Because He Lives

I have led you astray! In my last observation about "Because He Lives" I Indicated That Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote this piece. It was an honest mistake because Google gave me numerous websites to the Gaithers and their performance of "Because He Lives." My son-in-law, Nathan, set me straight and informed me that the composer of the music and lyrics was a girl by the name of Sally DeFord. Her website is: http://www.defordmusic.com/becausehelives.htm.

On the website you can purchase the sheet music and also listen to Sally singing this number. Sorry for the mistake.

Jack

Rejoicing In Christ Through Sacred Music and Scriptures

January 3, 2008

As is the case with most of us, once in a while I have a spontaneous and unexpected spiritual experience that truly touches my soul. These experiences cannot be planned or forced and that is what makes them so special.

Last summer I had such an experience. My son-in-law Nathan Brown, and his friend John Lu, have been singing together in choirs and barbershop quartets beginning in their high school years in Irvine. As young returned missionaries they both married and live with their wives and children -- each has a baby daughter -- in the same apartment complex in our ward boundaries. They both have been blessed with beautiful tenor voices and sing from the heart and with the Spirit. Last summer they were asked to sing a duet in our Ward sacrament meeting.

Jo Anne and I had gone to Nathan and our daughter Jackie's apartment to visit late one afternoon. We had only been there a short time when John Lu appeared at the door and shortly after, Nathan's mother, Roylee. Nathan's mom is an accomplished organist and pianist and was there to practice the song with Nathan and John that they would be singing in sacrament meeting the following Sunday.

I was seated right by the piano because it is a small living room, and my chair takes up so much space there was no other convenient place to park me. Nathan and John were also right at my side as they begin singing. They sang a song I had never heard before entitled "Because He Lives," written by Bill and Gloria Gaither. As they commenced singing I immediately felt the Spirit, much more than just a warm fuzzy feeling, and tears came to my eyes. What brought the Spirit so intensely to me I believe was not only the beauty of the two tenor voices and the musical arrangement, and my sitting so close to them, but also the lyrics. They finished and then felt they needed to go through it again for which I was secretly very grateful. The second time around was even better than the first as I was able to concentrate on the message so beautifully delivered by these two gifted young men and accompanied by Nathan's mom.

I'm going to share with you some of the lyrics. I believe Bill and Gloria Gaither were truly inspired as they wrote these words. I consider it a beautiful modern-day Psalm. You might be tempted to speed read through the lyrics but don't. If you will carefully read them, and I haven't included them all, I am sure you will find an inspiring message you can apply to your own lives as I have done to mine, regarding what Christ has done for us all.

"Because he lives; because he rose in mighty triumph from the grave
I put my trust in him, and seek to follow him in faith
Because he lives

Because he lives, I shall find strength to stand against the tempter's power
He is my refuge and defense in every troubled hour
Because he lives

Chorus:
Because he lives I can bear whatever burden may be mine
I am encircled in the arms of love divine because he lives
Because he lives he will banish every shadow of my pain
Every sorrow will be swallowed up in him
For in his hand is healing for the weary soul
This I know because he lives

Because he lives my heart is filled with peace amid a world of fear
And through the blindness of the night, in him I rest secure
Because he lives

Because he lives there is no task so great that I cannot endure
I bear no heartache that his tender mercy cannot cure
Because he lives

(Repeat chorus)

Because he lives I will fear no darkness
Because he lives I will walk in light
Because he lives I will praise his kindness
Because he lives hope shines ever bright
Because he lives I will seek his righteousness
Because he lives I'll follow where he leads
Because he lives I shall conquer even death
And I shall live because he lives!"

Well, these words and music certainly struck a chord within me that continues to resonate each time I read this modern-day Psalm. I only wish you could hear Nathan Brown and John Lu sing it with their beautiful tenor voices. I think some of the most beautiful words and music ever written through the years have been written about Christ. This is certainly as it should be isn't it?

After a number of days of clouds, fog, and a thick marine layer which blocked out the sun and kept it from shining on normally sunny Southern California, I woke up one morning and realized the clouds had dispersed and the sun was brightly shining through my bedroom windows. I immediately felt better than I had for days and couldn't help but recall some of the last words of David, the consummate writer of Psalms, in describing Jehovah/Christ. "And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds..." [2 Samuel 23:4]

As human beings it is difficult to adequately describe the majesty and power of Christ using our limited vocabulary. Bill and Gloria Gaither tried hard and did well. David's description of the resurrected and glorified Christ as "... the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds..." strikes close to the heart of the matter. We are given to understand that He is "The ^alight which is in all things, which giveth ^blife to all things, which is the ^claw by which all things are governed...who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things." [D&C 88:13]

And so, even though it is difficult to accurately describe Christ and understand the extent of his power and majesty, hopefully we will continue to write and sing of Him because it is our mission to the world "... [to] ^atalk of Christ, [to] rejoice in Christ, [and to] preach of Christ..." [2 Nephi 25: 26]

Dad/Grandpa/Jack

Happy New Years

I hope you all have a wonderful and prosperous 2008.

Ministering Angels

 Observation: December 16, 2007

In reading the December, 2007, Ensign the other day I read the article written by Merrill J. Bateman, former President of BYU and now a general authority emeritus, entitled, "A Season for Angels." I thought it was a nice message but it didn't really grab me until I got to the very end where he made a most profound and significant point that went right to my heart. I am sure many of you have already read this article, and if you have, it could bear reading once again, and if you haven't, you will want to do so.
It is not my purpose to give an in-depth review of this beautiful article, but to highlight the theme and purpose he had in mind as he wrote it and why it has tugged at my heart strings.

He said that the ushering in of every gospel dispensation has involved the working of miracles, and the ministration of angels delivering vital knowledge, and priesthood keys and power. The reason for this is that there has not been the essential Melchizedek Priesthood authority on earth at these times to establish the Kingdom of God. Therefore, heavenly messengers, angels, have been sent with the necessary power and authority to usher in each new dispensation of the gospel. For example, in the ushering in the dispensation of the Meridian of Time, the visitation of angels was very prevalent because of the apostate nature of Judaism -- no Melchizedek Priesthood at that time, and because of the eternal importance and implications surrounding the birth and atonement of Christ.

Think of the angelic visitations to Zachariah, Mary, Elizabeth, Joseph, the shepherds, and then the angel warning Joseph to take Mary and Jesus into Egypt to protect them from the wrath of Herod. And then consider the vast number of miracles performed by Jesus during his three-year ministry preceding his death and resurrection. In the Garden of Gethsemane an angel came and strengthened the Savior, two angels bore witness that he had arisen from the empty tomb and two more angels were in attendance at his ascension into heaven. It truly was a "Season of Angels." I am sure this is only the tip of the iceberg regarding the number of angelic visitors that visited and taught Jesus during his 33 years of mortality.

We know that the ushering in of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times involved a visitation by the Father and the Son, as well as a host of additional angelic messengers delivering priesthood power and keys as well as the working of many mighty miracles as was the case in the Church established by Jesus Christ in the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time. The reason for this of course, is that there was no priesthood authority on the earth at that time and it had to be brought back by "Angels."

Well, Jack, will you ever get to what it was in Elder Bateman's talk that is so important to you? It is the following quote and its implications: "What is the lesson for us today as we enter a new Christmas season? Who will minister to those in need? Who are the angels that will prepare the way for His return? I have noticed that during the early stages of a dispensation, angelic ministers come from the other side of the veil, but as time elapses and the number of faithful members increases, more is expected of those in mortality. For example, when a new country is opened to the gospel, missionaries learn that many have been prepared in miraculous ways to receive the gospel, and miracles occur with some frequency to advance the work. Once a core of members is established, however, the Lord’s assistance changes as He provides opportunities for the members to become the miracle workers."

Any miracles brought to pass this Christmas season will require our faith and works. We are the angels now who minister to those in need and perform mighty miracles of service in blessing the lives of others. As Elder Bateman concluded his message he beautifully and insightfully said: "As we sing the hymns of Christmas and speak of angels sent to earth to witness the Savior’s birth in the meridian of time, may we rise to the occasion and minister to those in need in our day."

I guess the reason I feel so strongly about what Elder Bateman said is that I know how true it is because I have been ministered to by angels for the past, almost 20 years now. Jokingly I have said that Jo Anne is an angel, "Always up in the air harping about something!" Truthfully though, I have been ministered to by angels in the form of my wife, my children, many women in our ward and stake, and many wonderful brothers, all of whom in my own mind are but an extension of Christ and his love. I have never needed heavenly messenger angels because of the mortal angels who have kept me alive through their acts of love.

Our youngest daughter, Jackie was born while our oldest son, Mike was on his mission to Argentina and Rachel is just five years older than Jackie. At the time of my accident Jo Anne and I wondered why the Lord would have sent us these two girls in our old age, thinking we now could not give them the same quality of life as we had given the four older children. Jackie was four and Rachel nine when I was injured. Little did we know that they truly were "angels" that Heavenly Father had sent into our lives to bless us more than we could have ever imagined at the time. They both were my arms and legs for many years, and have performed countless acts of service for me. Just think of it -- when you can't do one single physical thing for yourself you are totally dependent on the love extended to you by "angels." I do believe however, that a wonderful dimension of depth and caring has been added to each of these girl's characters that maybe could not have come in any other way. I suspect it is a blessed side effect that comes from being an "angel." It would take more than a book to express my feelings about my "Angel Jo Anne."

Would I be an angel to others in different circumstances? I really don't know! I think the challenge of this Christmas season and every other season of the year for me and for all of us, is to realize that we are the only "angels" that will be sent to those in need in our neighborhoods, our families, and our wards and stakes. May we ponder on that thought this Christmas season as we sing of those angels that came in the Meridian of Time. Merry Christmas!

Dad/Grandpa/Jack

I'm Glad I Did

December 7, 2007, Observation:

A while back Jo Anne and I drove over to her mother's home in Santa Ana.  Her dad passed away several years ago and her mother joined him this summer.  The home is up for sale and Jo Anne wanted to spruce up the plants and shrubs in front of the home.  She actually enjoys working in the garden and I believe has inherited some of her dad's Idaho farmer genes.

She said we would only be there an hour which translates into three hours -- she is severely time challenged.  It was a beautiful sunshiny day, but instead of getting out of the van and sitting in the sun watching Jo Anne work, I opted to remain in the van with the door and windows open.  I must admit I enjoy watching Jo Anne work with a shovel and rake with no guilty conscience on my part, given my physical condition.

Our van's CD player holds six CDs so while Jo Anne worked I sat and listened to some of my favorite music.  I love classical music like the kind Jimmy Durante sings.  My daughter Jackie downloaded as many Jimmy Durante songs as she could from the Internet and made me a nice CD.  My favorite number is "The Blackstrap Molasses and the Wheat Germ Bread Makes You Live Until You Wish You Were Dead!"  Groucho Marx, Danny Kaye, and Jane Wyman sing along with Jimmy in an unforgettable classic rendition of a great piece, only rivaled by Beethoven.  Another favorite CD I listened to that afternoon was The Best of Mozart.  There are two numbers on this CD that I truly love; his clarinet Concerto and a French horn number.  I like the clarinet concerto because as a sophomore at BYU I learned how to play it on my clarinet.  Whenever I hear the French horn solo I almost break out laughing it is so fun to listen to.  I love Mozart just because of that one thing he wrote for the French horn which certainly wasn't his greatest work.  Then I listened to the Carpenters.  When I hear Karen Carpenter's voice I just melt.  It's like having someone scratch my back which I think feels good, although I can't remember that far back.  And then comes my favorite all time CD by Robert Goulet.  I change out all of the other CDs periodically but never Robert Goulet.  When he starts out singing "If ever I would leave you it wouldn't be in summer" & etc. from Camelot, I get tingly all over.  And then I have a CD of some of Chopin's best piano compositions, some of which I used to play when I could move my fingers better then I can at present.

So there I sat watching Jo Anne working, listening to that great music, and reflecting back on my life.  Every once in a while Jo Anne would come by the van, smile, and shrug her shoulders trying to communicate in that way that she was sorry she was taking so long but had to keep working.  She could have saved the smile and the shrug because I was having a most pleasant afternoon.  I was just feeling an overwhelming feeling of peace that is difficult to describe but is very real.

As I was sitting there I began talking to myself; you know you are getting old and a little crazy when you start talking to yourself.  The conversation was kind of like this: "Jack, I really enjoy your company.  It's good to be with you.  I like the things you are thinking about and the music you are listening to."  I don't know what you will think of that conversation, but please don't judge me too harshly.  I am sure many others don't enjoy my company nearly as much as I do. What a wonderful thing to be at peace with one's self, totally entertained, and very content, with some good music and better memories. 

Listening to BYUTV the other day, I heard a talk given by Elder L. Tom Perry on November 1, 1992 to a gathering of CES teachers at Brigham Young University.  He entitled his talk, "Making Memories."  He had been in the Netherlands, and in a meeting with the missionaries, quoted the wife of the mission president as asking these young men and women if when their missions were over would they be saying to themselves as they looked back on their experience in retrospect, "I wish I had" or "I'm glad I did?" And then Elder Perry said to the CES teachers "I come to you with a question about eternal memories you are building in your lives. Are they followed by the comment “I wish I had,” or can you say, “I’m glad I did”?

I think we could all ask ourselves those two questions as we build the "eternal memories" that we store in our individual memory banks.  Elder Perry taught that the answer to those two questions in our individual lives will be based on the principle of obedience. He went on to say "Each of us makes daily entries in our book of life. Occasionally we take it from the shelf and examine the entries we are making. What kind of memories will flood our minds as we examine the pages of our personal entries? How many pages will contain “I wish I had” entries? Will there be entries of procrastination and failure to take advantage of special opportunities? Will you find there entries of thoughtlessness in treatment of family, friends, or even strangers..."

Happily, we are able to open a clean white sheet in our book of life each day of our lives and hopefully fill it with many "I'm glad I did" entries which will cause the "I wish I had" entries fade into the dark recesses of our minds.  The "I'm glad I did" entries will be based upon our obedience to eternal law.  All the memories we create are eternal memories as King Benjamin so beautifully expressed in his great sermon: "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness [with a book of life filled with "I'm glad I did" entries]. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.” (Mosiah 2:41.)  [Emphasis added]

I do believe the peace and happy memories we experience in mortality is but a precursor to what we will experience when we pass into our next estate.

Dad/Grandpa/Jack

Illusions

November 27, 2007 Observation:

Several years ago Jo Anne and I went to a movie that many of you undoubtedly saw as well, entitled "The Illusionist."  The illusionist in the movie was a master magician who was able to create illusions that seemed very real to his audiences.  He was so skillful that those who attended his shows could not distinguish reality from the fiction he created. It really was quite an entertaining movie, and started me thinking about the concept of illusions.  The world we live in is full of illusions and the illusionists that create them.  An illusion is "the action of deceiving -- the state or fact of being intellectually deceived or misled."  [Merriam-Webster online dictionary]

I believe the first, and possibly most blatant illusionist, I have ever encountered was a fellow I worked with the summer I drove truck for Kennecott Copper Corp. at the Liberty Pit in Ruth, Nevada where I grew up.  I worked the graveyard shift -- 11:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Every night just before we began our shift a man would drive into the parking lot in a beautiful Cadillac.  He was always dressed in an immaculate blue suit, sparkling white shirt, a gorgeous tie, and the shiniest shoes imaginable.  To top it off he also wore a very expensive gray hat with a very large cigar clamped between his teeth.  Being an innocent youth I asked one of my fellow truck drivers if this might not be the president of Kennecott Copper Corp. who had condescended to fly over from New York to check out the graveyard shift at the Liberty Pit.  My friend laughed and just said, "Keep an eye on him and see what happens."  The man in the blue suit disappeared into the locker room and in just a moment or two emerged looking a whole lot like the rest of us, wearing coveralls and old beat-up shoes.  Still watching him I was astonished when instead of mounting one of the huge earthmovers we were all driving he climbed into the water truck.  His job, the easiest and most mundane at the Liberty Pit, was to drive around and sprinkle the dirt roads to keep the dust in check.  At the end of the shift he again disappeared into the locker room and emerged as he had entered eight hours earlier.  I am sure his neighbors and other acquaintances believed him to be at the very least the vice president of the Ely, Nevada, Last National Bank.

His illusion was harmless, but as I have thought about this experience over the years it has occurred to me that many of us have a lot of the "blue suit" in us in that it is a very real temptation to appear to be what we are not -- deceiving others and oftentimes even ourselves.  Sad to say, during this coming election year we will have paraded before us any number of illusionists running for public office who will strive to intellectually deceive or mislead us.  We must work hard at discerning the truth from the illusion we are given.

How wonderful it is to know people who are not illusionists, but are exactly what they appear to be.  In July when my stomach hemorrhaged, Dr. Nakano whispered in my ear, "Jack, if I don't operate now you will die!"  She looked like a doctor, she acted like a doctor, and I could sense there was no "blue suit" in her.  I simply said, "Do it!"  She knew what she was doing because of years of arduous study and work and proved to be a blessing in saving my life.  I feel the same way about my ophthalmologist, Dr. Appa, who looks like a big 17-year-old but is no illusionist.  He knows what he is about and blesses countless lives because of his expertise developed over many years.

Perhaps one of the great challenges of life is not to create illusions in our own minds -- intellectually deceiving ourselves -- somehow convincing ourselves we are something we really are not and have not paid the price to be.  Appearance seems to have replaced substance in so many aspects of our society and lives.  One of my favorite lines from "My Fair Lady" is when Henry Higgins, in commenting on the various languages of the world, said "The French don't really care much what they do as long as they pronounce it correctly."  We spend so much time, money, and effort decorating ourselves and our homes that at times we forget to decorate appropriately our minds and souls.

Of course the master illusionist is Satan -- the great deceiver.  He would have us believe, for example, that "Wickedness can bring us happiness" which is contrary to the eternal truth that "Wickedness never was happiness" because it is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in God!  And yet, through the ages how many sorry people have bought into this illusion? I believe a daily challenge we all face is to separate truth from illusion, and especially to not deceive ourselves regarding ourselves.

Elder Gene R. Cook in talking about a family vacation on one occasion said:
"Last summer on a lonely stretch of desert highway, we saw ahead what appeared to be the road covered with water. My children would have wagered their entire savings on that fact. But within a few minutes we were at the distant spot and saw not one drop of water. What an illusion. How many things there are in this life that appear to be one way and all of a sudden are the reverse. … Satan operates that way. He is the master of illusion. He creates illusions in an attempt to detour, dilute, and divert the power and the attention of the Latter-day Saints from the pure truth of God” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1982, 35–36; or Ensign, May 1982, 25).

I think we need to be so very careful that we do not let the master illusionist detour, dilute, and divert our power and attention from the pure truth of God.

Dad/Grandpa/Jack

Love One Another

November 11, 2007, Observation:

Well, I let Jo Anne talk me into it.  Last week we went out and bought a new, modified, Toyota Sienna van.  We aren't rich -- just stupid, I suppose.  Not knowing my life expectancy I told her I would like to go out in style when it was my time which she thought was a very good idea, although I was a tad disappointed she agreed so readily to any plans I had regarding my demise.

The Toyota is light-years better than the Dodge vans we have driven over the years.  The Japanese do such a wonderful job -- it makes you wonder who really won World War II.  In our new Toyota we seem to float effortlessly, and silently I might add, down the freeway.  I can only compare the way our Dodge went down the freeway to a covered wagon traveling over rocks and ruts with those iron rims and no shocks.

Actually we are the proud owners of two vans as we are trying to sell the Dodge at this time -- better be careful what I say about the Dodge until we have made the appropriate deal.  A few days ago my VIP (Very Important Philipino) caregiver, Rey, came into the bedroom to begin the process of getting me ready for the day.  I asked him if he had seen Jo Anne and he said he thought it was her washing two vans out in our driveway.  I told him when she came in I was going to demonstrate what constitutes a beautiful and successful marriage relationship.  Sure enough, at the perfect moment she ran into the bedroom to choose the outfit of the day.  I asked her where she had been all morning and she said, "Outside washing the vans."  I asked her if she thought she had done a good job and she was only slightly offended at the question as she assured me that nobody could have done it better than her.  I said, "But what about the windows -- I'll bet they will be streaky when the sun shines in."  She responded, "Oh no!"  She then told me how she had a special solution and a squeegee that did the windows better than our Mexican brothers at the local car wash.  I then said, "But what about the chrome wheels?  I'll bet they have hard water spots all over them."  She bristled a bit but told me about her special solution for shining up and making them look like new.  And then she said, "Don't even ask me about the tires because I have already put "Armour All" on them and they look great!"  I could see that Rey was duly impressed with this interchange and I looked at him and said, "When you can have this kind of conversation with your wife you know you have the greatest marriage possible -- at least as a husband!"

Now don't you husbands get after your wives for not taking better care of your automobiles.  Many wives never get the rare opportunity of being married to a quadriplegic on life support, and so many "normal" husbands never really come to know all of the hidden talents their wives may possess.

Seriously though, as I think of all that Jo Anne has done for me over the years I cannot help but think she has passed the Savior's litmus test of true discipleship contained in John 13: 34-35.  One of my favorite hymns over the years, and probably many of yours as well, is based on these two verses. It is one of those late-night and early morning melodies, accompanied by the challenging words of Jesus, that run through my mind almost constantly when I am unable to sleep. "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."  [John 13:34-35]
I hope that just because these words are well known and oft repeated they will never become trite or lose their power to influence our behavior.  I do believe that if we would learn to love one another as the Savior did -- ultimately giving his life for each one of us -- that most family and world problems would be instantly resolved.  I believe the love the Savior described begins at home between husbands and wives and then extends on to their children and grandchildren.  Beyond that we all have multiple opportunities each day of our lives to interact with business associates, fellow students, other members of the church, doctors, dentists, mechanics, gardeners, and etc. and etc.  And how will we ultimately be known as Christ's true disciples?  "... if ye have love one to another!"  Is this love given grudgingly and only out of duty?  I don't think so if it is the kind of love Christ has for us.

Sometimes Jo Anne expresses the sentiment to me that she feels that somehow, because she has never held hardly any high visibility administrative or teaching positions in the Church, she is somehow not as valiant in her testimony and commitment to the Savior as others may be.  How wrong could she be based on the Savior's litmus test of true discipleship?  If I understand the Savior's challenge to us to become his true disciples, Jo Anne is the "truest" disciple of Christ I have ever met.  I'm afraid that if I were in her shoes I might come up lacking just a bit.

Dad/Grandpa/Jack