My Dinner with Kira

My niece and birthday buddy Kira (our birthdays are only three days apart) turned seven years old Tuesday. To celebrate, we went out to dinner together last night, for which she chose the Pizza Pie Cafe. A girl after my own heart.

After enjoying a delicious meal together, we shared a tasty dessert provided by the cafe for people celebrating a birthday:

Kira is a pretty great conversationalist and had a lot to update me on regarding her first-grade year in school. So, all in all, the company and the food were both wonderful.

Understanding the Plan

Two Sundays ago, Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy visited the Island of Misfit Toys and even took an entire hour (a combined Relief Society/elders quorum meeting) to answer our questions about Church policies and gospel topics. It was an enlightening hour in which we were free, as a congregation, to ask him whatever question we wished.

Before taking our inquiries, he instructed us on the purpose of asking questions (I'm largely paraphrasing, as this is now 10 days in the past, but here you go for those who asked me what Elder Nash taught us):

1) There is no such thing as a bad question, though some are better than others.

2) It is exercising faith to ask questions; you learn so much by doing so.

3) Questions should be genuine and sincere and should not be made to show what you know.

4) Ask yourself: Is this the kind of question that lifts us spiritually?

5) You'll know how sincere your question is by your willingness to act on the answer.

Elder Nash ended up taking about four questions only over the course of that hour, but that is not to say that the time was in any way misspent nor were we shortchanged. On the contrary, it was a very good thing, for his answers were detailed, and he bore testimony of the rationale behind each one, sharing scriptures and teachings of prophets and Apostles in doing so.

One of the more poignant questions came from a member of the congregation who inquired: "How do we draw the line between loving others and standing up for what we believe in?"

Elder Nash asked a follow-up question, asking whether this was about the issue of gay marriage in particular, i.e. "condoning things we don't condone."

The short answer: It's all about understanding the plan of salvation.

He opened Moses 1:39 to us and spoke about God's work and His glory, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." He taught us that "the plan is the greatest expression of love ever made. The plan is to live God's life." The Savior said, "Here am I; send me." We accepted the Plan, and the evidence of that is that we are here on Earth.

Because of the plan, the Church does not teach "free" agency, but, rather, moral agency. Because of our acceptance of the plan, we agreed that we would be responsible for our choices.

In the October 2015 Ensign, Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles talks in detail about the plan of happiness and why understanding it is so vital to our comprehension of what we are doing here in this mortal realm. Elder Nash recommended that we read it.

One of my favorite lines from it reads: "Those who wonder if their current circumstance or condition cuts them off from eternal life should remember that 'no one is predestined to receive less than all that the Father has for His children.'" That applies to every "circumstance" or "condition."

Also:

"My invitation is that together we stand again in support of the Father's plan. This we do with love for all, for the plan itself is an expression of the love of God."

Again, Elder Nash reiterated that we must understand the plan and the vital importance of recognizing it as being the greatest expression of love ever made.

To achieve exaltation is not only to live with God but to live as God. He is married to a woman, our mother, and He has a large family consisting of many, many children.

In this life, though, the key is the same as it was in the premortal existence: Support the Father's Plan. Do it in love. Don't ever get angry. If someone chooses less than following, we will be kind, love them, and lift them up. Share the doctrine and your knowledge of it.

I'm not doing this enough justice here with my summary. I know that. You very much had to be there to fully feel the Spirit of what he taught us. I recommend Elder Hales's Ensign article, just as Elder Nash recommended it to us, for further reading. It is phenomenal.

So was our hour with Elder Nash.

The Rock of Revelation

What a fantastic general conference of the Church that just concluded today. There were many, many talks that edified and inspired, new words introduced into the LDS lexicon ("ponderize" and "idiotsyncracies" among them), and prayers answered through the messages that were given.

A word about the three new Apostles (Elder Rasband, Elder Stevenson, and Elder Renlund) who were called to fill the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve: I do not know much about these three brethren just yet, though I understand some of you do. I did listen to Elder Rasband's recent CES fireside, and I enjoyed many of the sentiments expressed. I am looking forward to being instructed by these men in the months and years that come and, in the process, learning more about them.

I was, however, disappointed to read a few comments by people I know who expressed disdain at "three white guys from Utah" being added into the Twelve, complaining about a perceived lack of "diversity."

Whether or not that is true, I do not believe that is the issue that matters here. To these friends and acquaintances, I urge you to focus on one vitally important concept: Do you believe that President Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God?

If the answer is yes, then arguably you also hold to the idea that he is, therefore, the Lord's mouthpiece for the Church here on Earth, and these callings are the result of divine revelation. Even if you were expecting possibly someone else to fill those empty chairs in the Conference Center (and, admittedly, I may have been among that number until the names were read), I invite you to think about the fact that he has spent many hours in meditation and prayer in making these assignments and has not done so to fulfill a perceived quota.

The Lord's thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways. He looks on the heart and not on the outward appearance. Even if we often do.

If the answer to the above question is no, well, odds are you just might have found something else to be upset about had the "diversity" you desired been achieved. I've been on social media enough to know that the Great and Spacious Building tunes in to conference, too. Because, hey, pointing fingers is more fun.

My own testimony of Pres. Monson was solidified again last night while listening to him speak in priesthood session and hearing what the word of the Lord was at this moment in time. He summed up the gist of his message by saying:

"My message to you tonight is straightforward," he said. "It is this: Keep the commandments."

I've said this before, but it seems that all I really need to know, I learned in Primary.

Want to know some of Paco's other thoughts on some of the specific talks? I'll be blogging on a few in the weeks that come. You might also follow me on Facebook and Twitter if you've got a lot of free time on your hands, because he was active on both fronts trying to #sharegoodness. Like you do.