Happy Mother's Day

I was asked to talk in church today about honoring motherhood.  Here is my talk.

It is a joy and an honor to be with you wonderful, beautiful, smart, talented incredible people this afternoon. Please know that I love this gospel and I love the Savior. I am filled with love for the grand examples that each of you are to me.
I am humbled to have been asked to address you this day, a day set aside for us to honor Motherhood.

Before I begin my talk a quick introduction: Ray, ( Been in the Ward 1 year) Becky -- we met in Logan Utah when she came to Utah state university to study social work. We have been married for 10 years, and have four wonderful children.

I pray the spirit would attend me this day, for I feel that I could never adequately address this congregation on so great a topic such as motherhood without it. I have also not experienced such a strong desire to fulfill a speaking assignment with grace, honor and humility. I pray hearts and minds will also be receptive.

A majority of my talk will come from an address given by Gordon B Hinckley entitled “To the Women of the Church” as well as a number of inspirational thoughts that I have come across.

The world has become a difficult and scary place in these latter days. There is little doubt that the traditional family is under attack. Because mothers are essential to God’s great plan of happiness, their sacred work is opposed by Satan, who would destroy the family and demean the worth of women. The opposite of honor is disrespect and it is rampant toward our sisters today.

Daughters of our Heavenly Father, I am embarrassed and ashamed of how you are treated in popular culture. I am embarrassed and ashamed of how you are spoken about in popular music and depicted in movies and television. I am embarrassed and ashamed of those men who may talk down to you and cause you to feel less than what you were created to be. And I feel guilty as a soldier in Gods army that I can’t protect all of my sisters from those who would attack the best part of Gods creation. Beautiful women, don’t believe the lies of our popular culture.

I can’t help the way the world is, but hopefully, with God’s help, I can work within my sphere of influence to place mothers in their proper standing. We work hard in the young mens program to teach future husbands and fathers the respect that should to paid to our sisters. One of the purposes of the Aaronic priesthood is to give proper respect to women, girls and children.

Russell M Nelson declared “You young men need to know that you can hardly achieve your highest potential without the influence of good women, particularly your mother and, in a few years, a good wife. Learn now to show respect and gratitude. Remember that your mother is your mother. She should not need to issue orders. Her wish, her hope, her hint, should provide direction that you would honor. Thank her and express your love for her. And if she is struggling or having a bad day, you have a double duty to honor her.

President Hinkley tells us that we who bear the holy priesthood have a sacred duty to honor our wives and mothers. We are old enough and wise enough to know that teasing is wrong. We respect motherhood—not only in our immediate family but all the wonderful mothers in our lives. As daughters of God, their potential is divine. Without them, eternal life would be impossible. Our high regard for them should spring from our love of God and from an awareness of their lofty purpose in His great eternal plan.

As fathers we should have love unbounded for the mothers of our children. We should accord to them the gratitude, respect, and praise that they deserve. Husbands, to keep alive the spirit of romance in your marriage, be considerate and kind in the tender intimacies of your married life. Let your thoughts and actions inspire confidence and trust. Let your words be wholesome and your time together be uplifting. Let nothing in life take priority over your wife—neither work, recreation, nor hobby.”

“WE must honor our wives. Respect them. They are the mothers of your children. When all is said and done, when you have lived your lives and go on to eternity, you will not take five cents of wealth that you have accumulated, not five cents. There is only one thing that you can take with you, and that is your eternal soul and the love and companionship of your wife. Live worthy of it”

Men we can cook dinner and do the dishes, care for a crying baby, and change diapers. We can get the children ready for church on Sunday, and your wife can sit in the car and honk at you.

President Hinkley also tells the mothers of the church “be good women, be good mothers. Be kind and gracious and generous. Strengthen your children with your faith and your testimony. Lift them up. Help them to walk through the troubled ways of the world as they grow in this very difficult age. Support, sustain, uphold, and bless your husbands with your love and your encouragement; and the Lord will bless you. Even if they are not members of the Church, bless them with kindness and reach out to them in every good way that you can. The chances are that they will become members of the Church before they reach the day of their death.” I can think of a half dozen families here today that this is this case, including myself.

Beautiful Mothers! I am amazed at all that you do. I have deep admiration for the things that you are able to accomplish. Men, I am going to sell us all out right now, but we have it easy going out to work compared with what our spouses see in a day.

Beautiful Mothers. That is enough to occupy one’s full time.
President Hinkley tells you that you are companions—the very best friends your husbands have or ever will have.
You are housekeepers. That doesn’t sound like much, does it? But what a job it is to keep a house clean and tidy.
You are shoppers. Until I did the shopping once, I never dreamed of what a demanding responsibility it is to keep food in the pantry, to keep clothing neat and presentable, to buy all that is needed to keep a home running.
You are doctors and nurses. With every illness that comes along, you are the first to be told about it and the first to respond with help. In cases of serious sickness, you are at the bedside day and night, comforting, encouraging, ministering, and praying.
You are the family chauffeur. You spend time driving your children about on paper routes, taking them to athletic events, driving them on ward outings, hauling them here, there, and everywhere as they pursue their busy lives.
I marvel at your patience, at your capacity to calm your children, to stop them from crying, and it seems to me, to do a thousand other things.
You balance the family budget, and the time between your husbands and children. You attend the activities of your children, and tend to the needs of your spouse. You cook and sew, you teach classes, and you speak in church.
Some of you do all of this and still hold down a job or run a business on the side. It is astonishing.
To younger mothers with small children, yours is a tremendous challenge. Bear it well. Seek the blessings of the Lord. So often there is not enough money. You must scrimp and save. You must be wise and careful in your expenditures. You must be strong and bold and brave and march forward with gladness in your eye and love in your heart. How blessed you are, my dear young mothers. You have children who will be yours forever. I hope that you have been sealed in the house of the Lord and that your family will be an everlasting family in the kingdom of our Father.
May you be given strength to carry your heavy load, to meet every obligation, to walk side by side with a good and faithful and caring man, and together with him rear and nurture and bring up your children in righteousness and truth. Nothing else you will ever own, no worldly thing you will ever acquire will be worth so much as the love of your children. God bless you, you dear young mothers.
Even after all of this, some here today may think of themselves as failures. You feel you cannot do well, that with all of your effort, it is not sufficient.
We may all feel that way at some point. I feel that way as I speak to you today. I have prayed for the power and the capacity to lift you up, to inspire you, to thank you, to praise you, and to bring a measure of gladness into your hearts. I know that I will fall short of my intended message.
We all worry about our performance. We all wish we could do better. We are all critical of ourselves. But unfortunately we do not realize, we do not often see the results that come of what we do.
My mother in law tells a story about her mother. “My mom is a great example of service. One time when we were visiting in Kansas, my mom saw an old woman mowing her lawn. It was a hot day. She was using a push mower on her tall grass. My mom immediately stopped the car, we all got out, and my brothers mowed the lawn. I can still remember sitting on this woman’s porch as my mom visited with her, watching my brothers mow that lawn.”
I’d like to say I knew what the happy outcome was for this old woman who was served. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt what the outcome was for my mother in law and her brothers and her daughter, my beautiful wife, who all have a passion for service.
“You never know. You never know whether you do any good. You never know how much good you do.”
Beautiful mothers, that is the way with you. You are doing the best that you can, and your best, results in good to yourself and to others. Do not nag yourself with a sense of failure. Don't let the voices of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. Your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God. Do not listen to the voices that would have you think less of yourself. Remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. You were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. Get on your knees and ask for the blessings of the Lord; then stand on your feet and do what you are asked to do. Then leave the matter in the hands of the Lord. You will discover that you have accomplished something beyond price.

Well, to you beautiful mothers. I would like to say thank you. Thank you for being the kind of people you are and doing the things you do. May the blessings of heaven rest upon you. May your prayers be answered and your hopes and dreams become realities.
May your homes become a great laboratory of love. Where the raw chemicals of selfishness and greed are melded in the crucible of cooperation to yield compassionate concern and love one for another.
And especially on this day, honor the special mothers in your lives, brethren. Express your love to your wife, to your mother, and to the sisters in this ward. Praise them for their forbearance with you even when you are not at your best. Thank the Lord for these sisters who—like our Heavenly Father—love us not only for what we are, but for what we may become. I pray thanks that my wife, who come to Logan Utah to study Social Work took me on as a project in this same spirit.

The Proper Role of Governmemt

I believe in modern day prophets. We as children of a loving Heavenly Father are still looked after, instructed, guided and protected. We are entitled to, and beneficiaries of personal and general revelation. What kind of father would cut off communication with his own children? That being said, what do the prophets say concerning the role of government? On the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I found an article written by Ezra Taft Benson. Very interesting. (Thanks Fudd) I would like to share---

Ezra Taft Benson, “The Constitution—A Glorious Standard,” Ensign, Sep 1987, 6

From an address delivered at a BYU devotional held Tuesday, 16 September 1986, in commemoration of the bicentennial of the Constitution of the United States.

On the 17th day of September, 1987, we commemorate the two-hundredth birthday of the Constitutional Convention, which gave birth to the document that Gladstone said is “the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.”

I heartily endorse this assessment, and I would like to pay honor—honor to the document itself, honor to the men who framed it, and honor to the God who inspired it and made possible its coming forth.

To understand the significance of the Constitution, we must first understand some basic, eternal principles. These principles have their beginning in the premortal councils of heaven.

Some Basic Principles

The first basic principle is agency. The central issue in that premortal council was: Shall the children of God have untrammeled agency to choose the course they should follow, whether good or evil, or shall they be coerced and forced to be obedient? Christ and all who followed Him stood for the former proposition—freedom of choice; Satan stood for the latter—coercion and force.

The war that began in heaven over this issue is not yet over. The conflict continues on the battlefield of mortality. And one of Lucifer’s primary strategies has been to restrict our agency through the power of earthly governments.

Look back in retrospect on almost six thousand years of human history! Freedom’s moments have been infrequent and exceptional. We must appreciate that we live in one of history’s most exceptional moments—in a nation and a time of unprecedented freedom. Freedom as we know it has been experienced by perhaps less than 1 percent of the human family.

The second basic principle concerns the function and proper role of government. These are the principles that, in my opinion, proclaim the proper role of government in the domestic affairs of the nation:

“I believe that governments were instituted by God for the benefit of man; and that He holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them. …

“[I] believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life. …

“[I] believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments.” (D&C 134:1–2, 5.)

In other words, the most important single function of government is to secure the rights and freedoms of individual citizens.

The third important principle pertains to the source of basic human rights. Rights are either God-given as part of the divine plan, or they are granted by government as part of the political plan.

If we accept the premise that human rights are granted by government, then we must be willing to accept the corollary that they can be denied by government. I, for one, shall never accept that premise. We must ever keep in mind the inspired words of Thomas Jefferson, as found in the Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

The fourth basic principle we must understand is that people are superior to the governments they form. Since God created people with certain inalienable rights, and they, in turn, created government to help secure and safeguard those rights, it follows that the people are superior to the creature they created.

The fifth and final principle that is basic to our understanding of the Constitution is that governments should have only limited powers. The important thing to keep in mind is that the people who have created their government can give to that government only such powers as they, themselves, have in the first place. Obviously, they cannot give that which they do not possess.

By deriving its just powers from the governed, government becomes primarily a mechanism for defense against bodily harm, theft, and involuntary servitude. It cannot claim the power to redistribute money or property nor to force reluctant citizens to perform acts of charity against their will. Government is created by the people. The creature cannot exceed the creator.

Major Provisions of the Constitution

The Constitution consists of seven separate articles. The first three establish the three branches of our government—the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The fourth article describes matters pertaining to states, most significantly the guarantee of a republican form of government to every state of the Union. Article 5 defines the amendment procedure of the document, a deliberately difficult process that should be clearly understood by every citizen. Article 6 covers several miscellaneous items, including a definition of the supreme law of the land, namely, the Constitution itself. Article 7, the last, explains how the Constitution is to be ratified.

Now to look at some of the major provisions of the document itself. Many principles could be examined, but I mention five as being crucial to the preservation of our freedom. If we understand the workability of these, we have taken the first step in defending our freedoms.

The major provisions of the Constitution are as follows:

First: Sovereignty lies in the people themselves. Every governmental system has a sovereign, one or several who possess all the executive, legislative, and judicial powers. That sovereign may be an individual, a group, or the people themselves.

The Founding Fathers believed in common law, which holds that true sovereignty rests with the people. Believing this to be in accord with truth, they inserted this imperative in the Declaration of Independence: “To secure these rights life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Second: To safeguard these rights, the Founding Fathers provided for the separation of powers among the three branches of government—the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Each was to be independent of the other, yet each was to work in a unified relationship. As the great constitutionalist President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., noted:

“It is this union of independence and dependence of these branches—legislative, executive and judicial—and of the governmental functions possessed by each of them, that constitutes the marvelous genius of this unrivalled document. … It was here that the divine inspiration came. It was truly a miracle.” 6

The use of checks and balances was deliberately designed, first, to make it difficult for a minority of the people to control the government, and, second, to place restraint on the government itself.

Third: The powers the people granted to the three branches of government were specifically limited. The Founding Fathers well understood human nature and its tendency to exercise unrighteous dominion when given authority. A Constitution was therefore designed to limit government to certain enumerated functions, beyond which was tyranny.

Fourth: Our Constitutional government is based on the principle of representation. The principle of representation means that we have delegated to an elected official the power to represent us. The Constitution provides for both direct representation and indirect representation. Both forms of representation provide a tempering influence on pure democracy. The intent was to protect the individual’s and the minority’s rights to life, liberty, and the fruits of their labors—property. These rights were not to be subject to majority vote.

Fifth: The Constitution was designed to work with only a moral and righteous people. “Our constitution,” said John Adams (first vice-president and second president of the United States), “was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” 7

The Constitution Requires Loyalty and Support

This, then, is the ingenious and inspired document created by these good and wise men for the benefit and blessing of future generations.

It is now two hundred years since the Constitution was written. Have we been wise beneficiaries of the gift entrusted to us? Have we valued and protected the principles laid down by this great document?

At this bicentennial celebration we must, with sadness, say that we have not been wise in keeping the trust of our Founding Fathers. For the past two centuries, those who do not prize freedom have chipped away at our Constitution until today we face a crisis of great dimensions. We are fast approaching that moment prophesied by Joseph Smith when he said:

“Even this nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground, and when the Constitution is upon the brink of ruin, this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean, and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction.”

Will we be prepared? Will we be among those who will “bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction?” If we desire to be numbered among those who will, here are some things we must do:

1. We must be righteous and moral. We must live the gospel principles—all of them. We have no right to expect a higher degree of morality from those who represent us than what we ourselves exhibit. To live a higher law means we will not seek to receive what we have not earned by our own labor. It means we will remember that government owes us nothing. It means we will keep the laws of the land. It means we will look to God as our Lawgiver and the Source of our liberty.

2. We must learn the principles of the Constitution and then abide by its precepts. Have we read the Constitution and pondered it? Are we aware of its principles? Could we defend it? Can we recognize when a law is constitutionally unsound?

I quote Abraham Lincoln:

“Let [the Constitution] be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in primers, spelling-books, and in almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation.” 9

3. We must become involved in civic affairs. As citizens of this republic, we cannot do our duty and be idle spectators. It is vital that we follow this counsel from the Lord: “Honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.” (D&C 98:10.)

Note the qualities that the Lord demands in those who are to represent us. They must be good, wise, and honest. We must be concerted in our desires and efforts to see men and women represent us who possess all three of these qualities—goodness, wisdom, and honesty.

4. We must make our influence felt by our vote, our letters, and our advice. We must be wisely informed and let others know how we feel. We must take part in local precinct meetings and select delegates who will truly represent our feelings.

I have faith that the Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. It will be saved by the citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this Church—men and women who will subscribe to and abide the principles of the Constitution.

I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed His stamp of approval on the Constitution of this land. I testify that the God of heaven sent some of His choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and He has sent other choice spirits to preserve it.

We, the blessed beneficiaries, face difficult days in this beloved land, “a land which is choice above all other lands.” (Ether 2:10.) It may also cost us blood before we are through. It is my conviction, however, that when the Lord comes, the Stars and Stripes will be floating on the breeze over this people. May it be so, and may God give us the faith and the courage exhibited by those patriots who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor that we might be free, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I know this post it is a bit lengthy, however I do feel it is important to remember why standing up to fight for what is good and pure, noble and true is so necessary. There are times when I feel defeated and overwhelmed. This occurs when I see everything in the world so distant from its designed purpose. These are the times to tear our cloths like those who followed after Captain Moroni. Let it represent that we are willing to fight for God, religion, freedom, family and liberty. I for one feel as though there is no other choice. Read, ponder and pray over what it is you have just read. Listen to what Heavenly Father desires of you to do next. I do believe in hope and change. I will place my hope in Heavenly Father and submit to His Spirit, so that a mighty change will continue to take place in my heart and in my home. I pray the Lord will comfort and keep you. This is my testimony.

Super Slave

Greetings. As many of you may know by now, I am very opinionated about politics. I would say that I am first and foremost a Conservative. I would say secondly that I am a Republican, although I do feel betrayed by my party during the last eight years. Conservative principles were thrown out as the Bush administration spent "money" on a scale that human history has never seen before. I hope at some point we will be able to snap back to the God breathed words of the Constitution and abide by the principles set forth therein. In the meantime, there is a movement occurring in the political undercurrents. A new Conservative voice. Young principled Americans who have not succumbed to MTV, video games or credit card companies. A strong voice. You might say it is an angry voice. A voice that calls out to me and causes me to want to be involved. Let me introduce you to Super Slave. One of those voices. There is some language in this clip, but it is not any worse than cable television. Enjoy!
Begin Deprogramming

It's Everything But Me

It's the caffeine, the nicotine, the milligrams of tar. It's my office, it needs to be cleaned, it's my car. It's the fast talk that they use to abuse and feed my brain, it's the right and the left, faux facts, it needs a change. It's the pain, it's women and it's men. It's the plight for power. It's big government, it's what they've spent. It's the way you're given knowledge... slow, with thought control and subtle hints. It's rubbing it, itching it and it's applying cream. It's viva Viagra, it's four hours with high beams, it's in my dreams. It's the monsters that I conjure, self defeat, embarrassment, it's where I wander. It's my genre, Madonna's videos, it's game shows and cheap liqueur, it's a bumper sticker with rainbows. It's some angels, some demons, many Gods and white devils. It's the television monitor burying me like a shovel. It's gas fumes, fast food, Tommy Hill, Mars Ill, Columbia House Music club, designer drugs and suburban thugs. It may be the East Coast, no, it's the West Coast I don't know. It's government run public schools, it may be the Lotto. It's sleep, life and death, it may be speed, coke or meth. It's hay-fever, pain relievers, antihistamines, bad breath. It's in the air, it's in the water, in the meat. It's indirect, indiscreet, inconsistent, incomplete. It's in the streets, every city everywhere you go, and every man woman and child, it's everything you know. It's the insanity and the fantasies, the casualties of war. It's Sean Hannity, the DNC and GOP and it's a bore. It is the welfare system, creating welfare victims. It's television religion and it's false ways of living, it's the prisons. It's wondering if you get to eat, it's the heat. It's the winter and the weather, it may be Herpes and that's forever. It's a virus that takes the life of the weak and the strong. It's the drama that persists inside the storm. It's a hunger for attention, and those that doubt redemption. It's prevention, that's the first solution, it's mental pollution and public executions. It may be a part time job that governs what you can afford. It's the taxes that I pay, so that babies can be aborted. It's my fear, it's my faith, it's been betrayed, it's the form of a check that was supposed to stimulate. It's the economy, wait a minute, it's a thought. It's all of the trinkets shipped from China, it's U.S. workers loosing jobs. It's the Dollar, Yen, Pound, it's all denominations, it's receiving hourly wages for your professional observations. It's on your face, it's your eyes. It's a frown, it's a lie. It stretches for about as far as the eye can see. All of this is reality, and it's everything but me. -Ray VanderLouw (Inspired by "Scapegoat", written by Shaun Dailey).

Our Culture

In our culture today, we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers. Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but we have less. We buy more, but enjoy less. We have larger incomes and more debt. We have bigger homes, but smaller families. More conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees, but less sense. More knowledge, but less judgement. More experts and yet more problems. More medicine, but less wellness. More religions, and fewer Christians. Too much religion and not enough Christ. You see we drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch too much television and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions and reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, hate too often. We learn how to make a living, but not a life. We have added years to life, but not life to years. We have been to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We have conquered outer-space, but not inner-space. You see we have done larger things, but not better things. We have cleaned up the air, but have polluted the soul. We have conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less, accomplish less. We learn to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. You see these are the times of fast food and slow digestion. Big men, but small character. Steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes and more divorce. Fancier houses and broken homes. These are the days of quick trips, disposable values, throw away morality, one night stands. It's a hook-up culture. It's overweight bodies and pills that do everything, from cheer... to quiet ... to kill. This is the time were there is much in the show room window, and nothing in the stock room. Yes, this is the state of our current culture. Or is it?