A View From the Font

Bishop: Transformation of a Man

I recently (tonight) had the opportunity to talk with our (rather) new Bishop of our Ward.  A while back we had a 5-way split, creating 2 new Stakes and various new Wards.  As a result a lot of Bishoprics were dissolved and new ones created.  Ours was one such Ward.  There was a lot of speculation and typical gossip on who would be the next Bishop.  Bets were placed (not really) and hallway snickering occurred.  The day came.  Our Bishopric was called and they were all people my age!  Whoa.  Humbling.  Our Bishop had been in the previous Bishopric and I’d come to know him as a pretty great guy.  He and his family seem so much fun.

Tonight I called upon my Bishop for some guidance.  He came over promptly and sat down to talk.  Here I was, talking with what could have been the guy I went golfing with earlier that day.  It was odd for a moment as I’ve only known my Bishops to be “older” (no offense) than me.  Bishop Williams isn’t much (if at all?).  I started to blabber as he listened and nodded about things I was saying.  I figured he’d just listen.

Then it happened.

As he spoke, I could see this wasn’t “Duane” anymore.  He was transformed and provided such amazing abilities to understand, explain, comfort.  We spent the next 2 hours or so talking.  He shared stories from GA’s from memory, he popped open scripture and pointed to perfect passages without hesitation.  He understood me.  I’ve not been that impressed in a while.  I don’t know what happens when you are called as Bishop…if you suddenly get a crash course in Zig Ziglar training, or are given some type of injection of knowledge, but whatever it is, it’s a blessing to them and to those they serve.  I can only imagine it is within some deep prayers and meditation that they receive whatever abilities they need to perform their duties with peace and a calming effect on themselves and those they serve.  It’s as if words seemingly flow with ease and without a stupor of thought.

Bishop Williams, a peer, counseled me today and I listened.  Bishop, you are indeed a man of God.

LDS and Technology

In about 2001 I was called to be the Ward “website specialist” – I assume from my geeky nature it was a good calling to have.  It actually got me pretty inspired to provide some real value online for the local members.  Although my ideas of 8% online tithing and Relief Society gossip columns didn’t pan out, it was fun to put together a web site for the ward for calendar items and a leadership directory.  Within months, however, I was asked to take it down (as were others across the country) by request of the office of the First Presidency.  The letter (in my recollection) stated something along the lines of wanting to ensure the message of the church as well as the safety of the members…or something like that.  Effectively my calling ended when that letter was received.  It made me wonder why the Church was so afraid of new technology, but they have their reasons I guess.  It also noted that something was being worked on for the entire Stakes/Wards across the globe and that in due time we’d be able to participate.  Well, those “Stake and Ward Websites” finally came to fruition I think about 4 years later (maybe a year sooner?) as we now know them on the Church web site.  It’s a good resource for the Ward/Stake and I find really the most use of it as a directory…that information is provided by the membership…calendar items, etc. are dependent upon by the clerks and sometimes aren’t always that descriptive.

Aside from the web sites for Wards and Stakes, the Church actually has been embracing technology a lot more lately.  I credit that to the openness of the new(er) CIO, Joel Dehlin (former Microsoft employee :-)).  Here are some resources for LDS members provided by the Church and elsewhere that you may find interesting…

LDS Tech – pretty much the hub of information coming from the Church IT department.  Is full of forums and such.  I suggest you subscribe to the RSS feed for the best information.  What?!  You don’t know what RSS is? (I find that hard to believe since you are here.)  If you (or others) need a primer on what RSS is, check out this video.

Online Tech Talks – the Church started 2 years ago with this concept of “Tech Talks” – getting out into the community and talking about how the Church is using technology and answering questions.  I attended the first ones in Provo and it was good to meet a lot of the folks there that work on the systems that some of us use.  Recently they started doing online versions to reach more people.  The innaugural event was held on 28 August 2008 and was recorded as well.  You can check out the recording here.

LDS CIO – I’ve mentioned Joel’s name a few times already.  He’s also got a blog.  Check it out.

Familysearch – I’d be surprised if a member didn’t know about familysearch.org, but just in case, here it is listed.  Familysearch.org is a great genealogy resource for finding your ancestors and doing prepatory work for the Temple.  If you want to see what their teams are working on, check their labs site.

Coloring Pages for Kids – This is a great resource for finding things for the little ones in your family to color or use as visual aids during conference meetings or during sacrament.  Hey if you don’t allow your little ones to color during Sacrament, that’s fine…but if you do, wouldn’t you rather have them coloring religious images than barney or hello kitty?

LDS Media Talk – A site that talks about some of the Church’s use of media and other technology to spread the word.  This used to be formerly “ldswebguy” but now has a few more authors.

North Temple – This is the site for the interactive design/development group within the Church IT department (although I’m sure they probably don’t want to be associated with “IT”).  The Church has some really great designers on staff.  This site started out talking about the design aspects of stuff they build for the Church, etc. but has really taken a different path this past year.  I find most of it irrelevant to the Church, but perhaps that is the direction they want to go now.  Regardless, it is a team that is online, so I wanted to list it here.

LDS Maps – An interactive map application to help members find places of worship across the world.  Originally the Church had a very non interactive ‘meeting house locator’ that served a purpose but wasn’t real modern…and maybe that was okay.  The geek in me said it wasn’t.  In January of 2007 there was a discussion on the LDS (then beta) tech forums.  I posted a prototype of something I had been working on that used the interactive map APIs from Microsoft Virtual Earth.  While not implemented exactly how I had it in my prototype (with boundaries, etc.—check out the video link in the forum post link) I think this is a great implementation and feature for members.

LDS Blogs, Mormon Archipelago, Mormon Blogs – These are all non-church resources but are aggregate listings of LDS bloggers around the world.

ReturnAndReport.org – This web site won an award during the LDS Tech Talk recently.  It is an online resource for Elder Quorums/Relief Societies to help facilitate reporting of Home/Visit Teaching.  Interesting that the Church would award/recognize this as it shows a change from the days of ‘take down the web site.’  I’m trying to get my EQ to implement this to test it out.

PDA Resources: Want scriptures for your mobile phone/PDA?  Here you go: iPhone (ReadScriptures.com) – online and has an iPhone native application for $15; The Scriptures for iPhone – native iPhone app for FREE; Church publications for Handhelds; Mobile MLS tools.

There are some great online resources for LDS members.  If you know of more, please post them here in the comments!

Why are we so fat with the Word of Wisdom?

I begin writing this after a healthy sampling of a McDonald’s chicken sandwich slurped down with some Hi-C orange drink.  I’m fat.  I’m actually the heaviest (and perhaps unhealthiest) I’ve ever been.  In college I ate Taco Bell 3 square meals a day.  Seriously, I did…I mean c’mon 49 cent tacos?  Hello…that’s better than Ramen.  But I also worked out at least 3 times a week with weights and rode a bike everywhere out of necessity.  So the byproduct of my crap eating never showed.  I was always around 165lbs and felt great.  Now I’m…well, let’s just say NOT 165lbs…those days are a distant memory.  As I was alone this weekend (wife away visiting family in Indiana) and realizing what I was feeding my children, I felt ashamed.  It caused me to reflect on the Word of Wisdom a bit.  We’re given counsel that:

And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones…And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.  Doctrines and Covenants 89:18,20

And it came to pass, that I cannot run and not be weary!  In fact, I get friggin winded playing with my kids on the floor!  I could reflect over time and try to understand where this occurred, but let’s just agree that my metabolism has slowed alright?  Moving on…anyhow, I think most people external to the Church (and perhaps some members or converts) look at the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89) and concentrate only on the alcohol/tobacco side of things.  The history of the Word of Wisdom is actually an interesting and funny one as well. 

The revelation was given to Joseph when he asked of God if it was okay that the men use tobacco in their meetings.  Seriously, could you imagine?  A member of the Bishopric getting up announcing the blessing of a baby only to pause and lean into the spittoon?  Aside from the fact Emma disliked it as her and the sisters repeatedly had to clean up the floors, God basically gave the divine thumbs down.  He then also provided an “oh, by the way…” with regard to a few other things…namely what is more commonly known in addition to tobacco are the “strong drinks” which we interpret to mean alcohol, among other things and the “hot drinks” which the Church has said refers to coffee and tea (hot or cold).

But examine the counsel further…

And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature and use of man.  Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving. Doctrines and Covenants 89:10-11

So we know that we should be eating “healthy” by consuming herbs, fresh fruits and herbs.  But who likes that? :-) — Let’s go to Costco, get some sweet rib-eye steaks and chow down…yum…

Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;  And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine. Doctrines and Covenants 89:12-13.

So the Prophets have told us that the Word of Wisdom not only apply to alcohol and tobacco but to a health eating style as well.  Those 4 steaks you had this week?  Not so good.  I know that people may scoff and say “hey, that’s a little extreme.”  But we also hear the echo from President Snow nearly 70 years later reminding the members about the consumption of meats sparingly.  One may be quick to point out that the “during winter” portion probably has some historic reference to the storage of raw meats and the missing refrigeration systems during those times.  Nevertheless, regardless of refrigeration in modern times, the Prophets have not said “it’s okay now, we have freezers, go ahead and gorge yourselves.”  Brigham Young’s made an assertion that the revelation given in the Word of Wisdom was a commandment from God (oddly enough only for those under the age of 90). 

So why is it that we honor the alcohol and tobacco portions so easily (for most) but yet disregard a healthy lifestyle otherwise?  Should the admonishing of refraining (note I didn’t say commandment) of caffeinated beverages be made a commandment?  It certainly would be more in-line with the Word of Wisdom teachings.  Surely it would be in the best interests of the saints?  While a study has been conducted about mortality rates with regard to members and non-members, I’ve yet to see any study regarding expanding the principals of the Word of Wisdom and looking at obesity rates.

So as I look at myself and my eating habits I see that, in fact, they are NOT in line with the teachings of our Prophets.  Why should I be so bold to assume that I’m following the commandments of the Word of Wisdom when I don’t drink/smoke, but my last 5 meals involved fried chicken, fast-food, and steak?  I ask you, your thoughts?

Middle names and Brother/Sister

I have to be honest, I don’t like being called “Brother Heuer.”  Why?  Because that’s not who I am as an identity.  I’m Tim.  (For the record I don’t like being called Mr. Heuer either.)  I know that generations grew up differently and have a whole ‘respect your elders’ mantra to them, but it just seems as a society we’ve progressed beyond that.  People call my children by their first name, so why shouldn’t my children call them by their first name?

Anyhow, on to the brother/sister thing.  I know other religions practice this similarly as well.  As LDS members I see this practice mostly under the roof of a Church building.  Rarely do I see members of the Elder’s Quorums waiting at the bus stop referring to each other as Brother Smith.  So why do we feel so compelled to do so?  It is an odd thing for me and maybe it is because I haven’t grown up with it.  We do have friends that insist on our children calling them Sister so-and-so and despite our wishes for their kids to call us by our names, they will not allow them to do that.  I have to respect their parental authority however perverse (kidding, of course) it is. 

I’ll say it again: I am Tim.  There is no “Brother” on my birth certificate.  Others may say it is out of respect for the position you hold.  If that is the case, why don’t the Elders Quorum members call each other Elder instead of brother in the hallways?  Good morning Elder Heuer.  But that would confuse us with the missionaries I guess.  I do, however, break my own rule with regard to Bishops and Stake Presidents.  Why?  Great question, I guess it is an elevated title for me – probably the same reason I wouldn’t walk into the White House and say “Hey George, how’s it hanging?”  But outside of Church, I call them by their names.  Is there some doctrinal guidance I’m missing here?  Because I just think it is cultural and maybe that’s why I’m so hung up on it.

The other thing that I find odd and still haven’t gotten used to is the use of the full name.  I can’t tell you the last time somebody called me Timothy.  Again, I don’t identify with that name.  I’m sure this is a practice rooted in the family ancestry ties and beliefs of the Church and for official records, blessings, etc. I’ve got no problem with that.  But should I ever be called to speak at Conference, I’m going to fight for the overlay on the television to be “Tim Heuer” and not “Timothy K. Heuer” – heck there have been times I’ve forgotten my middle name because it is never uttered.  I suppose one could argue that such talks are “official” and any business of the Church is official and thus documented for our posterity…which that might fly with me.

I’m just saying, if you see me in Church…I’m Tim, feel free to call me that and skip the Brother :-).

Church in Politics and Fighting for Family

Since becoming a member one of the things I get confused about from time to time is the authoritative direction given by the First Presidency.  I have often felt that there has been times where they don’t want to get their fingers dirty, and then there are issues where they get deeply involved in controversy and politics.  I remember one such moment in my research in becoming a member around the salamander letters (later admitted by Hinckley I believe as a moment of the Church’s history they could have done better in public politics/opinion).  I’ve been a member now through almost 3 presidential election time periods and can distinctly remember (and I’m sure it will happen again) letters being read to the congregation from the Office of the First Presidency regarding politics (also known as ‘political neutrality’).  In fact it is an item in the Newsroom:

The Church does not:

• Endorse, promote or oppose political parties, candidates or platforms.

You may remember this too, as in fact it does generally only get read around elections of candidates rather than periods of topic-related issues.  Because of this, I’ve often thought that the Church remains neutral to the land law all the time.  Maybe I’m a sleeper, but I’ve not recalled a moment in my history with the Church where they’ve been so politically involved before…or even at all.  These letters are etched in my memory of the opposite in fact.  In 1995, the Proclamation to the World was issued by the Church and presumably should have put to rest the thoughts on family for the Church.  It is a wonderful message and one I am proud that our faith has so widely declared.  I’ve recently told my wife that I really think it should be hanging proudly in our home.  I can’t think of a better discussion piece than a document/message that stresses our belief in the family unit than the Proclamation.

Fast-forward 13 years.

Actually you don’t have to fast fowrard that far.  This same issue arose in California in May 1999 where declarations were made as well.  The issue of same-sex marriage still exists.  There are arguments on all partisan lines about it.  Yesterday (13 AUG 2008), the Church issued a note on The Divine Institution of Marriage.  Personally I wish the word ‘institution’ wouldn’t be used…it has such a connotation about it that is counter to the word ‘family’ to me.  The message is in direct response to constitutional changes proposals in various states to ensure that marriage be defined as between a man and a woman.  The message, outlines the defense of this message to readers in various areas and not just one singular view from faith.  The message also talks about the difference from tolerance versus belief and that we should continue to be Christ-like to our friends and neighbors and exhibit ‘love thy neighbor’ traits.  Being tolerant doesn’t mean that you have to be accepting of the same belief.  it’s a struggle on both sides…those that will look at this message and chastise the Church will not be tolerant of our views either…double-edged sword.

But back to my point…such a strong, vocal stance on not only the issue, but a directive toward local political voting.  It made me wonder what was going on here?  I thought the Church stayed out of politics.  Reading back to the political neutrality we can read that the Church does:

Reserve the right as an institution to address, in a nonpartisan way, issues that it believes have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the Church.

And therein lies the involvement…moral issues.  It still is odd to me as that one could argue one candidate’s platform strikes at the moral issues of our society as well.  The struggle I have is that perception=reality.  You can put any asterisk on a policy you want, but when you stay so neutral for most issues and then lurch out with a wide campaign encouraging your members to actively get involved, vote for the amendment, etc. it sends a weird message of a double-standard and confusion to those already looking for a way to probe our faith.

Please don’t misunderstand me here.  I am for the family.  I’m just confused to our own organization’s policies and involvements.  I’ve been told that this has happened in the past though during debates on public education and other interesting times in our nation’s history.  So maybe this is just new to me as a convert, which is fine…I’ll have to get used to it.  It will be interesting to me to watch this get played out in the political and public forums.  Regardless I still stand by my personal beliefs and think the Proclamation is an inspired message and this new message on marriage helps explain it deeper and put things in our faith’s perspective more.

But part of me can’t help but think that we’re acting a little like Sweden here – sit back a lot until the shores are attacked, then bring out the nukes.  Maybe a more balanced, continued involvement with politicians would help things in the long run?

Is 8am Sacrament meeting really inspired?

For the past 4 years, my neighbors and I have enjoyed a 2.5 hour block.  That’s right suckers…2.5 hours.  Why?  Did you ever see Gremlins where the little Gizmo dude got water on him and a zillion fur balls grew?  Something like that.  The area where I live has grown in the past 10 years from 1 branch to 5 stakes, all within the same basic defined boundaries as the original branch.  Crazy huh.  Crazier is that it’s a real active area. 

Because of this growth each building (we were in short supply) was cramming 4-6 wards in it each Sunday.  To accommodate we trimmed the blocks by 30 minutes.  With that came mental adjustments for everyone.  People shortened their lessons, rushed kids to primary, etc.  But overall, we still accomplished what needed to be done and people were diggin’ the block.  Until now.  New building.  Back to the 3 hour block.  And for the Cortina 1st Ward…8 AM!!!  Seriously, what productiveness can be done by getting your up that early on a weekend with household members kicking and screaming…in addition to the kids.  I don’t work well that early in the morning.

Growing up Catholic, we just went to “Mass” – whenever we wanted.  Sure you belong to a Parish, but that’s a pretty loose definition.  I’m sure the Catholic church has similar boundary rules, but I don’t recall anyone ever following anything…you went where (and when) you felt comfortable…as long as you went.  We would go to 9am Mass, 11am Mass and sometimes later…there were options still to accommodate the crowds and we could go when we wanted.  That’s a big change that I’ve gotten used to over the years is this Ward concept – you go where you are told and nowhere else.  I like how it does make you closer to those you associate with in Sacrament meeting, but man is it hard to be motivated that early in the morning.  I’m not sure there is a best time, but if I had to pick, I’d say 9:30 is the sweet spot for me.  Enough time to sleep in, home for a lunch, home to get kids into some quiet time and take a nap.  I know that a lot of decisions in the Church are inspired, but I’m going on a limb here and say inspiration loses out over logistics all the time when planning Ward meeting schedules.  I envision Bishops in a game of poker…er…um…bingo, well whatever, a game of negotiating to determine who gets the short straws of 8am and 3pm Ward meeting times.  We lost this time around :-(.

Oh, and then the announcement of “next Sunday will be Stake Priesthood Leadership meeting…at 6am” – what kind of vitamins are these leaders taking that they function that early!?

My First Year as a Convert

I re-read my post about my intentions of this site and don’t want to make it only about my story, so I’ll dispense with the waiting, put this post up about my baptism and first year and move along to more philosophy :-).

Baptism

As I previously wrote, I was baptized about 6 or so months after I started the discussions.  It was November 1995 in Flagstaff, AZ (for those not familiar with Arizona…it’s cold there).  None of my family attended.  None of my fraternity brothers or friends attended.  Only my new friends (of which I barely knew) from the institute attended.  I remember only 3 things from that day.  First was the suit.  They only had the one piece jumpsuits, and none in my size.  I felt like the Michelin man for sure.  I remembering having to roll the legs up about 10 times.  It was pretty embarrassing walking out like that…especially since some of the ladies came to welcome me into the Ward.  At any rate it was done.  Bishop Mayes baptized me that day. 

The second thing I remember was getting out of the suit.  One of the Elders (the original pair had since transferred) was from Russia, Elder Kabanov.  Man that dude could play piano.  While I was getting my suit back on I started hearing the most beautiful rendetion of Canon in C I’d ever heard.  To this day whenever I hear that song it brings me immediately back to that moment.  It really was breathtaking.  I have no idea what happened to Elder Kabanov, but I hope he is well…great personality even if he was a little too energetic.

The third thing was the confirmation.  When Bishop Mayes said to me “receive the Holy Spirit” I think I felt what probably most people do.  Whether it is anticipating that feeling or not, you definitely have a sense of something that goes through every sensory receptor in your body.  It too, was magical.  I remember a lot of tears…but it was a happy day.  Nothing much more eventful happened other than getting some inscribed set of scriptures, which was pretty cool.

The next year

The next year wasn’t like I was set on serving a mission or anything.  Quite the contrary was that I had some trying times.  I met some great people (including my now wife) and my girlfriend and I split.  I had some trying times with my fraternity and did some things, that while I still believe were right, alienated me from my life-long friends.  I took a job with my international fraternity after graduating that year and started traveling the world.  I lived in Iowa City for a while and attended a Ward there – very, very small and didn’t feel like I fit.

At each of my travels in the Northeast part of the country I made sure I stopped by all the Temples that I could even though I was not yet able to enter.  They are remarkable structures that you can’t help but notice.  I distinctly remember traveling near DC and coming up a hill on a freeway and seeing the majestic DC Temple peer over the freeway…it was inspiring.

The job didn’t pan out too well after I totaled my car in Pittsburgh and soon after I left back to Flagstaff.  Upon my return I met up with friends again from the institute and begin being smitten with one of them (yes, female).  A few months later I asked her to marry me.  That was October.  We were to wed in December of 1996.  In November 1996 we decided to go to the Temple together for our first times.  Knowing about the year rule and such we made plans accordingly (or so we thought).  My Bishop and Stake President interviewed me and signed my recommend.  We were set.

Upon arriving to the Temple I set off on the process and then was halted.  The Temple President came to find me and let me know that I was one week before my year date and there was an issue with that.  Hmm, odd that two of the other leaders what would have missed that.  They had been trying to get in touch with my Bishop (who was on his way from Flagstaff and there wasn’t great cell phone coverage at that time).  When he finally arrived there was some long delay but we continued.  Later when I asked him what he had to do, he stated that they had a conference call with the office of the First Presidency.  Um, whoa.

Now before I mention my Temple experience I should note that prior to this being in a fraternity I became infatuated with rituals.  I had done about as much research as you can do on the subject and had the Masonic ritual virtually memorized.

The Temple was great in a weird and confusing sort of way.  After I went through that day in November 1996 I returned every day for the next 20 or so days.  I’m not kidding.  I would go right after work.  I needed to soak it in.  I can’t say that I fully comprehend anything still but it was a pretty intense month.  My most favorite part of the Temples is the Baptistry still.

Marriage

In December 1996 I married Lisa as planned.  My father and mother (still going through a divorce) were there and my mother, along with Lisa’s grandmother, attempted to enter the Temple themselves (both non-members).  They apparently made a little scene and the Temple President came out to talk with them.  They waited in the lobby area until we got out.  I never heard the end of it for a long time and occasionally Lisa’s grandmother still reminds her she wasn’t there to see her get married.  We had 4 people plus the sealer in our ceremony: our Institute Bishop and his wife and Lisa’s parents.  That’s it.  It was quick.  She was beautiful (and still is).  Marriage hasn’t been super easy but after 11 years we’re getting the hang of it now and have two great kids.  Our daughter Zoe is almost 6 and our son Zane just turned 2.  Great kids.  Great family.

12 years later

This year will be 13 years a member for me.  I haven’t looked back.  I’m confused about some things, disagree about others and try to find things to question always…it’s in my nature.  But I’m a better person today for becoming a member, I’m sure of it.  There were times  of inactivity for me, but we now live in a great area and super strong family-driven community.  I couldn’t imagine living without our friends that we have now.  My neighbor across the street is Bruce Porter, who was one of Hugh Nibley’s research partners…so you could imagine how intense Sunday School is when he teaches…I’ve learned so much.  I don’t celebrate my baptism at all with any fanfare whatsoever.  In fact this year I didn’t even think of it at all…I guess that’s a good thing.  My family has now seen me bless our two children, I’ve given blessings to my father during a heart transplant ordeal and I think they all have ‘gotten over it’ about my choices and see what good it has brought to my life (and theirs in my family).  I look at my patriarchal blessing and cringe if those all come true…I better start preparing now :-0 – especially since the new Bishopric for our Ward that was just called is all my age.  Yikes.

My Story – Catholic to LDS

Since I consider this a site about my ‘musings from a convert’ I suppose it is appropriate to tell my story of conversion.  I’ve told this a few times now in various Wards and to friends, and I’m sure each time I embellish a little more – I’ll try to keep it real here :-).  Conversion experiences can be deeply personal ones and affect people differently.  I hope not to offend anyone in the process of telling my story.

I attended college at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.  About my sophomore year I found out my parents were splitting after 25 years of marriage.  By this time my sister (whom also went to NAU) had graduated college and moved on with her life.  The news of this impending divorce struck me hard.  Real hard.  The details are scandalous which made it even worse.  Let’s just say it wasn’t a split of the “we’re just not getting along anymore” type.  It struck me to the core enough that I still don’t think I’ve fully recovered a definition of family…but that’s for another post I guess.

During the next few years I struggled trying to rectify this and became close with a bunch of people, namely my fraternity brothers (I’m a Delta Chi in case you were wondering).  I was glad to have a close family of ‘brothers’ that I could escape reality with.  And being around sorority girls didn’t hurt either.  During this time I became involved in educational leadership quite a bit.  I went to a lot of leadership conferences across the country.  One was a Sigma Phi Epsilon conference.  At the time, their motto was “Balanced Man” (it is now a little more politically correct with ‘Balanced Leaders’).  The Balanced Man was a philosophy of living a balanced life in the categories of emotional, physical and spiritual well being.  I was at this conference and attended a session about the Balanced Man philosophy.  It was presented by a Zig Ziglar graduate so you know it was good.  He talked about these areas of your life and why they are such key pillars for a foundation of well being.  At this time I was weight-lifting at least 4 days a week and rode my bike everywhere (a stark contrast to 60lbs later today).  Emotionally I was in a high.  I was dating someone great, had great friends and was pretty much on my own living what I felt was a responsible life.  I was happy.  Spiritually…hmmm, not so much.  It wasn’t that this ever bothered me before, it just wasn’t in my life anymore – in any form.  Spirituality in this philosophy wasn’t just about religion, but to me it was – and made me reflect on my life at that point in this category.

I was raised Catholic (my father is Lutheran, but now practices under the ‘I believe there is a God, I just don’t think I need to be a part of organized religion to believe that’ church.  At this point I was working for a great guy, Frank Shushok, who was a devout Baptist.  I told him about my reflections and he invited me to talk about it more with him.  He invited me to his church as well, which I attended.  I also went back to my Catholic roots and attended church.  Nothing I found felt right…at all.  I can say that with all sincerity.

As it was I was living in my fraternity house (we were the only ones with a physical off-campus house, so you could imagine the lifestyle :-)).  I was surrounded by great guys, but all a bunch of pranksters.  Unknown to me the girl I was dating at the time was LDS.  I didn’t really know what LDS was to be honest.  I grew up in an area that, upon reflection, probably wasn’t a high LDS population.  There were no seminaries near my schools and I didn’t recall any friends (granted I was – and maybe still am – a dork in high school) really mentioning anything.  So my prankster fraternity brothers decided that it would be funny to call the missionaries for me.  I didn’t know this was happening of course, nor did they know I had been seeking some spirituality.  I get a call that went something like this:

Caller: Hi, Tim?  This is Elder <whomever> from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We received your inquiry about a Book of Mormon.
Me: huh?
Caller: Didn’t you call a number on the television?
Me: (chuckling) No, but what can I do for you?
Caller: Well, we’d like to talk with you about our Church if you are available?

long pause

Me: You know what, sure.
Caller: Great, when can we come over?
Me: Um, probably not a good idea to come here.  Where can I meet you?

And you know how it goes.  I began meeting the missionaries at the Institute in Flagstaff.  It was an interesting experience.  I did feel welcome.  I also sensed the newness of the Elders at that time but I listened with real intent.  Things started to feel right (and some a little odd).  I remember attending my Business Law class one day (I graduated with a criminal justice degree and now I’m a software developer, go figure) when my instructor, Tom Palmer, approached me in the hallway.  So how are those missionary discussions going? Fine, I replied with a freaked out look.  He just walked away with a smile.  Turns out he was the Stake President.  Nice.  Total sidenote: but best professor I had…ever.  The same experience happened with the father of the girl I was dating.  Turns out, he was a Bishop.  What is going on?! I was thinking to myself.  I had lunch with Bishop Mayes one day and he asked me how things were going and was curious why I wasn’t telling his daughter that I was taking the discussions (and I wasn’t telling anyone at all).  I told him this was a very personal process for me and I couldn’t have it clouded with external influences – any decision had to be my own, completely.

Well after the course of 6 months or so I took all the discussions and was baptized in November 1995.  It was a beautiful day and process of which I’ll share at some point here as well…maybe the next post.  I was surrounded by great people who helped me learn and discern for myself what the right decision was.  From President Palmer, Bishop Norman Mayes and Bishop Dennis Kelley were all great men that have inspired my spirituality to-date.

So there you have it.  Fraternity prank gone bad (for them) is my ultimate conversion story.  And no, my current wife is not the girl I was dating.  As you could imagine it was a tough road to explain to family and friends my decision.  Actually it was only tough for them to accept it (and some still haven’t).  Everyone becomes an expert on theology when you decide to make a decision for your life.

So that’s my story…hmm, now on to the balanced man physical part again – maybe I should go back to that conference.

Why this site?

Hey there.  I’m Tim and I’m a convert.

Hi Tim.

I’m a program manager for Microsoft working on some wicked cool technology, but that’s not what this site is about.  I have a site dedicated to that and my other geekiness if you are interested in reading about that stuff.  About a month ago I was having lunch with some friends in our neighborhood, some good friends, and we started talking about Ward stuff like neighbor friends always do.  It got me thinking to all the thoughts I have floating around in my head about the Church.  Things I don’t know, things I might disagree with, questions I have, etc.  I had no place really to journal my thoughts.  Sure a literal journal is probably the best thing I could do in this predicament.  I can’t remember the last time I’ve used paper and pen to journal anything though (shame on me I know). 

My other site is super geeky.  I didn’t want to dilute my content over there or alienate any readers over there who weren’t interested in my questions of the Heavens.  I’m not ashamed of who I am or my faith.  I’m very proud of my individual beliefs.  No, I don’t walk around with a Book of Mormon sitting on top of my laptop or anything, nor do I have any CTR rings, stickers, or anything.  I’m generall the same guy I’ve always been, but now I’m just LDS :-) — when people learn this it usually sparks an I thought so feeling in them.  I hope that is because my actions are a good example for others.

So I decided to start this site, A view from the Font, my thoughtstream from a converted member.  I hope I don’t offend.  Heck it might be an echo chamber for all I know.  But I know it will make me feel good about writing some things down at least.  I was inspired to do this after I saw the Church embracing more technology, more outreach and encouragement of digital missionary work.  Also my good friend runs the Mormon Archipelago and maybe he’ll think I’m cool enough to link there.  He’s a pretty smart dude and I’ve learned a lot from him and other neighbors these past couple of years.

Anyway, it’s an expirment if anything else, so here goes.  I encourage comments where you feel inclined to do so.

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