Genealogy Roadshow

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It was my pleasure to attend the Genealogy Roadshow in Miami today. I was there to represent our church's local Family History Center as part of the Broward Genealogical Network, a fledgling group that was recently formed to help cross-promote Genealogy group membership, events, and services.

It was fun to see the details and efforts that happen "behind the camera."

I certainly did not play a big part in the event, today, but at some point both the still photographer and the video crew focused on my interactions with some well-dressed patrons. Maybe you will see me for a second or two if the show airs.

New Ward Boundaries for the Fort Lauderdale Stake

The really big news is that there is no longer a Weston ward.  The old Weston ward was given to other wards, in pieces.  Some went to the Plantation ward, Others to the Davie ward, and the rest to the Pines ward. Davie also got some of the Pines ward.  The Hollywood ward gained some of the area that the Davie ward lost.  The map, below, shows the new ward boundaries (those areas that were changed are colored).  

There were also changes made to the Spanish-speaking wards.  Silver Lakes is no more, and Riverside and Hollywood Hills have been extended from one side of the Stake to the other.

The changes were announced at a Sunday evening meeting at the Stake Center.  The Stake leaders held a Q & A session and answered all questions that were asked (although there were not very many).  One common concern seemed to be what to do about activities that are already planned by now defunct units.  The answer was to continue as planned, where it makes sense to do so, and if possible include newly formed unit members in the activity.  The Stake leaders emphasized that the changes are not intended to make life more difficult, or that anyone should miss out on an activity.

Another interesting thing that happened is that those who held callings in the units that are now defunct were released from their callings last night.  Bishop Rampton (Weston) and President Castillo (Silver Lakes) both shared their testimonies as a  farewell address.

Speaking for the Plantation ward, we welcome those members from the Weston ward that are joining us.  We look forward to spending time together in spiritual growth and to participating in fun activities.

LDS Church's Official Position On Gays = Respect For All

I love the great way that the church leaders express love and respect for even those people with whom they disagree about core human values, beliefs, and behaviors.  I so appreciate that they are not silent on this and other issues, because whether we like it or not the top leadership sets the tone that gets a little bit distorted all the way down the line to the rank and file membership.  The more clear the leaders are, and the more often they express themselves, the less distortion filters down.  Great job, LDS Church, for this latest press release.  I have cut and copied it here in its entirety.  I apologize for copyright infringements, etc. 

Church Responds to HRC Petition

Oct 12 2010 — Salt Lake City

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued the following statement through a spokesman following the delivery of a petition by the Human Rights Campaign:

My name is Michael Otterson. I am here representing the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to address the matter of the petition presented today by the Human Rights Campaign.

While we disagree with the Human Rights Campaign on many fundamentals, we also share some common ground. This past week we have all witnessed tragic deaths across the country as a result of bullying or intimidation of gay young men.  We join our voice with others in unreserved condemnation of acts of cruelty or attempts to belittle or mock any group or individual that is different – whether those differences arise from race, religion, mental challenges, social status, sexual orientation or for any other reason.  Such actions simply have no place in our society.

This Church has felt the bitter sting of persecution and marginalization early in our history, when we were too few in numbers to adequately protect ourselves and when society’s leaders often seemed disinclined to help.  Our parents, young adults, teens and children should therefore, of all people, be especially sensitive to the vulnerable in society and be willing to speak out against bullying or intimidation whenever it occurs, including unkindness toward those who are attracted to others of the same sex. This is particularly so in our own Latter-day Saint congregations. Each Latter-day Saint family and individual should carefully consider whether their attitudes and actions toward others properly reflect Jesus Christ’s second great commandment - to love one another.

As a church, our doctrinal position is clear: any sexual activity outside of marriage is wrong, and we define marriage as between a man and a woman. However, that should never, ever be used as justification for unkindness. Jesus Christ, whom we follow, was clear in His condemnation of sexual immorality, but never cruel.  His interest was always to lift the individual, never to tear down.

Further, while the Church is strongly on the record as opposing same-sex marriage, it has openly supported other rights for gays and lesbians such as protections in housing or employment.

The Church’s doctrine is based on love. We believe that our purpose in life is to learn, grow and develop, and that God’s unreserved love enables each of us to reach our potential. None of us is limited by our feelings or inclinations. Ultimately, we are free to act for ourselves.

The Church recognizes that those of its members who are attracted to others of the same sex experience deep emotional, social and physical feelings. The Church distinguishes between feelings or inclinations on the one hand and behavior on the other. It’s not a sin to have feelings, only in yielding to temptation.

There is no question that this is difficult, but Church leaders and members are available to help lift, support and encourage fellow members who wish to follow Church doctrine. Their struggle is our struggle. Those in the Church who are attracted to someone of the same sex but stay faithful to the Church’s teachings can be happy during this life and perform meaningful service in the Church. They can enjoy full fellowship with other Church members, including attending and serving in temples, and ultimately receive all the blessings afforded to those who live the commandments of God.

Obviously, some will disagree with us. We hope that any disagreement will be based on a full understanding of our position and not on distortion or selective interpretation. The Church will continue to speak out to ensure its position is accurately understood.

God’s universal fatherhood and love charges each of us with an innate and reverent acknowledgment of our shared human dignity.  We are to love one another. We are to treat each other with respect as brothers and sisters and fellow children of God, no matter how much we may differ from one another. 

We hope and firmly believe that within this community, and in others, kindness, persuasion and goodwill can prevail.

Not Much....You?

What did I do on Saturday?
06:45am - 07:00am Courtney to the temple bus
07:30am - 08:30am 2 miles on the stairmaster, pump some iron, swim some laps, hot tub, at the gym
08:30am - 09:00am pick up stamps from the post office
09:00am - 09:30am remove 5 pounds of Audrey's hair from deep inside a drain-pipe to unclog bathroom sink
09:30am - 10:00am wash Audrey's van
10:00am - 11:00am cut down tree branch that over-hung Aud's van and interfered with egress
11:00am - 12:00pm haul tree branch to city recycling center
12:00pm - 01:00pm go to lunch with Audrey and Belle
01:00pm - 02:00pm register Belle for soccer
02:00pm - 06:00pm compile and mail billing, study for psychopharmacology
06:30pm - 10:30pm pick up church friend and join others to help move a church woman
10:30pm - 11:00pm shower, hydrate after sweating 8 pounds of water
11:15pm - 12:00am pick up church friends from airport and drive them home

The General Relief Society President Visits the South Florida

Sister Beck is the General Relief Society President for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She and her very amiable husband visited the Fort Lauderdale Stake on Sunday, August 1st. As the Stake Relief Society President, it was Audrey's great pleasure to accompany her to the Hollywood Ward, where her presence was welcomed with much enthusiasm.

All official church business aside, Audrey and I found Brother and Sister Beck to be very friendly and affable and look forward to any future contact with them.

Family Traits

Can you tell these two are related? What a joy it is to see their pretty smiling faces full of freckles!

Can you tell that these women are related to each other by the way that they watch General Conference together?

Old-Time Dancing

Audrey and Courtney cut-the-rug fantastic the other evening at the Coral Springs Chapel where old-fashioned dancing was being taught.

WOW: 7'6" is Tall

It is not everyday that you meet a man the size of Shawn Bradley. I mean I knew that he played basketball and that he was tall, but saying he is 7'6" does not capture the feeling of seeing him in a room full of average sized people. The thought of taking a picture of him seemed a little too voyeuristic, so I found these pictures of him on the net to help convey the image of what I saw.

Mr. Bradley seemed like a genuinely nice man. He gave an inspirational talk in which he demonstrated a great sense of humor as well as strong convictions. He clearly has strong beliefs about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and is not afraid to share them.

Strengthening A Marriage

Audrey is the Relief Society President for the Fort Lauderdale Stake. The Stake recently hosted a seminar for strengthening marital relationships. Audrey and I strengthened our own marital relationships by setting up the finger-food banquet for the crowd to eat during a break. Others brought most of the food, and several helped to set up, but the two of us had a great time working together. For my part, I just did what she told me to do. Audrey is great at these kind of events.

The speaker for the event was Doug Brinley. He is a marriage and family professor from BYU and has been here in the past. You can see in the picture above that there was a decent crowd that turned out for the event.

Bragging On Our Friend...

A good friend of ours and follow Plantation Ward member recently received recognition in the world-wide LDS Church News. A link to the story is here. I will say, speaking for our whole family, we are very impressed, Laura Daniels!

I ran across the article about Laura's accomplishment when I was searching for some news about the location in Ft Lauderdale of the new LDS Temple that was announced to be built in the near future. I did not find anything that gave me an idea of the exact location. Does anyone know, or can you make an informed guess, where the new temple will be?

Nothin' Much is New...

"Hey, what's new?" you might ask.

My reply? "Nothing much." But then I remember, Courtney and Belle did just start back to school this past week. August 24th, to be exact. Belle loves her class -- she is in "gifted" with several of her past classmates and loves the activities and challenges that the energetic and friendly teacher gives the students. We parents love the 1:13 teacher/student ratio of her classroom.

Courtney is off to a great start in her junior year, although she did express anxiety over the advancement in years that accompany her advanced class-status. "Soon I'll be off to college, then I'll be getting married, have kids, and then die!" she told us after her first day back to school this year. It is almost tragic to stare death in the face at such a young age, isn't it? Audrey and I just had to laugh and laugh at that one...

My job remains pretty much unchanged, although I am preparing to begin a two-year masters program in psychopharmacology -- the class begins in a few weeks. I am grateful that I am not teaching early morning seminary this year. I do not now suffer from the sleep-deprivation headaches that I had had for so long several months ago. I am also grateful that we have a new Bishop for the Plantation Ward, our good friend Eric Penrod. He is such a good, patient, thoughtful, and learned man. He will be such an excellent leader of our ward family.

Audrey continues to work the finances at her job, and her employer has weathered the current economic storm pretty well. Aud is also the new Stake Relief Society President and has done just a wonderful job in the short few months she had been there. Tonight we ate a new salad that she is going to prepare for a RS gathering later next month.

Oh, there is one more thing, now that I think about it. Jenn and Walker had their baby on Sunday (30 August 2009) at about 6:30pm. He was 7lbs 2oz, 20 inches, 9/10 = Apgar. His name will be Atticus Walker Frahm. We spoke with Walker, who told a long tale of a longer birthing process -- I'll let him/her/them fill in the details -- but the end result has been an unqualified success with happy parents and healthy baby. We received the three pictures of Atticus, below, from Walker via cell phone. The resolution in the pictures is not great, but the subject is truly magnificant. Cogratulations, Jenn and Walker!

So, "what's new?" Well, in some ways, everything is brand-spanking-new once again!

North Carolina Vacation 2009, Sunday: Church

Courtney and I went to church at the Banner Elk Branch on Sunday. It had been five years since I was last there with Walker. The church itself is about the size of a double-wide trailor. It was pretty full that day with about 20 people in attendance, and also the spirit of the Lord and the good news of the gospel.

Interestingly, across the street from the church is a small private airport.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' Political Position

The letter below was taken from a church sponsored website:

SALT LAKE CITY 22 September 2008 The following letter was issued by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on September 11, 2008, to be read to Church congregations throughout the United States:

 

 

Political Participation, Voting, and the Political Neutrality of the Church

As citizens we have the privilege and duty of electing office holders and influencing public policy. Participation in the political process affects our communities and nation today and in the future.

Latter-day Saints as citizens are to seek out and then uphold leaders who will act with integrity and are wise, good, and honest. Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties.

Therefore, in this election year, we urge you to register to vote, to study the issues and candidates carefully and prayerfully, and then to vote for and actively support those you believe will most nearly carry out your ideas of good government.

The Church affirms its neutrality regarding political parties, platforms, and candidates. The Church also affirms its constitutional right of expression on political and social issues.

Sincerely yours,

Thomas S. Monson
Henry B. Eyring
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
The First Presidency

End of Summer Volleyball

Yesterday was the end of late-night-Thursdays summer volleyball for us old, married, childrened folks who will be too busy and/or too tired during the school year to play. So, to Rob & Bonnie, Jared & Laura, Neal & Nicole, Arica & Kenny, Heather & Karl, Andrea & Mike, Jennifer & Eric, Steve & Emily, this is Steve & Audrey saying thanks for the games and we'll see you on the court next summer -- and, yes, my team is "the good guys" and yours is "the bad guys"!