Thank You

Our time of bereavement has come.  Rae Petersen Rasmussen has majestically returned to that God who gave her.  This morning all I can really feel is gratitude.  So, I just want to say thanks!

Thanks to Cheya, Steve, Jenny, Verona and Shaneen who faithfully took their turns caring for Mom over the past few weeks.  How they tended to her every need.

Thanks to Susan who rode to the rescue all the way from Virginia to help us carry on as we, exhausted, needed to redouble our efforts.  You never falter and we are so grateful you came. 

Thanks to Mark and Susan who so very frequently gave up their weekends and traveled so far to give the others a break and also give such love and service.   

Thanks to Uintah Basin Home Care/Hospice and more particularly to Rose and Kay, for their fine attentive service and kindness.

Thanks to Wayne and Greg, Kevin, Debbie, Melinda and Janna for coming so very far to love and to serve before she left, only to come so far again to see her off.

Thanks to Steve for doing all the work to get Mom and Dad's headstone so beautifully designed and set in place in time for Mom to see it.  Thanks for getting her out of the house on that one last, special excursion.

Thanks to Bishop Cook and President Case for coming to the house to renew her Temple Recommend.

Thanks to Jodi, Mom's Relief Society President for precious acts of service, accompanied by so many Sisters in Zion.

Thanks to Davis for being worthy to bless the emblems of the Atonement one last time for his dear Grandmother.  And for the Priests of her Ward who faithfully rendered that precious service all the while she was homebound.

A special thanks to Kevin for being Mom's house-mate these several years.  You eased our hearts, blessed our lives and broadened our smiles.  You most certainly blessed the life of your Grandmother.

Thanks to Kristi, Ronnie and Kevin, Jenny and John, Steve and Cheya, Shaneen and Mark for painting her house.  And to Steve and Eric, Scott and Ryan and John for shingling her roof.

A heart felt thanks to Jenny and John for mowing her lawn and shoveling her walks season upon season.  And thank you for washing her windows and cleaning her house and for rallying the rest of us for Spring projects and so many other good deeds.  No one's beat a more consistent path to Grandma's door than Jenny.

Thanks to Cheya for countless hours working on boxes and boxes of family photos.  Mom loved that project so very much.  You blessed her life greatly as you reminisced together through so many precious memories. We will forever be the beneficiaries of your tireless efforts to preserve and chronicle our lives together.

Thanks to Shaneen for paying all the bills and keeping Mom's financial affairs in order.  You did it quietly and without fanfare, but this great blessing didn't go unnoticed.

Thanks to Steve for his oversight of the property and for his constant concern for Mom and her welfare.  Your selfless service and constant concern make sure nothing falls through the cracks.  Additionally, Steve, your concern for others and your willingness to give us much needed breaks, have given us the vitality and perspective we needed to carry on.

The whole family is grateful for the NOBLE, pioneering, wisdom of Eric.  He has showed us all how to serve, to mourn, to have faith and great courage.

Mom's final night in mortality was a difficult one.  She was closely attended to by Susan, Steve, Mark, Shaneen, Verona, Scott, Jenny and Katie.  The vigil they kept through the night was one of devotion, prayer and concern.  A heart felt thanks to each of you.  Mark and Steve's words of comfort and encouragement fell on our ears as well as hers.  Most especially we are grateful for Mark's prayer and Katie's wonderful song.  It was certainly a sacred moment when she passed beyond the veil to her glorious and certain reward and happy reunion.

When Cheya arrived at her mother's bedside and found her body relaxed and at peace, she exclaimed a joyful, heart felt, "Yay!"  In celebration of a life well lived and a fight well fought.  In rejoicing that the long ordeal of suffering had finally come to its joyful end.  Thank you Cheya for your enduring faith and refined perspective.

There is a long list of others who because of work and distance and other difficulties, couldn't enjoy the rich blessings so abundant to those who could give her more constant care.  Loved ones who came by as often as they could and who did so much to lift her spirits, and ours.  Kristi, Julie, Cory, Audrey, Jason, Rachel, Alyson, Ryan, Julie, Cassie, Jordan, Stacey, Brett, Angela, Donald, Eleanor, Elizabeth, Billie, Molly Dean, Amy, and Darryl; thank you all so very very much for your love, devotion, encouragement and concern.

When, Brinli, Aubree, Ryker, Porter, Brooke, Robbie, Lincoln, Jeff and Megan, bopped in for loves and smiles, she was never happier.  And she often mentioned and asked about her more distant great-grand children in far away Virginia.  Thanks to all of them for their affection, prayers and expressions of love and concern.

Thanks to the Blackburn Vernal Mortuary for the warm, professional way in which they served our family and for the dignified way in which they cared for Mom.

Thanks to the Davis 1st Ward Relief Society for lovely arrangements and delightful food.  The luncheon was marvelous and gave us such a bountiful opportunity to mingle with loved ones.

Thanks to so many Petersens and Rasmussens and Harrisons who came such amazing distances to express their love and condolences.  Add to that the dozens of friends who also came to pay their respects and you have an amazing group of wonderful people whose lives were touched by mother and very much the other way around.  The flowers and other arrangements were beautiful and added such cheer to our sorrow.  They were a source of great joy.  Thank you.

Most of all, a special thanks to Mom.  You were faithful and determined to the very end.  Your example of sweetness, persistence, humility, grace and goodness will never be forgotten.  

You left your house clean and freshly painted, with brand new doors and a full propane tank.  You left our lives equally filled and bright with your love and attentive care.  We cannot imagine life without you and hope you are never very far away.  We trust we will see you again for the sake of your goodness if not for our own.  None of us has ever known a more perfect example of righteousness and womanhood.

Finally, a special thanks to Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, for giving Mom to each of us.  Thank you for comforting, lifting and touching our lives through her.  Thank you for giving us the promise of seeing her and Dad again one day.  Thank you for answering our prayers in her behalf.  Thank you speaking peace to our souls at her passing.  Thank you for orchestrating the theme and circumstances that made this difficult occasion a holy, memorable and blessed one.

Note:  I'm glad this is an adaptable medium so I can amend it when I discover that in my weakness I have overlooked someone, which I surely have.  If you know of such an oversight, please let me know.  I guess to be adequately thorough, I should have written a book.  Myriad are the kindly deeds of service that have been rendered incident to Mom's illness and passing.  This is but a brief overview.  I hope I can be forgiven for it's mistakes.  It's just that I could not restrain myself from expressing the profound gratitude I feel for all that has been done to ease and bless the life of our dear Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, Sister, Friend, Aunt and dear one, Rae Petersen Rasmussen.

It has been a strain and a joy, as we tearfully remember our way through a house full of memorabilia.  A heartfelt thanks to seven wonderful siblings whose generosity, love and affection for one another has transcended worldly wants for something far sweeter and more meaningful.  You honor your mother richly by the way in which you conduct your lives and the care with which you maintain your family relationships.

A Great Heart

Sweetie's dear Mother is leaving us.  It has been a long slow process.  She has such a great heart that doesn't want to quit.  She is completely bedfast now.  She is mostly unable to respond to us.  For days now she has struggled for breath, but still she chugs on.  We've taken turns at her side around the clock for a couple of weeks now.  Each day we marvel that she continues to persist in living.

We've all said our goodbyes and are hopeful that she doesn't need to suffer much longer.  Two of our daughters spent the night with her last night.  I was just there, where she is surrounded by two sons, a daughter, two daughters-in-law and three grand children.  When Sweetie awakens from her exhaustion, we'll return to carry on.  Everyone gets a break but Mom.  Seems as though that's how it has always been.

In our prayers we wonder why she must suffer so, but last night Katie sang her a lullaby and her grandmother roused briefly in an expression of gratitude.  Numerous little incidents of closure like that have taken place during the long ordeal.  All we can do is trust Heavenly Father's wisdom in the matter.  For days we thought, "this is the day."  We think so today as well.  But who can really tell the strength of a great heart.

Choosing Up Sides

I answered the phone last night.  There was a sweet lady on the other end conducting a survey.  Ordinarily I don't have time for such things.  I also resist the fact that they just assume I have plenty of time and never even ask if their interruption in my life might be convenient or not.

For some reason, curiosity I guess, I said I would participate and asked how long it would take.  She couldn't tell me because she didn't know how long it would take me to respond.  That was my cue to take as long as I wished.

The premise of her survey was completely flawed as pertains to me, but still I persisted to the bitter end.  You see, all of her questions wanted to know if I were conservative or liberal.  It never occurred to those seeking the information that there might be people who are neither.

She asked me who I preferred Bush or Obama.  I paused, considering that for quite a while.  When she expressed curiosity as to why such a answer would take so long I answered, "I'm trying to decide if I prefer crap or poop."  She seemed totally lost as to what I might mean.  I explained that I didn't like either one and so was not in a position to honestly answer the question.  I asked if there might be a third alternative.  Nope.

I chose poop.  The next question was, "Do you consider yourself liberal or conservative?"  I answered, "Neither."

"That is not a choice sir."

"Do you want me to lie?"

"Of course not!" she exclaimed.

"Maybe I should just hang up then."

"Oh, no, we value your opinion." she declared.  I explained that if she valued my opinion she'd let me answer truthfully, but since she was restricting the answers I could give she was forcing me to lie."

"Can we proceed now," she impatiently asked.

"Of course!"

I decided the only way I could fairly represent my position was to answer the remaining questions alternately conservative and liberal.  She struggled with my inconsistency and accused me of messing with her data.  I tried again to explain that I needed to represent the unrepresented middle and that I needed to average the two poles.  This was way over her pay grade.  We discussed almost every answer so I could help her understand.  I explained that when the left goes to some extreme or other, the right feels compelled to counter with an extreme of their own and vice versa.  I pointed out that when this happens the two sides find less and less common ground.  I stand on that common ground, but nobody is representing me.  Common ground is the fertile soil of common sense and nobody I'm aware of in Washington has a lick of it.  Come to think of it very few of my acquaintances have much of it either.  Of course the Washington establishment is aware of that as well as I am.  They are not bumbling idiots.  They are greedy power mongers whose time is spent securing their own personal interests above those of the nation.  They are not going about this blindly, they know very well what they are doing.

This can only be fixed by term limits.

The economy, the environment, race relations, poverty, military, health and welfare are not the fundamental issues.  They are seen by the controlling elite as means with which to manipulate the country for their own power hungry ends.  We the voters no longer control the system, we are just fodder for it.  Their fundamental tactic is to divide and conquer.  They have succeeded in dividing us and the results are more than obvious.

The Crunch of Sugar on the Kitchen Floor

I awoke from a nap just moments ago and as I walked into the kitchen, felt and heard the crunch of sugar spilled on the kitchen floor.  Sweetie is spending the afternoon at her mother's.  Katie is sleeping off a cold.  Neither are suspects.  The grandkids live through the back gate, one of them is.

Now, I'd rather those two didn't feel they had free rein in our house; especially when we aren't up or around.  Still, I want them to feel comfortable; as though they belong - which they do.  Megan has a lot of energy and ton's of initiative, she is my most likely suspect.  She's turning seven this month and is a whiz at First Grade.  I wonder how to approach this as they will arrive here to be babysat in a few moments.

I often look at the troubled kids at the Detention Center and ask myself, what happened that turned these children from sweet little kids to the pained hoodlums they've become.  Was it a 'sugar-on-the-kitchen-floor' moment when they were seven?  Maybe, maybe not.  But I'll wager that it all started with a gross over reaction to something.  Soon it became a series of somethings and the divergence between the two roads became wider and wider.

I wonder if a parent, grandparent or baby sitter looked at a pile of spilled sugar and thought only of themselves.  Who thought, "I'm tired.  I have to clean up this unnecessary mess.  What did I do to deserve a kid like this?  I can't take this any more. I....  I..... I...."

What if they'd have thought of Megan.  What if they asked, "What did you have in mind when you pulled out the sugar cannister?  Were you successful at making a batch of Kool-aid?  What flavor did you choose?  How did it taste?  Can I have some?"

I'll bet that during the last course of interrogation an apology for the mess, just might be forth coming.  I'll wager that the reason no attempt to clean it up came as result of being called home before the project was complete.  I can imagine that her intention was to surprise me with something sweet to drink...... (I just checked and was disappointed that the fridge didn't hold such a prize.)

It took me all of a minute to sweep and mop it up.  Shall I blow that all out of proportion and send little Megan down a more difficult road?  When you're seven big ideas don't turn out quite like you expect, shall I condemn her to the closet or the corner and commence building a barrier between us.  Shall I push her away when all she wants is to love and be loved?  Shall I punish her enterprise?  Shall I scold her initiative?

She just walked in the door.  I was glad I'd considered some questions in advance.  As a young father I might have sat her beneath a bare light bulb and used her Mom to play good cop, while I played the bad one.  Regrettably, I doubt I was playing.

Kids are quite capable to understanding the magnitude and appropriate consequences of their various mistakes.  Blown out of proportion, this little incident might have driven a wedge between she and I.  I think I'll let her help me decide how serious her little infraction should be.  Kids deserve at least the treatment citizens get in our courts.  They ought to be considered innocent until proven guilty.  A reasonable period of time might be granted before sentencing.  Careful consideration should be given to ensure the punishment is appropriate to the crime.

After supper we decided to have a trial and Jeff (nearly nine) accepted the responsibility to be Megan's Defense Attorney.

Court was called to order and the accused was asked to stand.  Her charges were explained and when asked she pleaded not guilty.  (Now what do I do?)  I proceeded with the trial and asked the Defense Attorney present evidence of Megan's innocence.  He called himself to the stand and confessed that it was he who had spilled the sugar, so it could not possibly have been Megan.  The case was immediately dismissed and the prisoner released.

Another trial was held with the roles reversed.  Jeff plead guilty and we moved right to the sentencing phase.  Megan suggested Jeff's punishment should be that he be required to put make-up on.  Jeff plead for mercy and suggested a week without video games.  "Commit the crime - Do the time," I said.  "Roll the dice - Pay the price", Jeff replied.

Sentencing guidelines considered both suggested punishments to be excessive.  The condemned was asked if he'd like to explain his actions.  He answered forthrightly.  He was conducting an experiment in the process of dissolving a solid in a liquid.  When asked why sugar was left on the floor he plead, "absent minded professor!"  His plea for mercy and understanding carried the heart of the court.  With an apology and a promise to be more thoughtful next time, the criminal was released on his own recognizance.

Best spent spilled sugar ever!

General Conference Was Wonderful - But It Made Me Jealous

I love General Conference!  I was able to listen to every moment of the proceedings.  Each talk lifted and inspired me.

I was so grateful that such emphasis was placed on pornography and the certain possibility of recovery from that and other addictions.

I was also grateful that Elder Packer declared that homosexual promiscuity could be repented of.  I'm sure that will cause a fire storm in some circles.  Gays don't seem to understand that they cannot dictate to the Lord what is right and wrong.  He makes the rules.  As the church is nothing if it doesn't represent God; how can anyone suppose that capitulating to social demands would do anything but destroy the church.  If they honestly think they can influence church policy by protesting what the church stands for, they are of necessity, making the church out to be something it is not.  The church is, after all, a Theocracy.  If it were operated as a Democracy, it would represent the people, not God.

In my youth I was quite jealous of the General Authorities.  They seemed to have such a romantic life, traveling the world, teaching the gospel.  I wanted to be so engaged.  I was also jealous of the opportunities they had to sit in council with prophets and apostles.  I imagine those meetings to be uplifting, harmonious, full of light and love.  In my more mature years it is becoming more obvious how challenging, difficult and demanding their jobs are.  I imagine constant jet lag.  I conjure images of sleepless nights, strange food, tiring schedules and long absences from home.  I remember one day standing the the Salt Lake airport and seeing Elder Neal A. Maxwell walking down the concourse on his way home from who knows where.  He looked resolute, but utterly exhausted.  My heart went out to him as he carried his enormous burden.  I wonder how many birthdays and ball games and school plays and anniversaries they the are required to miss.

My grandkids live right through the back gate.  I am able to serve in meaningful realms right here at home.  I am no longer jealous of their busy lifestyles.  I was thinking today that I shouldn't be jealous of their opportunities to sit in council in their various quorums.  I have a quorum.  Somehow though, my quorum doesn't seem to be following the pattern that appears to transpire at church headquarters.  My quorum is more like a class.  A rather disconnected class at that.  We do precious little to promote brotherhood.  We don't commiserate or council together.  We just sit in the same room for a lesson; one that draws distressingly little comment even.  We serve as individuals, but we don't serve as a group.  We all have testimonies.  I dare say we all love each other too.  We don't socialize as a group.  We don't seem to have a collective purpose.  We accept Temple and Home Teaching assignments, but we seem to content to do no more than we're asked.

I'd like a quorum that was more like the School of the Prophets.  I think we can do this!  I think there a just a few things that would make a big difference.

1. We could sit in a circle instead of rows.  I need to look into the eyes of my brethren, not at the back of their heads.
2. We could actually take on a project, or three.  I can't count how many times I've been organized into a committee around the three missions of the church, never to actually meet or do anything with said committee.  To date, those committees have never actually committed to or accomplished anything they set out to do.
3. We could actually have Personal Priesthood Interviews regarding our Home Teaching and our Quorum objectives.  I heard an example once of a Quorum Leader who held PPI's.  They were such a pleasure that no one missed them and everyone looked forward to them.  He would have his brethren say the opening prayer so he could "take their spiritual temperature" and then seek the guidance of the Lord as to what they needed to yet do to build the Kingdom.
4. We could have a monthly pot luck social during which we could get better acquainted with one another, as couples.  No big deal.  No special preparations.  No assignments.  No dishes.  Just sociality.
5. We could actually study the lessons, rather than have the teacher read it to us.
6. We could actually explore the application of the Atonement to our lives, rather than pontificating about how much we know.
7. We could identify problems and actually work on solutions.

Do you not suppose that this is more like what transpires in the Quorum of the 12 Apostles?  More than what we are currently doing?  I want to be part of a quorum like that.  I don't want to have to be called to Salt Lake City to get it.  I want it right here in the part of Zion that has been granted to me.

Earlier this week I praised the Freedom Ward in Star Valley.  Over the century they've been serving together, they been much like I describe.  The Priesthood has been the governing body in the town.  I remember the topic in Priesthood Meeting once was the acquisition of a fire trailer to be used in fighting fires in the community.  This was accomplished along with dozens of other projects.  They never even considered having the government take care of their needs.  The did that themselves.  They volunteered one another's equipment to help with the crops.  They cooperated in strengthening the gene pools of their herds.  They took turns watching their stock on the range.  They worked together on irrigation projects.  Their quorums had things to accomplish and they did them.

There are some very real challenges in my local, city ward.  We lack the kind of pressing community problems to solve that are part and parcel of everyday life in a farming community.  In the city, though we live closer together, we are actually more isolated and independent.  Also,some of my quorum members meet with Aaronic Priesthood quorums, some are in the Primary.  We need to find a way to include them.  We need their strength.  Additionally, we need to overcome the status quo.  Most of us have never seen the kind of quorum I envision.  It will be easiest to just stay the same.  While I hope not, it just may be that the only way to change things is to start with the boys in the Aaronic Priesthood.  The final problem I can think of is a matter of personal commitment. Like everything in the Kingdom, conversion is the key to motivation.  While many may be converted to the Church, some may not be converted the notion that a Priesthood Quorum may not be what we've always allowed it to be.  Like everything else in mortality, a vibrant quorum requires energy and effort.  It requires vision and purpose.  It requires faith and devotion.  Oh, how I pray we can do this.