Music and Lyrics

Dear Reader, I have never lost anyone terribly close to me. However, several conversations and recent events have made me think a lot about death and what happens afterward. I have always understood the basics of what happens after we die; we go to either spirit paradise or spirit prison (Read more about that here ) and then we will eventually be judged and put into different kingdoms of glory . Here on earth we have a lot of power to choose where we end up, based on our actions and whether or not we are sealed to our families through the power of the priesthood. With all that information in mind, I have been thinking about how to live life. Sometimes my friends think I'm kind of cold-hearted because my emotions do not tend to get out of control when thinking about death and losing loved ones. I prefer to think that it is because of an understanding of this plan that God has for us. Knowing what is going to happen, death and losing people seems more like saying, "Hey, se

Dear Reader, There is a song that I do not know much about entitled "Consider the Lilies." The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings it from time to time, like President Monson's 85th birthday celebration in 2012. Currently, the Mountain West Voices  at Brigham Young University is preparing this song as part of their Barbershop Classic Concert . Today I want to highlight the lyrics of this song and how they are important for us right now. It also doesn't hurt my memorization... Consider the lilies of the field How they grow, how they grow Consider the birds in the sky How they fly, how the fly He clothes the lilies of the field He feeds the birds in the sky And he will feed those who trust him And guide them with his eye Consider the sheep of his fold How they follow where he leads Though their paths may wind across the mountain He knows the meadows where he leads Consider the sweet, tender children Who must suffer on the earth The pains of all of them he carried From t

Dear Reader, The great singing duo Simon and Garfunkel wrote a song about having old friends and what that relationship is like. I had a small experience with some old friends this weekend when the group of us that studied in Spain together went out to dinner together at Wingers . Yes, we are pretty good friends still. There was talk of the classic marriage list that we made, arguing about TV and Movies, giving each other help on Spanish homework and even the couple of questions about my love life...oh brother. I'm always so happy to see these guys. Unfortunately not quite all of us where able to make it, but 11/13 isn't too shabby!  With that being said, I want to put a challenge out there for the next little while: if there is someone you feel like you should talk to but feel like it would be awkward because of how long it has been since you've talked, talk to them anyway! It is amazing what you can feel with a person when you bond, even if it is just over s