A Beautiful Trip up Spanish Fork Canyon

So...this was quite awhile ago, but Mom, Whitney and I took a trip up Spanish Fork Canyon. Until this moment, the only thing that I thought of Spanish Fork Canyon is that crazy highway that is the most dangerous one in the State of Utah filled with tons of mines.

Low and behold, its a BEAUTIFUL PLACE!! Here are some pictures that we took, the cool tiny detail ones are Whitneys, she's pretty awesome at finding those little details. I hope you enjoy them!

A deeper thought.....

I've been reading lots of my friends' blogs today and have been thinking a lot about responding to a lot of their posts. The funny thing is that, as I've started to think more about what I would want to say, I've noticed that I don't really have a lot to say.

Well...that's not completely true, I have plenty to say, you can ask Whitney, I have plenty of strong opinions, and I'm not afraid to voice them. The interesting thing is that I have this crazy tendency to see both sides of the situation.

So, when Becca talks about Abstinence being the real cure for AIDS, I totally agree with her! Its true, people should realize the consequences of their actions, and not expect the medical profession to cure them for them. At the same time, I think about the way the Atonement works, and I realize that, in some ways, that is exactly what the Atonement is doing for me. I make decisions that I know full well are in direct opposition to the laws of God, but I still do them, and I am so greatful for the atonement that allows me to be "cured" from those plagues. I can't imagine that people are saying to themselves "Who cares about AIDS! I'm gonna' do what I want, and if I end up with it, there's doctors that will cure me!"

Then there is the whole other load of people who totally deserve a cure to AIDS. These are people who either got it against their own volition or who aren't educated enough or don't have the resources to protect themselves (only 6.4% of AIDS cases exist in High Income/First World Countries). These people definitely deserve to have access to cures, and by those standards, I think AIDS truly is an epidemic.

But I still believe that people should be taught Abstinence and protection to be able to control the spread of AIDS.

So...what do i believe? I don't know, I'm not sure that I really can say I stand on one side or the other, I guess I just haven't made a decision.

Does that make me a fence sitter?

Formatting....

Not much to be done about it, I'm just a loser with no HTML skills.... but you get the idea.

Really though, its been a wonderful summer, I can't think of a better one, or a better person to spend it with!

A Beautiful Girl

Well, a lot of people who don't have facebook have been wanting to see pictures of the happy couple...so....here ya go!!

Ironically, very few of these pictures were actually taken over the summer. They were all taken at various times when I was visiting her or when she was visiting me.

Oh well...time flies when you're having fun!

Beautiful Weather!?!

Why is it so much harder to get any work done when its a beautiful day outside?? It just makes you want to go for a nice walk, or read a good book, or take a nap on your lawn, not sit inside and make powerpoint slides about German/Italian Madrigals....arrrrrg

So a Little Change in Plans....

As you will all notice (haha, I say all as if there are lots of you who read this) I'm making a determined effort to write more in my blog, to be less intimidated by trying to write really profound things, but at the same time I want it to be meaningful stuff, not just piff (context should help you with that one, just like in Jabberwocky) so we're gonna' try this scripture thing, and maybe a little bit more, we'll see.

Maybe I'll make a different blog for the more day to day things of my life, eh? But lets be honest, two blogs when I can't even keep up one?? Who knows....

2 Nephi 26:24-28

24 He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.

25 Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.

26 Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.

27 Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance.

28 Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.

This is one of those scriptural passages that I have probably read for years, and completely missed it every time. I kind of forgive myself, because it does happen shortly after the chapters which quote Isaiah, which are always a little bit more difficult to stay focused during, and these chapters are sort of written in the same style.

I do attribute my finding it to my decision to focus on scriptures that teach about Christ and the grace of Christ, otherwise I don't think it ever would have stuck out to me.

This scripture, to me at least, corroborates the idea that is so often forgotten, that the Grace of Christ is available to all of us for free, quite literally. So often I get this sense in myself that I have to arrive to a certain "minimum level of goodness" before the Atonement will really work for me. In many ways, it feels like Nephi is talking to guys like me, who really want to be good, and are painfully aware of how not good they are sometimes, and how often they don't always feel worthy of the Grace of Christ.

Nephi's response? "Where in the world did you get that idea?? Has Christ ever told anyone they weren't welcome? Even the vilest of sinners was invited to come unto Him. Why would you think that you were any different?"

In particular, I love the phrase: "buy milk and honey, without money and without price." The grace of Christ is free, there is no payment which we can offer, no list of tasks or self-punishments to be made before His grace can take effect in our lives? We simply have to come and partake.