Finally getting around to some Ed Week notes

Semi-random chunks of stuff (sounds appetizing, doesn't it?) (the numbers refer to the lecture number):

1*We follow someone because we want to go where they are going...we follow Christ.

2*Clutter is emotional noise and it screams at you and you can't hear the Spirit.

2*If you are afraid to get rid of something just ask yourself, "What's the worse thing that could happen if I get rid of this?"

3*For internet safety: teach children how to log off immediately if anything questionable appears.  Don't stay up past your spouse (and vice versa). You may need to make rules about friends' phones in the bedrooms.

4*Many are making it financially hard to serve missions by doing things like buying large homes with big mortgages at retirement so their families can have a "gathering place."

4*Wilford Woodruff said that he lives every day as if tomorrow is the end and he's still planting cherry trees.

4*Richard L. Evans said that one of the greatest calamities in the world would be the calamity of sitting around waiting for calalmities.

7*Father in Heaven doesn't bless us for the arrival. He blesses us for the trip.

8* Our level of progress and perfection equals the degree to which we can be tested.

8*Our tests are often things which make no sense and may seem contradictory (otherwise it's not much of a test--ie a non-smoker with lung cancer).

8*Without tests our faith would turn to apathy. The tendency is to become complacent and lose our faith if we aren't tested.

8*George Q. Cannon said, "If there is a point in our character that is weak and tender, you may depend upon it that the Lord will reach after that, and we will be tried at that spot, for the Lord will test us to the utmost before we can get through and receive that glory and exaltation which He has in store for us as a people."

8*John Taylor quoting Joseph Smith said, "You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and (said he) God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God."

9*Elder Snow in the Devotional said: The Lord expects us to learn and progress here even from the mundane things. Show up-work hard-pay attention....We are not simply to be acted upon (we must act)....Teach one another--expanding our own knowledge isn't enough....We won't always be with our kids, but Heavenly Father will ....Be a participant in church lessons--read lessons beforehand so the Holy Ghost can act upon those in attendance. You get more of the Spirit when class comes prepared to act and not just be acted upon.


10*The level of misery in any relationship is equal to the amount of distance between expectations and reality.


11*The major vehicle of influence you have with your children is your relationship with them. It's not your talent or your skill, though it is better to be talented and skilled than not....Our knowledge and our skills also enhance our influence when first, our hearts are right.


11*Since we are not perfect, we rely upon repentance to qualify us for our work. This means that to worry about being imperfect, or being guilty, or being incompetent is (with few exceptions) a waste of time!

11*It is more productive to ask, "What now?" rather than, "What if only...?" or "Why me?"


11*You can only teach what people are willing to receive....We can never decide what others will do; we can only decide what we will do.


11*Having a broken heart is like breaking a horse--it follows anything the Master asks.


12*The Savior's in the journey, not just in the end.


12*Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Lord has probably spoken enough such comforting words to supply the whole universe, it would seem, and yet we see all around us unhappy Latter-day Saints, worried Latter-day Saints, and gloomy Latter-day Saints into whose troubled hearts not one of these innumerable consoling words seems to be allowed to enter. In fact, I think some of us must have that remnant of Puritan heritage still with us that says it is somehow wrong to be comforted or helped, that we are supposed to be miserable about something.
Consider, for example, the Savior’s benediction upon his disciples even as he moved toward the pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. On that very night, the night of the greatest suffering that has ever taken place in the world or that ever will take place, the Savior said, 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid' (John 14:27)."

13*Julie B. Beck, "The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life."

13*What stops us from turning our will and life over to the care of Jesus Christ and God? Perhaps it is because we don't trust them. We are afraid that if we do what He asks, He might ask us to do something out of our comfort zone.


Well, that's enough for now. Only 28 more lectures to look through.

Andrew's being transferred to Dubuque tomorrow!

From Andrew's letter today (white-washing means that both missionaries are new to an area):

Both Elder Dummer and I are both being transferred on Thursday...

 

Brother Crouse is taking us down to Iowa City tomorrow morning so that we can be there at 10 am.  Okay, and now to the totally crazy part which never happens-Elder Dummer and I are also both staying together and are both white-washing into an area, Dubuque.  The way President Jergensen explained it, we were doing so well together that he wanted to keep us together for another transfer, maybe two.  And I guess he also needed a new District Leader up there in Dubuque as well.  It was a combination of events that lead to this decision.  Anyway, so now we know if I'm getting transferred, where I'm getting transferred, and who my new companion will be.

 

Interesting thing...Waterloo, Iowa City and Dubuque form a triangle...if they didn't have to travel to Iowa City first, the distance of their journey tomorrow would be cut in half.

Dubuque is very near where Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa meet up...it used to be part of the Illinois Peoria Mission before they changed the boundaries last July. 

Some facts from Wikipedia:

Dubuque IPA: /dəˈbjuːk/ is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2008 its population was estimated at 57,222, making it the eighth-largest city in the state and the county's population was estimated at 92,724....


It is one of the few large cities in Iowa with hills, and is home to a large tourist industry, driven by the city's unique architecture, and river location. Also, it is home to five institutions of higher education, making it a center for culture and learning....

Dubuque has received a number of special designations. In March 2007, the city was recognized as one of the "100 Best Communities for Young People" by the America's Promise Youth Foundation. In April 2007, the city was voted 15th in the "Best Small Places For Business and Careers" ranking by Forbes Magazine, climbing 60 spots from 2006. In 2006, Money Magazine named Dubuque as having the shortest commute time all U.S cities at only 11.8 minutes. In June 2007, Dubuque won the All-America City Award, one of 10 cities nationally to do so. In June 2008, Dubuque was named as the "Most Livable" Small City by the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM). In 2009, Dubuque was named the 8th best small metro area to launch a small business by CNNMoney.com.

So, sounds like a nice place. Hope Andrew and Elder Dummer like it there and are successful.