Leaderboard

It seems like just yesterday that we were calling Vai to be a Bishop in the Cherry Hill Stake, New Jersey. I was the Stake Executive Secretary at the time and Brother Ahmad Corbitt was the 2nd Counselor. He served wonderfully and later became the Stake President after President Corbitt. It's neat to see regular, but extraordinarily committed people called to serve in His Kingdom. Of course, it was earlier than that at college that we watched Vai consistently run through opposing teams on kickoff returns!

Elder Vaiangina Sikahema spoke in the Sunday morning session, giving a talk entitled 'A House of Sequential Order’. Here is a video from 2008, of Brother Vai knocking out Jose Canseco in the boxing ring. https://youtu.be/pHNXCJ5wcAs?t=212

My daughter was a missionary @ Temple Square and got home just over a year ago (and already married). She related that this week was always a big week for the sisters in the mission there. They were extra busy and had to have everything just right. During the week, you would hear their warcry often - Conference Ready! I love October conference. The autumn is so refreshing, especially after a literally burning hot fire season. We will be making our signature lasagna. And hope that we can welcome the spirit into our home. Wonder if we will get the new Hymnal or anything else even more exciting.

That's cool. As he was speaking, I learned that he was a missionary in our ward in South Dakota when I was born.

I find Dear Evan Hansen one of the most relatable musicals to me. I'm somewhat aware of how socially awkward I can be and I could see myself doing something similar in high school given those unique circumstances. And I think the music is excellent.

I find this a very interesting study: https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/people-who-have-already-had-covid-19-could-be-less-likely-catch-delta-vaccinated

I like JP:

Some years ago, as an exercise in rhetoric/argument and in an effort to explore the ramifications of my thoughts on this issue, I tried to draft a theoretical PR news statement for the church that would change its position on homosexuality while persuasively defending its leaders’ credibility to prospectively speak on behalf of God on other moral issues. I spent half a day on it, and the final result was trash. Like @Vort, I never want to box myself into the corner of seeing that “if the church leadership does x, I will leave.” I always want to leave an opening for receiving further light and knowledge through personal revelation. But at the same time, I will freely admit: I don’t know how to square that circle. The church has entrenched itself on the issue of gay marriage far more deeply, and in a way that leaves far less room for future reversal, than it ever did on other issues like polygamy or the priesthood/temple ban on black people. The old standbys of “well, they always said that might change later“ or “well, it was only one prophet who said that; it wasn’t the united voice of the Q15 speaking in an official capacity and other prophets and apostles were saying this instead“ are not available to us here. I think, if I stayed at all in such a contingency, the “natural JAG” would be far less willing to inconvenience myself for the church’s sake. I’d have a hard time teaching; if I slept in on a Sunday If have a hard time hustling to get to church on time (or at all); I’d be sorely tempted to suspend tithing until some other financial priorities had been met. So . . . yeah.

Actually, never mind. Hearing about Facebook, it’s happening right now.

Probably deliberately disabled until after Halloween.

So, when the daughters were like 11ish, we redid their bathroom, and I added an extra medicine cabinet thingy that lights up and whatnot. Cool place to keep makeup and skincare and stuff that girls seem to need. Those like those, right? Just doin' my daddy thing. Over the years, my wife has taken them to try out makeup, they've talked about spa days and facials and stuff. Daughters never gave two craps about any of that. Medicine cabinet is the most useless thing in our house, covered in dust, holding some nail polish and other crap mom got them over the years. Tonight we're doing our monthly family movie night thing, and this time our 17 yr old is bringing a friend. She mentions in passing he's a boy. His parents are dropping him off at our movie, and picking him up after. They're just friends, she says. This morning, I notice the door to the medicine cabinet is open.

*rushes through an early-morning assignment at work to get home before Conference starts* *misses the final speaker of the Saturday morning session because of a bathroom break and stomach trouble* Thus goes my weekend so far.

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Prediction: A GA will reiterate some totally elementary doctrine, and a bunch of progressives will act all outraged over it. Here’s a graphical representation: https://tenor.com/Q5p5.gif