The Constitution

"We have no government armed in power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other."
John Adams

Commandments can hurt?

In a recent post titled "Is It Right to Force?," I wrote some things that I would like to further comment on.

I want to begin by clarifying the meaning of the word commandment. The Hebrew word for 'commandment' is 'decalogue' or 'statement' and a statement is used to inspire and lend confidence.

In the previous post I commented that, "obeying the commandments could never hurt you." Since then I have had some suggestions indicating that is not necessarily true.

We do hear of and know of people who are persecuted, tortured and even martyred because of their beliefs. These are good and righteous people who obeyed the commandments but they were hurt in the worst kind of ways, so how can I say that obeying the commandments could never hurt you?

I was referring to spiritual matters. We cannot determine what others will do with their free will. Their choices may result in us being hurt physically. However this is not often the case and more often we are protected physically through obeying the commandments, but more important we are always blessed spiritually and mentally through obeying the commandments.

A Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith, was often tortured and physically abused for his beliefs. One night after a severe beating he sought refuge at an elderly mans house. As the man was helping to clean Joseph up and dress his wounds he said, "You would think if you were a prophet of God that He would take better care of you." Joseph's response was, "I have been blessed more than you can ever know." There are not words to explain the kind of blessings and care Joseph received from God.

When we obey the commandments we gain a level of knowledge, intelligence and spiritual growth that cannot be gained otherwise. When I wrote "it cannot hurt you" I did not intend for it to be taken literally, what I meant is that you stand to benefit more by obeying than not. There is no balance to the scale, obeying far outweighs disobeying.

The way for you to really know and understand this is to just do it.

Porkchops?

Kensley (my 11 year old) enters the room, speaking in a dramatic southern drawl:

Kensley: "Do you know what inspires me?"

Me: "No, what?"

Kensley: "An elephant on a tightrope!"

Me: "Wow, that is inspiring."

Kensley: "Yes, whenever I see it struggling to get to the other side, it just makes me cry."

EJ: (my 9 year old) "Do you know what inspires me?"

Kensley: "Porkchops!" And she exits.

Where does she come from?

Is it Right to Force...?

I had an awesome talk this morning with my eleven year old daughter about a paper she wrote. The thesis was "is it right to force someone to do something they do not want to do?"

From her paper it was hard for me to discern what she really believed. She gave arguments for both sides and her final sentence was, "you usually shouldn't force someone to do something."

One example she gave was; if a manager of a business felt he was being forced to go to work at a certain time, he may rebel by coming in late and leaving early and that would cause problems within the business. My daughter felt forcing the manager in that situation was necessary.

In the other example she explained how during the American Revolution the British army would kidnap young sailors and force them to fight in their army. It was obvious she felt this was very wrong.

We started our discussion by asking if both situations are really using force? This led us to look up the definition of force - to compel; to constrain to do or to forbear, by the exertion of a power not resistible.

This did not fit the first situation of the manager because the power was resistible - he could resist by quitting his job or doing things that would lead to him being fired. It is a choice. Yes there is a consequence attached to that choice, but he is not being forced.

From this we realized a better term for that situation is "required." The manager is required to be to work at a certain time. When you require there is always a choice to accept the requirement and with every choice is a consequence. The manager is required to be at work from 9 to 5. He has a choice whether he will actually be there from 9 to 5 or not. If he is, then he has a consequence of keeping his job and getting paid so that he can provide for the things he needs and wants in life. If he choses not to be to work from 9 to 5 he has the consequence of losing his job and having to find another means of providing for his needs and wants.

There are many times that we are required to do things in life. It is alright to require but it would be even better to inspire, for example; if you wanted your employees to be on time and work certain hours then you as the owner could put in similar hours and be sure to be on time.

You could require your child to do math but it would be better to "inspire". You would do this by studying math or finding an older mentor who studies math to work beside your child. If math should be important to them, then why would it not be important to you? Is there any reason why math should no longer be studied just because you have graduated from school? Perhaps it is a situation where math won't be important to them once they graduate but in the meantime they need to get a good grade in order to get a scholarship or graduate. If that is the case then you could look to improve something in your employment. If you want to get a promotion at your job you need to improve a certain area of skills and these skills require time and effort to learn and improve. Then show your child what you are doing and discuss it with them as being a part of the system for doing well in your employment just as math is a part of the public educational system. Bottom line is to inspire by doing.

All other derivatives of the word force used the term "impelled by violence," which not only helped us to separate a situation of being required vs being forced, it also led us to the conclusion that it is never right to force. It is alright to require, it is better to inspire but it is never right to force.

Many people will confuse a requirement with force throughout their lives and this discussion with my daughter not only helped her to be more certain on what she believed but it helped to clear up things in my mind.

Many times people resist the commandments of God because they look at them as a form of force (maybe this misunderstanding comes from the word 'commandment' itself). The fact that we have a choice helps us to see that we are being required not forced and if we take it a step further we see that we are inspired to obey the commandments.

You could never be hurt by following the commandments whereas disobeying the commandments always, eventually results in some form of pain and suffering, either physically or spiritually. The commandments are divinely given principles that are loving instructions for our happiness. If we can let go of our misconceptions we would experience for ourself knowledge, intelligence and spiritual growth through obedience and diligence to divinely given principles.

God is a God of order and we as individuals are a part of the whole human race, where order provides a system of harmony that hinges on obedience to these principles. Do you see? It is a choice for everyone, but the consequence has been evident throughout history; the more obedience we have to these principles the more harmony we have among the human race. This inspires me.

Optimist vs. Pessimist

Why does a pessimist view the glass as half empty while the optimist views it as half full?

It is because the pessimist is emptying the glass while the optimist is filling it up. The pessimist is most often looking at what they can take or get from life. They are concerned with what life will give them, thus they are emptying the glass. On the other hand the optimist is looking at what they can give back to life. They are concerned with how they will contribute to the world and thus they are filling up the glass.

Again, I feel that one of the best things you can give to the world is to be the change you wish to see. This is best done through a consistent effort in self improvement of knowledge and character.

The great men and women of history have spent a great deal in studying, reading, writing and discussing history and classics. We can become great through doing the same.

The Tytler Cycle

A democracy is always temporary in nature. It simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.

Alexander Tytler a Scottish history professor in 1787 said, "A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury. The result is that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy (which is) always followed by a dictatorship.

Alexander Tytler also said, "the average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following cycles:

From bondage to spiritual faith. From spiritual faith to great courage. From courage to liberty. From liberty to abundance. From abundance to complacency. From complacency to apathy. From apathy to dependence. From dependence back into bondage." Just draw a circle and place these around the circle to have a visual of the cycle.

In studying American history we can see that most of the Americans who settled our nation moved from bondage to spiritual faith to courage (those without courage do not attack the greatest army of the 18th century). We progressed from their courage to liberty and from that liberty came abundance.

It was the complacency of citizens that trusted their government too much that allowed it to grow to serve itself rather than the people who pay for it.

The number of people who do not vote or just do not want to be bothered with the process of choosing candidates who serve the people rather than their party is evidence of the move from complacency to apathy. Too, people become apathetic when they experience changes they do not want imposed by a government they cannot control.

We only need to look at government-controlled programs and the number of people dependent upon them - Social Security, welfare, medicare, national health care a government school system - to know we are dependent on government for our daily existence. I do not demean the programs only the dependence we have on them. As we evaluate these programs from where they started out to what they are today we can see that they have been used as platforms to promise benefits and that through complacency and our dependency on them they have become what they are today, instead of serving the people the way they were initially intended to do.

The next step in the cycle explained by Tytler would be bondage. Some people think we are already there. It appears that in our 227 year old democracy we have traveled through the cycles.

There are two ways to look at this cycle - where are we as individuals and where are we as a nation on this cycle. If we don't like where we are or where we are headed as a nation it is up to us as individuals to make the change.

How do we stay on the cycle of spiritual faith, courage, liberty, and abundance, while avoiding complacency, apathy, dependence and bondage.

I believe the answer lies in what we allow into our minds, hearts and environment. Too often we let the world dictate what is popular and cool and we waste too much time with things like, video games, internet, cell phones, ipods, senseless literature, entertainment etc. when more of that time could be spent in worthwhile activities such as reading, studying, writing and discussing the classics.

Liberty, prosperity and good government worldwide are a natural result of a world where people read, write, study, discuss and apply history and the classics. Have you read a classic lately?

Tage Makes Me Laugh

Tage is my four year old son. This is a conversation I had with him today:

Tage: "Can I go play with friends?"
Mom: "Your friends are in school right now." (he plays with the 7 year old next door)
Tage: " No they're not."
Mom: "How do you know?"
Tage: "I learned from God."

He then followed it up with, "Jesus is in the sky and he drops money."

A Few Of My Favorite Things

These are a few things that give me that euphoric high or that wonderful, content feeling one gets when everything seems right with the world:

• giving birth (actually it's the immediate few seconds after when I'm holding that newborn in my arms)
• sunsets
• swings (the ones at a playground that can go really high)
• stars
  
• campfires and the smell on your clothes afterwards
• massages
• mountains (looking at them and being on them)
• summer nights
• roller coasters
• thunderstorms
  
• tiny lips pressed upon my face
• little hands and feet
• the words, "I love you mommy"
• a teenager daughters hug
  
• a touch from those you love
• a child's imagination and wonder
• jogging in a warm summer rain
• soft blankets
• pleasant dreams
  

Wisdom Listens

This weekend while enjoying a leisurely hike, I crossed paths with a man who was standing still and enjoying the view. I felt prompted to stop and talk with him.

Within a couple of minutes I discovered he had, had a stroke and was unable to communicate as most of us do. I was impressed as he was able to tell me, " I've had a stroke and I can understand but can't convey." I have a brother in-law and a dear friend up the street who have had strokes and probably wouldn't be able to say even that much.

Some may consider a conversation with someone who struggles to speak and express themselves a bit frustrating and useless. They may not have lingered any longer but I was grateful for the opportunity to attempt to connect with this man.

As I departed I commented to my 11 year old daughter, "I love people who have had strokes. They cause you to slow down, focus on what they are trying to say and you truly seek to understand what they want to express."

Imagine if we always slowed down, focused and sought to understand what other people are really trying to say.

I recently heard a quote, "Knowledge speaks but wisdom listens."

Foreword

If I were to sum up this chapter in one sentence it would be, "take time each day to train your mind for success." The following are quotes/sentences from the book "The Way To Success" by Sterling W Sill.

Success is interested in our excellence as citizens, parents, children, neighbors, workers and worshipers.

Since life is everlasting, temporary achievement has significance only as it influences our permanent success.

The strongest link in the success chain is right thinking.

Success is largely in the spirit, and manifests itself through the personality.

Success does not consist merely in arriving at a destination, it is also the effective continuance of that long, upward spiral of growth which constitutes eternal progress.

No success would be very important without the kind or courage that enables one to meet the ordinary failures of life without being defeated. Temporary losses should never be permitted to destroy morale or interfere with the long-range goals of eternal life.

Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick says that "no life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated and disciplined."

It is a challenging idea that even though our lives are our most valuable possessions, yet this is the area where we are guilty of the most serious neglect. The fields of character development, spiritual growth and ethical improvement are some of the few places where we have no threat of surpluses.

William James said, "The mind is made up of what it feeds upon." This one idea offers us our greatest opportunity to win the battle of success if we only take effective advantage of it.

We must understand success, and we must keep working at it. One of the greatest advantage of regular reading may not be so much in what is read, as in what we are stimulated to think, and do to become, because of what we read.

What did you feed your mind today? What will you feed it tomorrow? What are you thinking, what will you do and what will you become because of it?

Where Am I Going?

I have been hesitant to post lately, although many thoughts have come to me that I could share.

I often lack action in my life because I lack faith to travel the path without knowing the final destination. If I can't see far enough down the road, I stand still, rather than move forward and face some turn or fork in the road.

That is how it has been with this blog. The thought of doing it came to me almost a year ago but because I feared I lacked knowledge of how to make it look good, how to attract readers and what to write about exactly, I didn't take action. Finally, I said to myself, I've just got to do it and the direction or purpose can come. You know, "If you build it they will come." I just needed to begin.

So now I've revealed some of my weaknesses - I am a perfectionist and afraid to make mistakes, but maybe that will inspire you to spur me on as I conquer this challenge with in myself.

What is the purpose of a blog? For some it is personal, a place to document their thoughts, or a place where they write about what is new or going on in their lives so they can keep in touch with family and friends - a sort of journal. For others it is to network, to share information, knowledge and resources. The desired outcome in this case can be to build a business image and make money or to simply just be charitable and helpful.

I have wanted to serve both purposes for myself - a place to journal my thoughts, activities and progress and a place to network. Benjamin Franklin said, "Experience is a dear teacher, but fools will learn at no other." If we can learn from others we can save ourselves some time and trials. Perhaps we could even progress more rapidly in our own lives. There is something to be learned from everyone and I'm willing to share.

However I worried that between my desire to journal and my desire to network would be a wide chasm that wouldn't be serving to my readers. It is actually my hope that through a journal type blog of my own life and learning I can serve a large network or community and inspire positive change in our world. But I am paralyzed by uncertainty.

Because of my paralysis, I have decided that in addition to sharing my own stuff that I would add more value to this community by summarizing from books I read. That way if you aren't interested in hearing from me you can still gain from some pretty cool books, some of which may be out of print.

It will be like reading the "Great American Bathroom Book". If you're unfamiliar with that book it is basically a big book with summaries and overview of tons of books. You can read it and know enough about the book to join a discussion, pretend like you've read the entire book and appear well-educated.

You will be able to easily recognize my post on a book under the post categories because it will be in quotations. The first one will be "The Way To Success."

And as my own little secret it will help me to not give up on this blog or myself. On days that I fear my thoughts are "unimportant" to others and my morale is low, I can still keep my commitment to write. I can move forward in faith without knowing exactly where I will end up.

I will also be happy. Just now, I discovered something about myself as I am writing - I am happy when I write.

A Story In My Eye

My cute four year old little boy, Tage, will often wake in the mornings and exclaim, "Last night I had a story in my eye..." and then he will proceed to tell us about his dream.

Not to long ago I had a "story in my eye" that I thought you might enjoy...

I was standing among a large group of people in a vast, expansive land. We were looking off into the horizon and heading in that direction. We were eager to get there because we knew it was some place wonderful. You could feel the excitement and thrill of everybody as we were all chattering happily.

Only we weren't human... we were pieces of bread? Pieces of bread with faces on the front, arms poking out the sides, and legs poking out the bottom. I know it's strange but blame it on my dream. Perhaps I have been watching too much Sesame Street or something because it is not often I think of the human race as a bunch of muppet like pieces of bread? I couldn't figure it out, but then the dream continues...

Suddenly everything was silent except one powerful voice, that spoke as if coming from the sky. We stopped, looked upward and listened. The voice was precise, loud and clear as it exclaimed, "First you must be toasted!"

Toasted? Huh? Then I woke up. I lie there in sleepy confusion as my mind struggled to comprehend where I was, who I was (bread or human?) and what just happened?

Toasted or tested? Oh well, I guess to a piece of bread it means the same?

How BIG is your 'Why'?

Success in any area of life depends upon our mental attitude and must begin with finding our 'why'. Why do we want more money, an attractive body, more friends, a bigger house, newer car, a better world or whatever it may be?

This past year I have been made aware of a 'why' that is bigger than me and my own, now seemingly tiny, personal needs or desires.

On April 9th I sat down with my children to watch American Idol Gives Back. This is an event where American Idol and many of the rich and famous pull together to raise money for several good causes. On this night they showcase the many causes for which they are raising money for.

As I watched, my heart went out to the orphan children in Africa whose parents died from the HIV virus, the babies who had been bitten by mosquito's and were thus infected with malaria, the people at poverty level in our own country and more.

This had a profound affect on me as I wanted to give but I wanted to give more than just money. I still see the tiny little hand of an eight month old and the mother who held that hand. I can still see the large eyes that showed confusion of what was happening to her as her tiny body lie helpless in that hospital crib.

Giving money could only ease my conscience for a few short minutes but the faces of those little babies, so lifeless, with tubes everywhere, eyes filled with pain and suffering, was burned in my mind and sparking a determination I hadn't felt before.

I was grateful for the large amounts of money that was donated and I prayed it would be enough, but I was struck by a powerful desire to make a longer lasting, more permanent impact.

As I was reading from my favorite book about a character named Captain Moroni I recognized how each of us has the ability to make an impact by bettering ourselves mentally, physically and spiritually, day by day, each and every person.

Captain Moroni was brilliant, spiritually, physically and mentally. In the stories about Captain Moroni it tells of the many battles he fought and how he conquered over and over again. It constantly emphasized how he prepared against the enemy.

The story points out that if all men were like him the adversary would never have power over the hearts of men. What would that be like?

What kind of man was Moroni? The story tells us he was a man of perfect understanding, firm in the faith of Christ, extremely grateful, he defended what was right, kept the commandments of God and resisted iniquity.

I dream of a world where the powers of hell are shaken forever. Where there is no sickness, no poverty, no famine, no violence, no fighting, no crime, where we are all one big family, encircled about by love and united in a great cause with eagerness.

Success has many definitions. One says that it is the discovery and development of our abilities. Another says that it is the skill enabling us to make the most worthwhile contribution to others.

I agree that, success requires that which develops our abilities and consequently contributes to others. It requires the building of character as well as the daily practice of imagination, initiative, honesty, joy, optimism, confidence, faith, security, poise, skill, cheerfulness, tolerance, enthusiasm, humility, patience and righteousness. Just think what it is like when you are in the presence of someone who emanates these abilities and has a strong character.

Success is what we become in the process and can be a gift to the world we live in. We not only have the right to success but we have the responsibility. The chief objective of our lives should be how to become better men and women. As we become better our world becomes better.

Success is a preparation, a process, a contribution and in the end a legacy.

Don't Eat Sugar

During 1930’s, a young boy had become obsessed with eating sugar. His mother was very upset with this. But no matter how much she scolded him and tried to break his habit, he continued to satisfy his sweet tooth. Totally frustrated, she decided to take her son to see his idol - Mahatma Gandhi; perhaps her son would listen to him.

She walked miles and miles, for hours under a scorching sun to finally reach Gandhi. Once there, she shared her predicament with Gandhi.

Ghandi listened to the woman carefully, thought for awhile and then asked her to return in two weeks.

The woman looked perplexed and wondered why had he not asked the boy to stop eating sugar right away. She took the boy by the hand and went home.

Two weeks later they revisited Gandhi. Gandhi looked directly at the boy and said, "Don't eat Sugar."

The boy promised he would not. The mother was puzzled and asked, "We have traveled a long way, why didn't you tell him two weeks ago, when I first brought him here to see you?"

Gandhi smiled, "two weeks ago, I was eating sugar."

I love that story. One of my favorite quotes is also from Ghandi - "Be the change you wish to see." I think this quote is the main point of the story and why I have titled this blog "Don't Eat Sugar" - I bet you thought it had to do with eating healthy huh? Well, it will include some of that too as I hope to involve all self improvement - physical, mental, spiritual, social, and financial.

My blog is a commitment to myself and to God to "be the change". I hope that it will be a tool to strengthen my dedication to be the best I can and to do God's will. I feel it will serve as a reminder to stay on the path of constant improvement.

I also hope it will serve as an inspiration and motivation to others. As we unite in the cause for a better world we will achieve it together.

While it will be a work in progress, I plan to share many things; thoughts, ah-ha's, quotes, resources, humor, pictures, video and more. I hope you will visit often and leave positive and helpful comments, so that we can be a community of discovering, transforming and relating with one another.

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