Book of Mormon Haiku

1st Nephi Chapter 2

Lowliness of heart

God, diligently sought for

Nephi murmured not

1 Nephi 2 - Lehi takes his family into the wilderness by the Red Sea; They leave their property; Lehi offers a sacrifice to the Lord and teaches his sons to keep the commandments; Laman and Lemuel murmur against their father; Nephi is obedient and prays in faith; the Lord speaks to him, and he is chosen to rule over his brethren.

How we view ourselves and our circumstances is inexorably tied to our understanding of and our faith in the Supreme Creator of all things.

Book of Mormon Haiku

1st Nephi Chapter 3

As the Lord liveth

Record of the covenant

I will go and do

1 Nephi 3 - Lehi's sons return to Jerusalem to obtain the plates of brass; Laban refuses to give them up; Nephi exhorts and encourages his brethren; Laban steals their property and attempts to slay them; Laman and Lemuel smite Nephi and are reproved by an angel.

There is something profoundly important about the knowledge of the eternal promises made to our fathers. In fact, the story of Laban's sword unmistakenly teaches us that this knowledge is vital.

Book of Mormon Haiku

1st Nephi Chapter 1

Because of their faith 

Tender mercies of the Lord 

Unto deliv'rance

1 Nephi 1 - Nephi begins the record of his people; Lehi sees in vision a pillar of fire and reads from a book of prophecy; He praises God, foretells the coming of the Messiah, and prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem; He is persecuted by the Jews.

Winter in Mesa

Yeah, it's true. Winter in Mesa is just brutal. This is a shot of Jillian and Stacy braving the dark Phoenix days of winter. They actually had to find outer clothing with LONG SLEEVES!

These girls are tough, I'm telling you!

You can't really see it in this shot, but I think that could be a goose bump on Jillian's left wrist.

Well, Summer is only a few months away. Soon the bleakness of these dark days will fade to the dull haunting of a bitter memory.

An eye single to the Glory of God

And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.(Doctrine and Covenants Section 4:5)

Lynette and I were at the Superstition Mountains last night. And the glory of the Lord shone round about!

119 Gimel

119 Gimel.mp3

And here is the 3rd song in the 119th Psalm cycle!

Гимель

17 Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.
18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
19 I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.
20 My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.
22 Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.
23 Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.
24 Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.

BTW: The Hebrew word translated here as "thy testimonies" is just as often translated as "thy congregation". I could think all day about that. :-)
In fact, I think I will.

It's Just Me

Just Me.mp3

This is a song I wrote this winter. It's what I imagine my girls might want to say to me sometimes. Maybe a lot of the time. Edward Partridge was told that one of his sins was blindness of heart. I have the same problem. Hence my "J" resolution for 2009. Enjoy.