The First American

I watched a special on the National Geographic channel yesterday while I was home for lunch. It was on the myth of the where the first Americans came from - the one we all grew up on: that the first Americans came over the Bering Strait, inhabited the land of America, were primitive and war-faring, etc., etc., etc. We've all heard that story. Well, as we read in the Book of Mormon, the story of this land's inhabitants is not so simple. There were many groups of peoples that came over at different epochs of the world's history - some of them became completely extinct. Others remained up until Columbus discovered this land, and remain to this day. The details of this theory have yet to be worked out, but according to National Geographic, the evidence supports the idea that there were indeed many peoples on this land who did indeed come from all over the globe - one people in particular who crossed the Atlantic ocean to get here in about the year 1000 B.C.! Skulls have been found on the continent that are in no way related to the skulls of American Indians, and weaponry has been discovered that suggests some peoples were completely wiped out by others.

Obviously, I'm not going to go into too great a detail here. Suffice it to say, it was comforting to watch that special yesterday - further evidence that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. There's simply no way he could have concocted that story, which was completely contrary to the theories of that time, to have it coincide so perfectly in the light of new information today. The fact of the matter is, Joseph didn't write it. THE FIRST AMERICANS did! We can learn so much about their history by reading their words, and the scientists could have come up with this new theory much sooner if they would have read the Book. Not to mention what it could do for their souls...

Frannie

Monday is Frannie's day off from work, which means I have the privilege of coming home to her for lunch on Mondays! After five hours of pure intensity and insanity at Buchwald, it's amazing to come home to someone like Frannie, so relaxed and down-to-earth. Nothing can sooth my soul like a few minutes on the couch with Fran (despite the fact that our couch is a piece of trash).

Another incredible thing about today is that I'm home right now, and it's not past 9:00! I can't remember the last time I left work when the sun was still out. And that's exactly what happened today. Michael Greenwald has been out sick for the past few days, so the work load has severely decreased.

And again, the best thing about being home early is that I'll get to spend it with Frannie, who's on her way home from Target right now...

Remember

Today was ward conference in the Westwood 2nd Ward - our new family ward! Frannie and I have graduated from 'SC and Loyola Marymount, found jobs, and moved out here to the Hills of Beverly. No really. Our zip code is now 90211! There are yards and trees and parks and little homes and people walking with their babies and strollers...Absolutely 180 degrees from Downtown L.A., the concrete jungle...

In ward conference today, the question was posed "what is the most important word in the English dictionary?" Many answers were thrown out there, from "repentance" to "forgiveness," "family," "God." But according to Spencer W. Kimball, the most important word in the dictionary is "Remember." Remember, remember.

Remember the captivity of your fathers. Remember how merciful the Lord hath been in delivering our fathers from bondage. Remember...How many times are those words uttered in the Book of Mormon?

The words still apply today. I think that's why I started this BLOG. When you write something down, it's much easier to look back on it and remember it. It's so important to remember past blessings and trials - people get themselves into trouble or start to question things because they forget the covenants they have made, or they forget answers they have received in the past. That must be why the counsel has been given to keep a journal. Write down your daily blessings, write down the inspiration you receive...

It's been difficult to get in a rhythm of writing things down with my new job at Don Buchwald & Associates. Working from 9:00 to 9:00 Mon - Fri doesn't leave a whole lot of time for writing down blessings. But from here on out, I'm going to force myself to at least keep the beat. I need to write down the things the Lord does for me every day, so that I don't forget them. So that I will REMEMBER.

This particular post isn't all that thought out, and I apologize for the incoherence, but I just wanted to get this out there. As I said, time IS an issue. So while these next posts might not be the most eloquent, I hope they will be uplifting, encouraging, beneficial in some way...

To kick off the theme of remembrance, of writing down blessings and inspiration, I've had the opportunity to give Frannie two blessings since we've been married. The first was a blessing of health, after she had been experiencing some pretty severe back pains. It was to the point where she couldn't even lie down with any sense of comfort. Through the priesthood, I laid my hands on her head and pronounced that she would be healed according to her faith in Christ and His Atonement.

The next morning, she felt no pain.

The second blessing I gave her was just a few days ago. Fran is now pregnant with our first child, and we thought it would be wise to bless her with the health and strength she'll need for a smooth pregnancy. After blessing her with those things, I felt myself literally become an instrument through which the Lord spoke. The words coming from my mouth were His words. From that blessing, we both now know that our first boy will be a strength to Frannie. I don't exactly know how that will manifest itself in their lives, but it will.

Unfortunately, I don't remember many of the other details of that blessing, which speaks to the fact that these things really do need to be written down or we WILL forget them. Thankfully, some of it is now written down, which means it's going nowhere. I will now REMEMBER these blessings forever. And if I'm diligent about continuing to write, all of my blessings will be remembered...