On Pride and Gratitude

More from General Conference.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke of Pride in the Priesthood session. Amongst other things he said: "In fact, it could be said that every other sin is, in essence, a manifestation of pride." Thus, pride is the root of all sin.

On the other hand we have President Monson's talk "The Divine Gift of Gratitude". Here President Monson says: "Someone has said that 'gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.'" (Cicero).

So we have Pride vs. Gratitude as the two foundations of Sin vs. Virtue. Consider this the next time you address any situation in your life...

TOTD: The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich. (President Ezra Taft Benson)

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General Conference Oct. 2010

For the past several weeks I have been listening to General Conference on my phone in the car. I never really have the time to listen to it during the conference weekend, but I regularly catch up later.

As with most recent conferences, the direction is clear and direct: "Here is what you need to do and here is how you do it."

I have not yet finished the entire conference, but a few of the talks have caught hold of my heart. One of these was by Elder Richard G. Scott, labeled "The Transforming Power of Faith and Character".

Towards the end of his talk, Elder Scott refers to "four principles which have brought the deepest feelings of peace and happiness into [his] own life". These struck me when I first heard them.

Later my memory rearranged them when I tried to remember, so that I came out with the following order:

* Faith
* Obedience
* Repentance
* Service

Easy to remember as "FORS". As indeed they should be the driving force behind each and every one of us.

TOTD: Remember how personal the Plan of Salvation is. This world was created for YOU to grow. Yes, God had so much faith in YOU...

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Missionary Blessing

In addition to being a blessing to themselves, missionaries are a true blessing to the members they serve.

We were fortunate to receive service from several missionary companionships over the course of the past several months. Quite a few of these service projects revolved around our yard and the weeding thereof. It was a great help for my wife, since my job keeps me busy and quite unavailable to help.

Last Saturday we spoke with my parents in Israel. They have a small yard that has several fruit trees and a small lawn. Since their return from visiting us in August, they have been slow to recover from the trip. So was their lawn. For the past month, they are diligent in pulling out weeds and cleaning up, but still have only managed about 30%.

When we spoke with them, the first thing that came to our minds was to find someone who could be paid to take care of the yard. Their response was that they tried it once, with a highly recommend person, and were disappointed by the quality of the work they received. My mother said that she really doesn't feel she can trust anyone with the effort.

When we heard this, my wife and I looked at each other knowingly: you know that if you have missionaries helping you, you do not need to be concerned about diligence or the sincerity of the effort. We were joking about how we should contact the BYU center in Jerusalem and ask them if they have a couple of missionaries to spare... True, my parents do not live close to Jerusalem (about an hour's drive), but my mother would not let them leave without a very hearty meal ;-)

We are so blessed by the missionary program from both sides of the fence. The kids get a once in a lifetime experience of the virtue of service, and the members can see God's work unfold as their needs are met by the hands of His messengers.

TOTD: When you receive service, remember to pay it forward.

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Living in the past

I have known for a while now that different people live in different times. However, it only dawned on me recently that this also applies to one's general perspective on life.

There are those who live in the future, constantly concerned with "what will happen if... ". They seem to be lost in worry and miss out on the beauty of the "here and now". There are those who live in the past, always reminiscing on how they had planned their lives and how things are so very different today.

Then there is me, living in this moment, right now. Somewhat concerned about the future, but not enough to make very elaborate plans about it. Somewhat aware of the past, but not enough to remember it constantly. I find myself relying on God to remind me of relevant past experiences and flag important planning needs.

Prayer is my reality IV. Through it I am fed my past recollections as well as my future needs as they pertain to my daily reality. This leaves me sometimes with gaps in my preparedness, which, in turn, drive my education.

Despite the fact that this method of mine is far from perfect, I still wish more people would live in the present. There is so much to do and see and be in this time and place. Life is way too precious to waste it on the past or to save it for the future. Righteous living is a blessing in the here and now. That is something no one can take away from you.

TOTD: Pain is greatly removed from those who find exaltation in giving.

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Baptism at 8

My wife came home yesterday with an interesting story. She attends a parent group at the local church (non-LDS). During their meeting, the topic for discussion was education. When they got to boys between 8 and 12, the person leading the discussion mentioned that this is the age when they start changing physically. He claimed parents should be prepared to discuss sex and Chastity. Girls mature in a similar fashion, but on a different scale. There, too, parents should be prepared to consult on the same topic.

To me the connection to the age of baptism was obvious. The Jewish ritual of maturity - the Bar-Mitzvah, occurs at 13. Without much investigation, I would conjecture that this age reflects when a person is physically capable of having a family. At 13, you are supposedly ready to be thrown into the world, to hack it on your own.

On the other hand, starting your path to maturity with baptism at 8, gives you a better opportunity. You can use this to grow both physically and spiritually.

To me, this again shows the difference between the law of Moses (more physical for the younger human kind) vs. the law of Jesus (more spiritual for the latter days).

TOTD: Educate your children or they will educate you.

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Why Blog

I find myself in a very interesting position. I am not familiar with many LDS members who grew up in Israel, or with Israeli background. My disconnect with my birth religion stems from the fact that I always had a problem with the term "Jewish".

When people refer to someone being "Jewish", they are mingling two concepts: Religion and Origin (or Ancestry). I much prefer using different terms for these, which the English language allows, but Hebrew does not. In English I would use "Jew" to describe someone who descended from the tribe of Judah, vs. "Jewish" to describe someone who follows the Jewish faith (Judaism). In Hebrew these are both "יהודי".

I never viewed myself as "Jewish", and so long as I was living and Israel, with Hebrew as my main means of communication, I could not distinguish myself from the Jewish faith. I ended up defining myself as a "Hebrew" "עברי", which managed to confuse everybody and create a very interesting topic of conversation.


Once I found the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and recognized it for what it is - a direct descendant of the faith of Israel in the time of the Old Testament, I could not resist. I also can't resist the call for opening other people's eyes  to the path our faith has traveled.

I spoke with several people about my desire to serve others by offering my backgraound and my somewhat unique view of life and the church. One of them suggested a Blog, which will allow anyone who is searching for answers to be exposed to my story and ongoing experiences. So here it is.


As for the name? I met with a member of the church who converted from Judaism. She was born Jewish, here in the USA, but found her way to the church in her own amazing story. When we spoke I described my background and the confusion due to the duality of Religion/Ancestry. I then mentioned what made me join the church and said that I do not see myself simply as a "Latter Day Saint", but rather as a "Letter Day Jew".


TOTD: You  should always remember where you come from, so you will know how to get back there when the time is right.

About Judaism

Last Saturday we were invited to dinner with some of our Israeli friends. It was the week of Sukkoth and they had built one in their back yard. Traditionally, these little huts are used as temporary residence during the week of Sukkoth. So our friends had set up a little table for dinner. Unfortunately, we were somewhat disappointed when we realized we will not be dining there.

As the evening progressed, I found myself talking with one of the guests about religion. It started with our host speaking to her increased effort in teaching her kids about Judaism, specifically Yom Kippur (the day of atonement). This led to the guest responding with a comment about how it is hard for her to accept women wearing a yarmulke.

We ended up discussing the essence of what Judaism was really about. I highlighted my belief that, in the end, all that really matters are two things: your relationship with God and your relationship with other people. The rest are formalities that stem from the specific path you have chosen to take. I believe she agreed with me...

TOTD: May your path be full of virtues that clearly define who you are.

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