Just a Beggar

I was just reading in Mosiah where King Benjamin reminds his people that we are commanded to impart freely of our substance one to another. If someone asks us for something we give it to them; we don't question whether they deserve it or who's fault it is that they are in such a predicament. From the perspective of Christ's atonement and our Father's mercy we stand no more deserving than the next guy. The only questions I should probably ask myself is "Will this help?" or "What could I do that would help more?."**

While reflecting on this inspired counsel, I wonder could I live in such a way that I am willing to give freely, faithful in the promise that the needs of myself and my family will be provided for? As a full-tithe paying member of the church I have such a promise, and when the Lord has provided for my needs I am very much accountable for the needs of others. As to deciding how and whom to give to, my dad once told me about a man who approached him for money while he was sitting in his car. My dad, thinking of the probability that he would waste or misuse the money on drinks or drugs or any number of things, declined. Then the man asked again, if somewhat irreverently, "In the name of Jesus give me some money." With that, my dad handed him the cash he asked for. He later related to me that regardless if the money was used for evil or wasted purposes, there was no way that my father could be frowned upon for fulfilling a request made in the Lord's name. In the same spirit, I think it is a better policy to give freely until constrained by the spirit than to withhold our means until explicitly told to give.


**slightly irrelevant aside: When I see a guy holding an "Anything Helps" sign on the corner, I've always wanted to stop and give him one of my sets of juggling balls. It only takes 3 hours to learn how to juggle and it changes "that bum always begging for money outside of Food Maxx" into "That dude you always see juggling on the corner, gee he's getting pretty good, I always tell my kid to drop a dollar in his hat when we walk by." My brother and I have often collected donations even by accident while we were just practicing while waiting for our ride to show up. If we had no job and time to sit by a sign, that is precisely what we would and have in a sense done.

I love jumping.

Often it takes a running start,
a little preparation of which I am all too fond,
but the jumping is definitely there.
Over hills, into holes,
through rings and clouds
of interesting people
that’s where I’ve found my favorite past times
memories bottled up
then drunk in reflection
now a whole new part of this self.
To jump is to love
oneself and everything around.
And when I happen to land
in a bit of mud
something sharper
harder than expected
that’s when I appreciate.
The colors of soil
swirled into a fluid marble
reflecting
the grandness of things still greater than myself
and the miraculous ability of one soul
to stand, recover,
rebuild the broken, severed, and burned bits
into a much better jumper.

A Mighty Man of God

Today a lovely friend of mine up at BYU sent me a text message:
"Dearest bestest guy friends, I would really like to thank you for being such incredible men of God. Keep it up :) Alma 48:16."

There was a time when I might have though "that's nice" and switched off my phone, but I've grwon a little since then and had some time since I just started my lunch break. I opened up the book of Alma:

"17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men."

I love uplifting messages that pop up in the middle of my day. Thank you, Elise! What made Moroni such a great guy was that he was a man of God. Captain Moroni was the man who fortified the cities of the Nephites. He raised the Title of Liberty and consecrated his life to defending his people, his country, and his God. One of my favorite things about Moroni was that he was kind of Mormon's hero; I mean Mormon named his son after him. When Mormon was serving as general during the final battles of the Nephites, you can see how he emulated the same strategies that the plates describe Moroni used during his great wars-- only they didn't work because the Nephites were the wickedest they had ever been, and were doomed to fail no matter how much Mormon did for them. If I could have the zeal and diligence that moroni did, if I could be half the father that Mormon was, I would be unafraid to call myself a true Man of God.
Again I have to thak Elise and all those strong, righteous, and beautiful young women out there who encourage young men to stay on the right path and true to the gospel. I can attest that we need all the help we can get, especially from you who seem to have a foot through heaven's door already.

He Didn't Have To Be.

This is one of those songs that is the reason I fell in love with country music (at least this part of it). I'm a real sucker for these stories... plus Brad Paisley is an amazing guitar player and lyricist. Just thought I'd share this video because it makes me feel good. The little kid is adorable. When he gets to go to the movie, I feel like shouting "yes!" out loud (Of course I didn't because everyone in the library would have looked at me oddly, but I still celebrated quietly to myself).