July 2004 @ 12:08 pm

Elder Haight passed away this morning.

And he and Elder Maxwell were just playing swords with their canes. Despite his age, Elder Haight always seemed to have a lot of kid in him. Hopefully they are able to have some time to play some more.

(Thanks Times & Seasons)

I was very fortunate to catch Elder Maxwell’s funeral on the internet yesterday. Presidents Packer, Faust, Monson, and Hinckley all spoke as welll as Elder Maxwell’s son, Cory. If you missed it and have access to either KBYU or BYU TV check out rebroadcasts here.

It was all very nice but this remark from President Hinckley best reflected the bittersweet feeling I have for his loss:

I know of no other man who spoke in such an interesting and distinct manner. His genius was the product of diligence. He was a perfectionist determined to exact from every phrase and sentence” vivid imagery that brought the gospel to life. Each talk was a masterpiece, each book was a work of art. I think we shall not see one like him again.

President Hinckley also spoke to Sister Maxwell and related his own recent loss in stark terms.

He encouraged Sister Maxwell to carry on “through this utter valley of desolation” that comes to those who lose a beloved spouse. President Hinckley, who lost his wife, Marjorie, in April, said no one who has not experienced it can understand the “absolute devastation and consuming loneliness, which increases in intensity and gnaws at one’s very soul.”

Yet in the darkest nights, there comes a voice that whispers “all is well, all is well, with a peace, certainty and unwavering affirmation that death is not the end” and that “as surely as there has been separation, there will be a joyful reuniting.”

It’s a wonderful day to remember the Pioneer heritage that we all share, and to be grateful for those who gave so much so that we may have the Gospel today.

(I’m not sure what is the appropriate flag to use but the above is the Deseret Flag of 1951. This site details the several flags used by the Church and Deseret. They are for sale as well.)

Of course they led to this:

Elder Maxwell passed on last night after a valiant struggle with leukemia. As he often reminded us he was blessed with “a delay en route.” We were fortunate to have him a few years longer but that does not not diminish the loss of his passing.

I feel foolish for taking this so hard. Personally, I met him once when I had the pleasure of serving him lunch at a Regional Conference. But I loved him for his sermons.

Possibly my favorite writing of his is the June 1996 Ensign article “Becoming a Disciple.”

A great disciple has returned home.

UPDATE: The Deseret News has posted this statement from the First Presidency:

We greatly sorrow over the passing of our beloved associate and friend, Elder Neal Ash Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. His life has been most extraordinary. He has excelled in the very many endeavors in which he has been engaged and particularly in his devoted service since his call to the Apostleship in 1981.

His incisive mind, his tremendous teaching abilities and his remarkable leadership have greatly assisted in moving forward the work of the Church in all the world.

Our hearts reach out to his beloved companion, Colleen, and other family members. We pray the Lord will comfort and sustain them at this difficult time.

At least that’s how my Mom put it as she saw today’s CNN interview with Napoleon Dynamite himself, Jon Heder.

Actually, the film will be re-released with an epilogue that mysteriously includes a wedding:

Fox Searchlight, MTV Films and Paramount Pictures will make cinematic history when they attach a five-minute epilogue to the feature film Napoleon Dynamite for its wide expansion. The epilogue offers a peek into the future of Napoleon and his friends. It’s the wedding of the century, but whose is it? Napoleon? Kip? Uncle Rico? Tina?

Shot on June 22 and 23 in Preston, Idaho, the epilogue, directed by Jared Hess from a script he co-wrote with wife Jerusha, was a response to the growing success of their feature debut and the loyal devotion of their fans. Napoleon Dynamite will expand wide to over 350 screens across the country and the epilogue will be attached to each print.

I finally saw the film this weekend and thought it was great. It’s a little disconcerting at first because it’s so different and goofy but I thought it came together very well with a great ending.

Now I’ll have to go back to see what happens.

I have been revising my blogroll (not done yet), creating a “Till We Meet Again” Category for ostensibly defunct blogs that I can’t bring myself to delete completely. I have noticed for a little while that the Being Swift blog is gone. The Being Swift main page is sort-of still there.

Since Being Swift maintained the LDS Blog ring does anyone know if the ring is still being maintained?

UPDATE: Well I tried poking around before I posted but found nothing. But just a little more poking around AFTER I posted this revealed the new home of the LDS Blog ring, hosted at Blogger and maintained by none other than Mahonri Moriancumer! Nothing since May 18 though so it may go on the Till We Meet Again list pretty soon too. How long can a blog be considered ‘live’ without being updated? A month? Two? More? Some can go for a while without anything but then come back so I am wary to delete them.

Salt Lake Tribune – Utah

U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson will skip the Democratic National Convention at the end of the month.
He insists his pass on the four-day nominating convention in Boston July 26-30 is not an attempt to distance himself from his more partisan colleagues.
Matheson says he simply wants to focus on his re-election campaign against Republican challenger John Swallow.

Missing four days of campaigning, four months before the election probably won’t matter much. Especially when you’re leading you’re challenger two to one. Still, if Rep. Matheson wants to maintain a sizable lead like that, its probably best to avoid Boston.

1. Orson’s Telescope gets a mention by a music columnist at Salon (weird subscription required but averted if you watch an ad). While OT is described as a “a blog devoted to Mormon pop culture,” I believe it is much, much more.

2. Mark Trapp of We Win, They Lose has an article posted at The American Spectator on the “evolution” of Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court. A sore subject to many a conservative.

Congratulations to both and a testmament to the diverse appeal of the Bloggernacle.

Incidental to the previous post, I remembered somthing in the Ensign about how the Sabbath was held by Saints in the Middle-East on days other than Sunday. I seem to remember something about Thurdays being the Sabbath in Egypt but couldn’t find anything about that. Maybe that was in the Church News. But I did find this in the I Have a Question section of the January 1978 Ensign, Why do we observe the Sabbath on Sunday when the biblical Sabbath seems to have been on the seventh day? (emphasis mine):

Traditionally The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has recognized Sunday as the day of worship, according to the pattern given in Doctrine and Covenants section 59. However, in the Middle East today, some branches of the Church observe the Sabbath on days other than Sunday, consistent with the custom of the countries in which they are located. This is necessary so that meetings can be held at a time when the members of the Church can be present.

Since the Sabbath is for man and not man for the Sabbath, with its purpose not only to be a day of rest for the individual, but also to be a day of spiritual instruction and public worship, it is important that the Sabbath day be observed at a time when the people can attend. The significant fact seems not to be which day is observed so much as how and why the day is observed and that the local group of believers observe the same day each week.

In the Church the matter of Sabbath-day observance can be settled quite effectively from the fact that the twelve successive Presidents of the Church from the Prophet Joseph Smith to President Spencer W. Kimball have all seen fit to observe Sunday as the proper day, and have thus set the pattern. The important factor is that the programs of the Church are under the direction of the holy priesthood and have the approval of the President of the Church—the prophet, seer, and revelator, and the Lord’s representative on earth. When rare exceptions to the established day have seemed necessary, as noted above, the proper priesthood authority is able to make the decision.

I wish I knew this on my mission. It would have prevented a lot of “discussions” I had with Seventh-Day Adventists.

Apparently, in the same manner of Elder Holland serving in Chile and Elder Oaks in the Phillipines, Elder Perry will preside over the Central Europe Area beginning next month

According to the Liahona, Perry will preside over a handful of countries, such as Scandinavia, Poland, Germany, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and parts of Iran[!]. Elder Perry will be accompanied by counselors Elder Bruce C. Hafen and Elder W. Craig Zwick of the Quorum of the Seventy.

I was aware that in recent years, European missions has been closed down and consolidated for lack of growth. Perhaps where Chile and the Phillipines needed supervision to manage their progress, Elder Perry is going to the Continent to try and spark some.

Also, does the Church have any presence in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and “parts of Iran”?

I have posted an entry about Doubleday announcing plans to publish the Book of Mormon at LDSReview.net.

Not much of a surprise but a big step nontheless to articulate the need for an amendment. Short and simple, there is no comment on what specific language is preferred.

The press release in its entirety:

First Presidency Issues Statement on Marriage
7 July 2004

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued the following statement today. This is a statement of principle in anticipation of the expected debate over same-gender marriage. It is not an endorsement of any specific amendment.

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints favors a constitutional amendment preserving marriage as the lawful union of a man and a woman.”

The Church’s Salt Lake TV station, KSL adds:

Church leaders say their statement is in anticipation of the expected debate over same-gender marriage next week with a resolution being presented by two members of Congress from Colorado.

The church is stressing it is not endorsing any specific amendment.