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Thursday, July 28, 2011
Pompadores and Pocket Knives or Hair-cuts, DIY style
Friday, July 22, 2011
Battle for the Homefront
I've been in several countries where armed soldiers were as common to see there as Starbucks, McDonalds, and starving veterans and artists are here. We live in a blessed nation, no question about it. We don't have to worry about rebel armies coming in and taking over our towns then taking our children to join their forces. We don't have to wonder where the next attack is going to happen or who is going to steal our next meal.
But there are other, more subtle wars going on. As I was reading scriptures this morning I was again astonished at the violence and evil going on with some of these ancient people. They were willing to destroy their entire civilizations in the name of revenge and power, arming their men and boys, and sacrificing their women and children. It struck me though, that although our communities aren't in the streets fighting for liberty, our sons often "delight in bloodshed" in the video games they play or movies they watch, and our women and children are sacrificed to pornography and filth available at the touch of a button.
Satan does get smarter and smarter--he's much more subtle where he needs to be, but still as destructive and dangerous. A community can be destroyed just as much by moral disintegration as by bombs and bullets. We have to be ever more vigilant in our defenses. We have to keep our homes safe havens, read scriptures, pray, serve, go to church and the temple, be seekers of the good and righteous to be filled with those things so there isn't enough room for the evil.
The battle is still raging, stronger than ever. It's just that the manner of warfare has changed. We know who the victor will be, and that's the side I want my family to be on.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
4th of July Provo
Patriotism Paradise
I guess there is nothing I love in the summer like a good old-fashioned 4th of July parade. These pictures were at the Freedom Festival parade in Provo, Utah, and I think the photos speak for themselves. But if they don't, you can check out my latest attempt at patriotism at the "Moms for Mitt" blog where I give a little more description (momsformitt.blogspot.com).
Nothing says “America” like a good old-fashioned 4th of July parade. Is there anything more patriotic, not to mention amazing, than being on a street with crowds of thousands of people who rise to their feet and actually stand in silence, hand over hearts, as our military representatives march by carrying our nation’s beautiful flag?
There are few things in summer I love like the Freedom Festival parade in Provo, Utah. We try to visit there every year to enjoy the festivities. From the first sound of the motorcycle police brigade doing their drill formations at the head of the parade, to the firing of the George Q. Cannon from the BYU ROTC at the end of the parade, I feel like I am in patriotic paradise.
Every high school marching band that shuffles by playing military marches and “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” every Star Wars costume-clad storm trooper each holding one of our 50 states’ flags, every convertible carrying Congressmen and Council members, and every glittery float with “scholarship contest” beauties from surrounding towns, all remind me of the many freedoms and joys we celebrate as a nation, especially this time of year.
But maybe the most surprisingly moving part of the whole parade is the crowd of what seems like hundreds of Mormon missionaries walking together down the parade route dressed in their white shirts and ties and their little black name tags. The hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the sidewalks give the greatest cheers to these young men and women out representing their church and serving their Lord. Children rush into the road to give high-five’s to every passing missionary they can possibly reach. Whistles, shouts, cheers, and wild clapping echo all the way up the street as they approach and follow them like waves as they pass.
Perhaps they’re the favorites of the crowd not only because of their Mormon heritage in a Mormon town, but because these young men and women represent everything this great nation was founded upon—hard work, sacrifice, freedom of religion, and faith in God. It’s no wonder children are screaming for them like they’re rock stars and mothers are watching them with tears in their eyes while fathers are swallowing the lumps in their throats. This is patriotism at its finest, and what blessings of liberty we have to celebrate in this great nation! May we all do our part to preserve them.