Parenthood Matters

I've actually had a couple other posts in the works for a while, but one of the talks in Sacrament Meeting today reminded me of something I had noticed during General Conference. It's pretty short and easy to put together, so I'm posting it first.

In the Saturday afternoon session Elder Neil L. Andersen said:

Many voices in the world today marginalize the importance of having children or suggest delaying or limiting children in a family. My daughters recently referred me to a blog written by a Christian mother (not of our faith) with five children. She commented: "[Growing] up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood. ...Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get." She then adds, "Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for."

The next morning Elaine S. Dalton said:

Today's popular culture tries to erode and demean your eternal role as a patriarch and father and minimize your most important responsibilities. These have been given to you by divine design, and as fathers you are to preside over [your] families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for [your] families.

So two different people in two different talks said basically the same things about mothers and fathers. We need both. Motherhood and fatherhood are both divine callings, more important than any other responsibility we will have on this earth. And the world and Satan are working to minimize the importance of both.

I also found it interesting for some reason that a man said the bit about motherhood and a woman said the part about fatherhood. But I think I'll not read much  into it for now.

And for those of you who want to read the messages in full, I did some searching and found the blog that Elder Andersen quoted. It is desiringgod.org/blog. That particular entry is titled Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank). Elder Andersen's talk can be found here; Sister Dalton's is here.

Why I Don't Like Politics

I often feel like in order to be a truly informed voter, I should have advanced degrees in economics and in history with emphases in the United States, the current most volatile areas of the world, and the major ancient civilizations. Rome at the very least. I can listen to two very different plans for fixing the economy and see sense in both of them. If I really know the history of the ancient civilizations, I have a better chance of noticing if we're in danger of making the mistakes that lead to their falls. And when I was in high school, a big topic of debate was whether we should go into Iraq. I heard my peers talk about it, but I always felt like I didn't understand the background well enough to form an opinion. If I don't fully understand the cultural mindset of the other side and what they want, what our interactions with them were like in the past, and how we got to this situation in the first place, how in the world am I supposed to figure out what to do now?

And that is a very typical feeling for me. No matter how much I've read about the various candidates and issues, when political topics come up, I usually just listen because I feel like everybody else knows and understands the issues way more than I ever could.

There are a handful of issues that I feel like I have an adequate understanding of and have come up with some firm opinions. But even there I have problems. For example, suppose I agree with Candidate A on one issue, but like Candidate B better on another of equal importance to me. Both are serious problems at this point in time. How do I choose between them? Or maybe I like Candidate A on the big issue of the time which I care deeply about, but I like Candidate B better on most of the issues receiving less press right now but that could become very important later on in the term.

Then there are the more personal details about the candidates. Say Candidate A and Candidate B look very similar on most issues. Candidate A originally ran against Incumbent C because he had been in for a long time and A said the congress needed new blood. Now A has been in longer than C had been at the time, which makes A seem hypocritical. But there is one major issue that could go my way - if I vote in A.

And of course there's looking at the candidate records and deciding if Candidate A changes his voting patterns to reflect the wishes of his constituency, to gain the favor of future voters, or because something in the intervening years really changed his mind. Or maybe his actions seem inconsistent because of different limits in his powers and influence or because of changes in the world around him or because he is working for leverage on something that seems more important at the time. And did Candidate B really know what his campaign worker said, and did he agree?

Then there's all the interest in the candidates' personal lives. As a general rule, if I don't care about you as a person, I don't much care what you wear or where you go on vacation or what clubs you belong to. I really do not want to know details about your romantic life. But during political campaigns, all this stuff gets dragged out. And honestly, I do want to elect officials with integrity, which should be there in all areas of their lives. But sometimes it seems to go a bit far. It seems to me that the details of college indiscretions shouldn't have a large impact in their careers 50 years later unless there is significant evidence that the problem is still there. And I suppose it doesn't happen all the time. But I have seen things dragged up that look to me like ancient history.

When I reffed soccer, my job was usually to run lines and watch for out-of-bound balls and offside violations. These responsibilities required me to stay exactly even with the second to last defender (or, occasionally, the ball), while keeping track of who had possession of the ball at all times, what attackers were between me and the goal, and when the ball was kicked. When I decided to stop reffing, it was largely because having to watch all that at once seemed impossible - I can only really look in one direction at a time. And it stressed me out.

When it comes to politics, I feel like I have even more to watch. And that can be for just one race.

Less Inspiring Scripture

Scriptures that nobody shares as the Spiritual Thought before a lesson:

Ether 10:3
And his eldest son, whose name was Shez, did rebel against him; nevertheless, Shez was smitten by the hand of a robber, because of his exceeding riches, which brought peace again unto his father.

Ether 14:1
And now there began to be a great curse upon all the land because of the iniquity of the people, in which, if a man should lay his tool or his sword upon his shelf, or upon the place whither he would keep it, behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it, so great was the curse upon the land.

A Real, Adult Testimony

When I was a little girl, I loved to go up on Fast Sundays to share my testimony. I remember being so excited about having my chance to speak and eagerly asking a member of the bishopric whose turn it was to go, and how extra thrilling it was when it was my turn.

I noticed that when adults bore testimony, they tended to tell stories, while children's testimonies tended to be more straightforward lists of beliefs and thanks. Then one Sunday when I was about 7 years old, one of the older Primary girls went up to the stand and included a story with her testimony. At that point, I wondered when I would be able to share a real, adult testimony with a story included.

A few years later, an elder was speaking in our ward. It may have been part of fast and testimony meeting; it may have been an assigned talk. I don't really remember. What I do remember is that he said that the typical listing of beliefs and thanks given by little children isn't a real testimony. I don't remember a thing about what he said after that. Dad later talked to us all about what the missionary said, but I still was left with the impression that according to this missionary, what I had to say during testimony meeting was not a real testimony. So for a time after that, I stopped going up.

Well, I have shared my testimony several times since then. Not as often as I had when I was 4, or even as often as when I was 7. But I do on occasion. And when I do, I'm generally pretty straightforward. At the core, my testimony consists of a list of things I believe and know. There is a God who loves us. Christ lives. Our prayers are heard. There is a prophet on the earth today.

And that simple list is a real, adult testimony.

Another Random Thought

Our sacrament hymn this last Sunday was #190, In Memory of the Crucified. As I sang the line "May thy sweet Spirit here abide," I briefly thought of how the term Sweet Spirit has come to mean an unattractive girl.

And then I wondered what the Holy Ghost looks like.