Flirting with Flint

The Durant Hotel in Flint, MI

August 7th: We arrived in Michigan 4 weeks ago and have been staying in the historic Durant Hotel in downtown Flint while searching for a place in Pontiac where we can live and fellowship members of the church. Seventy years ago Flint and Pontiac were beautiful, prosperous cities, but they have fallen on hard times with many economic, social, and safety concerns. Currently, Pontiac members are divided among a number of wards and branches with meeting houses that are many miles away. We are assigned to gather and socialize with Pontiac members in an effort to strengthen and grow the church there. 

We travel to Pontiac (40 miles away) three or four times a week to attend church and missionary meetings, visit with members, and assist with the search for a residence. We have also gotten involved in service with the Oakland Historic Association and will begin researching their records for information about the growth of the church in Pontiac in the 1830s. Joseph Smith and all three of the original witnesses of the gold plates, came to Pontiac in 1834, which resulted in a number of converts.

The following photos will provide some idea of the beauty of downtown Flint which belies the poverty and dilapidated buildings in the surrounding neighborhoods:

That's the moon reflecting in the window and not a fire.

Women in the rehab center next door enjoying a smoke while on break.

This past week we spent time at the Flint Ward Young Women camp where we taught compass orienteering skills and provided encouragement while they attempted the challenging Frankenmuth Aerial Park sky walk as shown in the following photo:

Teaching orienteering skills with a compass reminded me of an experience 20 years ago when my daughter was serving a mission in Romania and we did not have immediate texting or email communication with her. I remember getting a letter that she had written 3 weeks earlier describing the perplexing problems and conditions which were confronting her. I realized that if I were to immediately reply with advice and encouragement it would be another 3 weeks before she got it; and I hoped that somehow we had prepared her to be able to orient herself through the complexity, confusion, and problems of life.

Isn’t that what the gospel is about – providing us with a knowledge of true north (eternal principles) and how to find the direction we need to safely navigate this life and to find eternal bliss as stated in Alma 37:44-45: “For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.”

What a blessing to have a compass (the gospel and words of Jesus Christ) so we can orient ourselves and know the direction we should go to for Eternal Bliss!

Mission Call

Nancy and I are humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve 18 months as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Michigan Detroit Mission. Our purpose is to help others come unto Christ by serving them as the Savior would. 

We enter the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on June 27th and then will start for Michigan on July 8th. We can only wonder who we will meet and serve and the experiences that await us as we participate in the gathering of Israel.

Impressive Baháʼí Beliefs

It has been my good fortune to become acquainted and friends with members of the Baháʼí faith during the past couple months. I find the following statements of beliefs from The Baháʼís, Contributing to an Emerging Global Civilization to be inspiring and a helpful vision of the principles espoused in the Sermon on the Mount and the future Zion society to be established during the Millenium:

If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act. Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion. (page 38)

Religion should demonstrably uplift humanity, create unity, forge good character, promote the search for truth, liberate human conscience, advance social justice, and promote the betterment of the world. . . . It fosters an upright character and instill forbearance, compassion, forgiveness, magnanimity, and high-mindedness. It prohibit harm to others and invites souls to the plane of sacrifice, that they may give of themselves for the good of others. It . . . cleanses the heart from self-centeredness and prejudice. It inspires souls to endeavor for material and spiritual betterment for all, to see their own happiness in that of others, to advance learning and science, to be an instrument of the true joy, and to revive the body of humankind. (page 8)

The principle of oneness of humankind is the central teaching of the Baháʼí faith. Recognition and acceptance of this principle necessitates that abandonment of prejudice of every kind - race, class, color, gender, creed, nationality, age, material wealth - everything that people have used to consider themselves superior or inferior to others. . . . So intense must be the spirit of love and loving kindness, that the stranger may find himself a friend, the enemy a true brother, no difference whatsoever existing between them. (page 14)

Man's merit lieth in service and virtue and not in the pageantry of wealth and riches. . . . And the honor and distinction of the individual consists in this, that he among the world's multitudes should become a source for social good. Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellow men? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight. (page 15)

Worship of God and service to humanity are two separable aspects of life, enabling both individuals and society to progress. (page 19)

Misconceptions and prejudices that consider one group of people as superior to another are a major contributor to humanity's present afflictions. Racism retards the potentiality of its victims, corrupts its perpetrators, and blights human progress. If this problem is to be overcome, the oneness of humanity must be universally upheld and protected by law and through social policies and structures. . . . No ethnic or cultural grouping is superior to another. All receive God's love in equal measure. Recognition by the biological and social sciences that there is only one human "race" removes any basis for prejudice. (page37)

Each human being possesses a distinct, rational soul . . . created in the image and likeness of God, meaning that it is capable of acquiring the divine qualities and heavenly attributes. . . . During this earthly physical existence, one can develop the spiritual qualities that will be needed in the next life. (pages 42 & 43)

The purpose of God in creating man hath been, and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His presence. (page 44)

Central to our spiritual journey is the development of qualities that assist each of us in our progress toward God. In this world, the cultivation of such qualities requires an ongoing refinement of our conduct so that our actions increasingly reflect the nobility and integrity with which every human is endowed. . . . Simply focusing on oneself proves counterproductive; that the path to be walked in the company  of others - each giving and receiving love, assistance, and encouragement; that the tendency to allow self-righteousness to take hold needs to be conscientiously resisted; and that humility is a requisite of progress. (page 48)

Through prayer, one praises God, expresses love for Him, or beseeches Him for insight or assistance. (page 51)

Spreading materialism and self-centeredness are destructive and distort young people's views of the world, thereby impeding individual and collective growth. (page 54)

The purpose of our lives is to recognize, love, and grow closer to God. We strive to do so, in part, by mirroring God's attributes, such as love, compassion, generosity, justice, and mercy. We fulfill our highest purpose by living a life of service in which we are generous with our love and compassion, and, practically speaking, give freely of our time, energy, knowledge, and financial resources. . . . A life of service to humanity implies humility and detachment, rather than self-interest and ostentation. . . . Baháʼís participate motivated by concern for the common good and with a spirit of humble service to humanity. (page 62)

If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye be possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost kindness and goodwill. (page 63)

It is not possible to build enduring unity through contention or the assumption that inherent conflicts of interest underlie human interactions. (page 64)

Devotion to God finds expression in practical, selfless service. (page 75)

Selfishness and aggression, far from expressing humanity's true self, represent a distortion of the human spirit. . . . The inherent nobility of humanity will foster harmony and cooperation instead of competition and conflict. (page 92)

The virtues that befit human dignity are trustworthiness, forbearance, mercy, compassion, and loving-kindness towards all people. (page 95)

I have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving season - as became evident when my car hit some ice coming down a steep mountain, slid off the road, and flipped completely over in a gulley.  You feel very vulnerable when you are hanging upside down in your car, wondering if you will even be able to get out! Fortunately, no one was hurt - but it was scary and I'm waiting to see how much damage was done to my car.

Absolutely Stunning Prophecies Regarding Cyrus

 A reconstruction of the smaller, inner Ishtar Gate of Babylon 
in the Berlin Pergamon Museum

I am bewildered by the limited awareness and attention directed to the absolutely remarkable  prophecies regarding Cyrus who conquered Babylon and freed the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.  Isaiah called him by name and foretold his remarkable place in history 100 years before he was even born!  Consider what Parley Pratt wrote in A Voice of Warning:

“He may be considered one of the most extraordinary characters that ever the heathen world produced: his mildness, courage, perseverance, success, and, above all, his strict obedience to the command of that God which neither he nor his fathers had known, all go to prove that Isaiah was not mistaken when he called him by name, as the Lord's anointed, to deliver the nations from bondage, to scourge and subdue the greatest city and monarchy that have at any time existed on the earth, and to restore the Jews, and rebuild their city and temple. Indeed, he was one of those few whom the world never produces except for extraordinary purposes. But let us hear the Prophet's own description of him, Isaiah, chapter 45: "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to subdue nations before him: and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates, and the gates shall not be shut. I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron. And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me." In the 13th verse, he says: "I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts." The reader will bear in mind that Isaiah lived about one hundred years before the Jewish captivity, and one hundred and seventy years before Cyrus caused their return.

Here I would pause and inquire, What power but the power of the great God could enable one man to call another by name, a century before his birth, and also to foretell correctly the history of his life? What must have been his wonder and astonishment, when, after many years of wars and commotions, during which he marched forth, conquering and to conquer, gathering as a nest the riches of the nations, he at last pitched his camp near the walls of the strongest hold in all the earth? He gazed upon its walls of upwards of three hundred feet in height, with its gates of brass and its bars of iron: the people within feeling perfectly safe, with provisions enough to last the inhabitants of the city for several years. How could he think of taking that city? Who would not have shrunk from such an undertaking, unless inspired by the great Jehovah? But, turning the river Euphrates from its course, and marching under the walls of the city, in the dried bed of the river, he found himself in possession of the city, without any difficulty; for Belshazzar, the king, was drinking himself drunk, with his nobles and concubines, and that, too, from the vessels of the House of the Lord which his father had taken from Jerusalem, and his knees had already smote together with horror, from the handwriting on the wall, which Daniel had just been called in to interpret, giving his kingdom to the Medes and Persians. Having subdued this great monarchy, he seated himself upon the throne of kingdoms; and, becoming familiar with Daniel, he was, no doubt, introduced to an acquaintance with the Jewish records, and then the mystery was unfolded: he could then see that God had called him by name, that the Almighty hand girded him for the battle, and directed all his work; he could then understand why the treasures of the earth poured themselves into his bosom, and why the loins of kings had been unloosed before him, and why the gates of brass had been opened, and the bars of iron burst asunder. It was that he might know that there was a God in Israel, and none else, and that all idols were as nothing; that he might also restore the Jews, and rebuild their city and temple, and fulfil God's purposes upon Babylon. He accordingly issued his proclamation to the Jews to return, and for the nations to assist them in rebuilding, "for," said he, "God hath commanded me to build him an house at Jerusalem." Ezra, chapter 1, 2, 3, says: "Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judea. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judea, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, he is the God which is in Jerusalem."

What powerful argument, what mighty influence was it which caused Cyrus to be convinced that it was the God of heaven who dwelt at Jerusalem, who alone was God, and who had done all these things? He had not been traditioned in the belief of the true God, nor of the holy Scriptures. Nay, he had ever been very zealous in the worship of idols; it was to idols he looked for assistance in the former part of his life. I reply, it was the power of God, made manifest by prophecy and its fulfilment; not in a spiritualized sense, not in some obscure, uncertain, or dark, mysterious way, which was difficult to be understood; but in positive, literal, plain demonstration, which none could gainsay or resist. Isaiah says that this was the object the Lord had in view when he revealed such plainness. And Cyrus manifested that it had the desired effect.

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I absolutely marvel at:

1. Isaiah calling Cyrus by name, foretelling his conquests, and charging the Jews to return to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.
2. Cyrus and how he was able to conquer Babylon with it's 300' walls by diverting the Euphrates River.
3. The foreknowledge of God, enabling Isaiah to prophesy and describe things that would occur 170 years in the future.
4. Parley P. Pratt's insights and ability to communicate this incredible miracle so effectively.  I have a college education, but lack the understanding and ability to communicate as well.

 

Madrid with Felix, Theo, and Cy

It doesn't matter where Theo is - he is comfortable with his body as shown in this short video from Madrid, Spain.  If everything seems upside down since he returned to Provo, it may because he did this too much.

And here is Cy in Madrid entertaining Nancy:

Felix, however, amazed us the most - how comfortable he was, going out by himself during the day or night, venturing around Madrid at only 14 years of age. It was a real blessing to be greeted by Bree, Collin, Felix, Theo and Cy when we arrived in Madrid.  It made all the difference to helping us get comfortable traveling in Europe without being able to speak or understand the language.

Aunt Mamie Hjorth & Family

For my Hjorth cousins and their families.