Teddy Bear Traditions

One fun tradition in my family is that on a baby's first Christmas, he or she gets a Teddy Bear.  Quite honestly, I'm not sure when or how that tradition got started since I don't have my own "First Christmas" Bear. (At least not one that Mom specifically told me was my first Christmas Bear)  But I do know I have an affinity for soft cuddly Teddy Bears......and it would seem I am not the first in my ancestry line to have it.

Jake's family also seems to have a Teddy Bear tradition going and his mom makes each of her grandchildren a bear when they are born.

This past Christmas was (of course) Baby Girl's first Christmas.  And just like my Little Man's first Christmas, this was her "Teddy Bear Christmas."  She received a Christmas bear from Mommy, Grandma Jensen, and Great Grandma Brinkherhoff--maybe we should call her Goldilocks :)

Isn't she cute with all those bears :)  The bear in the blue dress was the one from Mommy (and Daddy).  The sleeping "prayin' bear" in the front was from her Great Grandma Brinkerhoff,  The bear in the red dress was from her Grandma Jensen.  The yellow bear was her being born bear from Grandma Hathaway.


We also decided to take a picture of Little Man with his first year bears.  He has his "prayin' bear" from Great Grandma Brinkerhoff, Buster the blue bear Grandma Hathaway made him, the Brown bear from Grandma Jensen, and the white bear in the blue tux from Mommy.

 Remember how I said I have an affinity for teddy bears.....well, since we were taking pictures of the kids with bears, we brought out all their BEARS (not all their stuffed animals). 

 And here is what happens when we add Mommy and Daddy's BEARS......

Don't worry, Baby Girl isn't buried under the bears.....she decided she was done being gorgeous for the camera.

Let's Do It Again!

Toddlers can be so persistent.

Have you ever had to watch a toddler for a while?  Particularly one who wants something he should not have?  Or been playing with a toddler who is learning a new skill or doing something a little bit new?

If so, you know that repetition is pretty much a way of life for toddlers.  They can ask for candy a thousand times and seem not to be deterred in the slightest that you have said no all one thousand times.  If you are "helping" them build a tower, just as you are finishing it, they'll want to knock it over and have you "build it again."

Tonight, we were teaching Little Man about the roll of prophets in the Lord's church.  To demonstrate Jake helped Little Man build a house on a board, then he took the board out from under the house.  Of course the house fell down.  I don't think the dust had settled before Little Man exclaimed, "Let's do it again!"

Jake commented on how the Lord probably said the same thing each time He called a prophet to establish/re-establish His church.

Jake's comment made me think about how often the Lord has had to re-establish His church here upon the earth because wickedness overtook its members.

It also made me grateful God is willing to try over and over again with each of us, much like that loving parent who builds the tower over and over again.

But it also made me think about how we need to be persistent like little children in our attempts to live the gospel.  We need to have the persistence to start over when our spiritual towers fall down.  We need to have the enthusiasm to try over and over again to get something right.  And when we aren't quite perfect, hopefully we can have that youthful energy to say "Let's do it again!"

Winning Battles, Losing Wars

Thankfully I have never had to live in a war zone.  At least not the kind where bombs were exploding around me, or soldiers were marching through the streets of town.   I'm young enough that I don't remember the cold war, and the other major wars we learned about in school were over long before I was born.

My personal experience with large scale conflicts is restricted mostly to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the ensuing "War on Terror."  And that has, gratefully, been from the long distance position of listening to the news.

My experience with the news tells  me that there are many small things that happen every day--but you never hear about them.  It is only when something major or "news worthy" happens that an event makes the printed page...or radio announcement.

And I suspect that it is rarely those large events that win wars.

Though I have been blessed not to have a large amount of experience in the wars of the world, there is another type of war in which I am a soldier.  Everyone is a soldier; whether they know it or not; whether they want to be or not.  It is the war between God and Satan for souls.

This war rages everyday in the life of every person.  Often it is so "uneventful" that I forget I am actually in the war zone.  I live my life trying to do the "mundane" daily things that my religious leaders have asked me to do--not really feeling like I am influenced much by the war.  But sometimes there are major attacks that bring the war not only to mind, but also to conversation and politics.

One such attack in that battle is the overturning of the Utah constitutional ban on Gay and Lesbian marriage.  I realize people have differing views on the matter.  But this is my blog, so my views take precedence here.

I believe God has given men and women sacred roles not only for this earth life, but also for eternity.  Satan understands that and has done all he can, throughout the history of the world, to prevent us from reaching the full potential of those roles.  Part of those roles are for us to help each other become perfected through marriage and the physical and emotional intimacies of that relationship.  Only in that sacred relationship can we receive all that God truly wishes for us to have in the eternities.

But it must be done in God's way.

I do not believe Gay and Lesbian relationships follow God's way.  In fact, I believe them to be sins because they are so contrary to the way He has ordained.

Many people (and political correctness) call for me to "let it go" or even to agree that Gays and Lesbians should be married.  But I can't.  I'm a soldier in God's army.  And I know it.  And I want to be.  And it is because I care for them and society as a whole that I will continue to oppose Gay and Lesbian marriage.

The overturning of the Utah constitution and the recent rulings of the Supreme Court concerning marriage are battles Satan has won in the war for souls.  But Satan will not win this war.  In the end we know that God will banish Satan and his army and they will be miserable.

But it is not the overall war that leads me to voice my opinion.  The overall war is decided.  Our individual wars are not.  Participating in a Gay or Lesbian relationship jeopardizes an individual's eternal salvation.  Those who feel they have "won the battle" because of the rulings that Gay marriage is legal are "losing the war" for their souls.  And it will be a difficult road back for them--if they choose to try to make their way back.

I know many think that my opinions mean that I "hate" gays and lesbians. I don't.  But please don't expect me to give up my beliefs to make you comfortable.  I believe that I should not only live by the gospel of Jesus Christ, I should encourage others to do the same.  And I should support measures that legally encourage the gospel to be a part of everyone's lives and oppose those legal measures that would weaken the gospel in others' lives. 

Christ called the sinners to repentance and bade them to follow him.  He did not condone their sinful acts, but He loved them.  I may not do it perfectly, but I am striving to do the same.


 For those looking for information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' stand on the matter, I would recommend the following:

The Family a Proclamation to the World
The divine institution of marriage