THankful for fabulous thanksgiving

November 29, 2009

Dear Rosalynde, Gabrielle, Naomi, Brigham, Rachel, Benjamin, Abraham and Christian!

I do not have much news from home this week, but we have plenty of other news!

This morning as we stepped outside to go to church, we looked toward the mountains. We saw a thick brown haze. The wind has been blowing for a couple of days now (a Santa Ana condition), which comes right off the high desert, over the mountains, and down into the Los Angeles basin. Although the winds have not been fierce, they are much more than a breeze. The winds have kicked up the dust and ash left from the fires earlier this year. Mama’s car was just covered with dirt when we arrived home Saturday afternoon. Saturday evening, I washed my truck. During the night, the wind blew again, and we had just a smattering of rain drops. My truck is all dirty again. The dust and ash is so thick that when water from the hose hits the drive way, it forms black rings around the splash area as it picks up the dirt and carries it away. Since our house is not air-tight, we are likely to have more dust than usual settling in our house. Further, today in a combined Priesthood-Relief Society meeting, Bryn Oh and Gary Scott presented on preparedness for floods and mudslides this winter rainy season. Bryn gave a scientific presentation. The fire here was so hot it burned everything, including burning roots into the ground. The fire forced hot gases into the top few inches of soil, and the gas condensed as a wax-like substance. This makes the soil “hydrophobic”, meaning that the water does not permeate and absorb. As a result, the top layer of water becomes saturated and causes run-off – not just water but obviously carrying soil and debris. Last week, I think I mentioned in a previous letter, we had some scattered rain, but there was a heavy cell in one corner of La Canada where the rain came down heavy for 15 minutes, causing debris flow piling up 5 feet of mud in some back yards. Debris flows can travel 35 miles an hour. So they are treacherous and cannot be outrun. This treacherous geologic condition is likely to last 3-5 years until the vegetation can get a good hold on the soil again. We have a number of families in the ward whose homes are at risk. We’ll volunteer to be an evacuation home where people can stay in the event of an evacuation. I hope we have a lot of rain, which we need, but I hope it comes in gentle and frequent storms so that we do not have further tragedy.

This afternoon, Mama went to visit Jensine Phillips. You will note her report in her letter. You also remember that we would Christmas carol at her house. While she was gone, I went home teaching, visiting Carol Cotton and Roger and Lisa Anderson. Haley is now working toward a Master’s Degree at USC in History, and would like to teach High School European History.

Eva will have a busy week. She attended a Chamber Singers rehearsal this afternoon. The Christmas concert is this coming Friday. I wish it were two weeks later. So the women of the Singers are getting together for an extra rehearsal. I am looking forward to the concert. Then Eva will be back into the thick of homework, piano (she is practicing right now), cello, YW and life.

Now I’ll start with the Grand Canyon. Monday, I went to work early, and almost finished by noon. But at noon, I left my unfinished work and drove home, getting gas on the way. Mama and Eva were there and ready to go. I hurriedly packed and got my gear together (except my camera! – so I had to rely on the camera in my blackberry). We were off! We missed all the heavy traffic out of Los Angeles. My drove initially while I tried to finish some unfinished work relating to the Caltech MIT enterprise forum. (I volunteered to jump in at the last minute to organize a medical device program when the December nanotech program fell apart.) After phone calls and emails, we were somewhere along I-40 heading toward Arizona. At a brief rest, Mama and I traded places, and we kept on toward the Grand Canyon. At Kingman we stopped for gas, and then continued on to the Grand Canyon. We stayed at the Red Feather Lodge again, where Christine had such an interesting introduction to our family 5-6 years ago (is it 5 or 6 years ago?) We arrived about 9:30 PM. After checking email and watching a TV program, we went to bed.

On our blog, you can see pictures of our adventure. http://christie-russ.blogspot.com/. We had a good sleep and got up around 7:00 AM. After breakfast of oranges and granola, etc., we packed our day packs and drove into the park. It was freezing at the top, literally. The temperature was below freezing. We parked the truck and walked to the shuttle. Fortunately, we were bundled up in several layers of shirts, sweat shirts, and jackets. We left the shuttle just west of Yaki Point at the trailhead of the South Kaibab Trail. We had never hiked any of this trail before. The wind was blowing on top, but as we dropped down below the rim on the west side of the promontory (east side of the canyon). The view was spectacular and the wind died down below the canyon rim. After a series of switchbacks, we started along the trail as it clung to the side of the canyon, sloping down, and heading toward the far end of the canyon wall. At that point, it dropped down steeply onto a ridge jutting out from the canyon wall and the wind picked up substantially. It was pretty cold. We basically stayed on the ridge or on the east side of the ridge for quite awhile. We were glad we had gloves, hats and neck scarves. On the South Kaibab Trail, as we started down we could see far to the west in the Canyon. As we started out onto the ridge, we could see far up the Canyon to the east. Across the way we had a great view of Bright Angel Creek. We passed back-packers who were heading down to stay in the Canyon overnight. We hiked on and on, going lower and lower. The wind eventually died down, and the air became warmer.

In the steep part of the trail, the trail was re-enforced every 10 feet or so by logs laid crosswise in trail and held in place by long steel spikes driven into the ground. You will see some examples in the attached pictures. This trail improvement keeps the trail from eroding, particularly with the mule traffic. However, it created many “stairs” to step up, which in many ways is hard on the legs. We crossed the Tonto Plateau, which basically goes from the base of the upper canyon walls to the inner gorge. We then dropped into the steep trail to the Colorado River. All the way down was spectacular scenery and the inner gorge was also spectacular. We arrived at the suspension bridge which is about 50 feet above the river. Just east of the suspension bridge is a cable with a cable car. It certainly reminded me about Brighty of the Grand Canyon. We crossed the river and made our way down to the bank of the river, a sandy beach where river rafters stop. We saw a number of boats at this spot as we hiked down, but they had departed by the time we arrived. The temperature must have been about 70 degrees, and a few people were sunbathing near the river. We stopped for 20 minutes and ate lunch and rested next to the river. You will see mama and Eva by the river in the attached pictures. We then walked toward Bright Angel Creek, passing an Anazasi stone dwelling. The we saw a number of deer right near the river. They did not mind us at all. It almost seemed that I could have reached out to pet them. We crossed over Bright Angel Creek and then recrossed the river at another suspension bridge. We then followed a path paralleling the river for about two miles until we reached the Bright Angel Trail where it descended to the river. We then started up toward Indian Gardens. The trail followed a delightful stream, which you will see in some of the pictures, as well as the foliage along the trail. We rested for a few minutes at Indian Gardens, a delightful spot. The thermometers showed the temperature in the upper 50s. We ate a couple of granola bars and drank some water. The trail from Indian Gardens is quite moderate for a mile and a half. Then the steeper switch backs begin. We took several pictures along the way. We stopped occasionally for short conversations with other hikers, including a couple from Poland (German Wife) with two younger children who are commencing a two year stay in the US. However, we did not see or hear nearly as many non-native English speakers as we would during the summer vacation season.

As we approached the top of the Canyon, Mama’s natural fast hiking pace began to put some distance between her and Eva and me. Eva and I rested occasionally, and took a drink of water or ate another piece of a granola bar. So Mama finished 5-10 minutes before Eva and me. Although the upper part of the hike is the very scenic, the last mile is the longest mile. When we passed above the thick red sandstone layer, I kept think we were finished just around the next switch back, but we seemed to always have several more. Finally, however, we emerged about 4:45 pm on to the south rim at the top of Bright Angel Trail. We caught the shuttle back to the Visitor’s Center on the east side of the developed area of the South Rim. The shuttle ride seemed to take 45 minutes, a good deal of which I spent standing since the shuttle was so crowded with holiday visitors.

We then drove back to Tusayan, and stopped to find out the time of the Imax movie on the Grand Canyon. We went back to the motel, and showered, but we were too tired to really hurry and get out again to see the movie. Mama fixed instant mashed potatoes in the electric frying pan that we had brought with us and we ate other food for supper. Mama and Eva soon crashed into bed. I stayed up reading until about 10:30 or so when I could no longer stay awake. I lay down on the bed and slept 45 minutes with my cell phone next to me. Finally, Christian called and they had just pulled into the parking lot.

The next morning, we left the motel about 8:30 am, I think. We drove to the visitors center, and enjoyed the Mather Point overlook. We then caught the shuttle to the trail head of the South Kaibab Trail. The boys and I hiked down 5 minutes (with Christian and Benjamin running quite a bit ahead of me. Then we turned around and just made it back in time to catch the shuttle to the west rim shuttle transfer. We enjoyed a couple of stops along the west rim, admiring the great vistas. Finally, we headed back to the truck and left the park about 1:00 PM.

We drove through the beautiful country between the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff, which is about the same or a little higher than the South Rim (depending on which part of the South Rim). Flagstaff looks like a fine community. Would I enjoy living there? After buying some fast food at Jack in the Box, we were on our way to Phoenix. Eva and Christian rode with me, and listened to the Broadway satellite station. After putting gas in our vehicles, we left the rental car at an LDS church building near downtown Phoenix – an attractive building built in the middle of a circle in the street, with the parking across the circular street. The church was the only building within this small circle. As we drove out of Phoenix, we hit rush hour traffic. But we were enjoying each other’s company enough that it didn’t bother us much. We finally arrived in Benson at Grandpa and Grandma Hansen’s house. We admired the solar powered lights around the house welcoming us, including lights in the form of humming birds and turtles that changed colors. We enjoyed seeing them. Grandpa said that when we were ready, he wanted to show us the turkey that had been roasting over mesquite branches in the roaster all day just outside. (You all know what it looks like.) So the boys and Eva and I went out. Grandpa opened the turkey, and we just dug our fingers right into the turkey and pulled off the juiciest succulent tasty turkey imaginable. That is the true way to eat a turkey. I need to learn how to do it here at home. One cannot eat one’s fill of that turkey, because one can never get a fill of that turkey. Mama knew, however, when I should stop eating it. After talking, watching Ben Abbot’s video, and checking email and following up a bit on some Caltech matters, it was time for bed. Benjamin and Christian enjoyed sleeping on the roof of the gazebo. The temperature was just fine. Eva had the pull-out couch all to herself.

Thursday, Grandpa cooked us a delicious pancake breakfast. Then we soon left for Thatcher. We stopped by the Olsons’ ranch for a brief visit. Eva went out to pet the horses with Kaylie, and Benjamin and I went with Grandpa to talk to Shane, the husband/father/rancher. He was busy installing a chute for his cattle – but a high-tech chute. It had about six different parts that could be moved hydraulically to take into account small cattle, large cattle, etc. a lot more high-tech than the old wooden chutes with headlock that we used to use on the farm.

Then on to Thatcher. We really enjoyed Thanksgiving with Kim and Jan, with Jacob and Sally. We finally found their house after a couple of turns on the wrong streets in Thatcher. Before dinner, Sally took us on a guided tour of Thatcher, pointing out the house where Spencer W. Kimball lived, driving by Eastern Arizona College, and viewing the nearly complete Gila Valley Temple.

Back at Kim and Jan’s, we watched a bit of football (no soccer on TV), then enjoyed dinner together. In the afternoon, we talked more, I read some, and the kids played a fun game. Finally, the day was over. The kids went to the now movie – “New Moon”? – from Stephanie Meyer’s vampire series – and Mama and I drove home with Grandpa and Grandma in their car. I stayed up until 10 pm reading to make sure the kids returned home safely.

Friday morning, the boys and I hauled a few wagon loads of mesquite wood up to the house for Grandpa to use in the stove to keep the house warm. Benjamin enjoyed driving the small dune buggy to pull the wagon down in the wash. Then grandpa took all of the kids and me on a dune buggy ride. Mama did house cleaning, and Eva helped her before she went on the dune buggy ride with us. I helped a bit in the afternoon as well. Then Mama and I took the kids to a great rock climbing place east of Benson just off the freeway. You will see pictures on the blog site of some of our climbs. It was great fun. I generally kept up with the kids. We saw a beautiful sunset, and my pictures do not do justice to the beauty of the sunset. We finally returned shortly after dark. After more food and a movie (I watched part of it), we went to bed.

Saturday morning, Benjamin was the first one up. I got up about 6:00 am. We finally left about 6:50 AM, saying goodbye to Grandpa. We had such a wonderful time. On the drive to phoenix, Eva tried to sleep between the boys, who were working on the computers. We stopped near Gilbert to pick up a cat as a favor for one of Mama’s seminary students. (We experienced some frustration as the girl’s mother delivering cat was 30 minutes late, despite our several calls beforehand). We finally made it into Phoenix, and the boys were soon on their way back to Provo. We stopped in Phoenix for breakfast with the Jardines. It was a delightful hour with them, and delightful to see Jonathan and Rachel again. On the way back to La Canada, Eva got to have the whole back seat to herself, which she enjoyed, using it to sleep. There was heavy traffic all the way from Phoenix, with a majority of the cars having California plates. Fortunately, on our way home, we only slowed to a crawl a couple of times. I noticed that the outside temperatures never reached 70, and occasionally dropped into the 50s near Palm Springs, and all the way into Mt. Baldy, we could see snow on the mountains. In Palm Springs, it came quite low on the mountains. The ground was wet with a pretty good storm. However, past Mt. Baldy, the snow disappeared, as did the precipitation. At home, we found the car covered with dirt from the wind, and a smattering of rain drops. But no substantial moisture at all.
That’s all for now.
Love Daddy

All Hallows (Saints) Day (Halloween being the Eve before)

November 1, 2009
Dear Rosalynde, Gabrielle, Naomi, Brigham, Rachel, Benjamin, Abraham and Christian!
I am listening to the Three Tenors with Zubin Mehta. Imagine what our ward choir would sound like if I could just sing like one of the three tenors! In fact, if God gave me the choice of choosing the talent of Lionel Messi or Luciano Pavarotti, I would choose Pavarotti.

You might have seen Rosalynde’s most recent post at ST. Louis Today, cross-linked at Times and Seasons: http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2009/10/day-of-the-dead-lord-of-life/, or http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/civil-religion/music/2009/10/day-of-the-dead-lord-of-life/ . It is a delicious morsel. Rosalynde, I suppose you knew when you accepted the invitation that you would have to have a bit of a thick skin – writing in a public forum as a Latter-day Saint. Two of your commenter at SL Today, rather than accepting the obvious good will with which you made your post, with ecumenical kudos to other faith traditions, decided to be Snarky and inject Brahms’ humanism and make not-so-subtle digs at the Latter-day Saints. You replied with grace and restraint – congratulations. You do write so deliciously. I actually thought your post would draw more comments on both sites.

I sent out my choir announcement Thursday evening to our ward email list. As part of the announcement, I made a suggestion to the Bp to hold church on top of Angels Landing in Zions Canyon where the voices of the choir could mingle with the Angels. I warned the younger couples to keep hold of their toddlers and keep hold of the chain as they went over the 3 foot wide path with 1,000 foot drop-off, and I recommended that the sisters not wear their high heels as part of their Sunday dress. I also attached the pictures and account of my hike through Zions that I sent to you last week. I found out that many people in the ward do actually look at the email. They all liked and several seconded the idea of having church on top of Angels Landing. One person told me he actually took it seriously, until he read the part about Sunday dress and high heels, then he knew it was a spoof!

Wednesday evening I went to the High School orchestral concert. I have several observations. We are lucky to have so many Korean Americans in our district, or we would not have much of an orchestra. Second, I think we are seeing how much Sue Hamre meant to the Music Program at LCHS. The orchestral program was a little bit of a downer. There was not sense of enthusiasm or artistry. There was no showmanship. The auditorium was drab. Let me illustrate. When one walked in, there was no one to meet and greet. In the middle of the foyer, two tables were set up with refreshments. The amount of refreshments was pitifully small, and therefore looked pathetic rather than sumptuous. Further, no kept watch over it, so the students – read Jr. High – who were not performing, rather than sitting and listening, went into the foyer and consumed everything. Third, Mr. Brookey, the drama teacher, has taken over the auditorium. (No complaint there – he is doing a great job.) As a result, the walls near the stage are painted a dingy black (good for theatre, since props are brought in and you need dark walls), the curtains are black, the chairs for the orchestra are black, the music stands are black. (I suggested to Eva green stands and yellow chairs – but she thought that might look too much like Elementary School.) As you know, the auditorium itself is a bit dark. Therefore, everything appeared dark and drab, and the physical surroundings seemed to leech into the performance. I place the responsibility both on the music department and the orchestra parents association for not recognizing these problems in advance and avoiding them. (I will write a letter with my suggestions.) The music was not bad, just not particularly polished. Brahms’ Hungarian Dances was a delightful piece, and the final number (my mind went blank) – Mozart, I think, a double concerto for violin and viola – performed by Mick and Stacy Wetzel – was also wonderful. The other numbers needed work, and the smaller chamber numbers by members of the orchestra did not scintillate. (I am sorry – this is the most negative review I have ever given.) Of course I enjoyed seeing Eva on stage – at least I got to see her walk on and walk off. Unfortunately, I had chosen a seat from which I could not see her during the performance.

I came home Monday evening in time for FHE, and we had a nice discussion around the dinner table – reading scriptures and using Preach My Gospel. Tuesday and Thursday were normal workdays. Earlier in the week, I had invited Mama to go to “Where the Wild Things Are”, to which she readily agreed. However, as you know, by Friday evening, Mama needs R&R (military – I think – for Rest and Recuperation), especially after the manual labor in the temple that day. She had fallen asleep on the couch in the landing, and didn’t have the energy to go to a movie. So I read, worked at my desk, and watched a little bit of soccer while doing so. Friday evening, I also had a fun conversation with Christian. By the number of times he yawned, I could tell he also needed to go to bed.

Saturday, I did not go to my office, although I think I should have. Instead, I washed my truck, which I hadn’t done in 6 weeks or more. It looks pretty good now. I wiped off the interior and cleaned the windows on the inside. They washed Mama’s car, although she protested that she had washed it last week. She would rather I work on my desk. But I washed the wheels, so they shine now, and cleaned out the interior. Then I did actually go work on my desk a bit. Everything that I stored under the desk, I sorted, threw away a portion, and boxed the other items (tax returns) up and put them away out of sight. Then I found out that I had failed another one of Mama’s tests for me. The (fake) shutter next to the window facing the street in Gabrielle’s room has been falling apart – that is slats have been falling out and dangling. I had noticed, and said to myself we need to paint the house and fix the shutter. Mama’s experiment was to see how long I would go before I did something about it. I failed the test because her endurance came to an end before mine. So I went out and retrieved as many of the slats as possible, reinserted them, put clams on the shutter to press the sides together, and screwed on a brace to keep the shutter from bowing out and losing the slats again. So it looks better now, but still looks like a half repair job. However, I had become tired of the ivy taking over some of the trees along the walls in the backyard. In particular, the ivy had surrounded one of the apple trees in the back yard. So I went and removed the ivy from the tree – no I just have to bundle the discarded ivy for trash removal. Each Saturday I believe I will attack a section of ivy until the ivy gives up. Finally, on the home improvement front, the water from our water filter has become discolored and distasteful. So Saturday evening about 9 pm I drove to the Home Depot and bought a new filter that I installed this morning. The old filter had disintegrated into a slimy mess. Now the water is clear and the ice in the freezer is doing fine. I can’t believe I did four home-improvement type projects in one weekend.
During the week, I went riding my bicycle twice to the Rose Bowl and back, and went running once. Then Saturday afternoon, Eva and I went to play tennis for 45 minutes. She is improving each time we went out. It will be another year before she challenges Serena Williams however. After tennis, I played soccer across the street. We had about 30 show up and had a fun time.

I have no pictures this week. I keep forgetting to bring my camera to the school events to get pictures of Eva. I will repent and get some for you.

I believe for some of you Rush Limbaugh does not appeal – he can be quite sarcastic and sometimes even more pointed. But he usually has a sharp sense of humor. (Even Camille Paglia likes to listen to Rush, even though she has fundamental disagreements.) But I think you still have to admit that this riff by Rush is humorous (the context is the White House claims of how many jobs have been “saved” or “created” by the “stimulous” bill (which Rush Limbaugh call the “porkulus bill”) earlier this year and Pres. Obama’s penchant for always blaming everything on Pres. Bush):


RUSH: By the way, from State-Controlled Associated Press: "The White House also today announced the results of a study indicating impressive results in President Obama's post-Bush Afghanistan war effort. According to a report overseen by Vice President Biden, two-and-a-half million Afghan lives were created or saved thanks to President Obama. The White House study indicates that had President Obama maintained the Bush-Cheney-Rove war strategy, 500,000 additional American and Afghan soldiers would have been killed, one million Afghan citizens would have perished due to Bush-inspired battlefield tactics, and one million Afghans would not be born as a result of Bush's misguided strategy.

"Biden said there's no question that had George Bush still been the commander-in-chief, millions of Afghanis wouldn't be here to give their heartfelt thanks to President Obama. 'Let me be clear. This White House is pleased with the results of our dithering. Hopefully further dithering by the president will create or save even more lives in the days and weeks ahead. Stay tuned.' When asked if President Obama can actually create and save lives, Vice President Biden said, 'Hell, yes, that's what messiahs do. He can also lower the seas and heal the sick when he isn't golfing or shooting hoops with the guys.'" So 500,000 additional American and Afghan soldiers would have been killed were it not for the Obama war strategy in Afghanistan.


RUSH: "Vice President Biden's office is saying that an additional 50,000 terrorists have not been created in Afghanistan due to President Obama's Afghanistan strategy." So, in addition, two-and-a-half million Afghan lives were created or saved, thanks to President Obama, 500,000 additional American and Afghan soldiers would have been killed had the Bush policies still been intact, one million Afghan citizens would have perished due to Bush-inspired battlefield tactics, and one million Afghans would not be born as a direct result of Bush's misguided strategy. And of those one million, 25,000 to 50,000 would not become terrorists." So the news is even better out of Afghanistan.

The White House has also just announced, via the department of Health and Human Services, that President Obama has saved five million American lives by having Kathleen Sebelius show them how to cough and wash their hands and be very wary of hand disinfectants. The numbers here just keep piling up, folks. It's a great day in the country. Five million American lives have been saved by President Obama by showing them how to cough correctly and to wash their hands. And this from the Commerce Department: "Due to President Obama's golf obsession, during a time of war and economic hardship, a Commerce Department study reports that President Obama's influence has created or saved at least 500,000 rounds of golf since taking office. Grateful country clubs and public golf courses have been phoning in their gratitude for the president's selfness and Herculean efforts to save their industry."

Five hundred thousand rounds of golf saved, despite the president saying, "The days of getting on your plane and heading out to Vegas" to play golf or whatever "are over," the people have still been inspired by his own multiple rounds of golf during a time of war and economic hardship. "Unnamed White House sources --" this is also the State-Controlled AP "-- an unnamed White House source also hints that early next week the White House will announce that President Obama has created or saved four-and-a-half million pickup basketball games, many of them at midnight, since his immaculation.


That’s all for now.
Love Daddy

Daddy's Wonderful Highlights of the Week

These pictures of my hike through Zions Narrows are in reverse order of my trip through the narrows. Some day I'll learn how to do this.

Daddy





















October 25, 2009
Dear Rosalynde, Gabrielle, Naomi, Brigham, Rachel, Benjamin, Abraham and Christian!
Let me tell you about the highlights of this week.
First highlight. Earlier in the week, I had invited Mama to drive to Claremont with me to hear a lecture sponsored by the Chair of Mormon studies and the LDS Council (on which I serve). Father Right Reverend Alexei Smith, Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles came to speak on the Catholic understanding of the Priesthood and Robert Millet responded with remarks on the LDS understanding of the Priesthood. So Thursday evening, Mama picked me up in Pasadena and we drove to Claremont. We had an acceptable crowd, although skewing toward older middle age, with fewer students. Father Alexei gave a nice presentation. Initially, it started out dry and “academic” in the bad sense, but I concentrated hard to follow him, and it got much better. He gave a very personal account of being “called” to the Priesthood, following prayer and introspection. He is a member of the eastern Greek Church. Within Roman Catholicism, there are 22 churches, mostly national churches, such as the Greek Eastern and the Russian Eastern Church. (These churches are not “Orthodox”, but still national churches that recognize the Pope.) For Catholics, there is the “Priesthood of the Laity” to which all Catholics belong and the Priesthood of priests (since Vatican II). Recently, with the shortage of Catholic Priests, the Priesthood of the Laity has been performing an increasing portion of the ministerial work. After attending theology school, and receiving recommendations, a person applies to become a priest, and the Bishop makes the final decision and call, and ordination. The Priesthood is somewhat mystical (I am not using this word in a technical sense), with Father Alexi drawing explicit parallels with the Eucharist. As the wafer and wine in the Eucharist is transformed into the actual blood and body of Christ, so the Priest in performing his functions as Priest becomes Christ. Mama and I had a good discussion on the way home. We were discussing what a difference the understanding of the nature of God and the plan of salvation makes. For Father Alexei, the higher calling was to give up a successful 15 year business career (and wife and family? – he did not mention that he was married before the call to the Priesthood) and regular life to become a Priest. The higher calling for him is not marriage, raising children, and becoming partners with God and Christ in saving souls in the great plan of salvation leading to deification. We also discussed, in this connection, some of the comments by Blake Ostler on theology and the council of Nicea. So much of current Catholic and Protestant view of God, from the creeds, arose from the adoption in the first centuries of the doctrine of creation ex nihilo. A further discussion of the connection between the creeds and this doctrine is beyond the scope of this letter. We can discuss it another time. On the way home, I told him that something kept distracting me during the lecture. Mama was wearing an attractive top, skirt, and black tights. When she sat down next to me, I could see her knees. (She is a beautiful woman and she has very attractive knees.) So how could I not be distracted during the lecture? I wanted to put my hand on her knee, but it was after all a public auditorium. (I did manage to put my hand on her knee a couple times briefly.) A couple of times during the lecture, she just out of habit pulled her skirt hem toward her knees, but I actually was thinking in my mind just the opposite. So anyway, I told Mama that her knees kept distracting me during the lecture.

Second highlight. Wednesday evening, I attended Mama’s class. We discussed the 4th lecture on faith and part of the 5th lecture. Mama, following Robert Millett, suggests that lecture 5th is doctrinally correct, we just have to look at it on a different level, rather than simply suggesting that the full doctrine had not been revealed to Joseph Smith at that time.
[For pictures, go to our blog: http://christie-russ.blogspot.com/.

Third highlight. I spent a night, a day and a night at Zions National Park. Since the first week in September, I had been looking for a weekend when perhaps Benjamin and Christian could come down from Provo and Mama and Eva could join me in traveling to Zions and hike the Narrows. However, other commitments kept intervening, and I kept pushing the date back, until finally October 24 was about the latest. It did not seem like we should be hiking the narrows in November. So when Benjamin went to a physicists conference in Denver, and Mama and Eva were gone the previous week and had Girl Scout commitments on Saturday, I decided to just go myself. (Hopefully, I would like to take Mama and Eva to the Getty Museum on a Saturday morning in the next few weeks.) I went to my office for a couple of hours Friday morning, and then left about 9:30 pm. I had to be in the Park before 5 pm in order to get my back country permit. After a number of telephone calls with clients between Pasadena and the Nevada line, I stopped for 15 minutes at the Nevada line to pull out my computer, revise a letter, and send the letter for a client. Then I drove on, stopping for gas in St. George, and driving from there straight to the Park. Fortunately, Mama had given me some food that I could eat on the way up. I made it just in time to get my permit before the Visitors Center closed at 5 pm. After getting my permit, I then took the shuttle to the Grotto. I put a bottle of water in my pocket, and took off for the hike to the top of angels landing. I made it in about 50 minutes to the top, and I hiked fast enough that I would have kept up with Mama, Eva and Christian the last time we went up. I didn’t get started until about 6 pm, so I only had 45 minutes before the sun went down. I was the last one to go up the trail, or so I thought. But when I was nearly at the top, a fellow (about 50, I estimate) overtook me. I told him he was almost sprinting up. He laughed and said that 30 years and 30 lbs a go, he had been able to go up and back in under an hour! (5 mile roundtrip, 1500 foot elevation gain.) So I ended up being the last one after all. After admiring the view and making a couple of phone calls, I started back down as darkness was rising quickly. I managed to get off Angels’ Landing at the top before it was too dark, but I would not have wanted to wait any longer. One mis-judgment and misstep could send one for a nasty fall (nasty is an understated euphemism, for those of you who have been to the top of Angels Landing). It was actually dark coming down through hidden canyon, and down into the river valley. A quarter moon made everything beautiful. The stars were brilliant. I should have brought my telescope! On the shuttle ride up, I saw deer and wild turkeys. On the way back, I saw a fox.

The shuttle to Chamberlin Ranch, where the hike down the narrows starts, left at 6:30 AM, which in Utah is still dark. In my backpack, I took a pair of pants, a shirt, camera, water filter, and food, together with plastic garbage bags to keep them waterproof. I had on my red windbreaker. In the 15 passenger van were 11 college students and their leader, who were backpacking to do camping in the canyon. The drive took quite a while, and it sure seemed like the hike would be more than 16 miles after all the driving. We arrived at Chamberlin Ranch about 8 am, perhaps a little later. As I put on my daypack and said goodbye, one of the students said, “We’ll see you in the canyon”. I said, “Probably not”, but I thought if they did meet me in the Canyon, it would be because I was in trouble! The temperature in Zions Canyon valley was forecasted for mid-70s, but the ranger told me it would be in the 30s up at Chamberlin ranch where the hike begins. Also the water was 54 degrees in the valley, and the flow rate 38 cubic feet per second (which is low). When I started the hike, the temperature was quite chill, so I walked fast to keep warm. I had 1-2 miles before I had to get into the canyon. The start of the hike was in a nice meadow. As I hiked I saw a dead deer in the middle of the meadow, a kill by a mountain lion. (One can tell by the damage to the neck and the amount of fur scattered around.) I also passed a couple of deer hunters. (The hike starts outside the park.) The north fork of the Virgin River starts at Navajo Lake. It has already been snowing at Navajo lake. The water in the river (just a creek at the place) was COLD! I estimate it was in the high 30 degrees. When the meadow finally narrowed and the trail was forced into the river (one of many many crossings), I stepped into the water and my feet went numb. Really, I walked on numb feet for a long time.

After a while in the narrow gorge, I saw a pool of water back up behind a dam made of fallen trees that a flood had jammed against the narrow walls. I thought I was in trouble already, perhaps here I would have to wade through deep water, with unknown footing and underwater currents. You will see a picture of this tree dam. Fortunately, I was able to creep along the right bank of the river, climb on to the logs, and clamber safely over the top and down the other side without having to wade through deep water.

I am attaching some pictures of the upper part of the hike. The scenery was fabulous. I enjoyed it immensely. (The conversation was not too stimulating, but my thinking was quite stimulating.) The canyon narrowed and became a gorge. The stream looked like it should be a great trout stream, but I never saw any fish. I didn’t really carefully look. You will notice how beautiful the leaves are. There were some wonderful colors on the scrub oak and some of the other broadleaf trees along the river. After hiking for some time, I came to a waterfall about 25-30 feet high. I looked over the edge. There was a fallen log there. I said, I am not going down that. I thought to myself that I would hike back to the top, rather than take the risk of going down something so dangerous, with water falling over it. But then I thought no one warned me about a waterfall, so there must be a path around it. Yes there was. I concluded that God is gracious. He wants us to hike the narrows, and provided a way around the water fall. You will see a picture of the water fall, and then a cleft in the rock against the canyon wall that allow me to hike around it. The only reason the cleft is there is that God is gracious. Shortly after that, I came to the first really spectacular narrows, with the towering sandstone walls going straight up hundreds of feet, and the creek from wall to wall only about 8 feet apart. I hope you get the feeling from the picture attached.

As I went down the creek, I saw only one set of footprints in the last few days since the last storm. In addition, I saw a set of deer tracks, and a set of tracks of a solitary cow (which I never did see). The water in the river was only ankle deep in the places where I crossed (picking the right places). So although me feet were numb, I was not too worried about the statements that the water would probably be up to my waist on the hike down. By the way, the latest for hikers – at least new to me – is “dry pants”, which are water impervious and sealed at the boot. I simply hiked in cut-offs. I wanted to wear my garments on the hike, so I cut off my old corduroys which were about to go the way of all pants in any event at the knees. I had my white AYSO coaching shirt on, with my red windbreaker on top of that, and my hat from the Virgin Islands on, together with gloves to go with the hiking pole. By the way, always take a hiking pole on this type of hike. The main value is keeping your balance when walking through the river and stepping on hidden rocks. I am sure I would have fallen a number of times without the walk pole to hold me up. It also allowed me to test the depth of the water when I needed to.

After a few hours, I finally saw the sun for about 15 seconds before the canyon walls closed in. I only saw the sun one other time. Finally, the north fork of the Virgin River, which flows basically west, joined another fork of the river coming from the north. The water from this other fork was much warmer, and I felt it immediately. Also, in the main canyon, there are a lot of springs that feed the river, all warming the water, so that the temperature is 54 degrees below the narrows. Finally, as I reached a lower altitude and the time approached mid-day, I took of my windbreaker and put it in my daypack. After a while, I stopped for lunch. There is nothing better than eating Mama’s banana bread in the middle of Zions Park narrows. I pulled out my water filter and drank several cups of water. That is all the water I needed for the entire trip.

I passed a beautiful spring gushing out of the canyon wall. You will enjoy the picture of it and another picture with me in it. By this time, the river was not just ankle deep, but it had become mid-calf deep, and finally knee deep in many places where I crossed. I was feeling pretty good about not have to get into the water up to my waste. Up to this time, I just had my camera around my neck. But as I proceeded down the canyon, and the walls started to narrow, and the pools and river became deeper, I decided to put my camera in the plastic garbage back and wrap it up tightly. However, I was able to take pictures of the famous narrows, where the walls really close in. but these pictures are the last that I took.

In the narrows proper, I was soon walking through the river with the water coming up to my crotch a number of times. So now I really no longer doubted that the water could get to me waist. I finally came to one passage where I saw no way around a pool where the entire river plunged into it. I crept near the side, using my walking stick to support me and to test the depth of the water. All of a sudden, the bottom fell off. I tried to find the bottom, but couldn’t. As I went into the water, my hat came off and I started swimming. After 20-30 feet, I pushed by walking pole down and felt the bottom and started walking again. I grabbed my hat and went on. However, even though my rayon AYSO coaching shirt would have dried out quickly, my cotton corduroy pants, and cotton garments hold a lot of water, so I was wet the rest of the way. I had to hike fast to keep my circulation going. Although there were several other pools that were crotch deep, I only found two other deeper pools. One came up to my chest, and the other was waist deep, just a few hundred yards from the end of the hike.

After commencing the hike at the top, I did not see another person for hours, until later in the afternoon, when I finally met some hikers who were coming up the narrows from the Temple of Sinawava. I finished the river walk quickly, and boarded the shuttle bus about 5 pm. The hike took me just under 9 hours to go the 16 miles. On the bus, I put on the wind breaker, which had remained dry, to keep warm. I arrived at the visitors center about 5:45 pm, and then went to my motel. I took a long hot shower to warm up and relax. I was pretty thrashed, much like hiking to the top of Yosemite and back. Although it was all downhill, basically, walking through water, picking one’s way through rocks, etc., is actually quite taxing. After showering and warming up, I went back to the giant screen theatre and watched the Keith Merrill movie on Zions Canyon. Then I went back to the motel, ate something, and went to bed. In addition to the food mama sent with me, I stopped at a grocery store in Springdale, and bought yogurt and bananas, which I ate for several meals, together with Mama’s banana bread, left over chamber singers granola snack bars.

So, what is my evaluation? It was fabulous! Let’s plan on doing it next summer, perhaps July-August when you will be in Southern California, or if not then, then toward the end of September when Abraham has returned from his mission. We will go to the park on Friday afternoon, if there is time, hike to Angels Landing, then hike the narrows on Saturday, and attend Church in Springdale on Sunday before heading home. However, I recommend not going the last week in October. I was lucky. The weather was warm. But Sunday as I left Springdale about 11:00 AM local time, a cold front had blown in, and the temperature was only in the upper 50s. if I had been hiking in the water with a cold north wind, I would have been quite cold. Further, I recommend that you not hike it solo. I had forgotten that a hike like that can be a bit treacherous. Although I did not fall, I could have fallen on the slippery rocks with a resulting injury. A companion would be wise. Further, do it together with a spouse sometime, when there are few hikers. It would be very romantic. I would have loved for mama to come with me. I would have loved to hold her tight, kiss her, and just enjoy the beauty of the canyon together in some isolated spot. Finally, do it! Make a date and keep it. Otherwise, it will be too easy to let it slide by.

When I returned to the motel Saturday evening, I had an urgent email from a client who needed some work on a software contract. I emailed back that I would get to it Sunday morning. I slept for 9 hours, then I woke up, worked 2 hours on the contract, and then drove home. On the way home, I decided to drive over through Santa Clara, along US 91, which used to be the main road to Los Angeles, and which basically follows the Old Spanish Trail. It was a scenic drive. The next we go to Utah, if we have time, we will have to take that route.

I met stop and go traffic all the way from north of Barstow to Pasadena, but made it home by about 5:20 pm. On the drive up and back, I listened to quite a few sections of the Doctrine and Covenants, a Shakespeare play (Julius Caesar), and several Sunstone Lectures (including one by Leo Lyman on the Mormon Trail to California (which basically was the old Spanish trail), a paper on which I commented. I was actually surprised at the quality of my comments.) I also listened to some nice classical music. I enjoyed calling each of you on the telephone on my drive down. I hope I did not impose on your time too much. I tried to keep the calls to a reasonable length.

In listening to Section 121, I couldn’t decide whether the Second Coming will be sooner or later. Here is the passage:
26 God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been revealed since the world was until now;
27 Which our forefathers have awaited with anxious expectation to be revealed in the last times, which their minds were pointed to by the angels, as held in reserve for the fullness of their glory;
28 A time to come in the which nothing shall be withheld, whether there be one God or many gods, they shall be manifest.
29 All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be revealed and set forth upon all who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
30 And also, if there be bounds set to the heavens or to the seas, or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon, or stars—
31 All the times of their revolutions, all the appointed days, months, and years, and all the days of their days, months, and years, and all their glories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed in the days of the dispensation of the fulness of times—
32 According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest.

This knowledge has not yet been revealed. It seems that our physicists and other scientists are not really that close to discovering all this knowledge, so the end time seems far away. But then I remember that Benjamin is studying physics. Maybe he is the one who will solve all these great mysteries of physics and astro-physics. If that is the case, the Second Coming is not so far away.

That’s all for now.
Love Daddy

The kids are smarter than their Dad

October 18, 2009
Dear Rosalynde, Gabrielle, Naomi, Brigham, Rachel, Benjamin, Abraham and Christian!

I have often said that I am generally known as “Christie’s husband” or “ [insert one of the following: Rosalynde’s, Gabrielle’s, Naomi’s, Brigham’s, Rachel’s, Benjamin’s, Abraham’s, Christian’s or Eva’s] dad”. It happened again this week. When I spoke with Blake Ostler earlier this week to finalize plans for the Miller Eccles Study Group, he said, “Now are you Rosalynde Welch’s father?” Yes, I quickly replied. He said he was impressed with the things that Rosalynde writes. I also received an email from Richard Bushman this week, the entire text of which I quote here: “Dear Russ: The Mormon Review received a book review from your daughter Rosalynde. She is a formidable talent. What is her situation now? Is she teaching somewhere? I like to keep up with rising talent in Mormondom. Richard.”

Eva looked beautiful this week. Please see the picture attached below. The Choral department presented its Fall concert on Wednesday at Lanterman Auditorium. The Women of the Chambers Singers came out in their new bright red dresses, as Eva made her debut. I forgot to take my camera to the concert, but I took her picture when she returned home. I thought the Chamber Singers performed very well and they seem to be developing a personality together. Eva really enjoyed it. The 7-8 grade girls really sounded delightful. the other groups have some work to do. The overall number of participants in the choral program has declined this year. I guess the Mrs. Rios effect is finally wearing off a bit. The Chamber Singers sang “This Marriage” by Eric Whitacre. By way of introduction, he referred to the lyrics printed in the program, he then said how much he loved his wife and was thankful for her, and thankful for his children. Then he said that each husband should take his wife’s hand during the song and enjoy it. The mischievous thought went through my mind that the anti- Proposition 8 people were about to stand up and demand equal time!

More Eva and Mama news. The Chamber Singers had a retreat this weekend starting Friday morning at 7:30 AM. Mama agreed to drive and chaperone the group. She took the truck, and she was the main carrier for all the luggage. Mama was one of two mothers who were weekend chaperones. The chamber singers stopped at a high school in East Bakersfield for a joint workshop and performance. I believe Eva enjoyed it. Then they made their way to a Christian camp east of Bakersfield in the high sierras not too far from Sequoia National Park. Eva said it was so beautiful. She said her favorite part was spending the evening with the other girls in a big bunk room just talking before they went to sleep. They returned about 1:30 PM this afternoon.

I am looking forward to hiking Zion’s Canyon this coming weekend. Unfortunately, Mama and Eva cannot come with me, since they were away this weekend and they do not feel like they can be away two weekends in a row.

Abraham, here is the sports report: the U.S. National Team drew with Costa Rica on Wednesday in the final Concaf World Cup Qualifier. With the draw, the U.S. ended up in first place in the region, after having qualified for the World Cup a week ago. The U.S. is not ranked by FIFA according to its arcane formula as No. 11 in the world. The Dodgers swept the Cardinals in the first round of the National League playoffs, then lost to the Phillies in game one of the League Championship series, before winning game two on Friday. They play later this evening.

In my pick-up soccer game on Saturday, we had over 40 players show up! So we split into three teams at the very beginning, and played 15 minute mini-games before the third team rotated in. we had a lot of fun. I had Diego play central defense, and I played left defender. We had a good time. Since Mama had my truck, I carefully put the goals in the trunk of the Hyundai and managed to transport them to FIS.

Friday evening, I came home from work about 9 pm. (I can’t match Jonathan’s hours.) Mama had left me a job to go to the church and clean up and put chairs up, etc., since Mama did not have the time before she left with the Chamber Singers. So I thought I would just run over there and take care of it. So I did. I ran over to the church, dripping sweat when I arrived. I put everything away, but I also had to bring some things home. So I ran home, then drove the car back to be able to bring home Mama’s teaching aids.

Saturday, I spent most of the day, after I had vacuumed, set up chairs, and got everything ready for the Miller Eccles Study Group, at a seminar for Scout Council leaders, particularly the workshops on finance. On the way to the Scout meeting in Pasadena, I stopped at the Planetary Society Headquarters – I fine old house in Pasadena. Since the Society will be selling the house and moving to less expensive quarters, it sponsored a sale of many items it had accumulated. So I stopped by, and the prices were great! So now some of you have Christmas gifts already.

Saturday evening, Blake Ostler spoke at the Miller Eccles Study Group. We had 34 attend, a fine showing. We had about 3 who were under 30, we had 3-4 from the 30-50 age group, and the rest were 50+. (I have a hard time judging – I still think I’m 32.) The group members were lively, peppering Blake with questions throughout, and accordingly, his presentation went beyond 9:00 PM. We finished his prepared portion about 9:30 PM. After the prayer, a number of people stayed to talk and discuss until about 10:45. When I finally put away the screen, my computer, projector, and chairs, they were finally ready to leave. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and learn from it. This is a case where the topic seemed to be the bigger draw than the “name”. In summary, a fine evening. If you are interested in some of the things that Blake has written, please go to this link:
http://www.blakeostler.com/books.html
The three volumes on his treatise on theology are out of print, but Blake said Greg Kofford is going to print another 5,000 copies. Go to:
http://www.koffordbooks.com/index.shtml
Order directly from Kofford books.
On Blake’s site, you will see his complete bibliography, most of which you can access or download.

That’s all for now.
Love Daddy

October 11, 2009

Dear Rosalynde, Gabrielle, Naomi, Brigham, Rachel, Benjamin, Abraham and Christian!

An important day for Eva. This morning mama and I went with Eva to Br. Goodsell’s house for her Patriarchal Blessing. I had stopped at the church first to set out the music for our ward choir rehearsal, then I drove to the Goodsell’s house to meet Mama and Eva. At least I thought I drove to the Goodsell’s house. I drove to Orchard Lane and stopped at what I thought was the Goodsell’s house. Well, it was the Goodsell’s house – several years ago. When mama and Eva did not arrive, I called her. They were waiting in the Goodsell’s house – on Colmena. How could I have forgotten that they moved years ago and I have been in their present house before? So I quickly drove to the Goodsell’s house. Eva received a wonderful blessing. She is truly a chosen daughter of God. I told Br. Goodsell that I wished we had three or four more children that we could bring to him in the future for patriarchal blessings.

Mama and I commented that while we occupy the second pew at the front, we certainly no longer take up the entire pew. We should make way for another large family. So this afternoon, Megan Broberg brought her son Aaron over for me to review his Eagle project and sign it. As I took Aaron back out to the car, I told Megan that after 20 years, we would cede the pew to her and her family if they wanted it.

Several weeks ago, Brian Palmer asked me to teach the High Priest Group today – Chapter 41 of the Teachings of Joseph Smith. I had remembered all week, but Saturday I forgot, and then thinking of Eva’s patriarchal blessing this morning, I did not remember. Just before Sacrament Meeting started, Brian Palmer came over to check. I was chagrined. I promised him that I would be prepared. So I read Ch. 41 during Sacrament meeting, made notes, sang with the choir, then drove home to finish preparing. I made it back in time for Priesthood Meeting. It went far better than I deserved – in fact even eliciting several “outstandings” and one email to the same effect. I gave the lesson to Eva and Mama for dinner.

This evening, as a started to type this letter, I put into the dvd player on my computer Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing. It was so funny and so fantastically well done, that I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. Eva pulled up a chair and watched if for awhile. Finally, we just turned it off so we could finish our tasks.

The other highlight of the week was the arrival of Rachel for a couple of days. Wednesday evening, I drove to LAX to pick her up. We had a great discussion about law school as she told me all about her classes. She is very much enjoying law school – just as I enjoyed law school. One difference is that while she is married, her husband spends late nights at Goldman Sachs, whereas while I was married, Mama often spent late nights with me in the library – particularly 2nd and 3rd years. Rachel might will become the 1L representatives to the Federalist Society – which I applaud. On the way home from the airport, we stopped by the Glendale chapel on Wilson for Mama’s class. we were able to attend about half of it. We love Mama’s classes on the Lectures on Faith. When we returned home, Rachel and I decided to go running – and Eva came along. Eva did so wonderfully, not have run at all lately, she kept right up with for the approximate 5 mile run. I asked her the next day how she felt – she did say she felt a little sore.

Thursday evening at 8:45 pm, I played in our last 40+ soccer league final game – until the Winter Spring season next year. Rachel wanted to come with me and she did. She spent most of the time on the cell phone and reading a book, so I am not sure she followed the action on the edge of the bench in excitement. We had about 17 players, so I only played about half the game, perhaps a bit more. We scored the first goal, then the other team scored the next two goals, then we scored the final goal. It was a well-played game by both teams. I played left and right midfield. It least I am in shape and can run. I told Eva that in terms of the players on the team, I would probably rank about 15th best – that is I would be about the 15th selection out of 18 if we were dividing up teams. However, in terms of speed, I would be in the top half. But that is fine with me – particularly since I average 10 or more years older than the other players. I enjoyed having Rachel with me. I actually played well, making only one errant pass, and making some pretty good defensive plays, and contributing a few important passes in the attack. Mama was very happy I did not receive another yellow card. Only one yellow card this game, and that came from the other team, when I double-teamed the attacker and stripped him of the ball – he lunged out with a vicious kick toward the ball and missed, and kicked my teammate. Rachel and I talked a bit on the way home about what a great game soccer is – and how even men getting older can continue to play it.

However, a sad event also occurred this week. I turned my Laramie back into the dealer upon completion of the lease. Sunday evening, I had driven the Megacab to Glendale for service at the Glendale dealership, then riding my bike back home again. I took my bike with me in the back of the Laramie on Monday, to ride to Glendale from the dealership in El Monte when I returned my Laramie. So I drove down to the dealership, and it turns out that the El Monte dealership had been closed by Chrysler! I had called Chrysler, and Chrysler said I could simply take it back to the dealership anytime. So I drove to Glendale, got the Megacab from the dealership, parked it on the street, and then drove the Laramie home. I rode my bike back to Glendale to pick up the Megacab. Tuesday, I called Chrylser, and Chrysler arranged to have the Glendale dealership “ground” the Laramie. So Tuesday evening, I took it back to Glendale and mama picked me up. I liked the truck and felt a twinge of sadness to see it go. Mama was entirely unsentimental about it and did not even think a second about actually buying it. In the showroom, I saw a $98,000 600 horsepower viper that I would liked to have got, but Mama was also not impressed by that. So now we are no longer a two truck family. But I am happy driving the one truck that I still have.

Friday, I worked late, and arrived home about 8:30 PM. I had it in mind to ride my bike to the Rose Bowl and back. However, I changed my mind, and instead went to Sarah Herman’s wedding reception and ate lots of food – salmon and mashed potatoes and gravy mainly. So instead of burning calories, I just consumed them.

Saturday morning, I left about 7:00 am and went to my office. I worked for awhile, then I went to the first meeting of the Caltech MIT enterprise forum for this program year. I did not stay the entire time, but went back to my office and worked until about 4:30 PM. (I have to get bills out, or people do not pay me. Doing billing is the least enjoyable part of practicing law.)

I then went to my Saturday pick up soccer game at 5:00 pm. By the time the AYSO game ended and the goals were set up, we only had about an hour of daylight to play. But we had a vigorous and fun game.

Saturday evening, Eva went to a multi-stake dance at our ward building. She had a lot of fun, but it was not well-attended. CVHS had homecoming that night.

That’s all for now.
Love Daddy

General Conference Time: Good-bye truck.

October 4, 2009

Dear Rosalynde, Gabrielle, Naomi, Brigham, Rachel, Benjamin, Abraham and Christian!

I hope you have all enjoyed conference. As we anticipated conference, and as I listened to conference, I pondered on why we have conferences and whether the purposes of conference have changed since the organization of the Church. Make a mental note of why we have conference, and then see how it compares with what I am outlining here. It seems to me that the modern reasons for conference include:

(1) Calls to repentance. I suppose this is the most common and pervasive aspect of conference. The call to repentance may be direct or it may be indirect by illustrating through story and anecdote the right way. The call to repentance is not a new theme and never will be. Thus those who complain that there is nothing new in conference have a point, but they also miss the point. The point of calling to repentance is not to say something new, but a call to abide by what is known. If it is new, how could be repent of what we did not know. So as long as we need to repent, there will not be much new.

[INTERUPTIVE NOTE: As I write this letter during the morning session, I clicked through to Times and Seasons, and found a link to Rosalynde’s special post to the Saint Louis Post Dispatch here: http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/civil-religion/general/2009/10/reflections-on-lds-general-conference/. You will see that she captured the purposes of conference much better than I am doing here. Now the question is can I finish my own description without being influenced by what Rosalynde wrote!]

(2) Instruction about being good members of the Church and followers of Christ. The instruction is mostly prosaic, but then we are mostly prosaic people.

(3) Warnings about modern spiritual perils. Warnings about modern perils (pornography, debt, divorce, some forms of music and entertainment, discouragement, chaos, etc.) are often coupled with calls to repentance.

(4) Instruction about doctrine. A few talks each conference focus on doctrine, although the explanations are generally of the first principles and ordinances of the gospel, including with great emphasis faith in Jesus Christ, the atonement, the resurrection, and ordinances. Without Elder Maxwell, we generally do not find too many new insights, but we find these talks confirmatory.

(5) Inspiration. We are inspired through anecdotes of good works, great faith, sacrifice, missionary stories, descriptions of the blessings of the gospel and the atonement, and beautiful choral music.

(6) Sustaining of the general authorities, including new general authorities.

[As you can see, Rosalynde captured the spirit of General Conference much better than I.]

I have been listening to the Doctrine and Covenants audio again lately, as I run and as I drive my truck to work and other meetings. Conferences were very important to the church at that time. I am appending to this letter, passages from the D&C relating to conferences of the Church. It the 19th Century, conference were important to conduct the business of the church and to communicate to the members generally and to specific priesthood holders about their specific assignments. There would have been discussions, councils, perhaps even debates in the conferences about the course of actions to take. It does not appear that there is too much overlap with our current practices. The most important overlaps would be the sustaining of general authorities and the announcement of new general authorities. Of course, modern communications technologies have obviated the need to come together for face to face meetings to transact church business. As times have changed, the Lord has changed the nature and purposes of conference.

So what are our individual responsibilities for conference? (If you wanted to take 30 seconds to reply, that would be alright.)

Last night for the first time in 17 years, I went to the general priesthood meeting without an accompanying son. Brigham went with me in October 1992, and now I am alone again in October 2009. But I hope that each of my sons attended Priesthood Meeting last night and came away edified. I inquired of Mama whether she and Eva would like to help me keep the tradition alive of going to SouPlantation for dinner afterwards. No – so I will just have to keep that tradition in my memories.

We finally have a touch of autumn in the air. Today, when I went to my office for a couple of hours at 7 am, the temperature at our house was about 57 degrees! Today is a beautiful cool and moderate day – perfect to go on a hike up cherry canyon (if anyone will go with me). So perhaps our hot late summer has finally ended.

Without a son at home, I have been spending more time with Eva. (Is this a sad commentary on my relationship with my other daughters?) On Friday, I came home about 6:30 pm and Eva and I left for the Home Depot Center to watch the Galaxy play the Chicago Fire. On the way down, we stopped at In’n’Out, but Eva had great self-control – she only ordered a cheeseburger and skipped French fries and a shake. We had a fun conversation about the Renaissance on the way down. We enjoyed the game, but during the game, Eva’s late night began to catch up with her. She put her head on my shoulder and napped a bit, and went to sleep on the way home. [Thursday evening, she had stayed up late writing a story in German, and about midnight had me help her proofread it. Then she got up about 4:00 am in the morning to finish another homework assignment before going to seminary!] At any rate, we had very good seats at the Home Depot Center. As we walked up, a couple offered us good tickets for $10 a piece (I believe they were $26 tickets otherwise). So we took them, and then found seats near the half line about 10 rows up. They were about perfect. David Beckham and Landon Donovan were fun to watch, but I also missed seeing Cuahtemoc Blanco, who plays for the Fire, but was injured.

I have had second thoughts about my truck. The lease for the Laramie expires tomorrow. I really like my Laramie, and I do not want to stop driving it. But I decided to remain with my original determination and turn it back. So Saturday morning before conference, I got up early and completely cleaned out the truck. So after work on Monday, I will drive it to Alhambra, turn in the truck, and ride my bicycle back home. Then I will cancel the insurance and cancel my parking at my office. My other truck will not fit in the parking structure, so I have to park a block away. It does not sound like a great idea in the rainy season.

In our LA City league, we played the top team. We went ahead by a goal in the first half. We missed several fine chances. We were creating more good chances than the other team. I played left midfield, and therefore was able to run quite a bit. In the second half, the other team tried to up the pressure. They succeeded in getting a tying goal when three of our defenders allowed a cross to drop between them and an opponent stepped in and struck it into the goal. With five minutes to go, the other team scored on a fine header, and won the game 1-2. I thought we were going to beat the top team. I got a yellow card. We lined up for a free kick. The biggest most obnoxious player inserted himself in our line, which was only about 8 yard from the ball. I got in place behind him at 10 yards, since I understood that the referee would move the line back to 10 yards. When the line moved back, he tried to shoulder and muscle me out of the way. (In playing soccer in a competitive environment, a player cannot allow the other team to get away with intimidation.) I pushed him back. He turned and pushed me again and started yelling at me. I would not yield and told him to he could move me out of the way. Although I did not deserve a yellow card, the referee gave us both a yellow card. Nevertheless, it was all in good fun. As a result of our loss, we will miss the play-offs. So this coming week I will play my last game until after the first of the year.

Eva also had more social life this week. On Wednesday, she went with the rest of the Stake YM-YW to the Arcadia Stake for a multi-stake game night. On Saturday afternoon, she joined the other MIA Maids at their advisor’s house to watch conference.

Tuesday morning, I went to the 5:30 AM temple session. I really like the early morning sessions. On Thursday evening, Mama went to the temple as part of Stake Temple Night.

Tuesday morning, I went running, and met Matt Owen just starting a short run. We ran about 5 miles. He was tapering down for the St. George marathon. He ran it in 3:34 yesterday and qualified for the Boston Marathon.

That’s all for now.
Love Daddy

D&C 20: 1 The several elders composing this church of Christ are to meet in conference once in three months, or from time to time as said conferences shall direct or appoint;
62 And said conferences are to do whatever church business is necessary to be done at the time.
63 The elders are to receive their licenses from other elders, by vote of the church to which they belong, or from the conferences.
64 Each priest, teacher, or deacon, who is ordained by a priest, may take a certificate from him at the time, which certificate, when presented to an elder, shall entitle him to a license, which shall authorize him to perform the duties of his calling, or he may receive it from a conference.
65 No person is to be ordained to any office in this church, where there is a regularly organized branch of the same, without the vote of that church;
66 But the presiding elders, traveling bishops, high councilors, high priests, and elders, may have the privilege of ordaining, where there is no branch of the church that a vote may be called.
67 Every president of the high priesthood (or presiding elder), bishop, high councilor, and high priest, is to be ordained by the direction of a high council or general conference.

81 It shall be the duty of the several churches, composing the church of Christ, to send one or more of their teachers to attend the several conferences held by the elders of the church,
82 With a list of the names of the several members uniting themselves with the church since the last conference; or send by the hand of some priest; so that a regular list of all the names of the whole church may be kept in a book by one of the elders, whomsoever the other elders shall appoint from time to time;
83 And also, if any have been expelled from the church, so that their names may be blotted out of the general church record of names.
84 All members removing from the church where they reside, if going to a church where they are not known, may take a letter certifying that they are regular members and in good standing, which certificate may be signed by any elder or priest if the member receiving the letter is personally acquainted with the elder or priest, or it may be signed by the teachers or deacons of the church.

D&C 28: 10 Thou shalt not leave this place until after the conference; and my servant Joseph shall be appointed to preside over the conference by the voice of it, and what he saith to thee thou shalt tell.
11 And again, thou shalt take thy brother, Hiram Page, between him and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he hath written from that stone are not of me and that Satan deceiveth him;
12 For, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants.
13 For all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church, by the prayer of faith.

D&C 58: 56 And let the work of the gathering be not in haste, nor by flight; but let it be done as it shall be counseled by the elders of the church at the conferences, according to the knowledge which they receive from time to time.
57 And let my servant Sidney Rigdon consecrate and dedicate this land, and the spot for the temple, unto the Lord.
58 And let a conference meeting be called; and after that let my servants Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith, Jun., return, and also Oliver Cowdery with them, to accomplish the residue of the work which I have appointed unto them in their own land, and the residue as shall be ruled by the conferences.
59 And let no man return from this land except he bear record by the way, of that which he knows and most assuredly believes.
60 Let that which has been bestowed upon Ziba Peterson be taken from him; and let him stand as a member in the church, and labor with his own hands, with the brethren, until he is sufficiently chastened for all his sins; for he confesseth them not, and he thinketh to hide them.
61 Let the residue of the elders of this church, who are coming to this land, some of whom are exceedingly blessed even above measure, also hold a conference upon this land.
62 And let my servant Edward Partridge direct the conference which shall be held by them.

Section 72: 5 Verily I say unto you, the elders of the church in this part of my vineyard shall render an account of their stewardship unto the bishop, who shall be appointed of me in this part of my vineyard.
6 These things shall be had on record, to be handed over unto the bishop in Zion.
7 And the duty of the bishop shall be made known by the commandments which have been given, and the voice of the conference.
8 And now, verily I say unto you, my servant Newel K. Whitney is the man who shall be appointed and ordained unto this power. This is the will of the Lord your God, your Redeemer. Even so. Amen.

Section 73: 1 FOR verily, thus saith the Lord, it is expedient in me that they should continue preaching the gospel, and in exhortation to the churches in the regions round about, until conference;
2 And then, behold, it shall be made known unto them, by the voice of the conference, their several missions.

Section 102: Minutes of the organization of the first high council of the Church, at Kirtland, Ohio, February 17, 1834. HC 2:28–31. The original minutes were recorded by Elders Oliver Cowdery and Orson Hyde. Two days later, the minutes were corrected by the Prophet, read to the high council, and accepted by the council. Verses 30–32, having to do with the Council of the Twelve Apostles, were added by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1835 when he prepared this section for publication in the Doctrine and Covenants.

1–8, A high council is appointed to settle important difficulties that arise in the Church;
9–18, Procedures are given for hearing cases;
19–23, The president of the council renders the decision;
24–34, Appellate procedure is set forth.

1 THIS day a general council of twenty-four high priests assembled at the house of Joseph Smith, Jun., by revelation, and proceeded to organize the high council of the church of Christ, which was to consist of twelve high priests, and one or three presidents as the case might require.
34 The twelve councilors then proceeded to cast lots or ballot, to ascertain who should speak first, and the following was the result, namely: 1, Oliver Cowdery; 2, Joseph Coe; 3, Samuel H. Smith; 4, Luke Johnson; 5, John S. Carter; 6, Sylvester Smith; 7, John Johnson; 8, Orson Hyde; 9, Jared Carter; 10, Joseph Smith, Sen.; 11, John Smith; 12, Martin Harris. After prayer the conference adjourned.
OLIVER COWDERY,
ORSON HYDE,Clerks.

Section 118: Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Far West, Missouri, July 8, 1838, in response to the supplication: "Show us thy will, O Lord, concerning the Twelve." HC 3:46–47.

1–3, The Lord will provide for the families of the Twelve;
4–6, Vacancies in the Twelve are filled.

1 VERILY, thus saith the Lord: Let a conference be held immediately; let the Twelve be organized; and let men be appointed to supply the place of those who are fallen.
2 Let my servant Thomas remain for a season in the land of Zion, to publish my word.
3 Let the residue continue to preach from that hour, and if they will do this in all lowliness of heart, in meekness and humility, and long-suffering, I, the Lord, give unto them a promise that I will provide for their families; and an effectual door shall be opened for them, from henceforth.
4 And next spring let them depart to go over the great waters, and there promulgate my gospel, the fulness thereof, and bear record of my name.
5 Let them take leave of my saints in the city of Far West, on the twenty-sixth day of April next, on the building-spot of my house, saith the Lord.
6 Let my servant John Taylor, and also my servant John E. Page, and also my servant Wilford Woodruff, and also my servant Willard Richards, be appointed to fill the places of those who have fallen, and be officially notified of their appointment.

Section 124: 88 Let my servant William go and proclaim my everlasting gospel with a loud voice, and with great joy, as he shall be moved upon by my Spirit, unto the inhabitants of Warsaw, and also unto the inhabitants of Carthage, and also unto the inhabitants of Burlington, and also unto the inhabitants of Madison, and await patiently and diligently for further instructions at my general conference, saith the Lord.
139 Which quorum is instituted for traveling elders to bear record of my name in all the world, wherever the traveling high council, mine apostles, shall send them to prepare a way before my face.
140 The difference between this quorum and the quorum of elders is that one is to travel continually, and the other is to preside over the churches from time to time; the one has the responsibility of presiding from time to time, and the other has no responsibility of presiding, saith the Lord your God.
141 And again, I say unto you, I give unto you Vinson Knight, Samuel H. Smith, and Shadrach Roundy, if he will receive it, to preside over the bishopric; a knowledge of said bishopric is given unto you in the book of Doctrine and Covenants.
142 And again, I say unto you, Samuel Rolfe and his counselors for priests, and the president of the teachers and his counselors, and also the president of the deacons and his counselors, and also the president of the stake and his counselors.
143 The above offices I have given unto you, and the keys thereof, for helps and for governments, for the work of the ministry and the perfecting of my saints.
144 And a commandment I give unto you, that you should fill all these offices and approve of those names which I have mentioned, or else disapprove of them at my general conference;

Official Declaration 1: 7 President Lorenzo Snow offered the following:

8 "I move that, recognizing Wilford Woodruff as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the only man on the earth at the present time who holds the keys of the sealing ordinances, we consider him fully authorized by virtue of his position to issue the Manifesto which has been read in our hearing, and which is dated September 24th, 1890, and that as a Church in General Conference assembled, we accept his declaration concerning plural marriages as authoritative and binding."
9 The vote to sustain the foregoing motion was unanimous.
10 Salt Lake City, Utah, October 6, 1890.

Official Declaration 2
OFFICIAL DECLARATION—2

To Whom It May Concern:

1 On September 30, 1978, at the 148th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the following was presented by President N. Eldon Tanner, First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church:

2 In early June of this year, the First Presidency announced that a revelation had been received by President Spencer W. Kimball extending priesthood and temple blessings to all worthy male members of the Church. President Kimball has asked that I advise the conference that after he had received this revelation, which came to him after extended meditation and prayer in the sacred rooms of the holy temple, he presented it to his counselors, who accepted it and approved it. It was then presented to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who unanimously approved it, and was subsequently presented to all other General Authorities, who likewise approved it unanimously.
3 President Kimball has asked that I now read this letter:

4 June 8, 1978
To all general and local priesthood officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world:

5 Dear Brethren:
6 As we have witnessed the expansion of the work of the Lord over the earth, we have been grateful that people of many nations have responded to the message of the restored gospel, and have joined the Church in ever-increasing numbers. This, in turn, has inspired us with a desire to extend to every worthy member of the Church all of the privileges and blessings which the gospel affords.
7 Aware of the promises made by the prophets and presidents of the Church who have preceded us that at some time, in God's eternal plan, all of our brethren who are worthy may receive the priesthood, and witnessing the faithfulness of those from whom the priesthood has been withheld, we have pleaded long and earnestly in behalf of these, our faithful brethren, spending many hours in the Upper Room of the Temple supplicating the Lord for divine guidance.
8 He has heard our prayers, and by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood, with power to exercise its divine authority, and enjoy with his loved ones every blessing that flows therefrom, including the blessings of the temple. Accordingly, all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color. Priesthood leaders are instructed to follow the policy of carefully interviewing all candidates for ordination to either the Aaronic or the Melchizedek Priesthood to insure that they meet the established standards for worthiness.
9 We declare with soberness that the Lord has now made known his will for the blessing of all his children throughout the earth who will hearken to the voice of his authorized servants, and prepare themselves to receive every blessing of the gospel.
10 Sincerely yours,

SPENCER W. KIMBALL
N. ELDON TANNER
MARION G. ROMNEY

The First Presidency

11 Recognizing Spencer W. Kimball as the prophet, seer, and revelator, and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is proposed that we as a constituent assembly accept this revelation as the word and will of the Lord. All in favor please signify by raising your right hand. Any opposed by the same sign.

12 The vote to sustain the foregoing motion was unanimous in the affirmative.

Salt Lake City, Utah, September 30, 1978.