He Made You

We have had the most beautiful fall. The colors have been absolutely gorgeous. There is some kind of a law that people cannot cut down trees even on their own property unless it's approved. Because of that there are trees everywhere. There are so many that when we first came here we wondered when we would get to the city because from the freeway all you can see are mostly trees. As we drive to the Temple each day we are driving under the trees that cover the road. I never really thought about it until the colors started changing & then you can't help but notice the beautiful foliage. One day I told Rod that we were literally driving under a canopy of colors. I miss the snow covered mountain peaks but we have been blessed to enjoy a beautiful New England fall.

A couple of weeks ago I was recording some work that had been done & one of the cards caught my attention. It was all Chinese characters. I mentioned how amazing that was & then I noticed that the birth date of the person was 181 B.C. I was showing everyone in the office & when the sister came to pick up her card I asked her if I could make a copy of it. I was so impressed & inspired. Dad & others have taken one of our lines back to 6 A.D. & I have always loved that.

Seeing that card brought so many things to my mind. When Nathan was in about the 5th grade he had to do a report. He chose to do it on geneology. He would get out all the geneology books that we had & lay on his stomach & study them to see how far back they went & read the names. He loved it. For a few years that was one of his favorite hobbies. I imagine him now, finding those people & getting to know them &
teaching them the gospel.

Another thing I thought about was how many people have lived on the earth & how much Temple work needs to be done. We need to step up our efforts & do all we can to keep this work going.

Our thought for the day:

As Lily Tomlin said, "No matter how cynical I get, I can't keep up."

Our economy has been shattered by widespread corporate fraud; kids lie, steal, & cheat at unprecedented rates; & their parents beat up each other or referees at youth sports events or supply alcohol to fuel organized hazing.

Our confidence in the integrity of journalistic institutions, the accounting profession, stockbrokers, college sports, organized religion, & business in general is continually shaken by a relentless barrage of shameful behavior.

It's tempting to throw up our hands in despair & surrender to cynicism.

It reminds me of the tale of the pious young man whose car broke down on his way to his place of worship. He had to walk through an area where homeless people huddled against buildings for warmth, alcoholics & mentally ill adults wandered the streets, & crack dealers sold drugs to kids. He was overcome with a sense of despondency & doubt about the power & intentions of God.

"God," he prayed, "how can you allow all this pain & misery & do nothing?" Receiving no answer, he became frustrated & raised his voice, "Lord, my faith is at issue! How can you allow all this suffering & do nothing?"

Then someone behind him whispered, "He didn't do nothing. He made you."

What a profound insight & daunting responsibility it is to realize that you are the instrument of reform, that your courage, compassion, & creativity in your own sphere of influence can set into motion a ripple effect of healing actions & attitudes to make a better world.

Are we being the best we can be & doing all the Lord wants us to do.

We send our love to everyone.