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Birthday!

Happy Birthday to myself.  It was yesterday and I had a great day.  Gwen took me to Mt. Vernon yesterday morning in celebration.  It was a real treat.  I enjoyed visiting and traipsing the grounds of our first president.  I am even more impressed by George Washington than ever.  I knew some pretty inspiring things about him, but these opened my eyes to fields I never knew he was even involved it.  It was fascinating!  The home was impressive.  It shows some age, but is a historical place.  I have thought loads about privatizing these types of places and this is an example of why.  It was much better maintained and preserved than any government entity has been able to do at any other location I have visited of theirs.  What is more, they are making great roads to progression and keeping up the place that the Park Service can’t do.  What is even better, I know the money I pay for it goes right back into it’s preservation or other helps.  There was a fair on the grounds that day of artisans who produce crafts, furniture, and other things of the same time period as Washington.  It was very fascinating to see and watch.  I especially enjoyed watching and meeting the lace maker.  What a fascinating thing.  I never had any idea how lace was made by hand.  It was an education.
 
Later in the day Dennis and I drove around.  He showed me around.  I am always impressed by the history of this place.  He showed me the prison where Stanton, Mott, and Anthony were all imprisoned.  It is closed now and they are thinking about turning it into a historical place.  Who knows what they will actually do.
 
The Thompson clan all gathered for a birthday party.  We had pizza, cake, and ice cream.  I got all sorts of things for my birthday.  Gwen bought me lunch at Mt. Vernon.  Socks, journal, party favors, books, cards, money, and other things.  I really felt loved.  I told them and insisted I did not want anything, even a party, but they did not listen.  Oh well. 
 
Age doesn’t bother me, but this one did for some reason.  I always hoped that perhaps the First Presidency would remove the restriction that you can only serve one mission.  Well, they didn’t.  The other restriction they have is that males have to go before they are 26.  Well, both of those restrictions now apply to me and I really wish they didn’t.  What I would not give to serve another full time mission.  Money or not, I don’t care where I was sent, I would rely upon the Lord to provide.  I know we are all to be missionaries, and I am, but oh what I wouldn’t give for a full time set apart mission again.  Something I hope that Amanda and I can do much sooner than later.  There is a whole world yet to explore, and many languages I would like to learn.  I have never really learned another, but a mission would be a great opportunity.  I get e-mails from Mauritania of Nick and Irene Eastmond and their adventures there.  The language (French), the people, the places, the scenes she describes.  I got e-mails all summer from Ghana from Rebecca Thomson.  Oh how much I would like to go there and see and experience all she did.  I get e-mails once and a while from Tazmania, or Tanzania, or Brazil, or Chile and wish I could go to each.  I pray the Lord will help make serving in other places possible, either through a job or as a missionary.
 
I have decided I would like very little to do with government.  I am becoming more and more disappointed by the National Government.  I have come to prize more and more the little state government I so much adored.  Idaho has a certain simplicity, purity that has not been lost yet.  Utah did not have it, they subscribed to too many ways of the politics.  Idaho still has Statesmanship in many ways. 
 
Working in the office of a Senator, I somehow expected him to be different.  Especially since he is LDS and held to a higher expectation.  So far, he seems to play the game like everyone else.  Somehow I expected a little bit more friendly and personality in the office.  So far, there is very little interaction.  What little there is is to shake hands with constituents and have a photo taken for them.
 
I don’t know what I expected.  I expected somebody who was more accessible, especially to his employees.  I expected somebody who would articulate their position clearly.  Something that I feel is not always clear, especially upon any underlying principles.  Someone who was more interested in getting to know the people he represents rather than being seen and doing what he wants.  Someone who sought association with those humble people of the every day walk of life, not the people who pay for lunch or a meeting.  Visiting to hear the common concern of the common citizen, rather than being scheduled for those with a goal and agenda.
 
Having just read the book about his own personal life, Cecil Andrus painted to me the common man doing his best to serve and meet their needs.  Nothing more.  I was very deeply touched by his sincere words and the simplicity of his stance.  His thoughts and comments have influenced me in many ways.  Too bad we don’t have more statesmen like him, rather than just a political figure.  Someone who is independent and is deeply respected by the people.  Someone who is the friend of the people, not just a representative.
 
My stance of smaller government and more individual rule has only been strengthened.  Washington D.C. has come to be the ideal of a way of life that will never connect with me.  I am a part of the land, of feeling a deep underlying connection between all things, and of each human person.  Washington D.C. seems to require individuals who are a law unto themselves.  Those who appear to speak for the people, but don’t know who they represent, and what is more sad is they do everything the people want rather than what they need.  Who knows what we shall ever do.
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The Highest Court in the Land

Another opportunity fell in my lap today.  I was able to attend about 4 hours of the hearings for the nomination of Judge Roberts.  It was fascinating to attend.  Some of the Senators I thought made themselves look like real idiots.  They obviously were not listening to Judge Roberts answers.  He really shined as he took very little from the Senators and responded very directly.  It was an impressive sight.  What is more, I found a man I very much like.  We think alike in so many ways.  Some of it was pretty hilarous to watch and partake of.
 
This morning was also another fortunate turn of events.  I took one of the elevators to the basement after taking a bill to the floor.  For the record I did not take the Senator Only elevator.  However, I was the first in and found myself descending with John McCain, John Kerry, Edward Kennedy, and Joseph Dodd.  Felt kinda important for a moment, then realized who I was amongst these men who change the lives of every citizen of the United States.  Not only did I ride the elevator with Senators, but there were some of the notable ones as well.  Senator Kerry was taller than I imagined, but it was him.  Senator Kennedy looked much older and tired than I am familiar with in my mind.  Senator McCain seemed smaller than I anticipated.  Lastly, Senator Dodd I knew who he was, what he looked like, but no other thoughts.  Strange where we end up sometimes.  Oh, if only I could pick their brains for a moment.  Too bad the elevator didn’t die and I could not ask questions, or at least listen for an hour.
 
Lastly, I sat at the front desk answering phones for the good man who was away.  Genny stepped aside for the moment and a man walked up to me I recognized.  He asked about meeting with Senator Smith and I took him where he needed to go.  There is a certain surreal feeling when a man is walking directly at you from across the room, and you know they are wanting to talk to you.  It was great to finally meet Senator Craig in person, a man who is representative of me, in the flesh he is there partially because of my vote.  Strange though to think that man is partially impowered because of me.  I took him to Senator Smith’s office and when back to work.  Senator Craig was heavier than his photos, but I knew him.  I met one of my Senators.
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Buy me some peanuts

Well, another entry because life is so rich.  I am so blessed to have such great opportunities.
 
Somebody gave some baseball tickets to the office.  They went down through the line until they fell in our lap.  We decided we would all make a go of it and went.  It was a great game. 
 
It was my first professional baseball game!  We sat on the way to first base.  We were only 9 rows from the edge!  It was amazing.  We were close and could see all the action.  It was the Florida Marlins and the Washington Nationals.  It was in the classic RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.  What an evening.  I went all out, bought a proper hot dog, enjoyed some chicken tenders and fries, and a soda.  Yep, it was the high life!  I even took a picture which I will develop sometime in the next year. 
 
Also, on my way to work that morning I just happened to catch Senator’s Reid, McCain, and Kerry on their way through or to the Capitol.  I am sure there are many more I pass constantly but since I don’t know them, I don’t have a clue.  I could probably tell you 20 of the Senators at most.  What a great experience.  I love this.  These are the people who daily affect every day life in the U.S. and around the world.  What an interesting group of men.  Good, bad, ugly, good looking, and many more.
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Senators and Chief Justices

Washington D.C. is proving to be a very interesting place to be.  Especially at this time.  I would never have thought.  We expected a busy fall with the Roberts nomination.  However, Roberts will swamp us now it seems.  Katrina has already flooded us with contacts, either in letter, e-mail, or phone call.  The upcoming Roberts confirmation hearings will do the same.  Now, to add to it, we will have another justice who needs confirmed when the time comes.  What a time to be interning in the District of Columbia!
Yesterday I was sent all over the Senate buildings to collect signatures for a Dear Colleague letter.  It was interesting and I don’t think I should say what it was for just yet.  However, I had to go around and collect signatures from 20 Senators.  It was very interesting to go to their offices and see how each of them decorates.  I will admit, I think ours is the best decorated.  It is definitely warm, welcoming, and friendly.
Anyhow, in my journeying, I was waiting for a signature in Senator Akaka’s office.  While I was there, he came out to leave the office.  I got to meet him and thought that was interesting.  Today while I was out getting signatures, I was waiting for one in Senator Feinstein’s office.  She too left while I was there and got to shake her hand as well.  She seemed nice enough but this other lady kept talking to her.  Not that I had anything to say really.  It was interesting to see the person who I know so many people hate and despise.  She seemed like a nice lady, a very square smile.
This morning all the Senators were supposed to meet in front of the Supreme Court and then go in to pay their last respects.  Gavin and I were present outside and tried to pick out all the ones we knew.  Noticeably present were Senator Kerry, Senator Kennedy, Senator Hatch, Senator Bennett, Senator Wyden, Senator Dole, Senator Craig, Senator Murray, Senator Cantwell, Senator Specter, and some others.  They did not all arrive at once, but they came slowly.  The office allowed Gavin and I to stay in line if it was not too long.  So we were privileged to go in and pay our last respects to Chief Justice Rehnquist.  Maybe it is the tradition out west or something, but the coffin looked very small.  Perhaps it is the western view of space that makes us decide we like big spacious coffins.  I don’t know.  This one seems so small.  At any rate, it was inspiring to pass through the rotunda of the Supreme Court on such an occasion.  Only my second time in the building and this time was within feet of this big man himself.
Last week I was able to go on a tour of the White House.  That was an interesting adventure in and of itself.  I had always heard people say they expected it to be bigger.  It was pretty small compared to what I would have thought.  Oh well, it was still very beautiful.  Oh the history within those walls.
I think the same thing as I walk to work in the mornings through the Capitol, or walking home, or giving a tour.  I spend at least an hour in that building a day.  Never would I have thought, that I, Paul Ross, am privileged to spend so much time in that building.  It is an honour.
Well, I will close.  It is fascinating to think I am walking in the same halls and corridors as some of the greatest men of history.  Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Albert Gallatin, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Quincy Adams, Roger Taney, John Jay, John Marshall, Aaron Burr, Jefferson Davis, Abraham Lincoln, Grant, Garfield, Jackson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt, Roosevelt, Wilson, and many more.  These men who have literally helped shape the world in which I am now a part.  I walk in their footsteps literally every day.   Some of the very same tiles they would have stepped on.
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Prophecy

I just finished reading the sixth book of Harry Potter.  It was another fascinating story in the life of fiction.  While there are a couple of problems with the books just in basic rules and guidelines underlying the story and the structure of parts of the story, I have enjoyed them as a whole.  However, lately I had been thinking of prophecy and all that is related to that subject.  The last Harry Potter book came upon it and it turned out to be one of the central parts of the story of that book.  However, here in the 6th book, it comes straight out.  At one point, Dumbledore and Potter are discussing the subject.  I thought the explanation and description were wonderful.  So often I think many misunderstand exactly what a prophecy is and what it means.  They don’t understand the parameters and rules behind prophecy.  So, I share some of the book’s explanation.
 
"So, when the prophecy says that I’ll have ‘power the Dark Lord knows not,’ it just means-love?" asked Harry, feeling a little let down.
 
"Yes-just love," said Dumbledore.  "But Harry, never forget that what the prophecy says is only significant because Voldemort made it so.  I told you this at the end of last year.  Voldemort singled you out as the person who would be most dangerous to him-and in doing so, he made you the person who would be most dangerous to him!"
 
"But it comes to the same-"
 
"No, it doesn’t!" said Dumbledore, sounding impatient now.  Pointing at Harry with his black, withered hand, he said, "You are setting too much store by the prophecy!"
 
"But," sputtered Harry, "but you said the prophecy means-"
 
"If Voldemort had never heard of the prophecy, would it have been fulfilled?  Would it have meant anything?  Of course not!  Do you think every prophecy in the Hall of Prophecy has been fulfilled?"
 
"But," said Harry, bewildered, "but last year, you said one of us would have to kill the other-"
 
"Harry, Harry, only because Woldemort made a grave error, and acted on Professor Trelawney’s words! If Voldemort had never murdered your father, would he have imparted in you a furious desire for revenge?  Of course not!  If he had not forced your mother to die for you, would he have given you a magical protection he could not penetrate?  Of course not, Harry! DOn’t you see?  Voldemort himself created his worst enemy, just as tyrants everwhere do!  Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress?  All of them realize that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back!  Voldemort is no different!  Always he was on the lookout for the one who would challenge him.  He heard the prophecy and he leapt into action, with the result that he not only handpicked the man most likely to finish him, he handed him uniquely deadly weapons!"
 
"But-"
 
"It is essential that you understand this!" said Dumbledore, standing up and striding about the room, his glittering robes swooshing in his wake; Harry had never seen him so agitated.  "By attempting to kill you, Voldemort himself singled out the remarkable person who sits here in front of me, and gave him the tools for the job!  It is Voldemort’s fault that you were able to see into his thoughts, his ambitions, that you even understand the snakelike language in which he gives orders, and yet, Harry, despite your privileged insight into Voldemort’s world (which incidentally, is a gift any Death Eater would kill to have), you have never been seduced by the Dark Arts, never, even for a second, shown the lisghtest desire to become one of Voldemort’s followers!"
 
"Of course I haven’t!" said Harry indignantly.  "He killed my mum and dad!"
 
"You are protected, in short, by your ability to love!" said Dumbledore loudly.  "The only protection that can possibly work against the lure of power like Voldemort’s! In spite of all the temptation you have endure, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart, just as pure as you were at the age of eleven, when you stared into a mirror that reflected your heart’s desire, and it showed you only the way to thwart Lod Voldemort, and not immortality or riches.  Harry, have you any idea how few wizards could have seen what you saw in that mirror?  Voldemort should have known then what he was dealing with, but he did not!
 
"But he knows it now, YOu have flitted into Lord Voldemort’s mind without damage to yourself, but he cannot possess you without enduring mortal agony, as he discovered in the Ministry.  I do not think he understands why, Harry, but then, he was in such a hurty to mutilate his own soul, he never paused to understand the incomparable power of a soul that is untarnished and whole."
 
"But sir," said Harry, making valiant efforts not to sound argumentative, "it all comes to the same thing, doesn’t it?  I’ve got to try and kill him, or-"
 
"Got to? said Dumbledore.  "Of course you’ve got to!  But not because of the prophecy!  Because of you, yourself, will never rest until you’ve tried!  We both know it!  Imagine, please, just for a moment, that you had never heard that prophecy!  How would you feel about Voldemort now?  Think!"
 
Harry watched Dumbledore strding up and down in front of him, and thought.  He thought of his mother, his father, and Sirus.  He thought of Cedric Diggory.  He thought of all the terrible deeds he knew Lord Voldemort had done.  A flame seemed to leap inside his chest, searing his throat.
 
"I’d want him finished," said Harry quietly.  "And I’d want to do it."
 
"Of course you would!" cried Dumbledore.  "You see, the prophecy does not mean you have to do anything!  But the prophecy caused Lord Voldemort to mark you as his equal… In other words, you are free to choose your way, quite free to turn your back on the prophecy!  But Voldemort contines to set store by the prophecy.  He will continue to hunt you…which makes it certain, really, that-"
 
"That one of us is going to end up killing the other," said Harry.  "Yes."
 
But he understood at last what Dumbledore had been trying to tell him.  It was, he thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high.  Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore know-and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents-that there was all the difference in the world.
 
 
So here we arrive at the end of the chapter.  Prophecy is something that if only given, but nobody gives any store to is of no value.  However, if one party does, then the prophecy has great power.  But just because a prophecy has been declared or given, doesn’t change anything.  It is as Joseph Smith said, that once you have given a prophecy, it is required of you to give your all to see it comes to pass.  Therefore, it is very important that one have the Spirit and power of the Priesthood on their side, otherwise, it is only a prediction and not a true prophecy.  Those who give prophecy know that they are given according to law.  They are given according to understanding.  The Spirit can provide that knowledge, law, and understanding if the giver does not.  But one given by testimony puts a bind on the giver and the receive to see that it passes.
 
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Katrina

Things were really kind of crazy in the office today. The phones were so hot they I was put on them for a while. Preparation for the Roberts nominations I guess. But constituents were calling in madder than mad that we were not doing anything about Louisiana. They were literally yelling at us on the phones. It is a really hard position to be in. I mean, they did warn the people that they all needed to evacuate and this would be a very bad storm. They were aware they would be caught in the thick of it. They were warned that if things were as bad as predicted, it would not be easy to get in and help. However, people, disobedient and obstinate stayed. Now they are paying the consequences. However, now the question is, should we be stuck dropping everything for those who deliberately disobeyed? I don’t know. I do believe we should be charitable, but where do you draw the line. We could be working on restoring and fixing problems now if people would have listened. There were buses and ways made available, even for the poor.  They decided not to go. What if all these helicopters were dropping loads in damaged levees now rather than rescuing? Anyhow, what bothers me more is that people expect that it is the governments job to fix the situation.  They cannot of their own accord call the Red Cross and offer money or help.  They call their legislator to do it for them. Rather than saying, what can I do to help, it is why aren’t you helping? Even more sad were the phone calls coming in about why we are not fixing the fuel price problem. Isn’t it obvious why prices are rising at the moment? What are we going to do about the situation? I suppose we could set a price ceiling, but that would only cause horrible shortages. Then this all leads to the inevitable questions. Why do people continue to invest so much money and time into a city below sea level, where the inevitable will happen. That is like building your house on the sand, or the beach. At some point, nature will do a freak thing and damages will occur. If government had not been involved in the subsidizing of the pumping of New Orleans, business and others would have found it too expensive and moved elsewhere. This problem may have been alleviated altogether.
Oh well, now we should be saving those who are in need and dire situations. I don’t think they should return. Especially the poor. Ask people to take them in and incorporate them into society where they are at. Sadly, this will have destroyed the poor population. They will have the problem that Florida is having with having the lower paying jobs filled. May we find a quick and peaceful end to the situation. So much for having any rainy day funds sitting around. After all, we haven’t learned to live within our means. Another point of disobedience which could cost us dearly later on as well.  Watching the people suffer and struggle. Hopefully we see the importance and emphasis on keeping and maintaining food storage. If we have two years worth on hand, we could feed 4 families the same size as ours for 6 months.  That would be enough time to overcome most of the situation with Katrina.  Nevertheless, we don’t save up, we don’t prepare.
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The soul of the world

A couple of lines from a favorite book, which I am reading again.  The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.  Which I think are wonderful thoughts and ideas.

pg 83

 

“I learned that the world has a soul, and that whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of things.  I learned that many alchemists realized their Personal Legends, and wound up discovering the Soul of the World, the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Elixir of Life.”

“But above all, I learned that these things are all so simple that they could be written on the surface of an emerald.”

pg 30-32

“A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world.  The lad wandered through the desert for forty days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain.  It was  there that the wise man lived.

“Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room o the castle, saw a hive of activity:  tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world.  The wise man conversed  with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given the man’s attention.

“The wise man listened attentively to the boy’s explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn’t have time  just then to explain the secret of happiness.  He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two  hours.

“Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something, said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil.  As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.

“The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon.  After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.

“Well, asked the wise man, did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall?  Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create?  Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?

“The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing.  His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

“Then go back and observe the marvels of my world said the wise man.  You cannot trust a man if you don’t know his
house.

“Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls.  He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected.  Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail  everything he had seen.

“But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you? asked the wise man.

“Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.

“Well, there is the only one piece of advice I can give to you.  The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the  world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.  The shepherd said nothing.  He had understood the story the old king had told him.  A shepherd may like to travel, but he should never forget about his sheep.

Prologue pg xiii

“The Alchemist picked up a book that someone in the caravan had brought.  Leafing through the pages, he found a story about Narcissus.  The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a youth who knelt daily beside a lake to  contemplate his own beauty.  He was so fascinated by himself that, one morning, he fell into the lake and drowned.   At the spot where he fell, a flower was born, which was called the narcissus.  But this was not how the author of the book ended the story.

“He said that when Narcissus died, the goddesses of the forest appeared and found the lake, which had been fresh water, transformed into a lake of salty tears.

“Why do you weep?” the goddesses asked.

“I weep for Narcissus,” the lake replied.

“Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus,” they said, “for though we always pursued him in the forest, you  alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand.”

“But…was Narcissus beautiful?” the lake asked.

“Who better than you to know that?” the goddesses said in wonder.
“After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each day to contemplate himself.”

“The lake was silent for some time.  Finally it said: “I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful.  I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own  beauty reflected.”

“What a lovely story,” thought the alchemist.

I love these stories.  Especially the one on Narcissus.  Did they weep because they saw the beauty that they could not otherwise see?  Which was brought about because of Narcissus’ own staring and pride, or simply in the beauty of his person?  Was the lake weeping because of the loss, or the astonishing beauty it saw of itself.  The loss of seeing itself, or of finally seeing itself for what it really was?  Which am I?

Lastly, what one of the explanations I can provide about Amanda.

pg 92-93

“At that moment, it seemed to him that time stood still, and the Soul of the World surged within him.  When he  looked into her dark eyes, and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence, he learned the most  important part of the language that all the world spoke–the language that everyone on earth was capable of  understanding in their heart.  It was love. Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert.  Something that exerted the same force whenever two pairs of eyes met.  As had theirs here at the well.  She smiled, and that  was certainly an omen–the omen he had been awaiting, without even knowing he was, for all his life.  The omen he  had sought to find with his sheep and in his books, in the crystals and in the silence of the desert.

“It was the pure Language of the World.  It required no explanation, just as the universe needs none as it travels  through endless time.  What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his  life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing. He was more certain of it than of anything in the world.  He had been told by his parents and grandparents that he must fall in love and really know a person before  becoming committed.  But maybe people who felt that way had never learned the universal language.  Because, when you know that language, it’s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it’s in the middle of  the desert or in some great city.  And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and  the future become unimportant.  There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun  has been written by one hand only.  It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the  world..  Without such love, one’s dreams would have no meaning.  “Maktub, thought the boy.  (Maktub means, “It is
written.”)

What a powerful
explanation of the spirit of the world and of all things.
Powerful.

by

Jaunty Iconoclasm

Sometimes I find myself in such a hard position.  Should I say something or should I not.  To do so always can be turned against me as being judgmental.  While not saying something may cause me to fall into the situation of caring not for my brother.  Which would I care to be known as more?
Judgment.  What an interesting idea?  What a fascinating attribute.  Whatever does it mean?  I remember the distinct idea from the D&C that it is from this attribute that the capability to bless is given.  Without it, you cannot bless.  While I cannot now find this reference, and my memory does not serve me to find it, I will have to move on without.  There is such a cry in the world today that we should not judge.  That that is an attribute left only to God.  What a horrible thought.  If I were never to judge, what would I ever get done?  Nothing.  What if I were never to see that a friend is hungry, in need of help, and not decide to do something.  In fact, I would not even recognize them as hungry.  Now condemnation, that is something I believe we are expressly forbidden to do.  Of us it is required to forgive all men.  We are to ever go on searching to serve.  Is that not the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood?
Oath and Covenant.  What a serious covenant.  The Priesthood is more than just the authority to act in the name of God.  That is simply not enough.  Just to have the priesthood is not enough.  If we think that is all we are to do, we are seriously mistaken.  We will find ourselves coming very short at the last day.  It is the oath and covenant to bring the atonement into efficacy into the lives of all those within our sphere of calling.  Somehow we let para-scripture have more importance than the truth.  In order to bring the atonement into the lives of others, we must judge them.  We have to search out ways in which we may bless the lives of others.  We must be diligent in our efforts to act and do as God would have us to do.  That means reaching out the destitute and poor, the widow and the weak, and lifting up the hands that hang low.
Until we have proven worthy.  Most Saints understand that it is an endurance to the end.  A trek where we must work and fight and pray and hope and continue on in all faithfulness.  Only then if we are found worthy shall we be called up and sealed in the celestial kingdom of our God.  Until then, we are to have absolute faith and work diligently.  Believing is not enough.  That will not save you.  You must have faith.  But working is not enough.  That will not save you.  You must have faith, and that faith must drive you to work.  Without the faith, you will work in the the wrong direction and find you have worked for the wrong master.  If not working for God and his Son, and his Kingdom, you are working for the opposing.  Sorry, even if it is your own kingdom, it is not the right kingdom and you will not find yourself saved at the last days.  Those who say believing is enough wrest the scriptures.  We must be acting on that faith, and becoming like God.  While that will not save us, it will help to sanctify.  The faith will justify, but the works are used to sanctify.  Harold B. Lee made the comment, “to sanctify means to keep the commandments.”  Onward ever onward, learning to keep more of the commandments.
Until then, nothing is granted.  Even the temple ordinances are pronounced according to our faith.  I have friends who say that their sealing secures that they will be each others forever.  Sorry mate, but that simply is not true.  While yes, that ordinance entered into and observed will grant you the only way to remain together forever, it of itself is not enough.  That is like saying that just because I have been given the keys to the car, I am the car.  No, you must exercise those keys, work them, use them, become familiar with and drive the car.  How are we to become God’s if we are not to practice and arrive at the destination?
How in the world can the sealing of two individuals promise they are to find themselves sealed up in the celestial kingdom.  It is directly contrary to scripture.  They must prove themselves worthy of each other.  How do we come upon such preposterous ideas?  It is clear.  We allow ourselves to believe certain things which literally damn us.  They keep us from working and trying to obtain the higher ground.  We must work ever upward.  Ever gaining more light and knowledge.  Just as those of ancient.  Joseph Smith made it clear that he was not content with the run of the mill daily things.  He commented that he was always digging up new things for his hearers.  How can we claim we know enough when even Joseph went on to learn Greek and Hebrew.  I have not mastered those and know of nobody else who has.  Somehow the every day idea is that we have done enough.  I remember being warned of a mission president that when we ever say we have done enough, or all is well, then we are damned.  Our progression has stopped.  Repentance has ceased.  We must march onward.  As Oliver Cowdery said in his general charge to the twelve, we have not reached our goal until God himself puts his hands on our head and promises us the blessings.
Why do we allow ourselves these ideas to enter?  These jaunty iconoclastic ideas from the dark side.   It is simple.  We are not following the Spirit and allow our pride in the way.  We tell ourselves we have reached our goal, when we have not.  We will find ourselves other than where we thought we were.  Funny.  When we don’t know where we are, we are sure we are saved.  Yet, until we know, we are not.  It is the weakness of the hearts of men.  Please, look up, rise up, and come up.  That is the only way.  Never are we finished in this life.  Just as Christ himself, never spoke of himself as having a sure place, as perfect, until after he was resurrected.  We are the same.  Until we have done our all, and walked the road, then after we have died will we know our station and the exact place we will be awarded.  I believe we may know and have our station secured while in this life, but those who do never speak of it.
Let us be careful of the wrong and damning ideas floating in the world about us.  Look to God and live.  Look to the world and die.  Come out of her is the call.  Shall we heed more faithfully than we are now?