wenglund

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  1. Like
    wenglund got a reaction from NeuroTypical in The Elder's Quorum move that left a mark.   
    I am grateful to all for sharing. It is good to know that I am not alone in experiencing such traumatic situations. It is the kind of thing where one does the best that one can, and then lay the rest at the feet of Christ, comforted in the faith and hope that all will be made right and whole in the end by the Savior. Besides, when any of us pass to the other side, we leave behind all our material possessions. For some of us, though, that occurs prior to death. Even still, "It is well."
    Thanks, Wade
  2. Like
    wenglund got a reaction from Vort in This seems so uncomfortable   
    I have discovered through Spirit-led introspection that when I feel as though interactions with my fellow man, or fellow saints, is "hellish", this is my natural man reacting rather than the side of me striving to become more like Christ. It is a way of exposing my own weaknesses and need to repent and change. After all, given the far more vast disparity in righteousness or even social affability between any of us and Christ, yet he allows his Spirit to be constantly with us and may even consider us as "friends". He is our exemplar. 
    Thanks, Wade
  3. Okay
    wenglund got a reaction from SilentOne in This seems so uncomfortable   
    I have discovered through Spirit-led introspection that when I feel as though interactions with my fellow man, or fellow saints, is "hellish", this is my natural man reacting rather than the side of me striving to become more like Christ. It is a way of exposing my own weaknesses and need to repent and change. After all, given the far more vast disparity in righteousness or even social affability between any of us and Christ, yet he allows his Spirit to be constantly with us and may even consider us as "friends". He is our exemplar. 
    Thanks, Wade
  4. Like
    wenglund reacted to Grunt in The Elder's Quorum move that left a mark.   
    Thank for sharing.  Since I joined the Church, I've always taken my children on every service project I've done.  We've laughed, cried, and learned.   I remember one particularly good lesson where we were helping someone move from her home after a divorce.   
    We showed up and the house was destroyed.  Lots of pets, smelled horrible, and hadn't been cleaned in years.  It was very disgusting.   Nothing was packed, and the only people that showed up to help were her ministering brother, the bishop, and my boys and I.  She sat on the porch without helping, and the entire time we packed and loaded her things she swore at us for being church members, criticized the Church, smoked, and was just being a pretty crappy person to those of us that helped.   
     
    At more than one point I asked her to stop swearing in front of my children, and my boys asked why we were helping her.  It was a great opportunity for me to share the nature of service, why we serve, and blessings.   To this day when one of my boys complains about doing something, they will bring up that day and talk about how we own our attitudes and the effect we can have on others through cheer and good-tidings when confronted with grumpiness and bad behavior.
  5. Love
    wenglund reacted to Traveler in The Elder's Quorum move that left a mark.   
    Mostly as we think and evaluate life; we think of the positive things that are associated with life but the reality is that life as we know it will eventually end and in almost all cases the end is frightening and difficult.   Sometimes the ending sequence of life tragically takes place over months or even years and involves a lot of suffering (mental, physical and spiritual); both for the individual and their care givers.   I had over 40 aunts and uncles (over 100 first cousins).  Currently all that are left are two aunts that are not physically doing well.  I have seen @NeuroTypical epoch story play out many times.  Sometimes being handled by ward families, sometimes by direct families and sometime by both.  For the parents of my wife and my self; their end of life struggles were intended to be handled exclusively by family but lots of others somehow showed up - and many of the others was beyond the ward.
    The last year for my father (the first of mine and my wife's parents to pass) - he required 24-7 care.  I have six siblings and we each took a day to see for his needs.  I will not go into all the details with my father except for one regret.  I thought it was important for my father to eat properly (he wanted mostly ice-cream) and make sure he took all his meds - he did not want to take any of them and did all kinds of tricks to make me believe he had taken them when he hadn't.  My regret is that I should have fed him his ice-cream and skipped his meds as per his request - my efforts may have prolonged the inevitable but other than that - did not hardly change anything.  Especially it did not add any more comfort or joy to his last days. 
    The sad truth is that if someone does not die quickly from an accident or sudden illness - they will endure a very sad, difficult and extremely dependent phase of their life cycle.  I am old enough to see the beginnings of this in my own life as control over "things" seems to be slipping a little (more so with some of my and my wife's siblings).  The most difficult part of this is that very few prepare ourselves for this phase of our life - leaving the greater burden to others.  The greatest problem are attachments to things that one can no longer care for by themselves (which includes beloved pets).  I think the most difficult part of this is for the suffer to give up stuff that can no longer be properly cared for - and I include in stuff the mental capacity to make rational decisions - which means someone else must make such decisions and somehow convince (or not) that things will be best under the circumstances.
    Because of improved health care many lives are being extended longer into this end of life phase.  I believe this is both a good and a bad thing and something we will see a lot more of in the coming years.  As I have pondered this circumstance I have only become more uncertain of solutions - especially for myself.  And I wonder if some humanitarian efforts are only making matters worse - both for those in such circumstance and those providing compassionate service.
    I think, for myself, the most difficult issue to resolve is what will become of my library collection of books and papers.  For years I have collected and written notes in the collection and there is no one that cares.  It seems that we all have stuff that we think is valuable to ourselves that just do not mean the same to others - they have their own stuff to worry about.
    I guess the point of my post is that the great lesson of life is such that whatever we do not plan for ourselves will be left to others or not at all.
     
    The Traveler
  6. Love
    wenglund reacted to NeuroTypical in The Elder's Quorum move that left a mark.   
    In another thread, @Just_A_Guy had this to say.
    I have a recent personal story on the subject, and thought it best to start a new thread.
    It was a standard EQ move - show up at this address Saturday morning, we're helping Sister X move.  So I show up with my gloves, my truck, and my smiling face.  It looks to be one of "those" homes - more mess than stuff, and hard to tell which is which.  I see a few of the regulars there, and the Relief Society has been helping get things cleaned and organized.  I guess Friday a lot of it got done, but they ran out of trash bags and boxes, so this was part 2. 
    There are three piles of stuff in the yard.  A passing Elder says "apparently that's stuff going with her, that's stuff to donate, and that's trash".  He looks and sounds a little confused.  As I walk through the home, I see most of the rooms are mostly empty, just leftover debris and dusty knick-knacks.  My buddy, who I don't think has ever missed a service project, walks by with a bag.  "This one is different - it's not a move, it's an eviction.  She's in there," he says, gesturing with his head as he moves past me.  I walk into the last room, and it takes a while to see it all and process it all.  Sister X is on a hospital bed.  Ok, got it.  Sister X is older, obese, and has no legs.  Oh.  I wonder if diabetes took them.  Sister X is wearing her garment tops, and has on her bed an old crusty dog with  a very long tongue hanging out of his mouth.  There are 4 Elders in the room and one Relief Society sister, all of them circling the bed, looking at Sister X, and nobody is saying anything.   The room is full of stuff - it's very crowded in there.  Sister X looks sad, maybe also stubborn?  Or defiant?  In the awkward silence, I think "Wait, what did he mean, 'this is an eviction'?"
    Over the next 5 minutes or so, I learn an awful lot more as the other Elders and I wander around the house trying to find out how to be useful.
    Sister X's husband died last year.  That's right - I knew the name sounded familiar - it was announced over the pulpit.  Hubby's income had ended when he did, Sister X's Social Security and Medicare and whatnot basically paid for the hospital bed and nursing visits, and dang little else.  So rent stopped getting paid a long time ago, and the landowner was understanding, then patient, then less patient, then tried to help her find a place to move, then eventually began legal eviction proceedings.  This was the tail end of the months-long eviction process. 
    The Relief Society sister was her ministering sister, and seemed to be the only one among us that knew what was going on.  And she knew very little - only what Sister X was saying.  From the RS sister, I learn that "they" (she didn't know who 'they' were) were sending her to a hospital/hospice place somewhere.  The ambulance had shown up for her yesterday, but she had refused to get on it.  Sister X was demanding all her stuff be moved to her new home, the ambulance people just showed up for her, and wouldn't even take the dog.  
    The Relief Society sister pulled strength, wisdom, and maturity from somewhere, and started making decisions.  She allowed us guys to finally swing into action.  She ran every item past Sister X, and negotiated an answer about keep/donate/trash.  It was difficult, because to Sister X, most of it was "keep".
    "I don't think the ambulance will let you take that with you."
    "Well, put it in the keep pile, and they can bring it to me later."
    "Ok, this is a box of utility bills from 2016.  I'm sure we don't need those any more, right?"
    "Better keep them."   "Are you sure?  That's a lot of years ago.  How about we throw them away?"  "Well, ok.  But keep the box."
    "What do you have there, elder?  3 suits.   Do you recognize these suits X?"
    "Let me see them.  I don't know what those are."
    Eventually, the "donate" and "trash" piles become one pile, and the "keep" pile is the new "donate".  Sister X tells us "they" will be back tomorrow with a trailer.  At this point, our best guess is that "they" are the landlord, and she will never see any of this stuff again.
    I ask, and am told Sister X has no family, just "one sister that she hasn't seen in years and refuses to call".  As I think about it, I remember her last name being talked about in bishopric and welfare meetings, like 3 bishops ago when I was an Executive Secretary.  Everyone seemed worried about them in those meetings. 
    Sister X is utterly alone, with nobody to advocate for her besides the government and the church.  And we (the Elders and RS sister), are "the church" - the only church representatives in her life, besides the bishop.  And the bishop's direction is to help her move.  And our job is to get her ready for this ambulance ride to somewhere.  She's obviously becoming a ward of the state - none of us can imagine anything else is happening here.
    Our job is done.  The other Elders have all disappeared.  Our angel/saint of a Relief Society sister, has truly worked a miracle during the process, talking Sister X down to one box of things, bags of adult diapers and medical supplies, and her dog.  She's been putting a positive spin on the ambulance ride and new home.  She has Sister X agreeing to just taking things one step at a time, with the next step being her upcoming ambulance ride. 
    Sister X's softening of her attitude, is the closest thing to a legitimate miracle I've seen in the last decade.  The spirit is present in that bedroom, and it is testifying of the humanity, the divine nature of Sister X's soul.  And it's heart-wrenching, it hurts.  Because in this case, my job/the church's job, is to divest her of the rest of her earthly belongings, and get her willing to go without a fight into whatever custody/care the state has in store.  And get the address of where she ends up, so we can move her records, so her new ward will know of her existence, and hopefully visit/fellowship her.
    There's nothing left to say or do.  I say "can I say goodbye to your dog?", and Sister X and I talk for a minute about the dog.  Dog seems pretty laid back.  I hope Sister X gets to keep him.  I get to share a little with Sister X just a little, one human soul connecting to another, over a crusty old dog.
     
    I did my best, Lord.  I don't know what else I could have done.  Besides maybe tell her story, in hopes it might help motivate someone to change something about their lives.
     
     
  7. Okay
    wenglund reacted to Traveler in This seems so uncomfortable   
    For you or them?
     
    The Traveler
  8. Okay
    wenglund reacted to romans8 in For Romans8   
    First of all, Merry Christmas to you and your family.
    Thank you for your kind words and invitation.  I am not there yet - as for getting baptized into this church, but I
    am still learning.  More prayer and study are in order though. I meet with the occasional missionaries with face
    to face zoom/google sometimes.
    Matteo
  9. Haha
    wenglund got a reaction from Vort in Who Named the Book of Mormon?   
    It is easier to say than the American Testament of Jesus Christers. 
    Thanks, -Wade Englund-
  10. Like
    wenglund reacted to clwnuke in Single men serving full-time senior missions   
    I visit https://seniormissionary.lds.org/srsite/ fairly often and look at the opportunities to serve. I guess I just can't see a whole lot of difference between getting up every morning and working at the Family History library, or the Temple, or getting up every day and working on the Tokyo mission finances. However, if I'm a single widower I'm not currently allowed to do the latter. 
    If I ever become single again I guess I could just move to Tokyo and serve an unofficial full-time volunteer mission for a few years
  11. Like
    wenglund reacted to NeuroTypical in New garment styles   
    Indeed.  Here's some touching related stuff:  Genesis, Samuel, and Job all contain accounts of rending clothing as an expression of grief upon hearing of the death of a loved one.  Over time, the practice evolved into having special 'rendable' clothing, for the sole purpose of wearing so you can rend it at the appropriate time (at a funeral, etc).  In modern days, some Jews will use a Kriah ribbon, meant for rending:
    The principle has remained the same across time, the clothing style, fabrics, etc, change as time moves on. 
    Is there a difference between this:

     
    and this?  
     

     
    Perhaps not as big a difference as one might think.
     
    Looking this stuff up was more touching than I thought, and more analogous to our garment wearing than I had originally remembered.  If you're interested, here's a random link I found.  Take a look, maybe watch the video. 
     
     
     
  12. Like
    wenglund reacted to NeuroTypical in New garment styles   
    I hear tell that God gave some pretty detailed instructions to the Brother of Jared on how to build a boat.  But from what I can tell, when He's dealing with clothing designers, architects, web developers, and the like, He usually just gives us principles and we take it and run with it.
    Are you thinking that the church is somehow erring in this new garment style?  That it's somehow not approved by the Lord?  Anything you're basing that on, besides your question?
  13. Like
    wenglund reacted to mikbone in New garment styles   
    Do you know why it is ok to use water instead of wine; or bread, chex mix, or even Bananas for the sacrament?
    It is because they are emblems.  The emblems become empowered by our thoughts and actions.  The sacrament is blessed but Garments are not.
    It’s up to you to sanctify your garments. 
  14. Like
    wenglund reacted to askandanswer in Rich Young Man   
    Tomorrow night, for the first time since 1997, we will have the Prophet in Australia. Not only one man, but many thousands will come driving and walking, and maybe even running, from near and far, seeking to know what they can do to live a better life and be a better person. Who does this? Pretty much everyone who attends General Conference.
    No doubt, tomorrow night the Prophet and others will provide us counsel and teachings based on some or all of the ten commandments. Most likely many present at the meeting will be having issues with some or all of the commandments.
    No doubt, many present will believe that they have either kept, or tried hard to keep the commandments from their youth. In fact, even I keep the commandments - usually. 
    Quite possibly, tomorrow night the Prophet will request us to do some things and not do other things. And no doubt many will leave the conference tomorrow grieved and concerned about what the Prophet has asked while others will be rejoicing at what they have heard. 
    And I don't think Australia is the only place where this will happen. 
    So after 2,000 years, when Christ tried this teaching technique, if it was not successful, you think a more effective technique would be used. It's still used at every General Conference so maybe its not unsuccessful. Christ and His servants and propehts are unlikely to repeatedly engage in practices that have no impact even if what/who they are working with is slow to respond.
  15. Like
    wenglund reacted to NeuroTypical in Rich Young Man   
    Both the rich young man and the BSOA are cautionary tales against placing your desires ahead of righteousness.  (Kind of a stretch, but hey, whatever.)
  16. Haha
    wenglund reacted to mordorbund in Rich Young Man   
    Gotta admit. I'm struggling to see the Friends of Scouting and Boy Scouts connection here.
  17. Like
    wenglund reacted to JohnsonJones in Rich Young Man   
    If Acts is to be believed, this matter of giving all you had to the church became a matter that was typical of many of those who entered the church.  This Young man was told this, but it seems that later, this was actually something that was done by members.
    Furthermore, it may also imply that this had already been done by the apostles to a degree, if not completely.
  18. Like
    wenglund reacted to Fether in Rich Young Man   
    Elder S Mark Palmer in his April 2017 GC talk said “We don’t know what happened to the rich young man after he went away sorrowful, but I am confident Jesus still loved him perfectly even if he chose the easier path. Perhaps later in life, as he found his great possessions hollow, he remembered and acted on the singular experience of His Lord beholding him, loving him, and inviting him to follow Him.”
    I would invite you to read his talk, it’s fantastic.
    https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/then-jesus-beholding-him-loved-him?lang=eng&country=b
  19. Like
    wenglund reacted to GaleG in The Parable of the Prodigal Son   
    i found a good examination at https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-prodigal-son.html
    The aspect of the eldest son acting like a Pharisee was something new to me.
    Thank you,
    Gale
  20. Like
    wenglund reacted to person0 in Church policy change on same sex marriage   
    It can be.  Depends on the circumstances.
  21. Like
    wenglund got a reaction from SilentOne in Is Having the Constant Companionship of the Holy Spirit the Same as Feeling the Spirit 24/7?   
    Yes. In fact, the human brain has evolved, for survival purposes, to tune out the constant sensations in our life and devote the limited awareness resources to anomalies. Rarely are we conscious of the fairly constant and relatively clean air around us, though that doesn't mean that it isn't there.  However, when there is an anomaly, like finding that relatively clean air displaced by dense smoke and/or substantial impurities and repugnant odors, we become acutely aware. The same is true for extreme changes in temperature. 
    Likewise, we tend to only become aware of the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit when we lose the companionship through the smoke and impurities and stench of sin or when the Spirit heats up or sounds louder above its gentle warmth and near silent whispers. (Jn 3:8, Act 2:1-4)
    Not coincidentally, the  Hebrew and Greek words for spirit also mean "wind or "breath"--see HERE.
    Thanks, -Wade Englund-
  22. Like
    wenglund reacted to Vort in Is Having the Constant Companionship of the Holy Spirit the Same as Feeling the Spirit 24/7?   
    My gut-level reaction is that, yes, that is exactly what it means.
    It's possibly worth noting that the Savior himself was left alone at one point. Don't know if that means anything or not.
  23. Like
    wenglund reacted to The Folk Prophet in Is Having the Constant Companionship of the Holy Spirit the Same as Feeling the Spirit 24/7?   
    I interpret it to be an end goal that we work towards and harvest as fruit after enduring to the end. The spirit is the food, soil, water, sunlight, etc. But the fruit only grows upon maturity whereupon it can be harvested. It's not some magic spell that you're given the gift of the Holy Ghost and suddenly you have perfect joy, peace, longsuffering, etc. in your personality. But as the Spirit works on (feeds) your spirit throughout your life you grow in these things and they become the fruit of your faith and obedience and the Spirit's attendance in accordance therewith.
    No. They are fallen mortal men and have fallen mortal feelings of anger, frustrations, stress, jealousy, and all that stuff. By the time they're older they, after a lifetime of effort, are hopefully better at controlling these things and having more of the good feelings in their life. But they are not perfect.
    Are you under the impression that Arnold, in his prime, never got sick, never felt sore, never had a less than perfect workout, etc?
    Hmm. I guess this is what's meant when I hear people talk about putting GA's on an unrealistic pedestal.
     
  24. Like
    wenglund got a reaction from askandanswer in Is Having the Constant Companionship of the Holy Spirit the Same as Feeling the Spirit 24/7?   
    Yes. In fact, the human brain has evolved, for survival purposes, to tune out the constant sensations in our life and devote the limited awareness resources to anomalies. Rarely are we conscious of the fairly constant and relatively clean air around us, though that doesn't mean that it isn't there.  However, when there is an anomaly, like finding that relatively clean air displaced by dense smoke and/or substantial impurities and repugnant odors, we become acutely aware. The same is true for extreme changes in temperature. 
    Likewise, we tend to only become aware of the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit when we lose the companionship through the smoke and impurities and stench of sin or when the Spirit heats up or sounds louder above its gentle warmth and near silent whispers. (Jn 3:8, Act 2:1-4)
    Not coincidentally, the  Hebrew and Greek words for spirit also mean "wind or "breath"--see HERE.
    Thanks, -Wade Englund-
  25. Like
    wenglund got a reaction from The Folk Prophet in Is Having the Constant Companionship of the Holy Spirit the Same as Feeling the Spirit 24/7?   
    Yes. In fact, the human brain has evolved, for survival purposes, to tune out the constant sensations in our life and devote the limited awareness resources to anomalies. Rarely are we conscious of the fairly constant and relatively clean air around us, though that doesn't mean that it isn't there.  However, when there is an anomaly, like finding that relatively clean air displaced by dense smoke and/or substantial impurities and repugnant odors, we become acutely aware. The same is true for extreme changes in temperature. 
    Likewise, we tend to only become aware of the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit when we lose the companionship through the smoke and impurities and stench of sin or when the Spirit heats up or sounds louder above its gentle warmth and near silent whispers. (Jn 3:8, Act 2:1-4)
    Not coincidentally, the  Hebrew and Greek words for spirit also mean "wind or "breath"--see HERE.
    Thanks, -Wade Englund-