Sacrament meeting talk

I spoked in Sacrament meeting on 5/31/2009. Below is the text of my talk

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Teaching the gospel

This past year I decided to grow a vegetable garden. As such, I’ve been doing a lot of research into organic gardening and how to best grow vegetables in our Texas climate. One thing I’ve learned is the importance of having good soil. Our clay soil here in Grapevine is heavy and essentially devoid of nutrients. I’ve learned that for a successful garden it is important to mix organic material into the soil to help loosen it and add nutrients for healthy root growth.

Working out in the garden gives me time alone to contemplate – as I was preparing for this talk, I began to consider that teaching the gospel is a lot like growing vegetables. First and foremost, we need to provide a fertile ground for the gospel to take root.

In a garden, healthy soil leads to healthy plants. Many problems encountered in the garden are directly attributable to poor soil conditions, be it lack of nutrients, moisture – or even too much and moisture or the wrong blend of nutrients. Healthy plants are able to better withstand disease, insects, and other garden problems.

Likewise, a healthy home leads to healthy families. Many of the problems we see in the world around us are directly attributable to problems in the home – be it lack of love and respect, or even too much attention and over bearing parents.

But, a healthy home may not be enough. That’s where we – the ward village – comes in.

We are fortunate to live in an area with good schools – but as good as our schools are, the teaching is essential devoid of any gospel nutrients. This becomes increasingly critical as our children grow older and more involved in school activities and other worldly endeavors.

So, we as the ward village, provide gospel instruction each Sunday through primary, Sunday School, young men, young women. As the children in our ward village get older, we further supplement this with wholesome activities on Wednesday evenings.

But, as they enter into their final 4 years of school, even that is not enough – and that is where brother Gurney and I come in. We provide gospel instruction each school day before the crack of dawn - to a room full of sleepy and bleary eyed teenagers, we teach them the gospel

After His resurrection Jesus Christ appeared to His disciples. In John chapter 21 we read

15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto
him, Feed my sheep.

Feed my lambs - Feed my sheep - Feed my sheep.

Is there any significance to His saying “Lambs” first? And who are the lambs? They are the children and young men and women in our ward village. First we must feed the lambs – and then we must feed the sheep – and then we continue feeding the sheep for the rest of their moral lives.

So, regardless which role we have – that of a parent teaching the gospel in our home or that of a teacher supplementing gospel instruction at church – we are all gospel teachers.

Something else I’ve learned in my gardening research is that plants are able to take in nutrients through their leaves as well as through their roots. So, I’ve been spraying my vegetables with garrett juice, a concoction developed by Howard Garret consisting of compost tea, liquid seaweed, molasses, vinegar, and other ingredients which helps to supplement the soil conditioning I did prior to planting.

Likewise, all of us called to positions of teaching, in our ward village, regardless of whether we are feeding lambs or sheep - we are the garrent juice for our ward garden - we supplement the gospel teaching that begins in the home.

In the October 2008 general conference, William D. Oswald, 2nd counselor in the Sunday School general presidency outlined 3 principals in teaching the gospel to others.


Principal 1: Show love to those you teach and call them by name

We need look no further than the savior to find examples of this. In the Gospel of John 10:3 we read the words of Jesus Christ saying

3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

In the Gospel of Luke 10:20, when the Savior was instructing the Seventy, he said

20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

In the sacred grove, Joseph Smith wrote

One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

Principal 2: Teach from the scriptures

In the gospel of John, the savior said in chapter 5:39

39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

The apostle Paul wrote in his second epistle to Timothy 3:16

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Principal 3: Encourage the pondering of gospel truths

The apostle Paul also wrote to Timothy in his second epistle to Timothy 2:7

7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

When the resurrected Christ taught the Nephites, he said in 3 Nephi 17:3

3 Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again.

In a revelation given through Joseph Smith to David Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jr., and John Whitmer, the Lord said in D&C 30:3

3 Wherefore, you are left to inquire for yourself at my hand, and ponder upon the things which you have received.

As gospel teachers, let us remember these three simple principals

Now, I have to confess, I did not attend seminary while in high school. Truthfully, I never even heard of seminary until I was serving on my mission. I joined the church in college and was involved in the young adult program – and what the younger kids were doing was not even on my radar. Two years after my baptism I was called to serve a full time mission in Missouri.

While serving on my mission, I was able to interact with other elders – some of whom I developed a great deal of respect for. As I got to know these brethren, I began to notice patterns and trends in their upbringing. One thing I observed is that those elders who faithfully attended seminary were generally much better prepared as missionaries.

Tonight is seminary graduation. It is a time when we honor and celebrate those students who were faithful in their attendance and participation. It is quite an accomplishment and it’s important that we celebrate. But what about those who struggled a bit and fell short?

Back to my garden analogy – probably the most important factor in a successful garden is water. A plant may not thrive in poor soil without adequate nutrients; but, without water it will shrivel up and die.

Jesus referred to His gospel as “living water” when speaking to the woman at the well where we read in John 4:13-14

13 . . . Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

In John 7:38 we read

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

When it comes to watering plants there are two factors to consider

1. Provide water regularly
2. Help the plants retain the moisture in between watering

The same can be said for the Living water. We need to partake of the living water regularly and we need to help those we teach retain the living water.

In the garden, we can help the soil retain moisture with mulch; that is, a dressing of leaves, bark, or other organic material laid out on top of the soil. One of the things I’ve observed in my vegetable garden is just how big of a difference even just a little mulch can make. While more mulch is even better as it can also help curb weeds – even just a little mulch, barely enough to cover the soil, can make a world of difference in the moisture retention properties. I’ve witnessed areas of my garden that had received the same amount of water where the unmulched soil was bone dry while the soil right next to it with just a little much still had moisture.

For those lambs whose seminary attendance was a bit off. Faithful seminary attendance is the ideal – but even just a little seminary attendance can make a world of difference in the retention of the Living Water and help to withstand the pressures of the world.

There are many reasons where attending seminary each morning can be much more difficult for some than it is for others – and it is not for us to judge one another. But, for those who have struggled – I just want you to know that your efforts have not been in vain, and that you will be rewarded for whatever attendance you can muster.

In closing, I want to share part of one of my most favorite hymns - hymn number 85 “How Firm a Foundation”. I especially love the 3rd verse which reads

Fear not, I am with the; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

There is another verse which we seldom sing – the last verse of the hymn which reads

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!

May we all partake in the living water of the gospel - in the sacred name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen

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Guacasalsa

This is a slight variation of a recipe from Emeril Lagasse, part of his Grilled Fish Tacos with a Roasted Chile and Avocado Salsa recipe. What he calls Roasted Chile and Avocado Salsa" - I call Guacasalsa, a sort of combined guacamole/salsa. It is quite delicious and worthy to stand on its own.

Ingredients
* 1 Hass avocado, flesh removed from peel
* 2 poblano peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded
* 1 jalapeno, roasted, peeled and seeded
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
* 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
* 1 lime, juiced
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 3 Tbl water

Stick everything in a blender and puree until smooth

Garden update

I haven't been very active in my blogging lately; so, I thought I'd give an update on the garden. Above is a picture I took on Saturday. In the lower right corner is where I planted popcorn and am waiting for it to 'pop' up [pun intended]

In the left hand picture below, I have melons (left) and squash (right) growing. The picture on the right hand shows just a few of the 12 tomato plants growing. Can also see the pole beans growing along the fence.

I still have a fair amount of work needed to complete it. For one thing, I don't have the drip irrigation system functional yet. Fortunately we've been getting a lot of rain; so, watering hasn't been an issue. Unfortunately, we've been getting a lot of rain which is hampering my efforts because the ground is too soggy to dig to lay more sprinkler pipe.

The rain has also caused weird fungi to grow in the mulch I laid down around the raised garden beds.

We've been eating salads with the lettuce in the garden; although, the lettuce is starting to look like it might be finished soon. I also used some basil from the herb garden. The other herbs are big enough yet to start cutting from.

I'm taking advantage of my current unemployment situation and try to work out in the garden a couple of hours each day.

A new chapter

Today was my last day of work at IBM. I was informed I was being laid off the day before Sarah's wedding - and my first day back home from Florida for Trent's wedding was also my last day of work. I had an exit interview at noon where I had to sign some papers. 45 minutes later I walked out of the building for the last time with my severance check in hand, which I deposited at the credit union on the way home. They took out more taxes than I expected; so, the severance check was a bit smaller than I had hoped for.

So, I'm feeling bitter-sweet right now. The last two of my children are married - and I'm unemployed for the first time in 28 years. I really have no idea what my future holds right now. I'd like to do a career change and do something different - but I have no idea what.

Crystal ball - part trois

On Sunday, I took some engagement pictures for Ryan Elliott and Ashleigh Donner. I'll let him post them as he sees fit; however, I did want to post this one that I took using my crystal ball.

I would like to have taken more using the crystal ball - but it was really windy. I made a gizmo to prop it on top of a light stand (using parts from Home Depot); but, with the wind, I was afraid it would fall off and crash to the ground.

Sarah's wedding

Here are some pictures of Sarah's wedding on Saturday, March 28th.

3 down - 1 to go. We're leaving for Florida on April 18th for Trents wedding on April 21st.

The bride (Linda made the dress)

The bride an groom

Sarah and Ray cutting the cake (Grandma McKee made the cake)

Ray's family

Sarah's family

Square Foot Gardening

Linda bought a book titled Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. Overall, I don't particularly like how the book is written and organized - I find his writing style to be condescending. However, the concept intrigues me. He claims you can grow vegetables and flowers in only 20% of the space required by a conventional row garden - thereby saving water, work, and money. Basically, you

1. Build a 4'x4' raised bed
2. Fill it with a special potting mixture (called "Mel's Mix")
3. Lay the garden out in a 4x4 grid of 1 square foot squares

Each square can have something different planted in it, such as 16 radishes, 4 heads of lettuce, 9 spinich, etc.

I had already built raised beds; so, I decided to section off a couple of 4 foot square sections to try out this square foot gardening thing.

Mels Mix is equal parts of peat moss, blended compost, and vermiculite. The vermiculite was, by far, the most expensive part. I think I paid $35 for a bag large enough for two 4 foot squares.

Blended compost is just that - a blend of, at least, 5 different types of compost. I used bags labeled

• organic compost
• mushroom compost
• Texas native compost
• Organic humus and manure.

That's only 4 bags - but I figured the last one counted as two :)

I added some additional wood to completely separate the square foot garden beds from the rest of the garden, removed all of the dirt, laid down weed cloth, and filled it with Mel's mix.

As can be seen in this picture, the two 4 square foot beds are near each other and I've laid out the squares using twine. I also laid down drip soaker tubing which I'll eventually connect into the drip system I am building into the rest of the garden. I'm going to add a vertical frame on the north side of the bed on the right (picture is facing east, so north is on the left).

As far as progress on the rest of the garden

• The beds are all completed
• I laid down mulch around the beds (with weed cloth underneith)
• Most of the beds are filled with dirt and ready to plant. I have the dirt - with Sarah's wedding and all, I just haven't had time to get out and finish moving it into the beds.
  

What I have left

• Bury PVC pipe to each of the beds for the drip irrigation system which will be controlled by a sprinkler timer
• Finish planting
• Reap the rewards for my hard work
  

Two of the beds are planted with

• Onions
• Lettuce (red, green, & bibb)
• Swiss Chard
• Broccoli
• Beans (pole and bush)
• Spinach
• Beets
• Radishes
• Carrots
• Turnips

Although, I think I'm going to till up the part with the spinach, beats, radishes, carrots, and turnips as they really aren't doing that well and plant those in the square foot beds. That way, I can use the space for plants which need a lot of room, such as squash, melons, etc.

Additional vegetables we are planning on planting this year are

• Tomatoes
  
• Popcorn
• Summer squash
• Winter squash
• Okra
• Melons (cantaloupe, watermelon, etc.)
• Cucumbers

I also have a bed reserved (the one closest to the kitchen) as an herb garden. I'll be planting perennial herbs (sage, oregano, rosemary, etc.) in the middle and annual herbs (parsley, dill, basil, cilantro, etc.) around the edges.

Of the plants that are currently growing in the garden, the ones doing best are those that we planted as plants (onion, lettuce, broccoli). Those we planted from seed haven't done as well. Not exactly sure why - it could be its just been too cold since we have had a couple of cold fronts move through the area. It was 37 degrees this morning. Last time it was this cold on an April 7th was 38 years ago.

We did start some seeds indoors. Of those, the pole beans are doing the best and the bush beans are doing OK. I moved the watermelon plants to the garden - but I think the last cold snap killed them. We're still learning

Since the garden is in the front, we want to make it look nice, so we'll also be intersperscing flowers among the vegetables. For example, I planted marigolds in front of the pole beans - marigolds have an additional advanteage of discouraging certain garden pests and root nematodes.

Anyway, this is where our garden stands. I don't know if much more will be accomplished this month since we're leaving in a week and a half to go to Florida for Trent's wedding. But, I'll have plenty of time in May to work in the garden since my last day at IBM is April 27th.