Act on what you believe

I have an article in the Mormon Times (print edition) today, and it's also online for anyone who would like to take a look at it.

I feel very lucky to be asked to write some of these articles, especially this one, which covers a talk Elder Marlin K. Jensen gave at the Institute here at USU. It was one of the sweetest and most touching talks I have ever heard! Although he said he didn't, Elder Jenson came very prepared and spoke some inspired words. I can't say enough!

Here's the link:

Believing means doing, Elder Jensen says

BYU = Overrated

YBU when you can be USU?

We went to perhaps the most exhilarating football game I've ever experienced! What's really crazy is that our team even lost. By a lot.

There's something surprisingly satisfying about cheering on a group of guys who, for years, have been pretty much in the depths of despair. They score one touchdown and it's like they just won the Super Bowl! And when they score two touchdowns against a number 8 or whatever the heck they are team, it's like all the fans have died and gone to heaven!

That would be just plenty, but then our small but fiesty Aggies went on to saturate the fans with 2 interceptions (on the once upon a time "Heisman candidate" Hall even), one awesome field goal block, and, the greatest of all, a serious sack to the "beloved" guy who wears #15.

The vision of fat linemen struggling to chase our small, wiry quarterback will forever be engrained in my head.

Seriously, is that any way that highly ranked of a team should be playing? I mean, consider the competition! (No offense meant toward USU)

To the fighting Aggie football team: know that we're rootin' for you! We believe in you! And, um, THANK YOU FOR BEATING UP ON THAT TEAM FROM DOWN SOUTH! Anyone who causes them emotional or physical pain (which they felt both of yesterday, for sure) will instantly become my hero.

"Show me a true-blooded Aggie in Utah, and I'll show you a place where the sage brush grows."

Is it the Utah War or Utah Expedition?

I have an article on the Deseret News (Mormon Times) Web site today about the 14th annual Leonard J. Arrington Lecture held at the Logan Tabernacle!

It's about the future history (if that makes any sense) of the Utah War. It was a very interesting lecture; I have never heard much about that war, which I learned isn't suprising. (There hasn't been much published about it)

I have to admit, it was quite challenging trying to write about something that I have no background in. Luckily, I used my trusty recorder, listened to parts of the lecture dozens of times, and did my best.

More Utah War attention predicted

My last article

This is the last article I did as a Mormon Times intern! I really enjoyed my time at the DN and feel like a learned a lot of great things (although sometimes I had to learn the HARD way). I miss it!

The importance of Lucy Mack Smith's record.

Opera: Just what the world needs: More fat women screeming

We are just sitting watching Everybody Loves Ray and I heard this brilliantly inspired quote! Ha!

Well, we've officially moved to lonely Logan.

What else do we have to say? We don't know.

Ben's blurb: I've got nothin'.

(We've had kind of a rough day).

The glorious Redwoods

We traveled through barren, sizzling desert, over smoky mountains (literally -- we drove through a forest fire west of Redding, Calif.) and into the cool, dark, misty trees of the Redwood National and State Park in northwestern California!

I don't know if I've seen anything so beautiful or different in my whole life! The trees were ginormous, the forest was thick, and the spiderwebs were ... a glistening creepy.

By our second day of camping, everything had a thin film of moisture, even though the forest has not had rain since may!




The mornings were cloudy, the sun peeked out for a couple hours in the afternoons, and the clouds blew in again in the evenings. And, partly because we came from the hot dry Utah climate and partly because I'm just a wimp, I was cold the ENTIRE time! Brrrr!




The closer we got to the ocean, the thicker the fog got. We learned that the Redwood trees depend on that fog to survive.

I didn't want to leave. I was pretty sure that, on our hike through the thick damp, tick-infested forest, I spotted a vampire or two lurking about. But, maybe I was just seeing things...

And, yep, we drove through a tree!

I find the ocean so mesmerizing. It's like therapy.

Ben might need therapy after spending a week with nobody but ME!

Maybe it's just the ticks getting to him ...

Breakfast before packing up on the last day ...

Happy trails to you!

Elder Oaks

I had the opportunity to meet Elder Oaks on Friday! He spoke at the Lyman Family Reunion,which I was assigned to cover for the Mormon Times.

I had to go through Church public affairs to make sure he knew I was coming. After I contacted them, they called me back and said, "Elder Oaks is expecting you to introduce yourself to him, and he will give you a copy of his talk." I was nervous all day! But, he was EXTREMELY helpful.

He gave a very interesting talk. Here's the link to the story: Be cautious about LDS history articles, Elder Oaks said.