Meeting the Muñoz Family

I recently met up with some old friends from the mission field: Patty Muñoz, who ran my pensión (i.e. cooked my meals) when I served in the Barrio de Dios Ward in Cusco, and her daughter Rocio, who was just nine or 10 years old the last time I saw her and who now lives in North Ogden with her husband and baby boy, Liam.

Patty was in town from Peru to visit her daughter, so I took advantage of the opportunity to catch up with my old friends. It was good to see them and to relive many of our shared memories from the good old days.

Day 363: S'more, the Hamster

For Christmas, Santa Claus brought McKenna a hamster, making it the second pet in the household and the fourth total new pet added to the family this year (and first non-dog).

Everybody got that?

She has named her hamtster S'more, after the campfire treat. Speaking of food, do you know that I've actually eaten hamster on two occasions? In Peru, hamster is considered to be a delicacy, and when you're in the mission field, you eat what is served on your plate - unless, of course, there are direct Word of Wisdom issues.

 Nevertheless, I've assured Kenna that her hamster is safe with me around.

Day 240: Luke's Cukes

My nephew Luke loves to eat his cucumbers, something which he demonstrates in this photo from yesterday's family dinner:

I can't say that I blame him; they're one of my preferred veggies, too. I learned to love them in Peru, where they are often put into salads, and they remain a favorite to this day.

Day 177: Dinner with the Bay Clan

Bill Bay is one of two American mission companions (all of the rest were native Peruvians) who served with me in Peru . . . well, a number of years ago. We were paired together for only a month-and-a-half, but we enjoyed a great deal of success during that time and got along famously, and he has remained a good friend over the years.

This week, he and his family, who live in Florida, have been visiting family (Bill's parents are serving a mission in Heber City), friends, and the sites along the Wasatch Front, and I'm glad that he got a hold of me and arranged for us to go out to dinner together tonight.


The plan was to go to Bountiful's Peruvian restaurant, Rico Pollo, only it turned out to be closed for the day, so we journeyed to nearby Robintino's to enjoy some delicious Italian food. It was good to catch up with my old companion, as well as his wife, Kristen, and their daughters, 11-year-old Gabriella and seven-year-old Gina.

Day 96: Verónica's Wedding

Today's photo is not actually one of mine but one that was sent to me by Verónica, to whom I taught the discussions as a missionary in Peru more than 15 years ago. She and her sister, Roxana, were baptized together in December 1996, and their mother, Nancy, followed not long after my mission came to an end in February 1997, thus making their family one of the few I had the privilege to teach in which all of the members ended up joining the Church.

Yesterday, Verónica was sealed to her husband, Carlos, in the Lima temple. Congratulations to you both!

Day 38: Oysters!

One of my guilty food pleasures is oysters. I had a few today for lunch.


If you think oysters are disgusting, well, I was once like you. Serving in a small branch on the outskirts of Cusco, Peru, where I was served oyster soup for lunch every day for three months, however, changed my mind; they're actually quite delicious.

Rocky Mountain oysters, however, are completely out of the equation.

Los Villancicos of Yesteryear

Over the weekend, I ran into an old friend - one I hadn't seen since we served together in the mission field.

Naty Mendoza, a native Peruvian from Arequipa, was a sister missionary I served with in the Peru Lima Central Mission . . . well, a number of years ago. We didn't know each other that well in those days, but then again, a mission companion is a mission companion. She, now a resident of Utah, invited me to the local Peruvian restaurant in Bountiful, Rico Pollo, where her group, FLAMA, performed a number of native Latin American dances and Christmas songs in Spanish. Naty founded and directs FLAMA (Folklore and Latin American Music Academy) as a means of fellowshipping Latino immigrants to Utah and also to promote cross-cultural understanding and such.

Additionally, I got to meet Naty's husband and three kids, two of who performed in the FLAMA song-and-dance presentation. I heard at least a few Christmas ditties that I recognized and that, as a result, brought back some good memories of my two Christmases spent in my adopted homeland of Peru.

While I watched the kids' performance, I enjoyed a dinner of one of my favorite Peruvian meals: pollo a la brasa (basically roasted chicken, along with French fries and a Peruvian salad). Trust me, it's delicious and much better than it sounds.

Los buenos tiempos los disfrutaron todos.

Ten Years Ago Today

We're all very familiar with all that went down on that infamous day, ten years ago today. I don't need to go over the details.

I was not in New York City; western Pennsylvania; or Washington, D.C., on that day, but like most Americans, I remember exactly where I was when I found out about it. I had a doctor's appointment that morning to have my wrist checked out, and while I sat in the waiting room, I watched speechlessly along with a handful of other patients as the events unfolded on the TV set in the corner.

Something that few people know about me is that while I was not a witness to the events on 9-11, I have been a witness - an earwitness, anyway - to a terrorist attack. On a warm December night in 1996, my companion and I were in the San Isidro borough of Lima, Peru, trying to hail a taxi on the side of the road, when we heard an extremely loud explosion. The taxi driver who pulled up shortly afterward said that it had come from less than a mile away. How grateful we were that we were not any closer.

Through the news and such, we learned that the explosion had taken place at the Japanese embassy and that it was caused by a terrorist group that went on to hold most of the people inside, who were attending a Christmas party that night, as hostages for the next several months.

Well, that's another story. But it will suffice me to say that I'm glad I live in a country where we don't have to worry about those kinds of things happening. I'm grateful for those who are abroad defending those freedoms and for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

One Hundred Years of Machu Picchu

When Francisco Pizarro and the Spanish conquistadors invaded Peru in the 16th century, they got their hands on all of the gold and treasures they could - except for the those at the mighty citadel of Machu Picchu. The Spaniards, in fact, never did find Machu Picchu, a fact that is somewhat of a source of pride to Peruvians today.

Flash forward to July 24, 1911 - 100 years ago today - when a Yale University professor named Hiram Bingham discovered the lost fortress and began to spread its fame to the rest of the world.

Well, there you have it - your useless trivia of the day. Or your history lesson. Take it any way you want to.

It's a big deal to me because, well, Machu Picchu was part of our mission boundaries in Peru, located just a short train ride from the city of Cusco, where I spent five months. It's a holy place to many Peruvians, to the religious and non-religious alike, but most especially to the Latter-day Saints, some of who believe it is the setting of some important Book of Mormon events.

Whether or not that's the case is really anyone's guess, but if you've been to Machu Picchu, then you can state unequivocally that you've stood in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Elder Sanders Goes to Provo

My 19-year-old cousin Eden was set apart as a missionary Tuesday night, entered the Provo MTC yesterday, and has now begun his missionary service.

I am looking forward to following his mission and blog and e-mails and to learning about all of the great experiences he's going to have during these two years.

I'm also quite a bit jealous because, after three weeks at the Provo MTC, he's going to fly down to Peru to spend the remaining six weeks of his MTC experience at the Lima MTC before then heading out into the field and Ecuador.

His mom especially is a bit nervous about all this, and it's okay to feel that way. But the time will pass quickly, and after two years, we'll all look back and wonder where the time went.

President Nuñez

I received word from Venezuela this week that my good friend Juan Carlos Nuñez, a missionary with whom I served in the Peru Lima Central Mission, has been called as the Church's newest stake president.

Yes, that's right: A contemporary of mine is now a stake president, which must mean that I'm getting old.

Elder Nuñez (second from the left on the back row in the above photo) was never my companion, but nevertheless he taught me a valuable lesson early on in my days in the field. I arrived in my third area, Antares, also one of the poorest parts of Lima I've been to, to replace him and also got to work with him for a couple of days before he took off to his new area.

Antares was my third area in the mission in only three months in the country. My experience in my first two areas had been less than ideal, with a trainer who basically had taught me nothing useful and very little success in my second area. To make matters worse, within 24 hours of my arrival in this new area, I had an allergic reaction to all of the dust in the air and came down with a bad case of conjunctivitis, which is an eye infection you never want to get.

I was sulking over my past and present difficulties one evening when Elder Nuñez sat down to talk with me. I don't remember everything he said, but I do remember this sentence: "You have got to start believing that you were not sent here to fail."

Some of that is lost in translation, but those words stayed with me. And as soon as I really began to work and shrugged off my initial failures and challenges, I indeed saw success as time went on.

So thanks, President Nuñez, for your good advice and for your example. The people in your stake in Venezuela are lucky to have you.

Sushi: A Four-Letter Word?

I had the oddest experience today: On a whim, I tried eating sushi once again, for probably the tenth time, and I actually liked it.

Those first nine attempts, I didn't enjoy sushi too much. I wanted to, because I was surrounded by friends who were eating sushi on purpose and who raved about it like it was the greatest thing since Gutenberg's invention of the printing press, but I honestly didn't like it. In fact, I rather hated it.

In general, I'm not much of a fan of fish. It probably has to do with the fact that I ate a lot of fish and seafood while on my mission in Peru, and once those two years were over, I felt like I'd ingested enough seafood to last me for the next 50 or 60 years. Part of it, I feel, was also a "when in Rome" thing; you do what you have to survive sometimes.


At any rate, for today's lunch, I did not set out intending to go anywhere in the neighborhood of any sushi. I was, in fact, dining at the local Chinese buffet - one of my guilty pleasures - and they happened to be serving sushi rolls, much like the ones in the above photo. I would even go so far as to write that the rolls I tried were delicious.

Well, I survived to tell the tale. And I might just try sushi once again, if given the opportunity. Perhaps the tenth time is the charm.

International Cuisine Night

Earlier tonight at the ol' ward house, it was International Cuisine Night, which ended up offering a variety of new (to me), delicious dishes from the four corners of the globe.

Okay, so "four corners of the globe" is just a figure of speech; Africa, Antarctica, and Australia were seriously underrepresented, in that there were no foods at all from any of those continents. (My first taste of Vegemite will have to come another day.) Nevertheless, the Asian, European, North American, and South American stuff was great.

Peru was a well-represented country on this evening, given that Katea (arroz con leche), Bro. Lindley (Inca Kola and papa a la Huancaína), and yours truly (panetón) all brought samples of comida criolla. The papa a la Huancaína was particularly well prepared and was something I had not eaten for quite some time.


Among the other dishes I tried for the first time were Bishop Lake's French crépes, Cecily's Greek baklava, Kurtis's Chilean hot dogs (smothered in guacamole and sour cream), Nadine's Danish stew (a possible staple in my ancestors' diet?), Sieben's Jamaican chicken, and Zak's Russian pancakes. The United States was even represented by Bro. Galloway's delicious Dutch oven barbecue chicken. (So, come to think of it, it may have actually been a dish from the Netherlands. Whatever.)

Good times - and good food - were had by all.

Top Ten: Christmas Songs

About this same time last year, I posted a list of the top-ten worst Christmas songs, according to yours truly, here on The Epistle of Jon. This was arguably one of my most popular posts ever. The fact that 0 people commented on this list should attest to that claim.

Well, Sunday night at ward prayer, the weekly group question - yes, we still have those things - was, "What is your favorite Christmas song, and why?" The answers were varied and told me a lot about the people who answered the question; but I think if you were to put all of those songs onto one CD, you'd have some pretty good holiday listening for any afternoon or evening.

Because my mind has been on the topic since then, I present to you my top ten list of favorite Christmas songs:

#10. Ven a Mi Casa Esta Navidad - Los Toribianitos You won't recognize this song, but it makes the list because its message of spending Christmas time with good friends when you're away from home - something I had to do twice in the mission field - brings to mind many great memories to me.

#9. In the Bleak Mid-Winter - Shawn Colvin Christina Rossetti, one of the Victorian poets I studied in college, wrote the words to this tune, and I love its simple message.

#8. Candlelight Carol - John Rutter Just about everything that John Rutter has composed is amazing, and this song is definitely no exception.

#7. It's True - Sara Groves This is a relatively new one to me, and it's an instant classic, in my opinion. Its message is that not only is the Christmas story not only a nice story but also the gospel truth.

#6. Angels We Have Heard on High - Josh Groban & Brian McKnight I'm not a huge Josh Groban fan, given that I'm male and not a teenager; nevertheless, I heard this duet with Brian McKnight for the first time last year, and it has since become a favorite.

#5. The First Noel - Michael Dowdle This is my favorite Christmas tune in the LDS hymnbook. Michael Dowdle's version is preferred among the four or five different MP3s I have of this one.

#4. Still, Still, Still - Norman Luboff I have loved this Austrian carol since the first time I heard it.

#3. A Baby Just like You - John Denver & The Muppets A favorite song from one of my favorite all-around Christmas albums.

#2. Christmas Lullaby (I Will Lead You Home) - Amy Grant Its message is simple and powerful: Christ came here to Earth to lead us home to live with Him - nothing less.

#1. What Sweeter Music - John Rutter I learned this song a few years ago when I was a member of a singing/performing group called the AB Singers, and, ever since then, it has been my number-one favorite.

Honorable Mention: ¿Dónde Está Santa Claus? - Augie Ríos; Alleluia - Kenneth Cope (from "Greater Than Us All"); Baby, What You Goin' to Be? - Donny Osmond; The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole; Emmanuel, God with Us - Amy Grant; Far Far Away on Judea's Plains - Nancy Hanson; Fruitcake - The Superions; The Gift - Collin Raye; Green Christmas - Barenaked Ladies; Grown Up Christmas List - Amy Grant; Hark, the Herald Angels Sing - Eclipse; Jingle Bell Rock - Hall & Oates; Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Martina McBride; Little Saint Nick - Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem; Mary's Boy Child - Harry Belafonte; The Night Santa Went Crazy - "Weird Al" Yankovic; One Star, One Savior - Michael Webb; Please Come Home for Christmas - Eagles; Police Stop My Car - Bob Rivers; Rockin' around the Christmas Tree - Dion; Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband; Santa Claus Came in the Spring - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra; Toy Sack - Bob Rivers; Welcome to Our World - Amy Grant; When the River Meets the Sea - John Denver & The Muppets; White Christmas - The Drifters; You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Thurl Ravenscroft

The Dog Days Roll On

Whenever August rolls around, as it is wont to do each year, I am reminded why it has typically been one of my least-favorite months. No offense is meant to those of you who celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, getting to send your kids back to school, or bar mitzvahs or have any other good thing to look forward to during the month, but it's generally one of those blah times for me.

In the first place, there aren't really any holidays to look forward to. Once Independence Day and Pioneer Day are over, the next holiday of any real substance is Labor Day - and August stands right in the middle of this time period.

Secondly, I will admit freely and honestly that the summer is not exactly my favorite season of the year. I am first and foremost an autumn person, followed by spring, then the winter. And August is traditionally when the hottest of the hot weather comes along.

The only time of the year I enjoy making gravy is on Thanksgiving, if you catch my drift.

But Jon, you're probably thinking. You're handsome. Do you really prefer the cold, cold Utah winter over the summer? Also, do you enjoy having brownies delivered to your doorstep by cute girls?

The answer to both questions is: Yes, I do. I would much rather bundle up (or cuddle up - I'm not picky!) on a cold summer night than sweat like Richard Nixon did during his presidential debates with John F. Kennedy. You can always put on another sweater or turn up the thermostat a couple of degrees, but in the summer, you can shed only so many clothes. Additionally: Brownies are delicious.

For those of you who weren't aware, I served my mission in Lima, Peru, which is one of the hottest cities on Earth, given that it is just a few hundred kilometers (they use the metric system there, which partly explains why they're still in the Third World) south of the equator. How I ever survived in that climate for that long, I may never know.

Nevertheless, the summer has been pretty good to us this year along the Wasatch Front. The first couple of weeks of June were marked by unseasonably cool weather, and so far it has been one of the coolest Augusts I can remember. So, I may be warming up (no pun intended) to August after all.

I don't want to be one of those people who looks at the weather forecast each day and screams in frustration or throws up his arms in despair, because I know a few people who fit that description. In the summer, they hate the heat; in the autumn, they hate the cold; in the winter, they really hate the cold; in the spring, they hate the rain. Essentially, they choose to be unhappy at all times. When you think about it, there are things to be enjoyed in the weather and in nature every day - if you look for them.

Independence Day, Plowman Style

My family and I celebrated the 233rd birthday of the United States today, as Dave correctly noted, by blowing up a small piece of it.

Independence Day is one of those holidays that, for me, has lost a little bit of its luster over the years. Fireworks are not as big of a deal for me as they were when I was younger; I am content to sit back and let others indulge their pyromaniac tendencies and set things on fire. But my nieces and nephews absolutely adore the fireworks, and watching them squeal at the bright lights and loud noises is always the highlight for me. Today was no exception.

Our family shindig began in the early afternoon with us going to see a matinee screening of Disney/Pixar's new film, Up. I don't know how they do it, but Pixar somehow manages to top itself and make an even-better movie with each new project. It was both funny and touching, with astounding animation. A large part of the film is set in the Andes of South America, which made me more than a bit nostalgic for the good old days in Peru, I might add.

If you haven't been to see Up and are the least bit curious, I would highly recommend it.

After the movie concluded, we adjourned to Mike and Jana's home in Layton for a barbecue and family games. My cousin Scott and his family; their friends Celeste and Mark; and Mike's friend Jason and his family joined us there. In all, there were close to 40 people taking part in the hoopla.

One of the favorite games that most participated in is called "Ladders," during which players score points by throwing and wrapping cords, connected by plastic golf balls, around ladder rungs. It's hard to explain, but it looks something like this, as demonstrated here by my dad, Dave, and Steve:



As dusk approached, the fireworks - and there were many of them - came out in full force. Dallin contributed to the chaos by throwing snaps at people's feet.


The babies, 15-month-old Jackson and nine-month-old Kira, enjoyed themselves quite a bit.




Luke proudly carried around his glow stick.


Kylee and Jenna were among the crowd trying to catch the parachutes that were shot high into the sky.


A couple of the parachutes landed up on the roof.

Meanwhile, Dallin and McKenna (doing her Statue of Liberty imitation) were among those who carried around sparklers.



Last but not least, here are many members of the gang, in a sort of Lord of the Flies-esque tribute, doing their powwow dance (it's a family tradition):


God bless America - still the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Thank You for the Music

All week long, I have been listening to the Mamma Mia! soundtrack, which features the songs of the Greatest Thing to Ever Come Out of Sweden (Other Than Pres. Monson's Ancestry): ABBA. And I'm not afraid to admit it, either. "Super Trouper," "Honey, Honey" and "I Have a Dream" are just a few of the catchy tunes that tend to get stuck in your head without your even realizing it.

The two leads, Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried, have surprisingly good singing voices. But Pierce Brosnan should, honestly, not quit his day job.


It started innocently. Biz, who had recently been to see the movie on a girls' night out (what I like to call an "Estrogen-Filled Power Hour"), left her copy of the soundtrack at home after stopping by to make a Christmas CD mix. Out of curiosity, I put the CD in the computer and listened to it. Then, I listened to it again. And here we are.

For the record, I first became an ABBA fan many years ago. A lady who cooked meals for us in the mission field was a big fan and would often play the tape as we waited to eat. (Peru still hasn't heard of CDs, to my knowledge.) Missionaries aren't and weren't allowed to listen to things like ABBA, but she was not yet a member of the Church - she is now a Relief Society president - and we didn't have the heart to ask her to turn it off.


Well, if ABBA helps turn people into Relief Society presidents, then by gum, it is good enough for me. Upon returning home, I sought out and bought the album Oro: Grandes Exitos, which is a collection of ABBA's greatest hits in Spanish. I often play "La Reina del Baile" ("Dancing Queen") when it is my turn to deejay at ComedySportz. There are always at least a couple of confused looks on people's faces when they begin to hear the words being sung in Spanish.

I have no desire to see the film, unless Person A, B, C, or D can help me to change my mind. (That is another story.) But, then again, the plot in many musicals is irrelevant. (Consider Carousel as a classic example.)

Call me geeky, if you will. But the geeks will inherit the Earth . . . right?

Green Eggs and Comfort Zones

As I came into sacrament meeting today, I found a copy of Green Eggs and Ham that had been left on the bench.

I had a few minutes to kill before the meeting began, so I picked it up and flipped through its pages. One of the members of the bishopric gave me a funny look from the stand. A couple of the girls seated across the aisle giggled in my direction, too.


You can really learn a lot from Dr. Seuss if you're in the right mindset. On its surface, Green Eggs and Ham is a story that teaches rhyming and shows children how fun reading can be. A deeper meaning - at least one that I get from it - is that it is okay for us to come out of our comfort zones every now and then and try something new. You never know what you will end up enjoying once you have tried it.

In high school, I went to just two school dances. Generally speaking, I pooh-poohed the idea. It wasn't that I didn't want to go; I had just never learned to dance and felt like an idiot when I was out there on the dance floor.

Time passed. I went on a mission to Peru. Missionaries obviously don't - and shouldn't - dance, but with awe I would occasionally observe Peruvians at their parties. The concept of having a party and not dancing does not compute in their minds. They are practically born knowing how to salsa. Little kids would blow me away with their ability to cumbia.

More time passed. I returned home and got back into school. On a whim, I decided to sign up for a Latin dance class. To my own surprise, I was able to (eventually) pick up the cha-cha. Then, I learned rumba, merengue, samba, and tango. I took another dance class, and then another. When I graduated, I had taken five semesters of ballroom/Latin dance.

What had once been a weakness had become a strength and a favorite pasttime. It is fun, and it is great exercise, too. It has helped my social life more than any other course I took in college, I might add.

So, you think you can't dance? If I can learn, then anyone can.

It's nice to sit in the hot tub for a while. We like the feel of it and the temperature of the water. But there is warmth to be found in other places, too.

Incidentally, I have tried green eggs and ham. And I liked them. All it takes is a little bit of food coloring . . . and some will power.

Anger Management

People all over the place are really angry about a lot of things right now. I read about several of them tonight as I perused the pages of today's Deseret News. (There was an excellent article on the same topic in last week's paper by columnist Doug Robinson: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705262181,00.html)

You see these irate people everywhere. They are on TV or on YouTube. They are even picketing around Temple Square and the state capitol building. And they are definitely not afraid to hide that fact that they are hopping mad about, well, almost everything.

The anger thing isn't going to get any better this week. The annual BYU vs. Utah football game is coming up this Saturday, and we all know what that means: The Mr. Hyde in many Cougar and Ute fans will be coming out for a visit.

Bring up any number of topics, and - want it or not - you will get their opinion on any number of current events, often with clenched fists, beet-red faces, and little volcanoes emerging and erupting from the tops of their scalps. Some of these topics include, but are not limited, to: the release of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince film being postponed until next summer (okay, not so much of a problem, really), George W. Bush being responsible for everything wrong with this country, having to endure living on the same planet and breathing the same air as Sarah Palin, gas prices, the economy, and - oh yeah - the LDS Church's involvement in California's Proposition 8, which passed in the election held two weeks ago.


If you dare disagree with these Proposition 8 people, in their book, you are therefore labeled (by people who largely don't want to be labeled) "homophobic," "intolerant," "bigoted," "hate filled," "ignorant," and a "hypocrite," plus you will be told that you need to come out of the cave and into the 21st century and/or you must die a horrible, painful death - possibly by being smothered in peanut butter and being dropped onto a pile of killer ants, like those in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - at the earliest possible moment.

They use big words like these, while at the same time their actions show that they are clearly the ones who are full of hate and intolerant.

In Peru, they have a saying: El ruido de tus acciones no me permite oir tus palabras. Loosely translated, it means: "The noise from your actions blocks out the sound of your words." I think it applies here.

The Proposition 8 protests have saddened me a lot. The election is over, but they refuse to accept the results. (Just imagine what would happen if John McCain acted in a similar manner and encouraged his supporters to send hate mail to the president-elect.) Their demonstrations are also being directed at my church, even though the LDS Church was just one of several in a coalition to support Proposition 8.

My Improv colleague Tonia wrote a letter to the editor in defense of Proposition 8 that appeared in Thursday's Deseret News. Saturday night, I performed in a show with Tonia's husband, Curt, and mentioned to him that I had read the letter.

"We've already received hate mail," he replied.

Over the past two weeks, LDS meetinghouses in Utah have been vandalized. At one building, a copy of the Book of Mormon was set on fire. Last week, an envelope containing white powder - at first feared to be anthrax - caused an evacuation of Temple Square.

Yes, whoever is doing it is using terrorism.

So, what can we do about it? What do we have left to "turn" when we have used up your "cheeks"?


I recently read an excellent article by Paul Bishop that sheds important light on the subject. Bro. Bishop writes from personal experience about the protests that have been held outside of the grounds of the Los Angeles temple. If you haven't already done so, I hope you take a look at it:

http://www.meridianmagazine.com/ideas/081110hate.html

Reading this article created all kinds of emotions inside of me. I felt sad, then annoyed, then angry, and then the cycle started all over again. Ultimately, though, Bro. Bishop concludes his article in just the right spirit. He quotes Elder Robert D. Hales on the true spirit of tolerance. He also adds the thought that Pres. Monson, in the face of this kind of persecution, knows what's going on and is leading us in the right direction.


I'm very grateful to have both a prophet and an exemplary man to whom I can look for guidance and counsel.

Fighting anger with anger and hate with hate has never solved anything - at least, not since Old Testament times. As the scripture says:

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22–23).

I am also reminded of this excerpt from the life of Elijah:

"The Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

"And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice" (1 Kings 19:11-12).

I know from experience that you can win converts to your cause - so to speak - only by kindness, civility, and rational thinking.

And that speaks louder than words.