The Spoken Writ

The Challenge to Become

2009-10-23T09:53:00.001-07:00

In the 170^th Semiannual General Conference (October 2000), Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke of the educational process we’re currently going through. My favorite quote:

[T]he Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts–what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts–what we have become.

This is followed closely by the parable of the rich man explaining his son’s inheritance:

That which I have I can easily give you, but that which I am you must obtain for yourself. (Emphasis in the original)

I love the perspective and insight that these give. First, the importance of enduring and pushing onward. Second, the insight into why personal experience is necessary for us to learn. We’re going to make mistakes – that’s fine. It’s part and parcel with this mortal probation. Learning to make choices means that we’re going to make some bad choices along the way. Our Heavenly Father understood this, so He provided a Savior for us.

There is no tally at the end. We’re not going to stand before the judgement bar of the Almighty and cross our fingers while angels count the good and bad deeds we’ve done, hoping that the good outnumbers the bad. (“Sometimes the Ups outnumber the Downs… but not in Nottingham.”) It’s going to be an acknowledgement (I love that word there) of who we have become as the result of the deeds we’ve done.

I recently faced a tough decision. I carefully weighed the alternatives. Would the activity be worth the money I’d spend? What about the time I’d need to invest? How would this affect my wife? With all of these assessments, I could justify either decision. Finally, my mind rested upon a new question: “If I do this, will it take me closer to the man I want to be, or further away?” Once I framed the question in those terms, all doubt left my mind, and I was able to clearly see the better choice.

What will you do today to bring yourself closer to being the person you want to be?

“The Challenge to Become” by Elder Dallin H. Oaks

October 2000 General Conference

Conference LP (Release Candidate)

2009-10-21T19:46:00.001-07:00

I decided to package the 179th Semiannual General Conference as an iTunes LP. This new format – which requires iTunes 9 – lets you package together audio and video files in an immersive environment.

So why an LP and not just download the files from the web site or use the podcast? For one thing – it's a lot of files. The entire Conference takes several GB of video, and it adds up quickly. Podcasts are designed to be temporary – episodes come and go, and they're not designed for browsing archived content. If you download the files, you're taking up hard drive space and you've got to make sure everything is meticulously tagged.

The LP streams the videos from the Church's web site, so they're not taking up space on your hard drive. (The LP itself is only about 1MB.) The downside is that you may have to wait for a few seconds while the video buffers, but it’s probably better than waiting for a multi-gigabyte file to download.

Instructions:

Download 179th Semiannual General Conference LP and unzip it.
Double-click the .itlp file.

iTunes will import the LP. (You can now throw away what you downloaded.)

PS–I’ll be the first to admit I’m not an artist.

Transcript of “Why 1820?”

2009-10-19T19:22:00.001-07:00

I spent a week of personal study on my mission transcribing Restoration of the Church. Thought I'd share.

As noted in the PDF, Elder Boyd K. Packer has disavowed the story with President McKay (“There were no captains here tonight.”) and the associated doctrine. Guess it's just a faith-promoting rumor. :)

Restoration of the Church, or Why 1820?

2009-10-18T15:09:00.001-07:00

In this talk, also known as “Why 1820?”, Hyrum W. Smith shares his testimony of why the Lord had to wait almost 2,000 years before restoring His church.

This talk-tape was a favorite on my mission, and it took me forever to track it down in BYU-Idaho's devotionals archives.

“Restoration of the Church” by Hyrum W. Smith
Devotional at Ricks College, 27 September 1988.

Safety for the Soul

2009-10-18T14:25:00.001-07:00

A powerful testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.

Safety for the Soul, by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
October 2009 General Conference

Principles from Prophets

2009-10-18T14:19:00.001-07:00

President Monson shares his memories of the Presidents of the Church has has personally known, from Heber J. Grant to Gordon B. Hinckley.

My favorite story: David O. McKay's portrait of his childhood home.

Principles From Prophets, by President Thomas S. Monson
BYU Devotional, September 15, 2009

The Spoken Writ

2009-10-18T14:03:00.001-07:00

Welcome.

And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost.

And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation. D&C 68:3-4

A major part of my gospel study involves listening to audio – General Conference talks, BYU devotionals, and audiobooks. It's all good stuff, but every now and then, I come across something that I want to keep track of and remember. Something that really stands out. Something that I'll want to study again, or come back to when I have a speaking assignment, or a lesson to prepare.

As I thought about how I wanted to record these, I finally settled on doing it as a podcast. I have personal reasons that suit my workflow behind this decision, but the interesting part of it is that I can make it a public resource – anyone who wants to can subscribe and follow along. Comment. Share your thoughts. Discuss. My current vision for this is primarily a podcast – subscribe using iTunes, and you'll get the best LDS audio as I come across it. (That's "best", according to my definition, which is subject to fluctuation over time.) You're also free to interpret this like a blog. With each post, I'll try to include a little blurb about why I like it. These are primarily my notes to myself, but I hope you'll find them useful, or at least interesting.

The materials linked to are the copyright of the respective copyright holders, probably International Reserve, Inc.; Bonneville Communications; the Church Educational System; or Brigham Young University. The content is freely available elsewhere on the web. I'm just collecting my thoughts in one place.