United We Fall

"If men were angels, no government would be necessary."

We are all familiar with that quote from the Federalist Paper #51. But we also must recall the latter part of it, which all to often is forgotten.

"If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary."

This election is oh so critical for our country. Much is at stake. Our economy is in the crapper, the demand for oil is increasing, our environment is hurting, and most people seem to forget that we are fighting a war on two fronts. More than ever we need the government to make smart sound decisions on how to deal with these an numerous other issues.

But thats what the government is designed to do right? So wheres the problem? The problem is that it wont be the government that's making the decisions.

If Obama wins this next election, which all signs point to that he will, we will have a very liberal democrat in the White House, more liberal than we have seen in a long time. All signs point to a democratic Majority in the House of Representatives as well. And guess what? We will not only have a democratic majority in the Senate, but we might have a super-majority! That means an un-filibuster able Congress.

This is bad news.

It doesn't matter if you're a republican or a democrat. This isn't good for anyone! Our government operates and prides itself on running under a system of checks and balances. The executive and legislative branches are too keep tabs on each other so no one gets to much power. But who is going to check on them if they're on the same side?

If the democrats get an un-filibuster able Senate, along with Obama in the White House, he will have sole control over the government, and be able to execute whatever policy he desires. The congress wont check on him. They're on the same boat. Where's the balance? No man should have that power.

Government power is no longer spread between branches of government, but between the two parties. We cannot let one get to much control. Both the right and the left have good and bad ideas, more bad than good. And when one group gets to much power, we are going to get a lot of bad legislation.

With a divided government, we wont get the garbage that both parties have to offer because the other party will recognize the trash, and not let it pass. Only good, strong, important necessary policy will be passed. We need a divided government, and strong division between the parties so that power stays separated, and only the best legislation gets passed.

If Obama wins we will loose those internal and external controls on our government. And last I checked there weren't a whole lot of angels hanging around Washington.

Enchanted Rock

Well, on monday my friend Jarom Hulet and I decided that we were going to go camping on friday, just out of the blue for no apparent reason. Just sounded like a fun thing to do. So we recruited Ian Lindsay, John Deleon, and Kevan Bergam to come along with. It was a blast!

We got to Enchanted Rock at about 8, but by that time it was already dark. So we had to hike a little more than a mile to our campsite in the dark, which was quite an adventure. It was such a nice night we just laid out our tent as a tarp and slept under the stars, talking into the night. The next morning we all somehow woke up at six, and decided to climb the rock and watch the sunrise. It was a glorious view, and I was glad that we did. Then we explored some caves, hiked back, ate breakfast, then just hung out. It was a good weekend.

But I was reflecting on how awesome of an experience it really was to be out there with all those guys. Not only were they my friends that I have been close with for years, but they are my brothers in the priesthood. Together through the years we have helped each other grow and develop in the gospel. We entered together as deacons into the Aaronic Priesthood, and now we are getting ready to move on to the Melchizedek priesthood. Jarom is getting ready to leave on his mission soon, and its just amazing to remember seeing him ordained a deacon. We have all come a long way, and I look forward to seeing all the good that these guys do.

Also when one is out in nature, one cannot help but contemplate on how magnificent our earth is. The stars and moon glowed with celestial beauty, and in the morning the sun rose majestically upon us seated on a great rock, high above the rest of the world. It truly was a sight to see, and I am so thankful to have a God so loving to create a world with such beauty for us to reside in. And for those who say miracles have ceased, simply need to wake up and watch the sunrise. Small miracles happen everyday, its just up to us to notice them.

The Work Goes On

Today, our stake got a new stake presidency. For those of you that aren't members of our church, its organized into what we call wards, which are headed by a bishop and his two councilors. And then several wards are organized into a stake, which is headed by a stake president and his two councilors. Stake presidents usually serve for about ten years or so, and as you can imagine, is quite a responsibility and a highly respected position.

Let me start out by expressing my thanks to President Williams, President Kent, and President Palmer. These are great men, whose example lead many to to good, and grow closer to The Savior. Their words and council have helped my testimony grow. I am grateful for their humble service, and I know that they will be blessed for it.

I am also grateful for the process of succession in the church. As what brought up in the meeting today, in this time of hostility and in this contentious environment that is brought about every presidential election, its nice to see a succession without tension, or debate. I believe that its because this church is not run or organized by man, but by the Lord. I know that these new men are called of God to serve this stake at this time, and I'll do my best to sustain them.

It was an interesting experience to see how the process was done. There wasn't a whole lot of fanfare or grandeur, that one might think of with a calling as large as this. It was a simple and humble unanimous vote, just like it is with every other calling, all the way down from apostle to nursery leader. Every calling is important to The Lord, no matter how small we perceive it to be. But we must remember that each calling we get gives us the opportunity to serve and make a difference in peoples lives. So lets magnify our calling, and as Elder Uchtdorf said "lift where we stand."

Uh... How about the Packers

Well, my flag football team is no longer called the Chargers. Another team in our league beat us to the name, so we are now officially known as the Packers.

Well in week two of the season, the Packers suffered another defeat. This one was pretty bad. Or defense played incredibly well, holding their offense to only one score. However their defense provided plenty, intercepting our QB 3 times, and scoring off those turnovers. Our offense is in need of consistency, and just plain getting points. We have yet to score this season. But hey theres a goal for next game!

The kids we played were pretty rough, and mean. Not to mention huge! I swear a few of them looked like they were 14. But they pushed our players around, made fun of them when they screwed up, and even pushed one of my poor players to tears. It was not a good day in Packer history.

But I was proud of my little team. Despite the taunting and ridicule of their opponents, they didnt once stoop to their level. They kept playing their game, and were gracious in defeat, even helping up the other team when they fell over. They demonstrated tremendous sportsmanship, so as far as I'm concerned they were the winners that day.

Lessons From a Funeral

The other day, I attended the funeral of a sister in our ward. It was a beautiful service, and I think that everyone left it uplifted. Naturally as I think everyone does, there were words said, and observations I made, that lead to some thoughts.

One thing that I have noticed about most LDS funerals is while there is mourning, they aren't as somber or depressing. We know that instead of saying good-bye to a loved one, we are simply saying see you later. Death is not the end, but the beginning of the rest of our journey. And we all must pass through it. Life is a dangerous thing. None of us get out of it alive.

But I am grateful for the knowledge that we can see our loved ones again. The Mormon church is the only religion that teaches specifically the doctrine of eternal families. This shocks me honestly. One would think that even in the annuls of men, someone would've thought to add that into another religion. It just makes sense! Why would a God who loves us send us to this earth, have us make and develop these relationships which we treasure above all other things, only to have those ties broken once we enter into the realms of eternity. We love the lord, and Hell is our separation from his presence when all is said and done. So wouldn't separation from those others we love fall under the same category? I'm just happy to know that I can live with my family after I leave this tabernacle of clay. What beautiful doctrine.

As we left the service, in procession to the grave site, we passed some men working along side of the road. One of the men immediately stopped what he was doing, took off his hat and held it over his heart, and watched us go by. Its nice to know that there are people out there who are willing to take time out of their busy lives, to honor and show respect for one's life that they did not even know.

Life is fleeting. We never know when we will be called back home, when our mission on this earth will come to a close. Our life is a gift, and what are we doing with it? We all have hopes, aspirations, dreams. Are we making those a reality? We have loved ones. Do they know they're loved? We must truly learn to live. Don't be afraid to take those opportunities that knock on your door. Once they pass, they usually wont knock again. Take time to let someone know how much they mean to you. Don't let your dreams be dreams. Go create your life's legacy. And if you don't know what legacy you want to leave behind, go serve others till you figure it out. I'm sure if you do that your legacy will be even greater than you hoped.

Laugh, smile, be happy. Life is to short. Lets go make the best of what we can while were here.


In loving memory of Cindy Hayashi

Fight Club & Freedom From Being The Consumer

Fight Club is a pretty wiggy movie, lets just get that out there for one. I dont want to spoil the film in case one of yall hasnt seen it. But one theme throughout the movie was anti-consumer culture. While the movie takes it to the extreme, I do think that is shows a point.

We as people have become a consumer culture. Our lives have become based around gain, mostly of stuff. We spend billions of dollars on all sorts of entertainment, on expensive clothing, on cool little gadgets, that we have been told time and time that we need, and we couldnt live without. What would you do without your ipod? How would we function with out our hours in front of a television screen? Our lives our lost when are computer or hard drive crashes. We have become possessed by our possessions.

This is where me and Fight Club come to a crossroads.

How do we become free?

A consumer culture is based on, duh, consumption. We take, take, take. Its all about I. I-phone, I-pod, I-mac, I, I ,I, I want this I want that. Naturally to reverse such we need the opposite. We dont need consumer, we need giver. We dont need I, we need you.

The answer is in each other. Where consumer is based around self, we must focus on others to reverse this established theory. Think of all the good that one could accomplish if instead of sitting in front of a computer or TV screen (the irony is sickening right :), they went outside and planted a tree or helped someone else out. Or what good a father could do, if instead of molding his life around work for money, molded his life around his family.

Christ was right. "He that seeketh his life shall loose it, he that looseth his life for my sake, shall find it" And if ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me." Its service that liberates us. Its loosing us in someone else that allows us to shape who we really should become.

Its service that sets us free. Go loose yourself.

Chargers Week One

I am currently a coach, along with some friends on my wrestling team, of a flag football team for 4th-6th graders. It's so much fun! Our team name is the chargers, and we just had our first game today, a 12-0 loss. But our team played really well! We need to work on our offence a bit, and besides some blown coverage, or defense was rock solid! So we have some stuff to work on at practice, and we will look for our first victory next week! GO CHARGERS!!!

The Constitution & Prospering in The Land

I would first like to let yall know that my faith is the defining aspect of my life. So naturally lots of these posts will probably be about LDS topics or have LDS doctrine thrown in there. I hope that those who are not of my faith will learn from these, and not get offended. If there are any questions feel free to ask.

Members of the church are familiar with the quote "The Constitution will hang by a thread, and the Elders of Israel are the only ones who can save it," or something along those lines. Here are some thoughts about this interesting quote.

For one, it says that the Elders of Israel are the only ones that could save it. That doesn't mean that they will. There is the chance that the Constitution of the United States might be lost!

We have learned from The Book of Mormon, and latter-day prophets that America is a promised land, set apart for the righteous of man. Nephi and his family were brought here, as was the Brother of Jared and his family. But both of those civilizations were completely lost because of sin and iniquities. The Lord has said, "If ye keep My commandments ye shall prosper in the land. But inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence." Both these peoples were cut of from the Lords presence, and were lost.

The United States moral status has declined throughout the years. Things that were socially unacceptable are now considered normal. What was once considered pornographic can now be seen on billboards all across the country. Abortions are preformed in the millions every year, a practice that has been condemned by God. Traditional values are fading, and what was once considered sacred, is now treated with jest. Humility is seen as weakness, and pride as strength, and we know what pride leads too. Just ask the Nephites.

As members of the church we believe that the framers of the constitution were divinely inspired to create that document so that the restoration could be ushered in. It has, and the church is moving like the stone rolling down the mountain. It has spread all over the world. America's reason for being has been accomplished. The gospel has been restored, and will not be taken away again. But America has served its purpose.

We are now as the Nephites. But will we follow the Lords side, or trust in the arm of flesh?

I love my country and pray that it will last forever. But especially as these elections approach we must realize that this land is ours on account of our righteousness, and as we cease to heed the Lord and his words we will be cut off from it. The constitution doesn't have to be saved, but will we rise to the occasion and do so? I sure hope so.

And Thus It Begins....

Well, I was sitting around bored this evening, and have finally decided that I am going to write a blog. I had been toying around with the idea recently, and figure I might as well follow through. This should be a good medium through which people can stay informed as to what is going on in myh life, as well as whats buzzing around in my head, and a chance to rant on about something when no one else really wants to listen. Honestly, it will probably be the later most of the time. I find that when I am feeling "philospohical" or have some interesting thought, its usually when I am by myself with no one to discuss it around. So I'll post them if anyone really is wondering what I think about, and is bored enough to read. But hey, hopefully some people will enjoy this. So have fun! Heres my life.....