My Family, My Life and Times
My testimony of The Book of Mormon endeavor began within a week of graduating from Spanish Fork High School. I was on my way to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri to attend Basic Combat Training (BCT) as part of my Utah Army National Guard (UTARNG) obligation… Continue Reading …
James D. Carlson (23) of Spanish Fork, Utah and Alyse Staheli (20) of Payson, Utah were married in the Manti Temple today–January 5, 2013–for all time and eternity; it was a great day for this family! The marriage and sealing were performed by Lamar B. Bartholomew, who conducted an inspiring ceremony. Alyse comes from a good family, and we are happy… Continue Reading …
My father or “Pops” as I call him, recently gave me a copy of Secret Combinations to read. This speech was written and delivered in 1961 by Elder Ezra Taft Benson regarding socialism and communism.
I not only found this speech educational–relative to the topic–but interesting and in-line with my concerns for our country as of late… Continue Reading …
“I’m still here…” referring to the end of the world as predicted by numerous “spiritualists” and “doomsday prophets”. These concerns arose from the end of the Mayan Long-Count Calendar. However, I never believed in any of “their” predictions concerning the end of the world.
Nevertheless, the Mayan calendar is a remarkable achievement for ancient people to have devised with such a precise measurement of time. Also, this date does mark the beginning of a new cosmological era. If you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, feel free to read the 2012 phenomenon on Wikipedia.
So, with that said, I have desired to start a journal again; for the umpteenth time. I have ventured and failed on multiple occasions to consistently maintain one in the past. I suppose it was because my standards for keeping a journal were too high.
Therefore, I have decided that I will only commit to posting to this electronic journal significant events–about my family, my life, and my times. In addition, I will record genealogically important events such as births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, or any other momentous family related episodes. I will also write about other interests and issues from time to time as it suits me. Maybe with this minimalistic approach, I may even write and record more than I anticipate writing.
One of my favorite quotes from Mark Twain is, “It isn’t so astonishing, the number of things that I can remember, as the number of things I can remember that aren’t so.”
With that consideration in mind, I will try to share my ideas, opinions, and memories of various events with much forethought, vigilance, and integrity.
There are so many learned “life lessons” and remarkable events I have experienced that I can no longer remember. Moreover, if I should remember them, the details are wanting. Subsequently, I sincerely regret not having recorded them. As such, I encourage all that read this to keep a journal of your own.
Maintaining a journal provides a great resource for personal reflection about what you have experienced and learned from this beautiful journey–called life–we are all on. You don’t have to share it publicly as I have chosen to do, but do seriously consider keeping a journal of your own in whatever form it may take.
However, I hope that by sharing my thoughts and experiences I may be able to “touch” others in a way that may be beneficial to them in some small measure. This sentiment is especially substantive concerning my progeny which is another primary purpose for this endeavor!
Works Cited
Images – Post and Rich Snippets image: “SC_Maya Calendar (Tzolq’in and Haab’)” by catface3 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Post image: Mark Twain by Mathew Brady [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Quote – Bigelow, A. P. (1912). Mark Twain, a Biography. University of Michigan Library.
