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Laws and ordinances forever?

A day off from school from a snow storm that would not give much pause to those of more mountainous regions.  But I shall not complain of the wimpy Okies, after all, I have been relieved of a day of law school classes.  Last semester just about killed me from the sheer amount of information I was reviewing and trying to keep in my head.  This semester the amount has decreased, but the problem is how incredibly dry this semester’s classes are.  Tell me if this doesn’t sound like a snore: Corporations Law, Debtor and Creditor Law, Administration Law, Agency Law, and Constitutional Law II.  My rear fell asleep just from having to type it.  How shall I ever endure?

We work again on Saturday at the temple.  This will be our second go of it.  It has been interesting for me to think about the administering of the temple, rather than just the receiving of the ordinances and that which takes place in the temple.  This Tuesday, a couple from our ward received their endowments and were sealed right after.  It was beautiful.  There is a certain spirit that comes from it when it is for somebody live.

Here are a couple of thoughts as we have been reading.  We have just completed Exodus and are plowing our way through Leviticus.  Some of them are very interesting and fascinating, others just wear and you have to skim read.

“And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.  And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.”  Exodus 40:12-13.  “And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.  And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.  And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and Thummim.  And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the Lord commanded Moses.”  Leviticus 8:6-9.

So the sons of Aaron are to be presented at the tabernacle to be washed with water, anointed with oil, and clothed in the holy garments.  All this to be done to sanctify him and that he may minister.  So this is the line of Aaron, or descendants of Levi, that have this privilege.  Why was this privilege confined only to the sons of Aaron in his time?  Was it available to all before Moses and Aaron?  When would it be restored to all worthy lines?

What exactly do all these emblems, or parts of clothing mean?  What was their symbolism then, and how does that translate to you and me?

I guess the other question I have is what degree of the Mosaic Law was done away with?  Nobody seems to argue that the 10 Commandments were done away with by Jesus Christ.  Sure, the higher law technically is in force, but the lesser law, or the school master it was still pointed to the higher law.  The whole Mosaic Law was pointing to that last a great blood sacrifice, namely the atonement of Jesus Christ.

“Therefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice, and then shall there be, or it is expedient there should be, a stop to the shedding of blood; then shall the law of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it shall be all fulfilled, every jot and tittle, and none shall have passed away.”  Alma 34:13.

I always found the idea of the law being fulfilled, not passing away, to be an interesting though.  It shall be fulfilled, but not pass away.  Does that mean the spirit of the law still applies, but the actual outward ordinances done away.  I believe that is precisely what is meant.

The whole Mosaic Law was not something that was new.  It also was something that just disappeared overnight.  “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith.  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”  Galatians 3:24-25.

“Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses: for it was expedient that they should keep the law of Moses as yet, for it was not all fulfilled.  But notwithstanding the law of Moses, they did look forward to the coming of Christ, considering that the law of Moses was a type of his coming, and believing that they must keep those outward performances until the time that he should be revealed unto them.  Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses: but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation, relying upon the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to come.”  Alma 25:15-16 (Between 90-77 BC).

The Law of Moses is the underpinning, and outward manifestation of our current law.  I would supplement your understanding of our law, a good study of the Law of Moses can be insightful.  After all, it was a schoolmaster for thousands of years.

“Their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”  Exodus 40:15.

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Murmuring Israel

I am supposed to be finishing up my Corporations reading (but I cannot bring myself to do it on a Sunday).  But I thought to share a few ideas before reading our scriptures and going to bed.

Today was a first for me.  Initially I had been asked to stand in for a priesthood ordination and I was happy to do that.  Well, the other two people who had been asked to stand in forgot.  It felt bad for the man being ordained since this was something that was very important to him.  Last minute, I was offered the privilege of conferring the Melchizedek Priesthood and ordained him to the office of an Elder.  It was an honour and a privilege.  It was the first time for me to have ever ordained somebody to any office in any priesthood.  In typing up the priesthood lineage, I almost felt like I had gained a son.  From here on out, at least as an Elder, I will be a part of his lineage and that will bind us throughout eternity.  Somehow I felt like a part of me went out and into him.  I don’t know if he feels or recognizes that, but I sure do.  Anyhow, I am glad the method for the ordination was clear in my head, and there was one right before for a refresher in verbiage and procedure.

Stake Conference last night and today were powerful.  I am impressed by how humble and simple our Stake Presidency is.  I have to admit, President Curtis Crane is a man I want to be like.  I see in him a type of person I want to be like.  I hope there is time.  The meetings included our Temple President speaking last night and our Mission President speaking today.  Of course the Stake Presidency also spoke.  It was good.  Something about hearing a large group of people singing together that always impresses me.  Powerful.

I know I had commented I would give some thoughts about the scriptures as we have been reading along.  Amanda has joined me in the reading and it has been good.  We will be starting in Exodus 32 tonight.  But the last few nights have held a couple of impressions I thought I would share.

The constant view of God to the people continues to amaze me.  The plagues that were taking place in Egypt were surely not unknown to Israel.  Furthermore, the fact that they were spared from the plagues would also be obvious.  While the magicians were able to reproduce some of the early signs (I cannot imagine they were weak reproductions) the power and magnitude became greater and greater.  Each miracle was more recognizable.  Finally, Israel finds themselves crossing through the Red Sea and headed towards a promised land.

“And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night.  He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”  Exodus 13:21-22.  I find this thought simply beyond comprehension.  Then I wonder if it is so obvious to the people of Israel what is really going on.

The people didn’t seem to recognize what power was leading them.  “Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness?  wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us out of Egypt?  Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?  For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.”  Id. at 14:11-12.

Then in the next breath, “And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.”  Id. at 14:31.

Right afterward, “the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?”  Id. at 15:24.  “[T]he whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.”  Id. at 16:2.

The Lord responds to their pleas.  “Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.”  Id. at 16:4.

“How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?”  Id. at 16:28.

“Why chide ye with me?  wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?”  Id. at 17:2.

“And the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?  Id. at 17:4.

“Is the Lord among us, or not?”  Id. at 17:7.

“Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.  Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine.  And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.”  Id. at 19:4-6.

“Speak thou (Moses) with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”  Id. at 20:19.

Anyhow, this is only Exodus, but we see this exchange going back and forth between Israel and the Lord (through Moses).  When will we ever learn to just be obedient and quit expecting the Lord to coddle us?  The next chapter (32) shows where Israel got themselves into quite a bit of trouble for their inability to be constant.  I hope I can be more constant.  I always remember the verse from 1 Nephi 2:12, “And they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.”  Hopefully we can all find that relationship with God so that we learn his ways, and his dealings, and we don’t end up like murmuring Israel.

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Entertaining heavenly guests, marriage, and Lot

I feel like I want to write after one of my favorite chapters in the entire Old Testament.  (Nehemiah 8 is my favorite, fyi).  I don’t know how often I will get to write once school starts up, even if I will get to read regularly like I want.  So I might as well share a few thoughts before school gets too deep in session.

Genesis 18 has always been a favorite of mine.  There is something of this hopeful scenario we find ourselves in.  I guess it is sort of like winning the lottery, you just don’t know when it will happen.  However, if you are faithful, it most likely will occur, whether we recognize it or not.  I guess in that sense, I guess the odds are much better than the lottery, it is just a matter of when.  After all, the promise is given that those who are faithful shall receive of the Father.  Most Christian religions put it as after this life, but my faith places it as a possibility even within this life.  That good things come to those who are willing to receive.

Here we have Abraham out scratching a living out of the plains of Mamre.  While in the heat of the day, the long existence we sometimes find life to be, three guests appear.  It appears he recognizes them since he runs to them and bows before them.  He calls him “My Lord” and then asks the men to stay for a while, to wash their feet, and to rest themselves.  He prepares a meal for them from freshly prepared cakes and even a calf plucked for the occasion.

It is then in this conversation that we learn that these are messengers of the Lord.  It is then that they begin to bestow blessings upon Abraham and Sarah.  Sarah even laughs at the promises given.  I can imagine a giddy, quizzical, perhaps even non-believing laugh.  But she quickly dismisses the blessing whether she intended to or not.  Then comes the ultimate rebuke, “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?”

Sarah then denies that she laughed, probably in shame and fear, for such an insult, especially to the Lord.  The blessings continue and the story goes on.

The part that I have always loved about the story is that in the middle of the day, on a very hot day, the blessings of heaven were bestowed.  Other versions of the story, most notably of the Midrash tell of how Abraham was actually worried that some traveler might be stranded out in the heat of the day and sends his servants out to bring in any such travelers who might be perishing in the heat.  His faithfulness was rewarded all the more.

How does this apply in my life?  I am reminded of Hebrews 13:1-2, “Let brotherly love continue.  Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”  Abraham did entertain angels, but he was not unaware.  It appears his faithfulness was such that he recognized the Lord immediately, probably from past interactions.  It would have to be this type of personal interactions to follow the dictates to later offer up Isaac.  It would take some pretty serious personal experience for me to heed such a directive, despite its complete variance with standing gospel law.

The beauty of the whole scenario is that all who are faithful can receive the same blessings as Abraham.  “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him.”  “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”  John 14:21, 23.

Whether the Lord himself, or by his angels, it is the same.  “For behold, [angels] are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.”  Moroni 7:30.  The callings of angels are further defined.  But if in full divine investiture of authority, we would not know the difference whether it was the Father and Son, or angels sent to act in their behalf.

All I know is that Abraham, a mortal man, entertained angels, perhaps Jehovah himself.  Either way, it is beautiful.  If Abraham can do it, certainly I have that same hope.  If Cain can speak with the Lord even in his worst sins; surely I, one attempting to follow him can speak and hear the voice of the Lord.

In other thoughts, more of questions since I have no clue.  At what point was what we call ‘incest’ no longer part of the plan.  I am not suggesting or proposing the idea, just curious when the Lord stopped it.  The Mosaic Law speaks against it, but obviously it was permitted for the children of Adam to procreate.  I know there are the believe that God created other individuals for the procreation of the race, even though the scriptures don’t mention it.

Lot’s daughters wanted to keep the commandment of producing seed (multiplying and replentishing the earth) but don’t seem to give much heed to any rules concerning incest.  Marriage is an eternal law dating clear to Adam and Eve.  But at what point was ‘incest’ not allowed.  The daughters of Lot sleeping with him smacks in the face of Adultery/Fornication whatever it would have been called at that point.  Abraham married his own half-sister.

I really don’t know the answer to these questions.  I don’t believe what Lot’s daughters do is right, certainly not by the commandments the Lord laid out for us since.  But what was the state of the the law then?  Then again, these daughters grew up in Sodom, so can we subscribe the false, ungodly actions to their surroundings?  Judah doesn’t fare much better in sleeping with family later.  Who knows?  The laws of marriage seemed much more loose to them, after all, how did we end up with concubines?  Especially where the Lord seems to approve of them?  So many questions!

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The newest year

Welcome to 2010.  Somehow the years just don’t hold the same dazzle they once did.  I remember being awakened to the fireworks in my flat at 29 Handforth Lane, in Runcorn, England one decade ago.  As missionaries, we went to bed at 10:30 and were happily awakened at midnight.  Our flat was in a row of homes where we could overlook half of Runcorn and see clear to Frodsham, and the distant fireworks in Chester and Ellesmere Port.  It was a beautiful sight to watch.  Y2K didn’t hold all the worries many thought it would.  The last decade has certainly been amazing, in a wide variety of ways.  Who would have thought I would graduated from college, work in Washington DC, married, and entered law school?  I have met heads of state of foreign countries, visited abroad, and yet lived peaceably with my wife in Richmond, Virginia; Provo, Utah, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  I have worked in Pasco, Washington; Paul, Idaho; Branson, Missouri; Preston and Malad, Idaho, and started a fencing business in Logan, Utah.

1990 I rang in New Years at my Grandma’s house in Paul, Idaho with my Aunt and Uncle, newborn cousin, and Grandma.  Pretty low key and just some bottle rockets.  I remembered wondering what in the world the 90’s would hold in store!  Graduation from high school, mission to England and Wales, and college.

What does the upcoming decade hold?  Who in the world knows?  Probably children.  Probably starting my own firm.  At least one move.  We will just have to wait and see.

This is only talking about my myopic life.  Wars, changes of nations, economic bubbles, and much more have entertained the macro scenario.

All I can look forward to right now is 2010.  2011 is too far away to plan for as yet, except for my graduation from law school.  We hope to visit Boston this summer.  Rewire our home.  Make our yard a veritable garden.

One thing I think I will mention now is that it is the year of the Old Testament in church.  Which brings with it the goal to read the entire thing this year.  At 3 chapters a day, I will finish around November 7th.  I am looking forward to another year in the Old Testament.  I know it is possible.  A roommate and I read the entire Standard works in 2003, at 5 chapters a day.

Anyhow, as part of this goal, I plan on writing a bit more often, but with a couple of thoughts about the reading as I go along.

The one I feel to share about now is Genesis 1:26-27.  I committed these verses to memory during the summer of 1998.  I would recite them to myself as I walked through fields of sugar beets while I was moving the water lines.  For some reason the Spirit engraved them upon my heart and I find them very poignant.

I don’t want to go into all the doctrinal meanings of ‘God’ at the moment, but these verses tell us much of the nature and being of God.  It also tells us some of our relationship to God and how personal of a relationship that is.  That we are made in the image and likeness of God.  God created us, male and female, in the image of God, which it can be read is also male and female.  We also know that Jehovah, or Jesus Christ, also assisted in this creation of ‘man’, which I would submit that man is both male and female as well.

On top of that, Adam was made Lord over the whole earth, and Eve is the mother of all living.  This dominion is not one of destruction, or requiring the submission of all things by brute force, but Lord as our Lord is for us.  Loving, tender, kind, and assisting.  Lord over the whole world, like the kind and gentle Lord would be.  Eve is pretty much the same, the mother of all living and there to assist, nurture, and further in development.  Truly they are each a helpmeet for the other, just like ‘God’.

This same relationship and unity is given in symbolism with Jehovah, or Jesus Christ, and the church.  Bride and groom.  The allegory is carried throughout the entire Bible and even into modern day prophets.

Modern day prophets have given some assistance in adding the text to the verses as such, “And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so.  And I, God, said, Let them have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.”  JST Genesis 1:27-29.

Creation is a thing of beauty.  In deed, man is the pinnacle of that creation.  God pronounced the whole of creation after the finale as “very good.”  Or as JST Genesis 1:33 puts it, “And I, God, saw everything that I had made, and behold, all things which I had made were very good.”  For some reason or another, despite what the world things, I must agree.  Even the sweltering heat in the middle of beet field in Idaho.

 

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Exercising in life

It is simply amazing how refreshing exercise is.  On Saturday I went to play squash with a law school buddy and it changed everything.  Sadly, it had been a week or two since any serious exercise beyond climbing the stairs to the 3rd floor of the law library.  The stress, the dismal outlook, the ache of inactivity, have all melted away!  I feel happier, more excited, and ready to get my beating for finals.  We need to get back into the routine of at least weekly squash!  I read a news line that the lymph system cannot properly work without movement and activity.  I knew this fact, but it dawned on me why exercise feels so good.  It is a great cleansing tool, not just through the pores and circulation, but also in removing waste from the system through that system as well.

On a funny note, last Saturday I came in the house to tell Amanda something I found I needed for Christmas.  (We struggle to find things I need, and I don’t like frivolous Christmas presents)  She came to where I was and I announced that I needed a new pair of gloves.  She got this sheepish look on her face.  I laughed that it was a good thing that she was already aware of it and a new pair was in the works for Christmas.  Then the story came out.  She hijacked my fleece winter gloves to send to her brother serving a mission.  She thought I did not wear them very often, so felt at liberty to give them away.  Apparently, she had mailed them out like the day before.  Here I am the next day announcing I wanted a new pair of gloves for Christmas and she thought she had been caught with her hand in the glove drawer.  Funny what a guilty conscience will reveal!  Looks like I will be getting a pair of work gloves and warm gloves for Christmas (I wore my knitted gloves rather than my fleece gloves last year, so they are quintessentially new).

Finals are upon us starting next Monday!  Constitutional Law is a multiple choice, so it should be fairly easy.  Good fortune has turned my way for finals.  Rumor is that Criminal Procedure will be multiple choice as well, but that is yet to be confirmed.  Could I be so lucky?  We have a take home final and in-class multiple choice for Legal Profession.  Law School is going soft!  Gone are the days of actually requiring we understand the information, just be able to pick out the right answer from a list!  While I welcome the change this semester, I am disappointed law school is going the easy route of education, which in fact lowers our standards of excellence.  The rest of society is doing it, why shouldn’t I expect the same from school?  Church is the only place that still requires proper learning, but I fear too many don’t take the learning seriously for the final bar exam!  There will not be any multiple choice there, after all, the essay will be written/woven into your life.

On that note, a young man was walking by on the street last night as I rolled the garbage bins out to the curb.  He was gregarious and I was happy to talk to him.  He offered to play me a song on his guitar.  Wow, talk about carnal, sensual, and devilish!  As I got to know him more, I realized he was an 18 year old who had nothing in his life but his own pleasure.  Drugs, sex, music, and nothing more.  He attempted to justify all of it to me, but I told him I flat out did not agree.  Amanda hearing the song became alarmed at the company I was keeping and whether I would be safe.  My impression was that I felt so sorry for the kid in that his chances of making anything of his life were next to nothing.  He could change his course, but his habits and ambitions seemed to be such that he would die young with little achieved.  His background with the LDS people led him to reveal all his sins and corruptness to me.  I wanted to hug him and take him in and help him become a better person.  On the other hand, I wanted to send him on his way because he is too far lost, destroyed.  Then there was that fear that lingered that this is the type of person, who like Gadianton, would rob me, his brother, to maintain his lifestyle of no responsibility.  From the old Faust motif, I think the person who scares me more is not the one who knowingly trades his soul and then cannot escape later.  It is the one who is born or raised in such a way that he never had his soul to give, but is enchained is such destructive habits and behaviours.  It made me all the more appreciative of my good parents, who taught me responsibility, diligence, work, and love.  Just that in of itself has given me a jump on life this boy never had.  Not that it is unable to be overcome, but the lack of responsibility, coupled with addictions to drugs and sex, makes for a near impossible challenge.  Then again, shame on me for consigning him to hopelessness, and fearing the loss of my possessions.  What is to be done?  I have not a clue.  I cannot save him.  I am not in my life to a point I can help him.  He did ask for a copy of the scriptures, which I gladly shared, and got his number for the missionaries.  I just don’t know what to do with this experience.  Like the mission, it is one of those you set aside and ponder about for years, wondering what more you could have done, what you should have done, or what should not have been done.  Who knew taking out the rubbish would yield such a result?

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Days of Thanksgiving

Life seems to be a constant blur as the days fly by with such speed that it almost becomes alarming.  The variety of reading, the topics, and the constant barrage of information in law school is enlivening and thrilling.  On the other hand, the lack of change, and the sheer amount of information thrust upon us, and the endless days of a self-imposed imprisonment make the days not pass fast enough.  The diligence required of the situation is wearisome, and yet I beat myself up for not being diligent enough since I cannot seem to digest the material to the degree that I want.  Another week, and the full final preparation mode kicks in.  I am so numb from school now, I have to find something extra within me to endure to what will be an inevitable end of the semester.  Hopefully I can pull all above average grades again.

I have nothing really to offer with relation to school.  Income Tax requires so much time and effort that I can spend up to 3 or 4 hours on it a night.  The problem is that I then go to class and find myself still getting half the problems wrong.  It is hard to stay motivated when no matter hard I try, I seem to be incapable of making it all work out.  The final scares me in that I have no clue how I will work through the entire semester and the huge amount of material during the semester.  The only consolation I have is that with all I speak, they assure me it is the hardest class any of them ever took.  That does make me feel better, but makes me wonder why I thought I would take it the heaviest semester of law school!?  (insert swear words of choice!)

The rest of the classes are cake compared to tax.  Evidence is more memorization of rules and knowing the interpretation surrounding them.  The same is pretty much true for Legal Ethics.  I took the MPRE two weeks ago and have no clue how I did.  I prepped for two weeks and felt really good going in.  That test came from somewhere else though, so we will just have to wait and see.  I just have to get above an 85 for Idaho (Utah is the highest at 86, Oklahoma one of the lowest at 75).

Criminal Procedure is a class that heavily relies on case law and the nuances that come with it.  Sometimes I admit I wonder what the Supreme Court is thinking or what mind-numbing drugs they are on.  Sometimes I wonder if we ought not to abandon stare decisis and revert to the civil code.  Boy, it sure appears to be a whole lot easier than taking a course on 80 years of the Supreme Court trying to make a sentence of the Constitution mean something.

In addition to all that, I still serve as Ward Mission Leader.  How I dedicate another 10+ hours to that each week I don’t know.  J. Reuben Clark takes an hour or two, and then an hour for LDSSA/Institute.  President Gillespie of the Oklahoma City Temple pulled Amanda and I into his office a few weeks ago and invited us to become temple workers.  We have turned in all that paperwork and it looks like we start training to be temple workers right after Christmas.  We will start working two Saturday’s a month.  Where I will push my other Saturday activities, I am not entirely sure.  We will make it work.

Anyhow, I wish I had a day to sleep in beyond 7:00 AM.  But then again, I have always been selfish that way.  12 hours a day at school, Fridays at work, Saturdays in missionary work and trying to catch up on the yard and homework, Sunday’s full of church and missionaries, and the week starts all over again.  It is not so much that I feel like I am not spending my time in worthwhile pursuits, it is just hard to keep my mind about it and keep the purposes in mind.

We spent all day yesterday working in the Oklahoma City Temple for the Days of Thanksgiving.  We did an endowment, 2 hours of working in the baptistry, and 4 hours in sealings.  While tiring physically, it was a much needed boost spiritually.  I will look forward to working there on a more regular basis.

What will happen when this semester ends?  I really don’t know.  I think we are going to paint a kitchen and hang a new door in the bathroom.  We have to drive to Dallas to attend the temple there and buy our temple working clothes.  Then we start another semester.  I am definitely going to try and take a lighter load next semester.  Until then, endurance is the name of the game.

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Mom’s Letter, Oct 09

10-27-09

Paul,

Talking about the Andra reunion and Lava, did you know Uncle Otto  as we called him used to have a little cafe there.  I was just little + I do not remember Jackie being around so it was before 1960.  Why did the Andra side perish in the camps in Germany?  Were they Jews?

On the Jonas side I only know probably 1st cousins + then not very well on the older ones.  On the Andra side I know very few.  Well off do not associate with the black sheep + snubbed cause of religion.  Pretty petty when the hypocrites snub the jacks.

I did not know LaRita even had a boy named Dennis but I remember the others names.  I could not tell you what they even look like.  Most of the time you can tell who they belong to though.  Except for a few Jonas reunions + fewer Andra reunions I have not had much to do with relatives since ’68.  During the marriage I had to deal with the green-eyed monster I was married to so I did not even get to associate with my relatives when I did go to the reunions.  Do not you say one damn thing cause you do not know what went on in the marriage.  I tried to keep everything out of sight so you + Sis would not know.  Only thing Sis is smarter than you + she does not have blinders on like you do.  Habitual liars do not know how to tell the truth even if it would save their lives.  DO NOT say anything about the subject.  Let it go.

Sounds like you got quite a plate full with your schooling + other activities + working on your house.  There is no way better to learn than 1st hand + doing it yourself.  Glad to hear they got the ones who broke into your house.

As for Dan + his partner whether it be male or female it does not matter cause it was Dan’s business but you know what Paul you just do not give it up.  If you are you are and if you are not you are not.  It is no one’s business but Dan’s + that goes for your cult too.  If you remember Larry’s boy got messed up by one on his mission.  It is a way of life for some but a dirty nasty game for others.  The dirty nasty ones ruin it for the legit ones.  Your cult cannot change that.  I do not care what you say.  Your cult does not care about anything but making their membership list grow.  Whether worthy or not of their requirements makes no difference to them.  Remember I spent 39 years on the membership list before the BS come to a head and Duffin or Duff or whatever his name was help me free myself from the cult.  DO NOT say anything here either.  I have just as much right as you of an opinion.  I caint help it if mine is opposite of yours.  We will never see eye to eye on the subject.  You do not condemn me cause I do have a quarter century more knowledge than you on life.

In school, I never cared much for history but I read some biographys that really opened my eyes about the so called great american political figures and the corruption that has gone on in the US of A.  How a cold blooded murder can hold the positions of governors and presidents.  Pretty spooky.  I also read an autobiography of an anarchist who also opened my eyes to the corruption in the country.  Look what has happened in the last couple of years of an asinin ripping of a lot of people off for millions + billions of dollars.  I have seen how state govt rips the fed govt off.  An in the end all the pain + suffering of the unsuspecting humans.

I do not think competitive enters into it anymore Paul.  I think it is all selfish + greed.  you remember back when there was the big doings about buy american made products to keep the money circulating in our own nation.  I have only seen things made in other countries like Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Afganastan, Mexico + in South America, etc, or things made in other countries then repackaged in the US.  Why?  Cause of the cheapness of labor.  The american thinks he worth so much.  Americans + their double standards.  Stupid people who live beyond their means.  the ones who live wanting instead of living with their needs.  There is a different in buying what you need + buying what you want.  Night + day, black + white.  A lot of people buy buy buy + do not worry about where the $ is going to come from to pay on all the spending.  I know I never go you kids things you wanted but then I did not have to cause someone else bought your love by getting it for you.  But then I guess love never ment that much to me if I had to it unlike some others I know.

I am glad you two do not want a large house.  Working up int he Sun Valley area I seen all those great big houses + could never figure out why the people wanted them except to out do the neighbor.  The prices were ridiculous.  But then when I took Gunther back to Connecticut the prices were ridiculous back there then too.  Why have space you do not use?  Do you know how they build the buildings in England or maybe I should say Europe.  It looked like similar architect in the countries.  Americans are not as smart as they might think.  The old countries are a lot smarter in the general things.  I myself have always wanted a small log cabin.  Did you ever see the log cabin Aslett’s had in Mackay?  That was a cute one but I want a build-in fire place instead of a stove.  Maybe some day.

What is between Oklahoma + Arizona where one has high humidity + one does not?  Is there a high mountain range?  I do not remember New Mexico having high humidity there.  So if you leave Oklahoma will your allergy stay there or go with you?  You did not get your allergies from my side of the family, you got it from the other side that is sick.  How come the shot only lasts a week?  Do not they have them that lasts longer than that?  Just exactly are you allergic to?  Is it mostly pollens and such or do animals enter in too?

Paul, it is not Idaho I do not like it is the self-righteous hypocrits I do not like.  I love mother nature + all her glory she makes.  There is beautiful land, plants, wildlife.  It is the human species of animal I do not like.  But you are wrong on the govt part.  Idaho is corrupt as hell.  The 1st Amendment, separation between state + church, does not exist.  The state is run by a cult.  Idaho is 1 of 2 or 3 out of 50 that took away good time.  It was taken away Feb ’87 when the Unified Sentencing Act went into affect.  Then you got the asinines in the senate or legislature  who have been in there a while (Darrington – Declo) who says over my dead body will good time be brought back.  Darrington was a history teacher at Burley High when I went there.  A good upstanding mormon prick.  Greed is a corrosive in the fine upstanding govt of Idaho.  But I will not go on.  Politicians are vermin.

Sorry about the picture in 4th grade.  Where did it come from?  Who?  It was not Doug or Jackie’s writing.  Apparently someone stupid.  Now tell me if you looked at the picture that you would of known who I was.  Is there no common sense any more?

Paul, if Dad + Colleen were married in ’46 + I was born in ’54 how do you expect me to answer what they did?  It seems very difficult if I did not exist.  I have no idea when the house on State St was built.  I know Dad worked for Sego all the time I was alive.  I have no idea what Colleen did + do not care.  I remember a lot of Richmond being I lived there the 1st 14 yrs of my life + then back again after high school for a while.  no one came to visit except relation.  Evan + Spence used to come up to fish.  Evan the most in High Crick.  At bird season the front yard looked like camper city.  A lot of Jonas + Coleys, pheasant, duck, geese.  Joe’s boys, Lee + Earl.  I do not ever remember Ellis coming up.  He was too good.  We used to have the Jonas reunion down on the park ever year, by the highway where the elementary school was.  I understand it is torn down now but do not know if they built another one there or not.  There was always Black + White Days + baseball games behind LD’s.  The 4th of July they used to role a car off the NC mountain.  It was right behind the house pretty much.  There was the Group that Dad + Colleen belonged to.  Different holidays they met at someones place + had a party.  New Years was at our house.  Dad bagged the geese + Colleen cooked them + then the people brought pot luck.  We had a regulation pool table + the guys pretty much was downstairs playing pool + I do not know what the women did.  I pretty much stayed downstairs.  Colleen belonged to a bridge club.  I think it was with the women in the group but caint be sure.  Dad belonged to the Lion’s Club so there were outings + things that they put on.  There was a place in High Crick where they had suppers and breakfasts.  There were 2 wards, North and South.  The earthquake ’62 took North ward out.  It took the house on the corner, the one across the road + Sal’s house out.  I am sure a lot others too through out Richmond.  Cherry Crick Peak was loosened + said it would fall if we had another quake or some bad tremors.  Face rock shifted + turned into a frog.  How’s that for a few things.

Tell Amanda not to worry about writing.  We are strangers + she would not know what to write to me anyway.  Also tell her I do not care if she had judged me even though it is not her business to judge me.  How can you judge people start wit?  People you have never met?  She must of forgot where I have to live.  I am not allowed things like electric toothbrushes + I caint afford Sensodyne paste @ 7.50 – 4 oz.  She must not of read my letter very well cause I told her I had reconstruction where the gums were worn away but that some had come off.

You would think in this day + age they could figure out how to make + replace teeth + dentures.  Does she know anything about the ones that screw into the jaw?  I understand they are almost like real teeth + they keep the jaw in shape like natural teeth do.  But I hear it is expensive.  About a grand per tooth.  I heard a top plate you have to get over the gag reflex.  There is no way I would go without teeth.  I have seen it a lot here.  Seen a lot of snaggle toot people too.  I just do not see how people can go around with a mouth full of rotten teeth either.

I guess it is getting time to close.  I got 2 other letters to write, Gunther + Sal.  I finally got correspondence back with Gunther after 6 months.  I hope she keeps her nose clean cause I sure could not handle worrying about her being here.  The AG’s brief is due tomorrow so I guess I will be hearing from my atty soon too.

You 2 take care + good luck with your lives.  Hope no more robbers come your way.  You need an attack animal.  Were you home when they broke in?  Let me know how your small claim turns out against them.  So Long for now.

Love You,
Mom

Did you get the little card for your birthday?
I forgot to put both you kids names on them.
I remember after I mailed them.

by

Jeep Wreck in about 1980

I thought I would share this story about my mother and me of when I was a baby.  It is a riveting story I had not heard from this angle before.  I knew my mother had wrecked her jeep, rolled it while drunk, and her dog was killed.  I never knew how I was linked!  Anyhow, I have changed the story some so it reads better for those who are not familiar with the family.

Colleen is my Grandmother, Sandy is my mother, Linda is my Aunt (the author), Doug is my Uncle.  I don’t know exactly when this accident took place, I assume somewhere in 1980.  The wreck was near Max Beet Dump, on Highway 24, near Minidoka, Idaho.

“The initial call from the police came to Grandma’s. Doug answered. Colleen was not there. I was asked about you, the police said there was no baby. I had seen you with [Sandy] prior to her drinking. Sandy was not above leaving you in the car when she would drink. So the police began the search. By the time Doug and I arrived at the wreck, they had found the dog, I think he was under the jeep. It was dark, I remember the field, the tumbleweeds. The shadows cast. The jeep upside down. Sandy was at the ER. The baby carrier that she used had been found, but no Paul. I remember hearing someone say, if you were out there, you were dead. The smell of the blackberry brandy all over the carrier, the inside of the jeep.”

“I remember Doug yelling, “I’m going to kill her.” Typical of the family, he rambled about every single thing she had done wrong in the past. Making himself madder and madder. I was freezing, terrified, my stomach hurt so bad.”

“One of the deputies radioed and we were told that Colleen was at home and that you were with her. Doug was so angry by the time we got to you. He fought with his mom about Sandy. All I could do was hold you and cry. Grandma was concerned about Sandy and Doug did not want her to go to the hospital. Colleen had been spared the emotion that Doug and I had just gone thru. I think Colleen had run into Sandy and had taken you so she would not leave you in the car while she drank. Probably because it was cold. I am curious about Doug’s memory of this. Your mom would probably not remember, she was drunk. I don’t remember anyone but the police and Doug and I looking for you. I believe we looked for a little over an hour before the call. Thing is, you were never missing. No one else really lived the terror, so this would not be a story connected with the rollover. There would/should be something in the police report, we did search for you.”

Now I am interested in getting my hands on the police report.  I wouldn’t know where to find it, even if they have kept it for this many years.  Who knew my life was so interesting at some point?  Does anyone else have a story about me I don’t know about?  I am certainly interested in hearing others’ stories, or even linked to this episode.