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Dan at the Bountiful Temple

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The Bountiful Temple showing the entrance at the north

The Bountiful Temple showing the entrance at the north

Yesterday Daniel, my youngest son, went to the Bountiful temple to receive his endowments. For my readers that are not familiar with temple endowments I will give a short overview.

The Gift of the Endowment

Daniel at the Bountiful Temple

Daniel at the Bountiful Temple

An endowment is a sacred ordinance. Endowments take place in a dedicated House of the Lord, or temple. Temples were centers of religious worship anciently and Mormons build temples today to administer the ancient ordinances of salvation that have been restored to the earth.

The dictionary defines an endowment as a gift given by a higher power. The temple endowment is a gift of knowledge that helps Mormons understand who they are, where they came from, and where they are going. It helps members understand what they should do to prepare to meet God, and how Jesus Christ offers salvation to each of us.

The temple endowment conveys information in a highly symbolic manner. Symbols used in the temple endowment and the meanings of those symbols are sacred to Mormons. Mormons don’t talk about the details of what goes on in the temple—it is too sacred to be discussed, except in the most holy of places.

Temple Covenants

When presenting the endowment, Church members are required to make very specific covenants with God. A covenant is a two-way promise. In religious terms, a covenant is a sacred promise made between an individual and the Lord:

The ordinances of the endowment embody certain obligations on the part of the individual, such as covenant and promise to observe the law of strict virtue and chastity, to be charitable, benevolent, tolerant and pure; to devote both talent and material means to the spread of truth and the uplifting of the race; to maintain devotion to the cause of truth; and to seek in every way to contribute to the great preparation that the earth may be made ready to receive her King, the Lord Jesus Christ. With the taking of each covenant and the assuming of each obligation a promised blessing is pronounced, contingent upon the faithful observance of the conditions. (James E. Talmage, The House of the Lord, p. 84)

A Family Gathering

All endowed extended family members met at the Bountiful temple to be with Daniel when he received his endowments. Not present were Jake who is serving a mission in Mexico and Derek who is building a school in Guatemala.

All available endowed extended family were at the temple

All available endowed extended family were at the temple

We gathered after the ceremony in the Bountiful temple grounds and took some photographs. In parenthesis is the relationship to Daniel. Left to right: Rick (father), Jill (mother), Daniel (himself), Miguel (Melissa’s fiancé), Susan (aunt), Melissa (cousin), Kent (uncle), Connie (cousin), Mark (Connie’s husband), Sarah (sister), Paul (brother), Steven (brother), and Adelaide (Steven’s wife). By now it was 8 pm and we were very hungry so we headed out to Chuck-a-Rama to eat all their food and ruin their profits for the day. For Jill and I it was a great feeling to have all five of our children endowed and active in the faith.

About the Bountiful Temple

In 1897 John Haven Barlow Sr. purchased forty acres of land from the United States government. There was little that could be done with the land until in 1947 some of the land was cleared and four hundred apricot trees were planted. Bountiful City requested the use of the soil from the site to build a dam and over two hundred thousand cubic yards of soil was removed, leaving the area an ideal spot on which the temple would later be built. The temple is the 47th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I remember well helping to direct traffic at the open house and being one of 200,000 members attending the temple dedication. Sarah and Derek were married in the Bountiful temple. Some temple details:

Announced: 28 May 1988.
Site: 11 acres.
Exterior finish: Bethel white granite.
Architect: Allen Ereckson.
Rooms: Baptistry, celestial room, four endowment rooms, eight sealing rooms.
Total floor area: 104,000 square feet.
Dimensions: 145 feet by 198 feet. 176 feet spire.
District: 30 stakes in central and south Davis county.
Groundbreaking: 2 May 1992 by President Ezra Taft Benson.
Dedication: 8-14 January 1995 by President Howard W. Hunter; 28 sessions.

Source: 2008 Church Almanac, p 518

The Bountiful Temple showing the entrance at the north

The Bountiful Temple showing the entrance at the north

Scripture Links

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My Book of Mormon and Holy Bible

Note: Since lds.org was redesigned many of these shortcuts do not work. Check back for updates.

Studying from my scriptures is a great way to improve my life. I want to know how to quickly get to them online, and it has been useful to me to learn these shortcuts.

To link to a scripture so that it is highlighted use:

scriptures.lds.org/en/hel/13/26-30#25
where:
en = English (de=German, es=Spanish, fr=French, it=Italian)
hel = Helaman
13 = chapter
26-30 = verse range
#25 = starting verse at the top of the page (not highlighted).

Notes:
When no language is specified, defaults to English.
Here is a list of abbreviations. This is about all you need to know except for a few additional ones I list.

To refer to separate verses use commas:
scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/89/1,4-5#1

To refer to the study helps indexes:

scriptures.lds.org/en/gs links to Guide to the Scriptures. Substitute for gs bd, tg, in, jst, biblemaps, or chmaps for the other helps. Add a through z to access the contents, for example scriptures.lds.org/en/gs/d lists all topics beginning with d. This works for the other helps except for the JST which uses a number to refer to select passages. biblemaps, in addition to a through z, also accepts a map number from 1 to 14 as does chmaps with map numbers from 1 to 7. biblephotos and chphotos only accept numbers 1 to 32 and 1 to 18 respectively.

Old Testament

Example: scriptures.lds.org/en/ps/127/4-5#5

Only use ot for contents (ot/contents) or The Epistle Dedicatory
(ot/epstlddc)

Genesis gen Ecclesiastes eccl
Exodus ex The Song of Solomon song
Leviticus lev Isaiah isa
Numbers num Jeremiah jer
Deuteronomy deut Lamentations lam
Joshua josh Ezekiel ezek
Judges judg Daniel dan
Ruth ruth Hosea hosea
1 Samuel 1_sam Joel joel
2 Samuel 2_sam Amos amos
1 Kings 1_kgs Obadiah obad
2 Kings 2_kgs Jonah jonah
1 Chronicles 1_chr Micah micah
2 Chronicles 2_chr Nahum nahum
Ezra ezra Habakkuk hab
Nehemiah neh Zephaniah zeph
Esther esth Haggai hag
Job job Zechariah zech
Psalms ps Malachi mal
Proverbs prov

New Testament

Example: scriptures.lds.org/en/eph/4/32#32

Only use nt for contents (nt/contents)

Matthew matt 1 Timothy 1_tim
Mark mark 2 Timothy 2_tim
Luke luke Titus titus
John john Philemon philem
The Acts acts To the Hebrews heb
The Epistle to the Romans rom The Epistle of James james
1 Corinthians 1_cor 1 Peter 1_pet
2 Corinthians 2_cor 2 Peter 2_pet
Galatians gal 1 John 1_jn
Ephesians eph 2 John 2_jn
Philippians philip 3 John 3_jn
Colossians col Jude jude
1 Thessalonians 1_thes Revelation rev
2 Thessalonians 2_thes

Book of Mormon

Example: scriptures.lds.org/en/moro/10/32-33#32

Only use bm for the first seven items below

Book of Mormon contents bm/contents
Title Page bm/ttlpg
Introduction bm/introduction
The Testimony of Three Witnesses bm/thrwtnss
The Testimony of Eight Witnesses bm/eghtwtns
Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith bm/jstestimony
A Brief Explanation about The Book of Mormon bm/explanation
First Nephi 1_ne Alma alma
Second Nephi 2_ne Helaman hel
Jacob jacob Third Nephi morm
Enos enos Fourth Nephi 4_ne
Jarom jarom Mormon 1_ne
Omni omni Ether ether
Words of Mormon w_of_m Moroni moro
Mosiah mosiah

Doctrine and Covenants

Example: scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/121/46#46

Doctrine and Covenants contents dc/contents
Explanatory Introduction dc/introduction
Chronological Order of Contents dc/chrono
Official Declaration—1 od/1
Official Declaration—2 od/2

Pearl of Great Price

Example: scriptures.lds.org/en/a_of_f/1/13#13

Pearl of Great Price contents pgp/contents
Introductory Note pgp/introduction
Selections from the Book of Moses moses
The Book of Abraham abr
Facsimile No. 1 abr/fac_1
Facsimile No. 2 abr/fac_2
Facsimile No. 3 abr/fac_3
Joseph Smith—Matthew js_m
Joseph Smith—History js_h
The Articles of Faith a_of_f

Mission Reflexiones: Comienzos

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Jake and his Dad at the MTC August 2006
My guest writer today is my son Jake Willoughby who just sent this post via email from Mexico.

More than two years ago in May I received my calling to Mexico as an official representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and of the Savior Himself. I remember calmly opening the envelope with the cameras rolling and reading the letter that extended my call to serve in the Mexico, Mexico City North Mission. My feelings indifferent as I was glad to serve the Lord wheresoever He desired. I had a great desire to learn another language and my two brothers had learned Spanish in their missions. I believe the realization of what I had undertaking did not sink in until I entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo.

Wednesday, 23rd of August, 2006: My family accompanied me to Provo to see me off. I had already been through the experience with my two brothers so I knew what to expect. I dropped my luggage in the indicated place, and signed in. After the short meeting they instructed us to say goodbye and part from our family through opposite doors. I had learned from my older brother, Paul, that getting it over quickly is the best way. I gave a quick hug to everyone and said “goodbye.” I was eager to enter the other door and start the mission I had prepared for all of my life.

How to Keep Attentive in Sacrament Meeting

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Kaysville 14th Ward Chapel
As a convert to the Church I was always attentive in sacrament meetings and listened carefully to what was said. Until two years ago. It was about then that I noticed I was not always focused on what the speakers were saying and my mind would become rickety and wandering. It was time to introduce some simple methods to help focus on what was important. Here is my list:

  • Look up scriptures that are quoted.
    This is one of my favorites. It works even better when a scripture is read but no reference is given. I see how quickly I can locate it while keeping one ear on the speaker to listen for the next scripture.
  • Report on a talk on your blog.
    It would be nigh impossible to write about a talk that I didn’t listen to.
  • Identify any challenges that are issued by the speakers.
    Once I have them all, I choose one challenge to work on this week.
  • Sleep sufficiently, eat well, and wear comfortable clothes.
    If I am rested it is easier to pay attention. For most of us getting enough to eat should be no problem. And lose the tight fitting clothes (maybe you are eating a little too well).
  • Repeat a talk at supper.
    By planning to discuss one of the talks at supper I am more likely to pay attention and the talk will have more meaning.
  • Don’t watch the clock.
    The clocks on the walls are for the speaker so he or she won’t go over time. They are not there for me to look at and see if I can spot the minute hand moving (I never can).
  • Absorb the talk.
    I try to get really involved in what is being said. Even the announcements. I concentrate on the choice of words in the talks, where the emphasis is placed, and on any personal stories. Sometimes I even count the ums.
  • During the passing of the sacrament read a hymn or scripture.
    I randomly open the hymn book or my scriptures and read what is on the pages. Today my scriptures fell to Jeremiah 48:2-47, all about the destruction of Moab.
  • First be reconciled to thy brother.
    Matthew 5:21-24 speaks of being reconciled to those who you have grievances with before offering your gift to the Lord. I used to practice this in England and I would apologize to a member I had wronged before the sacrament meeting began. This worked to put me in a better frame of mind and pleasantly surprised the members who usually did not remember the offense.
  • Be willing to pray and to speak.
    If I am asked to pray or give one of the talks I accept willingly. First, it obviously gets me involved but secondly I learn it is not so easy to be before 400 people and it reminds me to be more forgiving of others’ talks that are not always the most inspiring.
  • Volunteer to take the sacrament to shut-ins.
    In our high priests meeting I often have the opportunity to accompany the priests to take the sacrament to shut-ins. As a high priest I preside and give a summary of what was said during the sacrament talks. Obviously I paid attention during the talk.
  • Sing the Hymns.
    I really try to get into the hymns that are sung and enjoy the songs of praise. I focus on the words and their meaning (I read better than I sing). This puts me in a better frame of mind.
  • Help with noisy children.
    I could help with noisy children but I never do. If I did it would help others to enjoy the meeting. My wife brings some stickers to church and will hand them to a problem child who then is happy to play with them quietly for quite some time.
  • Sit closer.
    If I am able, I sit closer to the podium. The closer I am to the speaker the more likely I am to pay attention. In our ward there is great competition for the pew seats. Not because they are closer but because they are softer.
  • Listen to the invocation.
    By listening to the opening prayer I pick up on pleas for the Spirit to be present and to help the speakers. Just before the speakers begin I recall the words of the invocation.
  • Join the choir.
    I have never done this but if I did it would instantly involve me in the meeting which increases attentiveness to the contributions of others.
  • Make the ward clerk smile.
    When the ward clerk does his count and walks by me I make a show of counting on my fingers to see if I can get him to smile. He uses a PDA for the count so my son imitates texting a message to him. These things would probably fall in the category of Distractions to Avoid but a little humor puts everyone in a good mood.
  • Enjoy the organ music.
    I don’t often get to enjoy the sound of an organ during the week so I especially like to listen to the organ being played at Church. Again this helps put one in a good mood for the meeting.

Perhaps you have something that you do to help you pay attention during sacrament meeting. Let me know in the comments.

Missionary Jake – Part 10 of 10

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Note: Jake comes home August 25 so Missionary Jake is not quite complete. I hope to post weekly updates from him during August to complete the story of his mission.

This is part ten of a ten part series chronicling Jake’s Mission. It is told mostly in his own words using excerpts from his letters and photographs sent home.

June 2008

Attached are pictures of the Brito Perez family. They were baptized and confirmed yesterday.

Brito Perez family

We are also going to baptize a young couple and another small family in the coming weeks. Sometimes we are so tired from climbing all of the department buildings knocking on doors and talking with everyone that we hardly even sleep from the fatigue. Truly the Lord renovates our bodies so we can keep on working. I remember that every time I have gotten sick in my mission, if I have faith and believe, it only lasts a single day. The next day I am always ready to give it all. Seeing the Brito family and others that we have found ready to be baptized and follow our Savior makes all of the work worth it. The ward keeps growing, when I came here we had an average attendance of 120-130. We set an attendance record of 204 in sacrament meeting a month or two ago. The past two weeks have been 194 (ward conference) and 177.

Mom, now that you recognize many blessings, remember that every blessing is received based on our obedience to the law which governs it. You can backtrack from the blessing to your righteous action that triggered it and learn to repeat it. When the stake president set me apart as a missionary he blessed me so that I could serve a full 24 months without any health problems. I imagine that when I am released I will suddenly have a heart attack because of the all spicy food I am eating.

I don’t really eat cereal for breakfast anymore. Do not worry about my account or transferring money or anything. If you want to send a package I will send a member’s direction where I am at so it will get here faster.

The Gutierrez Family

We found the Gutierrez family knocking on doors. She asked “Where is your church? I want to go.” Before teaching her anything she asked “What do I have to do to join your church?” She had read about the church on the Internet (I assume the church’s website) and was really interested, but the missionaries had never knocked on her door. The others are her husband and her mother.

This week we baptized Claudia and Arat. I taught them when I first came to the area, but her husband didn’t let her be baptized at that time. Last week he went to church with her and said that he liked it. He then gave permission for them to be baptized.

Let me know where Daniel is going [on his Mission]. I will ask this week what they searched for and what site they went to.

Claudia and Arat with Jake and companion

[Read more…]

Missionary Jake – Part 9 of 10

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This is part nine of a ten part series chronicling Jake’s Mission. It is told mostly in his own words using excerpts from his letters and photographs sent home.

March 2008

Not much time to write. The package is probably sitting in the mission office. We are not going to have a zone conference because the president wants us to work every day of this month, we are going to set a new mission record of 700 baptisms. This week a lot of our investigators attended church. In the next week we will have a lot of baptisms. Say “Hi” to Tyler [Stout]. I don’t think we’ve even written in more than two years.

I typed up a nice letter but the session timed out and I lost most of it. Congratulations Steven and Adelaide. Make a cardboard Elder Willoughby for the reception. About the letter. It would help to pull out the official letter that they sent to suspend [the scholarship] and use the same formatting and terminology. “Please reinstate the Presidential Scholarship suspended (28 March 2006, but the correct date) for religious service. It will be reinstated for the Fall 2008 semester.” You don’t have to say anything about that I am going to miss school. The first week they usually cancel classes anyway, and I still have a week to change my schedule without penalties. Paul can fill it up with the best options and I can drop and change the ones that I don’t like. I usually sign “Jake Willoughby” in the majority of cases.

Jake and companion prior to baptisms

I am going to send [photos] one by one. I hope everyone has Gmail so they don’t get maxed out. I sent some pictures of baptisms that we had yesterday and last week. We average between two or three baptisms every week. It is a lot of work but really rewarding keeping everything balanced. The ward and bishop want to help, but they have no idea how. We help them along the best we can.

This month should be records for the mission, the zone, and for my personal mission. Every day we seek to magnify better our calling of establishing the Kingdom by baptizing more and more.

Daniel. If you want to know how to prepare for the mission, I recommend D&C 11. I like especially verses 20-21 which apply to you right now. Just put your name in as if the Lord was speaking directly to you (see verse 27).

The shoes do fit. I doubt there will be anything else that I need.

Arturo was baptized yesterday. It was a neat service because a family sang and played the flute. The only problem was I missed it because I was in a meeting! It is alright because the meeting will help us to baptize more and keep our converts active. I will make sure to get a picture with Arturo and I as evidence. Everything is good to go here. If I need anything I will just buy it. Keep me informed on of the good news each week.

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Missionary Jake – Part 8 of 10

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This is part eight of a ten part series chronicling Jake’s Mission. It is told mostly in his own words using excerpts from his letters and photographs sent home.

January 2008

Looks like I have several cavities. The dentist says I could take them out right now or wait until I get back so it would be under the insurance.

Mom, I hear the exuse of “I am too old to (change/learn something new/whatever thing)” from a lot of people. The mind only gets old from disuse. The prophet is 97 years old and he has a mind very active! What a great example of diligence and perseverance. Learn the song in Spanish, not just how to sing it but what each word means and why it is that way. I have seen many people who have been born from above (see John 3:3-7 and the footnotes) in their old age and have truly walked in new life (see Romans 6:4). We should not just follow what the prophet says but also what he does.

P days we sometimes play soccer. Every chapel has a small soccer court.

Jake ready to baptize in February

The priesthood holder that I baptized, Alan Olmos, baptized his niece this week. We are also teaching more people from his family and their baptism will be in a few weeks. I forgot the cables to download the photos from the camera, until next week!

This week we found two great families. The mom of one family said “I’ve been praying to know which church is the true church.” I said something like “Perfect, we have an answer.” She will be baptized in two weeks along with two of her five children and her mother.

I have several extremely small cavities, they don’t even show up on the X-ray. He used a blue light to find them and show me them.

In December we broke a mission record of baptisms. The last record was set more than 20 years ago when my mission president was the assistant here. He said he was a little sad to see it fall, but not to missionaries like us. The Lord is truly working a marvelous work here in Mexico.

I think my email last week got returned. Transfers were today. I am now in Cuatitlan Izcali with Elder Martinez. It is a great new opportunity to build the kingdom and accelerate the work of the Lord.

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Missionary Jake – Part 7 of 10

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This is part seven of a ten part series chronicling Jake’s Mission. It is told mostly in his own words using excerpts from his letters and photographs sent home.

October 2007

I’ll buy the camera. Transfer some money from my savings to my checking so I can buy it directly from the card. I am still in the best zone in the mission going for 3 months baptizing more than cualquier otra. Who is Adelaide? Maybe a picture of them dos with her last name? Elder Ontiveros is my new companion. The mission continues progressing baptizing more than every other mission in Mexico for a couple of months. Good to see that Steven is happy as ever.

Halloween is the same here in Mexico. Just think of Mexico as the United States but with a culture twist to everything. I don’t know what you can send in the newsletter. I barely have time to get an email off to the family. Just don’t paste in things like “my mission is the best in the world”. They might not like stuff like that.

Missionaries from my zone

The camera was probably stolen from my backpack in the chapel. Another missionary had his camera stolen from the same chapel. There really isn’t a way to report it. The police would just laugh. The members are keeping an eye out, and we are thinking of setting a trap so I can at least get my pictures if they even still exist. The cameras here are about double the price as in the United States. I am going to buy a new little Canon for 4100 pesos.

[Read more…]

Seven Habits Class

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My employer offered a course called “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” with materials from Franklin Covey. From several choices I signed up for the Signature Program, compressed into 2 1/2 days. The intent of this post is not to explain and illustrate every concept but to give an overview. In the comments let me know if you would like more detail on a specific topic or just tell me what you think.

Day One

In the Foundation of the course, the character versus the personality ethic, the maturity continuum, and paradigms were introduced. We spent some time learning about Dependence, Independence, and Interdependence, which is the highest maturity level. We discussed Habit 1 which is Be Proactive. This section includes our circle of influence and our circle of concern. We were told to spend most of our time in our circle of influence. We also started into Habit 2, Begin With the End in Mind. It was pointed out that mental creation precedes physical creation.

Day Two

We started by working on our roles and relationships. For example, my roles are husband, father, child of God, engineer, and citizen. We then wrote tribute statements about how we lived each role, which is what we want people to say about us on our 80th birthdays. Next was to identify long-term goals, a discovery of our human endowments of self-awareness, imagination, and conscience. I wrote about those who have inflenced me and then drafted my personal mission statement. It was a lot of writing but it was somewhat easier for me because I had already identified my roles and had written a mission statement when I first read Seven Habits fifteen years ago.

Put First Things First is Habit 3, which speaks of effectiveness requiring the integrity to act on your priorities. The Time Matrix was introduced outlining the four quadrants that map the important, not important, urgent, and not urgent. The point is to gain more time for the important by reducing the unimportant. We were shown how to first plan weekly, before the daily, to select roles and take on the big rocks first.

After lunch we were told the Private Victory (the first three habits) must precede the Public Victory (habits 4, 5, and 6). We learned about the Emotional Bank Account where it may take up to five deposits to make up for one withdrawal. Habit 4 is Think Win-Win and is the habit of mutual benefit. Courage with Consideration and the Abundance Mentality (the opposite of the Scarcity Mentality) play into this habit. It was pointed out that we are conditioned to Win-Lose.

Day Three

Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood is Habit 5 which is listening with the intent to understand rather than to reply. We should not advise, probe, interpret (explaining another’s motives and behavior based on our own experiences), or evaluate. One should listen empathetically because it is the fastest form of human communication. It is simple to do, just reflect what they feel and say in your own words.

Habit 6 is Synergize meaning the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Synergy is creative cooperation. Highly effective people value and celebrate differences. When you face a problem, start by asking the other party, “Would you be willing to search for a solution that is better than what either of us has in mind?” With this agreed, move to reflecting viewpoints by restating  views to the other party’s satisfaction. Now create new ideas by proposing and refining alternatives. Eventually you arrive at the Third Alternative, with an idea that is better than what either of you started with.

Sharpen the Saw is Habit 7. In order to maintain and increase effectiveness, we must renew ourselves in body, heart, mind, and soul. This can be thought of as overlapping dimensions called physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual.

Conclusion

It worked very well to have four different instructors over the 2 1/2 days of class. The student materials were excellent and the supporting videos were fun and instructive to watch. The time went by quickly, there was much to learn, and the target of improvement (oneself) made it all very relevant. I was fortunate to be able to attend this training at my worksite with instructors that have taught the course for several years.

Further Reading