So last night I finished reading Truman, a 992-page book by David McCullough about the 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. For someone who loves history, as I do, it was a completely satisfying experience. I recommend the book without reservation.
It is amazing how little some things seem to change in the world. I could draw a lot of parallels with the political climate in our country today.
For most of the nearly eight years he served as President, Truman was greatly disliked by many people, at times (if one can believe public opinion polls) by most people, yet he doggedly pursued a steady course forward based on what he thought was the right thing to do. He was a man of uncommon integrity and had some pretty tough choices to make as the United States ended World War II and embarked on its post-war leadership of the free world. He defined in large measure how our country would participate in the Cold War over the next four decades.
His committing the nation to a war in Korea was particularly unpopular at the time, but in hindsight undoubtedly contained the spread of communism in that part of the world and kept us out of a third world war.
A fascinating thing about history is that at the time it is being made the participants do not know how things are going to turn out in the end. What can appear so obvious to us, from our armchairs on Monday morning, was not at all obvious at the time. Sort of like the outcome of a hotly contested basketball game. It ain't over until it's over.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Ward conference
So far this winter has been very well behaved: lots of snow in the mountains, some rain here in the valleys, reasonable temperatures, that sort of thing. Until today, at least. A major winter storm has moved into Utah, and it's actually dumping snow all over the place, on our sidewalks, the driveway, the roads, nasty places like that.
I attended ward conference in the Bountiful Fourth Ward this afternoon. I was there in my role as high councilor. Very inspirational meetings. During the first hour President Kenneth Olson led a tender discussion in a combined session of all the adults on caring for one another.
During the second hour was regular Sunday School classes, so I came home and shoveled sidewalks and driveway. (I had, by the way, already attended Sunday School in our ward this morning.)
I then returned during the third hour for their sacrament meeting. Bishop Tom Foy gave a marvelous talk on faith in the Lord, using his mother-in-law (Virginia Regis) as an example of faith on her CES mission to Tonga, starting when she was assigned to teach at the Liahona High School and had to figure out how to call roll when the Tongan names consisted of about 55 vowels each. He also told about a little boy who expected and received a miracle with his pet horny toad. President Cory Hanks, in his first ward conference address since becoming our stake president last September, spoke a little about faith, recounting his finding a prized watch when he was about six or seven years old after extended prayers that he might find it. He also talked about going to the temple and promised the Fourth Warders that everything in their lives would go better if they attended the temple more often.
At the start of the meeting the counselor in the bishopric who was conducting the meeting announced that a granddaughter of the Wall family who had just married in December was killed in a car accident on their way to Arizona for an open house. Her new husband is in the hospital in critical condition, unaware yet that his bride had died. Very sad.
Well, it's time to go shovel some more snow.
I attended ward conference in the Bountiful Fourth Ward this afternoon. I was there in my role as high councilor. Very inspirational meetings. During the first hour President Kenneth Olson led a tender discussion in a combined session of all the adults on caring for one another.
During the second hour was regular Sunday School classes, so I came home and shoveled sidewalks and driveway. (I had, by the way, already attended Sunday School in our ward this morning.)
I then returned during the third hour for their sacrament meeting. Bishop Tom Foy gave a marvelous talk on faith in the Lord, using his mother-in-law (Virginia Regis) as an example of faith on her CES mission to Tonga, starting when she was assigned to teach at the Liahona High School and had to figure out how to call roll when the Tongan names consisted of about 55 vowels each. He also told about a little boy who expected and received a miracle with his pet horny toad. President Cory Hanks, in his first ward conference address since becoming our stake president last September, spoke a little about faith, recounting his finding a prized watch when he was about six or seven years old after extended prayers that he might find it. He also talked about going to the temple and promised the Fourth Warders that everything in their lives would go better if they attended the temple more often.
At the start of the meeting the counselor in the bishopric who was conducting the meeting announced that a granddaughter of the Wall family who had just married in December was killed in a car accident on their way to Arizona for an open house. Her new husband is in the hospital in critical condition, unaware yet that his bride had died. Very sad.
Well, it's time to go shovel some more snow.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
A new year
Happy New Year to one and all!
2005 has gone the way of all those other years I can remember from, say, about 1955 or 56, when I was six or seven. We talked to the grandson who lives with us (he's still four) about how tomorrow was a whole new year, and I think he had absolutely no idea what we were talking about.
Many years ago, as we were putting our numerous little children to bed on a New Year's Eve, we said to tender-hearted little Camilla, "Good-night, we'll see you next year," and she burst into tears, not realizing it was just until the next morning. And now she and her husband are expecting a new little one of their own. The cyle of life rolls on.
Sometime around 10:00 last night, our oldest granddaughter (who is nine) called to report that she and her family had just finished reading the Book of Mormon, as our prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, had asked us to do before the end of the year. That's cutting it close, but hey it was before the end of the year.
I was pondering last night, in the waning minutes of the old year, that on the previous New Year's Eve my brother Kay and his family had no idea it would be the last one they'd ever spend with their wife/mother/grandmother. She was diagnosed with stomach cancer in March and died in October.
That is a part of the genius of this mortal schooling the Lord has prepared for us: We never know when our turn is over. We never know when the final test is coming. We have to keep up on our homework. None of this last-minute cramming. Rather, there must be an ongoing vigilence, an attention to duty and relationships, a readiness for whenever the call comes to return home. We cannot procrastinate the day of our repentance.
Here is not our real home; we are simply away at boarding school. Yet sometimes we act as though we get to stay here pretty much indefinitely. Our attention and affections are on the things, the associations, the stuff of this world--and undoubtedly some of that may be appropriate as long as we keep it in proper perspective, remembering that our first loyalty has to be to the things of eternity, building relationships that can last into the next world, doing the things that our Heavenly Father wants us to be doing, things like exercising faith, repenting of our sins, entering into and keeping sacred covenants, strengthening our families, enduring to the end--in short, staying safely on the path, living the gospel, doing our homework, learning the lessons we were sent here to learn.
And keeping in touch with our heavenly home. We do that through prayer. (I had to throw that in because prayer was the topic of my first high council talk of the new year. I spoke earlier today in the 15th Ward sacrament meeting. It's always a great experience to meet with the wonderful Saints in that ward. I have many friends there.)
2005 has gone the way of all those other years I can remember from, say, about 1955 or 56, when I was six or seven. We talked to the grandson who lives with us (he's still four) about how tomorrow was a whole new year, and I think he had absolutely no idea what we were talking about.
Many years ago, as we were putting our numerous little children to bed on a New Year's Eve, we said to tender-hearted little Camilla, "Good-night, we'll see you next year," and she burst into tears, not realizing it was just until the next morning. And now she and her husband are expecting a new little one of their own. The cyle of life rolls on.
Sometime around 10:00 last night, our oldest granddaughter (who is nine) called to report that she and her family had just finished reading the Book of Mormon, as our prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, had asked us to do before the end of the year. That's cutting it close, but hey it was before the end of the year.
I was pondering last night, in the waning minutes of the old year, that on the previous New Year's Eve my brother Kay and his family had no idea it would be the last one they'd ever spend with their wife/mother/grandmother. She was diagnosed with stomach cancer in March and died in October.
That is a part of the genius of this mortal schooling the Lord has prepared for us: We never know when our turn is over. We never know when the final test is coming. We have to keep up on our homework. None of this last-minute cramming. Rather, there must be an ongoing vigilence, an attention to duty and relationships, a readiness for whenever the call comes to return home. We cannot procrastinate the day of our repentance.
Here is not our real home; we are simply away at boarding school. Yet sometimes we act as though we get to stay here pretty much indefinitely. Our attention and affections are on the things, the associations, the stuff of this world--and undoubtedly some of that may be appropriate as long as we keep it in proper perspective, remembering that our first loyalty has to be to the things of eternity, building relationships that can last into the next world, doing the things that our Heavenly Father wants us to be doing, things like exercising faith, repenting of our sins, entering into and keeping sacred covenants, strengthening our families, enduring to the end--in short, staying safely on the path, living the gospel, doing our homework, learning the lessons we were sent here to learn.
And keeping in touch with our heavenly home. We do that through prayer. (I had to throw that in because prayer was the topic of my first high council talk of the new year. I spoke earlier today in the 15th Ward sacrament meeting. It's always a great experience to meet with the wonderful Saints in that ward. I have many friends there.)
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