Thoughts and Observations

With two sessions remaining of this assignment I wanted to point out a couple of things that I've really enjoyed.

Firstly, there's been the tremendous personal boost that comes from a concentrated and detailed study of any gospel topic, but particularly when that topic is the Savior Himself. What an opportunity! My always steady, firm testimony has grown exponentially throughout this cycle of study and preparation each week. I believe it's akin to what I've heard seminary teachers experience.

Secondly, there's the class itself. Those who can attend in the middle of the day in the middle of the work week tend to be, obviously, those who have little interference from work schedules. Thus I have a proportionately larger population of retirees in this class. I also have a few folks who are there at least in part because they've already received assignments to work as production staff for putting together the "Savior of the World" performances next year. They're looking to get some of the historical background surrounding the events portrayed in the script.

Mostly, though, these are just wonderful people who have made teaching this class an absolute joy. Mrs. Woody and the Woodyettes are always my biggest supporters and fans, of course. But I also get to interact with some well-experienced testimonies from among these wonderful retirees that I've mentioned.

One fun little "controversy" (for lack of a better description) to tell: these sessions are overseen by a member of the Stake Presidency. The same counselor, I might add, that gave me the assignment in the first place. During our discussion of John the Baptist last week, he asked the question as to which priesthood John received from the angel when he was ordained at 8 days old. He wondered out loud whether it wasn't the Melchizedek Priesthood that John received. I had always supposed that it was in fact the Aaronic, since those were the keys he held and delivered to Joseph Smith at the beginning of the Restoration. So I promised to research it and return to topic in this last lesson.

I had found no firm, definitive statements to the effect that "the angel ordained John to the ____________ Priesthood." No one, it seems, would commit themselves to such a declaration. However, Boyd K. Packer made some statements to the effect that John was, in fact, a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood during his earthly ministry, and that's what I reported back to the class on Wednesday.

After class — not recorded by my little voice recorder — was a discussion between myself and my lovely Chorale director (who is also the music director for the production). She said that, when discussing this topic of John's priesthood with others (her hubby is also our Stake Patriarch), the statement that Joseph Smith made that "all prophets hold the Melchizedek Priesthood" sprang immediately to mind. We were then joined by our Stake Presidency counselor who basically shrugged his shoulders and admitted that we were really no further along in answering the question than we were before.

The upshot is that everyone accepts the fact that this question is still in play, and no one seems at all upset by this. So next week I will also throw my hands up and shrug that question firmly into the realm of personal study and prayer, which is where all such mysteries rightly belong.

Did I mention I'm having the time of my life?

I hope I'm not coming off as a huge know-it-all in all of this. I'm just excited to share what I've been learning. If you download and listen to the recordings, you may pick up on that. I have a hard time listening to my own voice, really. It has an unusual timbre that always sets my own teeth just a little on edge. But I'd like to think that my enthusiasm for the topic is coming through, and this class has certainly been faithful in their attendance.

Now I just need to figure out what to do with myself when this Institute ends. Go back to Family History, would be my guess. May have to put certain missionaries in Salt Lake to work for me. Assuming their heads haven't exploded yet.

Family Home Evening - Doodle Style

Mrs. Woody documented Jelly's first official Family Home Evening that she planned and executed all by herself a couple of weeks ago. Tonight was Doodle's turn.

Not unreasonably, she used the same sort of template that Jelly had created when planning her lesson. She created a basic agenda which included the songs, prayers, and a brief outline of the activities we would have. She taped this agenda on our entertainment center so we could follow along. (The girls are big proponents of "following along." They have a pathological need to read the cover of whatever DVD or video we happen to be watching, no matter how many times they've seen the silly movie! They can't stand it when Mommy and Daddy have "adult" conversations and they happen to miss a phrase or two because they have to ask us repeatedly what it was we were talking about while we repeatedly remind them - gently of course - that it's none of their business.)

Doodle got a bit of guidance from Mommy when planning her actual lesson, of course. Repentance is one of those topics that can only improve with age, and the first time out takes a bit of learning on the part of the teacher. Particularly when it comes to finding just the right object lesson. These are miniature females, I remind you, and they will all too soon be part of the doily-and-crocheted-table-cloth set in just a few short years.

Daddy got assigned to read a story from the Friend; something about muddy rain boots. The girls are not only avid readers themselves, but they love to hear stories. Doesn't matter whether you're reading to them, or making one up out of whole cloth, the girls love 'em all. Jelly has also reached that age where she peppers Mommy and Daddy both with questions about their pasts: "Daaaaaddy, when you were little did you...?" And of course this prompts another story where I have to admit that I did, which seems to give her no small relief. Whew! Daddy did that when he was younger! I'm not so bad after all!

(You may ask what, precisely, it was that Daddy did when he was little. It's none of your darned business, is what.)

(I seem to say that an awful lot these days, don't I?)

The object lesson (Jelly did the treasure hunt last time) involved Doodle's "Kerplunk" game. She couldn't find the actual Kerplunk marbles, of course, prompting Mrs. Woody to ask whether some repentance was in order. But we made do with some of those decorative — and decidedly UNround — marbles that people (who are not guys) generally put in glass jars. They don't roll well, but that wasn't the point of the object lesson. The point of the lesson was that the marbles represented the yucky feelings we have whenever we do something bad, and the sticks represented the process of repentance that help us to release those yucky feelings. Boy, when you get more than just a little trickle of bad feelings come crashing down into the tray, you're feeling pretty excited, I must say. In fact, when I got my first deluge of bad feelings, I began to wonder just how much repentance I might personally require, since I was apparently oblivious to those feelings in the first place.

The neatest part is when they get it. As Mrs. Woody and I listened to the banter after closing prayer as they shuffled off to put things away and play for awhile, we realized that they were using points they'd learned in the lesson whilst chattering with one another. It's similar to what happens when they read the scriptures (Mrs. Woody has them do this for 15 minutes every school day) and they begin to ask questions specifically related to whatever they happen to be reading at the time. And they're not just "what does 'iniquity' mean?" types of questions, either. Just this evening, for example, Jelly asked the question about whether heaven really exists. "After all," she said, "it all seems too wonderful to be real." It was one of those neat opportunities to bear your testimony to your child about the fact that, yes, heaven truly exists and it's just as wonderful as you can possibly imagine. That was all she needed to hear. Tomorrow she'll be back to reading about the Anti-Nephi-Lehies and smirking about the fact that she's farther along in the Book of Mormon than Daddy is right now. (Quite a bit farther, actually... I'm just starting Mosiah!)

So, good job tonight, Doodle! We all had a wonderful time in our Family Home Evening. Looking forward to next week!

Mantle of the Prophet - Amended

This is more by way of a journal entry. I need to keep this one in mind over time to remind myself that miraculous things can and do still happen in these cynical days of earth's history. Doubtless many others will write about this experience, probably more eloquently that I possibly could. This, then, is for my family and posterity.

Today was an amazing day. This has been the weekend of our annual General Conference of the Church. Since we have satellite we have the privilege of watching the proceedings from the comfort of our home. My sister has been visiting us so she, too, could watch from relative comfort. (She may also have enjoyed spending time with her nieces, but she came to watch Conference.)

I was already excited about this Conference. I have particularly enjoyed those Conferences where we sustain a new President of the Church. Also, with the re-organization of the First Presidency, we fully expected a new Apostle to be called yesterday. We were not disappointed. Although I know very little about Elder Christofferson, I was able to sense his spirit and testimony when he appeared in the press conference shortly after the morning session of Conference.

The first session of Conference was given over to a declared Solemn Assembly for the purpose of sustaining our new prophet, the First Presidency, and the Quorum of the Twelve. This was the first time that both Woodyettes have been old enough as baptized members of the Church to stand and raise their hands in a sustaining vote. I am happy to report that the members of the Church residing (or visiting) at Hacienda Woody voted unanimously in the affirmative.

But it is of this morning's session that I wish to speak. All of the sessions (I missed the Priesthood session, as I was helping Mrs. Woody in hosting our guest) were wonderful, but this morning was very special to me. All of the talks had hit home with me, but President Monson's talk has completely overshadowed me and I can't for the life of me remember a single other talk.

It was about halfway through his talk. He was talking about our fight with evil and, quite boldly, declared that we as a Church have all the tools necessary given to us by our Father to win this war. It was at that moment of his talk that I perceived the prophetic mantle resting upon his shoulders. Not visually, by any means. It was a spiritual perception, but a powerful one. It had the effect of bearing direct testimony to my own spirit that here was the anointed prophet of God on the earth. Here was the man holding all the keys of the Church who will guide us in the Lord's name for the foreseeable future.

I'm not a weeper, but I nearly wept. Mrs. Woody has no such compunction and was clearly moist of eye.

Mrs. Woody and I both felt it and agreed that we had seen something significant. What I did not expect was that others had felt it as well. Not, that is, until Elder Holland voiced it himself as the first speaker of the afternoon session. He had perceived it, too! That means this event was probably witnessed, or at least felt, by others. This must be true because I am not the most spiritually sensitive of souls. I have been guided throughout my life in numerous ways, but each event was more or less subtle to me. Only a few events stand out as strongly and firmly as today's. Foremost among those was the realization that Mrs. Woody would be my eternal companion. Today's testimony of President Monson hit me every bit as strongly as did that wonderful realization over a dozen years ago.

[Amended: As if to prove why I needed to write this down, I had originally said that I had not initially voiced my opinion that we had just witnessed the mantle of the prophet descend upon President Monson. Mrs. Woody corrected me and reminded me that I had actually voiced what we both had felt. Hence my rewrite of the paragraph above. If a man can't trust his memory after a mere few hours...]

For me this experience was on par with experiences I have read about over the years. I envied the Saints living at the time of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, for example. What a tremendous thing to see angels while celebrating the construction of a House of the Lord in modern times. Likewise the saints who witnessed the transfiguration of Brigham Young after the martyrdom of Joseph Smith. What a blessing to be given such a confirmation of the man who would carry on the work of the Restoration! My own wife has had experiences in her life of which I can only dream. Powerful witnesses of various aspects of the Gospel plan.

Thomas S. Monson stands 16th in the unbroken line of men who have held and exercised the keys of the Priesthood on our behalf. He is the Lord's chosen mouthpiece in all matters pertaining to our salvation. The Spirit made that abundantly clear to me this morning. I fully expect time and experience to bear that out.

God bless our new prophet, seer, and revelator.

#159 - Evolution of a Testimony

I've been meaning to address this for some time now, but events have overtaken us here in Woodyland and I can only claim extreme distraction as my defense.

Mark Hansen, who blogs over at "Mo' Boy Blog," wrote a piece back in November that discussed the evolution of Richard Dutcher, the one-time "king" of Mormon cinema. The piece talks about Dutcher's apparent journey into spiritual confusion after making one or two films that had, at the time, gigantic spiritual impacts for many who saw them and appreciated his "testimony on film" work.

Dutcher has evidently shifted now into someone whose testimony has become the sort of nebulous worldly philosophy that so many artists seem to acquire over time. He is ambivalent when asked about his Mormon roots. He claims to have taken a "more universal" view of religion and now believes that Mormons have "no special claim" on heaven.

These are sad things, to be sure. In the Church we tend to go through a sort of grieving process whenever someone falls away into any sort of personal apostasy. The higher profile the individual, the harder the grief. I remember when Elder Lee of the Seventy left the Church many years ago over the Church's teachings regarding the Lamanites. It was my first experience with someone who was ostensibly in a position to "know better" leaving the Church because of some perceived offense. At the time there was quite a stir among Church members. This was the sort of thing that happened in the earliest days of the restoration when even members of the Twelve were (frequently, it seemed) found lacking of the faith required to endure to the end.

Then we got over it. After all, we all have our own testimonies to look after, no?

Since then, I've watched the LDS arts community with only limited interest. I'm acquainted with plenty of LDS performers. I suppose I could even consider myself to be one, although a very, very minor player. LDS artists have for some time been attempting to create a sort of LDS pop culture that would offer itself as the logical antidote to the worldly pop culture that seems bent on destroying anything and everything of value in this life. From my view, the results have been tepid, at best.

Probably this is more because I personally have been raised and trained into the classical genre from my youth, and the "pop" elements of our culture (either the LDS culture or the worldly culture) just haven't caught fire with me. I'm far more interested in what Mack Wilberg is up to these days than anything that guys like Mark and his peers might be up to. Mrs. Woody has more of an ear for that sort of thing, and so I really don't mind it whenever she's in a mood to tune in and listen. For the most part, though, it just doesn't speak to my soul like classical music and the anthems of the Church always have.

The Dutcher case, then, is only interesting to me as a study in what happens when we try too hard to immerse ourselves in artistic pursuits without paying more attention to our own spiritual development. And I say this as one who has occasionally considered himself an artist first, and a spiritual being second. Life is not pretty whenever I've been in that mode.

In their purest form, the arts are expressions of the dreams and passions of the performers. We perform the work that we feel best reflects our view of the world around us. Whether that view is realistic or notional really makes no difference. If I perform a piece of music, I want that music to lift and edify. I'm not interested in glorifying any of the ugliness in the world around us. What's the point? Don't I get enough of that from the news and/or 90% of the drivel that Hollywood produces?

I think, in the beginning, Dutcher's intentions were not so different from my own as I've just stated them. He was a gifted filmmaker who was battling the odds to produce high quality entertainment that the LDS community could both enjoy and take some pride in. Hey, look at what we just did! We made a film, and it's cool! It seemed that here we had someone who had finally taken President Ezra Taft Benson at his word and attempted to tell the LDS story through the arts. Producing films loaded with a common testimony of the gospel seemed just the ticket.

Since then, unfortunately, Dutcher seems to have bought into an almost stereotypical artist's perspective on life. Suddenly it's less about one's belief in the pure gospel of the restoration, and more about influencing his audience through his own work. In other words, he wants to sway the audience's opinions through the film, rather than letting the Spirit do that work in conjunction with the film.

It wouldn't have been an overnight process. It would have been the glimmer of an idea, supported by his own successes, and the pride he felt in his work would have shifted from a humble gratitude to a more self-centered reliance on his own genius. If true, this would go a long way to explaining Richard Dutcher and his current "crisis of faith." A crisis even he can't acknowledge might exist.

For the rest of us a valuable lesson is had. It's part of the world that we live in, but should keep ourselves separate from, that we watch our celebrities and make them the barometers for our own lives. When we do that, we lose sight of the most valuable barometer ever given to man in this life; the gift of the Holy Ghost. It should make absolutely no difference to my own spirituality that a man like Richard Dutcher (or George P. Lee, or Paul H. Dunn) should struggle with his testimony of the gospel. If I feel anything for Dutcher it would be a feeling of one who is concerned with someone else's spiritual journey, just as I might for one of my home teaching families. My faith will not suffer just because Dutcher claims his own testimony is one that Mormons like me wouldn't really understand.

The arts are valuable when they lift and edify. The Lord and his prophets throughout time have always understood and taught that. We should not turn the arts into substitutes for a true testimony of the gospel. It just isn't done that way. The testimony should come first, and the arts should then reflect that. Not the other way around.