Life's Blessings

February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day to everybody.  I just spent like 10 minutes of my life reading about the History of Valentine's Day.  I think that it was 10 minutes wasted.  Basically there were two Saint Valentine's whose history has nothing to do with love or affection of any kind.  One of the Saints was martyred on Feb. 14th after some Roman leader who was a pagan tried to convert him to paganism and Saint Valentine who was a priest rejected that and tried to convert the guy to Christianity.  The roman guy didn't like that so he had him killed.  According to legend, before Saint Valentine was killed, he healed the blind daughter of his jailer.  Another story says that one of the Valentine's was living in a time where some Roman leader banned young men from being married because he thought that married men were weak and he didn't want weak men in his army.  Valentine disregarded the orders and married young people in secret for which he was punished (a more convincing story for what it has become today).  But who knows which one was martyred on Feb. 14th and who knows if these stories are true... there aren't really any credible documents about these events, but whatever.  There is today's history lesson.

 

This week we got 2 new investigators, both of which are going to be baptized.  One is a girl in foster care (with the same lady that had the other kids) and the other is a kid whose parents are members but work on Sundays and can't bring him to church.  He is 9.  We organized with the ward to bring him to church, so now we just need to teach him and baptize him.  Exciting stuff!

 

Well, I got on late today and everybody is waiting for me.  Not much else has happened this week.  I am really excited for these last 3 months.  They are going to be jam packed.  I'm not too excited about leaving though.  It has all crept up on me and I don't want it to go away.  *sigh*

 

Well, I love you all.  I was thinking of the same scripture as Mom was (D&C 82:3. "For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation.") when I heard that quote ("Some of us are blessed more and some of us are blessed less.  Those of us that are blessed more, more is expected of us.  Those of us that are blessed less, less is expected of us."), but it also reminded me of a concept that I think Boyd K Packer talked about.  He said something to the effect of: People have different trials in life.  Some are tried by tragedy, bad health, personal heartache, physical deformity etc... Some are tried with prosperity, beautiful bodies, etc.  But regardless the trials that God gives us, there is more equality in the testing than sometimes we perceive.  I butchered that quote but I think that that is something interesting to ponder about.  John Bytheway (who quotes this in his talk) said that it reminds him of Tevia in Fiddler on the Roof when he says: "If riches are a curse, may God strike me with them!  And may I never recover!!"  haha!  But we can know that God does not prefer any of his children over the other.  He gives all a chance and he tests all of us equally.  Some people are tried by never knowing the Gospel in this life.  Some are tried by being brought up in the Gospel and asked to endure this mortal life by living its principles with faith.  But all are tested and tried equally.  I would also suspect that all are given equal opportunities for blessings in this life.  But many blessings are conditional upon obedience, so some are blessed more than others.  It doesn't mean that others don't get the opportunity of receiving the same blessings but sometimes we pass up on those opportunities.  Another something to chew on...

 

Anyway, I love you all.  Be kind to somebody you don't know today.  Maybe that can be your Valentine gift to Jesus, like I talked about last time.

-Elder Blakemore