Author Profile: Ray
Author Archive for Ray
My father had a stroke on Wednesday. The artery in his neck is 95% blocked, and he will have surgery to try to correct that problem next Wednesday. Since my New Year’s Resolution posts on my personal blog this month are focused on charity envying not, I want to repost something that I wrote a little over two years ago when one of my nieces died unexpectedly.
Much of what I know of charity envying not (and charity in totality) was learned by watching my father – particularly as he laid down his own life for the woman he loves. He never once begrudged what he might have had, but rather did what it took to serve his family and others in his own, individual, consciously chosen path. I hope someday I will be as good a man as he is.
May this day be one that is devoid of contention, anger, hard feelings and condemnation. May we commit to make it such within our own spheres of influence.
May love fill our hearts to overflowing this day. May we commit to allow it to be so on other days.
May our differences matter less than our common status as children of God. May we commit to see it as so no matter with whom we associate.
May all of us appreciate and respect those with whom we disagree – in word as well as in deed. May we commit to so speak and do, even with those who persecute and spitefully use us.
In all our deepest desires, may there be a road before us – and may we allow others to walk their own individual roads without throwing stones and placing unnecessary obstacles in their way. May we commit to walk thus, no matter how often our roads intersect.
May the example of those whose lives we use as our guide be ever before our eyes – and be honored in the way we live with and treat others. May we commit to remember to look back as we move forward.
May we see each other as God sees us. May we commit to be God’s love for others.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Loading ...This probably will be the shortest post I ever write, but sometimes less is more. I hope that is the case here. Continue reading…
I absolutely LOVE the Sermon on the Mount. It is my second favorite passage in all our recorded scripture – right behind the Intercessory Prayer. However, we often forget that it was delivered to . . . his disciples . . . not to the multitude who had gathered because of his fame. Continue reading…
One of the common complaints about and arguments against the Book of Mormon is the claim that it was written in “Reformed Egyptian” – a unique and obsolete language that was peculiar to the Nephites and could not be read by anyone else. There have been many things written about this issue over the years, some of which are merely skeptical and more of which are mocking. One of the common themes has been, “Well, that’s convenient. There’s no way to check any language for accuracy and veracity. Great con scheme.” What the people who wrote these things in the past and say them now didn’t and don’t realize is that there is a modern example of exactly such a language – one that is unique to its own people and, in many instances, cannot be read even by those from whom its written foundation was taken.
That example is modern Japanese. Continue reading…
This is an administrative post that is irrelevant to most of you. For that, I apologize. However, we have had a surge recently in comments left by dedicated anti-Mormon activists – comments that have NOTHING to do with the posts on which they appear and that contain NOTHING constructive or enlightening. We also have had a few comments by believing members that have come perilously close to crossing the lines of common decency, and one in particular that crossed those lines. Continue reading…
A week ago, I attended the viewing and funeral of a man in our stake who died of an unexpected heart attack. He was in his 50’s, had just been to the doctor and been pronounced fit as a fiddle, was losing weight and feeling great.
He was the Bishop of his ward, and his wife had been cancer free for just over a year. His son flew home for the weekend, after which he returned to finish his mission. Continue reading…
[Please pardon the personal nature of this post, but I want to take the opportunity to write this personally.]
For the past two years (almost), I have been an active blogger – to say the least. (*grin*) Actually, to be more precise, I have been a VERY active blogger. OK, that is an understatement.
That has changed over the last three weeks. Continue reading…
Matthew 5:27-28 includes the statement:
“Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
Rather than debate that statement, although I am open to discussing it here, I want to focus on an underlying issue within something to which we refer frequently as the “Law of Chastity”. My primary focus is on the injunction regarding eliminating “lust” – and particularly how it can be avoided no matter one’s surroundings and exposure. This a result partly of the long, interesting discussion we had recently about “naturism” – but I don’t want to rehash that discussion here. Rather, I want to focus on one of the underlying currents that seemed to flow beneath the discussion. Continue reading…
I am struck regularly by how many members fail to focus on the life of Jesus and, thus, fail to realize that there are incredible lessons (particularly in the Gospels) about specific things we can do to become more like Him – things that can lessen the effects of our sins and actually help decrease the frequency of those sins – thus bringing internal peace and a measure of calmness to our lives in the here and now, regardless of the storms that rage therein. I believe we sometimes buy into the apostate obsession with the afterlife – as though it’s OK to be miserable here, since we’ll be happy there. The problem is that we are told that the same spirit we develop here will rise with us there. (Alma 34:34) In other words, if we become peaceful in this life, we will be at peace in the next life. That’s worth pondering all on its own – that we are accountable for whether or not we develop internal peace. Continue reading…
In a recent CNN.com/living article (“Out-of-wedlock births hit record high”), the discussion centered on the fact that the birth rate outside of marriage in the United States has risen nearly 25% in the past five years. You read that correctly – 25% in 5 years. The following are some representative quotes from that article: Continue reading…
I am on the Stake Missionary Committee, and Wednesday night we had a fascinating set of meetings. 
I couldn’t help but think as the meetings unfolded that everyone here would have been shocked at the conversation flow and the end result of our final committee meeting. I don’t want to go into lots of detail, but I do want to recap two highlights and ask everyone here the same question my Stake President asked us:
What advice would you have me give our Bishops? Continue reading…
I am struck regularly by how many members fail to focus on Jesus’ life and realize that there are incredible lessons (particularly in the Gospels) about specific things we can do to become more like Him – things that can lessen the effects of our sins and actually help decrease the frequency of those sins – thus bringing internal peace and a measure of calmness to our lives in the here and now. I believe we sometimes buy into the apostate obsession with the afterlife – as though it’s OK to be miserable here, since we’ll be happy there. The problem is that we are told that the same spirit we develop here will rise with us there. (Alma 34:34) In other words, if we gain peace in this life, we will be at peace in the next life. That’s worth pondering. Continue reading…
My son received a large white envelope from SLC yesterday, and he had to wait four hours to open it, so that his mother and siblings could get home. We then rushed to a ward party, where, obviously, his call was the main topic of conversation – since his brother and sisters had immediately published the info on Facebook, and his parents had done the same on their personal blogs.
The details are as follows: Continue reading…
