the details of the experiences and I will have each youth share their experience with the class including (1) a scripture, (2) an experience where the Holy Ghost taught them a truth contained in the scripture, and (3) a testimony of what the Holy Ghost taught them. Since the kids had a variety of experiences, this exercise will tie into a variety of lessons from the New Testament.

I confess that seminary is exhausting, mentally and physically. But today I got some payback. To have each of these groggy teens recognize and share their experiences (without complaint, mind you) has lifted my hopes for their ability to put down spiritual roots, and strengthens my own faith as well.

Chastened

The escalator was out again (although it was the "down" escalator, so it should be called a "descalator") so we were all crowded like cattle trying to get down and out of the metro station. About three people ahead of me, I could see a little old lady, and she was really slow. The people on the right side of the descalator were passing us pretty steadily.

The guy behind me saw a break in the line, and he jumped in. He had the right idea. I looked back and there was still room, so I jumped to the other side, eager to get off the descalator, past the old lady, and home to my family. But then the guy in front of me (who had so recently been behind me) slowed down. Terrific! Then I saw him reach down, and take the old lady's bag-it was one of those smallish rolling luggage bags. She thanked him profusely as he carried it down the escalator and waited for her at the bottom. Without her load, she moved much faster.

I felt like a louse. I'm usually pretty nice, but I often focus on what I want and where I want to be and forget to take time to help people around me whom I don't know. That's goodness. That's kindness. That's whom I want to be.

Beware of ABBA

There I was-- crossing the Potomac, riding in a metro rail car on my way back to work from the Patent Office in Virginia. I had my iPod out, and I was playing Solitaire (or Klondike, if you prefer) listening to ABBA.

Then I realized I was tapping my feet, and very nearly singing out loud, "Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight..."

I tell you, ABBA is very catchy. And very dangerous.

Say what you will about their clothing, but they generate some snappy (and compelling) songs.

"Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man's world
Aha-ahaaa
All the things I could do
If I had a little money
It's a rich man's world"

October Conference Reprise

I'm listening to October's General Conference again on my iPod. I just finished the Saturday morning session, and a few thoughts struck me:

"Faith is not only a feeling; it is a decision."

Elder Anderson's entire talk, "You Know Enough," was excellent. This portion refers to a blessing he gave his friend who had just lost his daughter, and was questioning his faith.

In another portion, he talks of a girl who was born deaf and was talking to a boy in line at the grocery store. The boy had no legs. She said, "“Did you know that when Heavenly Father made me, my ears did not work? That makes me special. He made you with no legs, and that makes you special. When Jesus comes, I will be able to hear and you will get your legs. Jesus will make everything all right.”

I love this story. I love the lack of self-consciousness, lack of adverse judgment, lack of self-pity or other-pity, for that matter. I love the faith and the knowledge she has of her worth.

Other talks in the Saturday AM session were good as well, but this one stood out to me as having the most messages I will remember.

Book Review: Eon: Dragon Reborn

I recently read Eon: Dragon Reborn after reading a review by Orson Scott Card. I like most of the stuff he recommends, especially when he describes things as "absolutely stunning."

Eon is a fantasy novel very loosely based on Asian lore. In short, I agree with Card. The book is very well-written. The characters are well-developed and well-balanced. The pacing is excellent. I enjoyed the book from beginning to end, and was not bored once.

So if you are in the mood for an excellent fantasy novel without dwarves, elves, etc., I highly recommend Eon: Dragon Reborn, by Alison Goodman.

For an entertaining-but-not-great fantasy series with dwarves and elves, try the Riftwar Saga, by Raymond Feist. It is filled with cheese and cliches, but it was entertaining.

Movie Reviews: City of Ember, Inkheart, Eagle Eye

Mari and I recently saw three movies: City of Ember, Inkheart, and Eagle Eye.

In hindsight, I should have visited rottentomatoes.com before seeing any of them.

City of Ember and Inkheart are adaptations from popular kids' books. They were both a bit slow in developing and somewhat disjointed in how the stories were presented. As with many books-turned-movies, they had interesting ideas but did not survive the transition to the big screen. I give City of Ember two stars and Inkheart one and a half stars.

Eagle Eye is a bad adaptation of a bad script. I give it one star for laughs.

Mormon Humor

I recently discovered My Religious Blog, by Gatsby.



This stuff is pretty funny Mormon humor. And really funny Mormon humor is hard to come by. I know I'm not funny, although I thank everyone who has laughed at my attempts at humor.



Below are a couple posts lifted from his site.



Liahona Painting
I guess Arnold Friberg must have read the Liahona Study Guide...

"Ask it if Ishmael's daughter likes my furry vest."

Puns Of Perdition

I am thinking of starting a satelite TV network here in Utah.
It would be called Tight Like Unto A Dish Network and it wouldn't have Showtime or HBO.

A Stupor Of Thought
A lot of people think that because I haven’t mentioned which women’s deodorant I prefer, that there is some religious reason I don’t want to talk about it. But they’ve got it all wrong!

It’s not sacred.

It’s Secret.


A New TV Series
I am developing a new TV show for KBYU about a guy who heard the gospel in this life, but his brother didn’t. So after they die, he tries to help his brother get into paradise.

It’s called Spirit Prison Break.