Experiences, Thoughts, and Feelings of a Latter Day Saint (LDS)

Recently I was asked how to download the conference the talks onto an Android Phone. So here are the 7 simple steps to download the mp3 files of the conference talks to your Android device.

1. Visit the LDS General Conference website on your Android phone. Find the talk you would like to download.
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2. Press and hold the mp3 icon. (This is different than the listen icon. Also, if you don’t press and hold the talk will start playing in the browser and will not download to the phone)
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3. Pressing and holding will produce another menu. Find and tap on the option to “Save link”
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4. The file will start downloading without any other indication. In order to find the file tap the hardware “Menu” button on the phone and then tap “More” option from the menu that pops up.
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5. Finally tap the “Downloads” option.
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6. Once the file has finished downloading simply tap the file and it will start playing.
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7. Your Music Player will open and start playing.
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Note: Once the file has played the first time it will be indexed and you can just open your media player and you will be able to find it in your music list. If it is not there simply tap on the three horizontal lines next to the play controls as shown above and it will show all the files that have been indexed.

Thanks and I Hope you enjoy listening to conference,

Curtis J. Morley

Usually you don’t hear the words miracle and Halloween associated together. Christmas miracle or Easter miracle is much more common. This year the miracles started early.

This last week I have been sick. Very Sick! I spent a few days doing nothing but sleeping.  My sinuses were so clogged I could not breathe. I rarely miss work but this week I missed both Thursday and Friday. Sunday morning came around and there was no substantive improvement. I sounded like I had been eating a jar of mustard. Maybe the ghost of James Earl Jones possessed my vocal box.

This wouldn’t normally be a problem but, this morning I was to sing in the ward choir and even had a duet. Myself and one other brother were the only ones that would be singing at one point in the song. Poor brother Harper had no idea that he would be singing with the white version of Michael Duncan.

I went to the chapel 1/2 hour before sacrament meeting. Some other members of the choir were there and we all practiced together.  My voice didn’t improve during practice and I was concerned that I would not be able to hit the high notes. Shucks, I was worried that I wouldn’t hit any notes or be able to sing at all.

The congregation was gathering and practice time was over. I sat down in the pew, soon to be joined by my family, and prayed – prayed hard. I asked sincerely that I would be able to share the spirit through song. The meeting began and my prayers continued.

The Bishopric member conducting thanked the previous speaker and announced the musical number. Every step up to the stand contained a separate prayer. I took my position on the stand outside the other choir members and next to Brother Harper. The director’s hands raised and the piano rang clear through the chapel. I opened my mouth and… instead of legions of bullfrogs I heard cherubic tones penetrate the air. I am sure that anyone watching me closely would have had a good chuckle at the look of puzzlement on my face. My mouth was open, breath was escaping, my vocal cords were vibrating but, I was listening, not singing. The vocals I heard were coming from slightly behind my even though no one was there.

We finished the song. I stepped down from the stand with gratitude and humility. When sacrament meeting was over I had several people come up to me and say how beautiful the song was and especially the duet. They said, “It was like angels were singing. ” I croaked back in a froggy voice, “More than you know.”

The other day I went Rock Climbing with some friends. One of my friends at the end of the day said something to me that has been ringing in my ears ever since. He said, “I went as high as I thought I would go.”

I applaud him for coming. Unlike others that I have taken, he faces a tremendous fear of heights. He came along reluctantly but wanted to face his fears and stretch out of his comfort zone. He did this bravely.

In spite of my admiration of him facing his fears head-on, his words keep tumbling around in my brain without respite and occasionally fall down and bounce off my heart.

This is the story –

We started the beautiful day just as the sun was rising.  We arrived in Big Cottonwood Canyon at about 7:30 a.m. and crossed the river to a group of climbs called “The Slips.” After tying in I belayed one of my friends Zac up a casual 5.7.  He climbed it with ease and set up a toprope. I cleaned the climb (unhooking all of the quickdraws off of the rock} and collected them on a strap around my chest. Once finished, Zac belayed me back down.

Since the climb was secure and we were now toproped, I felt comfortable explaining the “3 Rules of Rock Climbing” so that we could begin the fun with our friends that were new to climbing.  The rules were explained and our Australian friend tied-in.  Without much effort at all our Australian friend scurried up the rock like a squirrel, adroitly adept to climbing.

Then it was his turn.  He got a great start and seemed to climb fairly effortlessly.  I didn’t feel that he was sketchy at all until he hit the crux of the climb, which was about 12-15 feet up.  He felt around for some holds and tried to get his feet in the “right crack” but nothing seemed to be working.  At this point Elvis seemed to possess his leg(s). He called out, “Resting.” I responded “Rest-On” and locked the rope down in my belay device.

He rested for a minute letting Elvis leave his body (otherwise known as the sewing machine leg). After his brief rest he got back on the rock and tried again.  Again, the crux seemed to get the best of him. After this second try, he declared that he wasn’t going to make it any higher and needed to come down. Before letting him descend, I tried to encourage him and let him know that he could do it, but I could tell my effort was in vain based on how serious he was with his next request to be lowered.

We all took another climb and his boldness to face his challenge was renewed.  We had set up another toprope next to our original climb on a 5.6, which is one degree of difficulty lower.  In my mind I thought that this second, easier climb, wouldn’t be a problem for him because the holds were larger and there wasn’t a real crux.

Again I belayed and again at the 15 foot mark he slowed until he was frozen on the rock (except for the Elvis leg). I offered a brief yet futile assurance that he could make it to the top. After assuring me that he was at his limit, I lowered him back down. I was actually impressed with his desire to overcome his fears and his effort toward that goal, but my paradigm changed radically after he made the comment:

“I made it as high as I thought I would go.”

“As high as I thought I would go.“ In essence, he told me that he had a predetermined concept of how high he would go and made it to that exact point, 15 feet up.

I can’t help but question what would have happened if he had believed that he could reach 20 feet, or even just 16 feet. What would have happened if he thought he would climb the full 90 feet? He is physically very strong and in great shape. There is no physical reason why he couldn’t make it.  Did the “thought” become his glass ceiling? Was the notion the limit? Did the preconception determine his destiny?

How many times in my life do I go as high as I think I will?  How much higher will I go if I just believe that I can attain one more step or even reach the top? How many times could I have gone higher if I just thought that the top was where I belonged?

Do we all do this to ourselves? Do we limit ourselves with our minds and let untapped potential and greatness slip by. Do we miss the amazing view from the top of the climb because we just don’t believe we can make it there? How happy is Satan when we he sees us buying-in to the thought that we can only make it 15 feet up and no higher?

Do our beliefs become our goals? Are our goals based on fear or faith? Do we believe that we have the potential to reach great heights? Do we know that with the Lord we can overcome whatever crux is before us and go higher than we ever have before? Do we see ourselves as God sees us? Can we overcome life’s challenges and reach the ultimate elevated destination – Heaven, and live with Him again?

Elder Richard G. Scott said this in an article in the Nov. 2003 Ensign:

“With all my capacity I encourage you to discover who you really are. I invite you to look beyond the daily routine of life. I urge you to discern through the Spirit your divinely given capacities. I exhort you to prayerfully make worthy choices that will lead you to realize your full potential.”

I know that I have let my fears determine my altitude. I am working on seeing myself as God sees me and believing in Him the way He believes in me. I will visualize myself making it to the top, and I know that I don’t have to climb alone.

I am very excited about this concert. It is pretty cool that it is being sponsored by blog.cjanerun.com I also got see an old friend Jenny (Noonan) Eckton. As known formerly as Phread ( www.formerlyphread.com )

I don’t think I have ever been to an event sponsored by a single blogger.

Check out the group –

The Lower Lights // A Hymn Revival from The Lower Lights on Vimeo.

Many have asked the question and millions have received an undeniable confirmation by the power of the Holy Ghost that this sacred writ is the word of God through his mouth pieces on earth, the prophets. I asked with sincere intent this question many years ago and know for myself that it is. The words here in this post are additional evidence that God loves His children and continues to reveal his will for His children.

What the Bible says about the experiences in the Book of Mormon:

The Bible indicates that it is true.  Here are some correlating scriptures from both the Book of Mormon and Bible.

BOOK of MORMON: (1 Nephi 17:8 & 18:8) The Lord caused Lehi’s sons to construct a ship in which this branch of Joseph, sailed over the sea towards the promised land.

HOLY BIBLE: Genesis 49:22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough by a well (or sea), whose branches run over the wall. ”

BOOK of MORMON: (1 Nephi 18:13) During their ocean voyage, there arose a great storm.

HOLY BIBLE: Zechariah 10:6-12 “I will save the house of Joseph.. I will bring them.. out of the land of Egypt.. And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves.. And I will strengthen them.”

BOOK of MORMON: (1 Nephi 18:23-24) After their arrival in the promised land, they planted many seeds which did grow exceedingly, and they were blessed in abundance.

HOLY BIBLE: Isaiah 4:2 “the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. ” Deuteronomy 33:13-14 & 16 “And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land.. and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun.. and of the earth.. ” see: Leviticus 20:24

What is meant by the “sticks (or books) of Judah and Joseph” in Ezekiel 37:15-20? (1 Nephi 5:14-21 & 13:39-41 & 15:14-18, 2 Nephi 3:12)

1. Is the witness of two “nations” or “mouths” (2 Nephi 29:8) a coincidence, or is this in fulfillment of the way the Lord has always established His word? (Genesis 25:23, Matthew 8:20, Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1, John 8:16-17, 2 Corinthians 13:1, Revelations 11:3)
2. What was the Old Testament prophet Isaiah speaking about, in Isaiah 29:4 & 11-14? (2 Nephi 26:14-17 & 27:6-26 & 33:13, Mormon 8:23-26, Moroni10:27)
3. Who were the “other sheep” referred to by Jesus in John 10:16? (3 Nephi 15:11-21)

What Joseph Smiths wife, Emma, had to say:

His wife Emma reports that, in the late 1820s, Joseph “could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well worded letter, let alone dictate a book like the Book of Mormon. … The larger part of this labor [of translation] was done [in] my presence and where I could see and know what was being done. … During no part of it did Joseph Smith have any [manuscripts] or book of any kind from which to read or dictate except the metalic [sic] plates which I knew he had.”  “If,” she said, “he had had anything of the kind he could not have concealed it from me.”

And, she added, writing to her son: “I am satisfied that no man could have dictated the writing of the manuscripts unless he was inspired; for, when acting as his scribe, your father would dictate to me hour after hour; and when returning after meals, or after interruptions, he would at once begin where he had left off, without either seeing the manuscript or having any portion of it read to him. This was a usual thing for him to do. It would have been improbable that a learned man could do this; and, for one so ignorant and unlearned as he was, it was simply impossible.”

Hugh Nibley used to offer a most interesting challenge to his students at Brigham Young University (BYU):
Since Joseph Smith was younger than most of you and not nearly so experienced or well educated at the time he copyrighted the Book of Mormon, it should not be too much to ask you to hand in by the end of the semester (which will give you more time than he had) a paper of, say, five to six hundred pages in length. Call it a sacred book if you will, and give it the form of a history.
Tell of a community of wandering Jews in ancient times; have all sorts of characters in your story, and involve them in all sorts of public and private vicissitudes [daily activities]; give them names — hundreds of them — pretending that they are real Hebrew and Egyptian names of circa 600 B.C.
Be lavish with cultural and technical details — manners and customs, arts and industries, political and religious institutions, rites, and traditions, include long and complicated military and economic histories; have your narrative cover a thousand years.
Keep a number of interrelated local histories going at once; feel free to introduce religious controversy and philosophical discussion, but always in a plausible setting; observe the appropriate literary conventions and explain the derivation and transmission of your varied historical materials.
Above all, do not ever contradict yourself! For now we come to the really hard part of this little assignment. You and I know that you are making this all up — we have our little joke — but just the same you are going to be required to have your paper published when you finish it, not as fiction or romance, but as a true history! After you have handed it in you may make no changes in it … What is more, you are to invite any and all scholars to read and criticize your work freely, explaining to them that it is a sacred book on a par with the Bible. If they seem over-skeptical, you might tell them that you translated the book from original records by the aid of the Urim and Thummim — they will love that!
Further, to allay their misgivings, you might tell them that the original manuscript was on golden plates, and that you got the plates from an angel. Now go to work and good luck! [The Prophetic Book of Mormon, F.A.R.M.S., 221-222]

To this I would like to add some additional challenges, though it shouldn’t be hard, living as we do in the computer world of the internet:
Because your story is supposed to be a religious record, include in your paper more than 500 different descriptive titles for deity, all within a proper religious context that will not only explain these titles in relation to what we have in the Bible, but give added meaning and understanding.
Because this is supposedly an ancient Hebrew record, give numerous and multiple examples of ancient Parallelistic Hebrew literary forms. Have whole pages, even chapters and larger sections written in Parallelistic (chiastic) patterns.
Weave in an underlying theme of covenants with the Lord, both culturally and scripturally. In fact, it would be a good idea to make every part of your narrative not only covenant-related, but Christ-related as well.
Dictate your story to a scribe. Confirm spelling of proper names so they correctly reflect the language found in the ancient setting of your story. Leave your script as you dictate it, and never ask your scribe to tell you where you left off after lunch or the end of a day.
On his own, your scribe can adjust capitalization, punctuation, the spelling of traditional words, and some simple grammar, but that is all.
Dictate parts of your story in non-chronological order. Be sure to credit these parts of your story to different writers, varying your manner of using words and phrases so that a distinct separation of language style can be detected by modern word print analysis.
These requirements demonstrate that Joseph Smith was quoting from a previously written script (the Gold Plates) rather than making it up as he went along. Add twelve witnesses who verified that in the case of Joseph Smith’s translation of the Book of Mormon, all the above requirements were met.
The Book of Mormon has withstood 174 years of intense scrutiny, both pro and con, and stands as a tangible witness that it is exactly as it has been purported to be —-a divine book written and translated by the gift and power of God.

There is plenty of evidence that the Book of Mormon is true but, the only way you can know for yourself is to read it with a pure heart and sincere intent and then ask God, the Eternal Father if the words are not true, and by the power of the Holy Ghost you can know of assurity that it is the  word of God and a true tesiment of Jesus Christ and His Divinity.

My son Isaac bore his first solo testimony today in sacrament meeting shortly after his sister Brooke did the same. It was short & very sweet. He testified,

“I’d like to bear my testimony. I know this church is true. I know my dad loves me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”

He jumped off the riser behind the podium and hurried back down to our pew. I lifted him onto my lap while wrapping him in my arms. He pressed his head into my chest and hugged me tightly. “Dad, I was nervous” he smiled up at me. I told him, “That is what makes you brave, doing something even though you are nervous about it.” Another smile showed his acknowledgment & appreciation.

After several minutes of being warmly embraced in my arms, he looked up and reverently asked, “Dad have you ever seen Jesus.” This wasn’t the first time that I was asked this question. The first time I was asked I was standing on a hand paved brick sidewalk just past a large bridge in Kushiro, Japan.

Isaac’s intentions were pure and earnest. The Japanese man that asked many years ago had a different purpose. I was a missionary and had stopped him on the street to talk about the gospel and Jesus Christ. Most Japanese are unfamiliar With Christ or his teachings. This man however, had learned enough to know of Christ but held an aethiests beliefs. As I bore testimony that the Savior did live and still lives the man interrupted me with, “How do you KNOW he lives?” followed quickly by, “When was the last time you saw Christ?”

The question caught me slightly off guard and regardless how hard I tried I could not remember the pre-existence. As I was thinking of a reply the spirit spoke softly to my heart. I had seen Christ recently. That morning in fact. I saw Christ in my mission companion when he shined my shoes for me. I had seen Christ in the face of an investigator as he submitted his will to the Father and accepted a challenge to follow the gospel. I see Christ every time I look into my mother’s eyes and see her love for me.

I shared the feelings which the Holy Ghost had lighted upon my heart with this man. It was clear by looking into his face that his combative heart had become softened. He had no response but instead turned and walked away.

This memory flashed through my heart and mind when my sweet child looked into my eyes and asked the same question I had been asked 16 years before. I gazed back into his eyes and replied, “I see Christ in your face and your sisters when you bear your testimony.  I see Christ in Momma when she gives you hugs and we can see Christ in everyone if we take the time to look.”

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I remember feeling how fast the elevator sped as I traveled up to the observation deck.
I remember thinking, “What a wonder New York, this city that I live in,  is.”
I remember the “ding” of the elevator as it reached it’s destination.
I remember the smile on the face of a friendly security guard who stood watch.
I remember examining the chess board that sat in solitariness awaiting the next moves from Kasparov and Big Blue.
I remember standing on the top floor of the slender giant and feeling the gentle careening of the building as the wind blew so high above the city.

I remember the frantic call that said, “Turn on the T.V.!”
I remember the disbelief at seeing the plume of smoke from the building I had once ascended.
I remember the papers and debris floating down to the ash covered street.
I remember calling everyone I knew and telling them to turn on their televisions.
I remember how time slowed to a still as the second plane was spotted in the air.
I remember the moment of impact.
I remember the ball of flames a city block wide.

I remember thinking about my friends in NYC.
I remember naming them each individually and wondering where they were at that very moment.
Manal, Greg, EJ, John, Dave, Milena & Greg, Melanie, Stacie, Tracie,  Annette, Mark, Kathy, and many others

I remember the horror that gripped me as some chose to jump to their death rather than be subjected to it by fire.
I remember the collapse of 2 WTC.
I remember how 9 seconds of the collapse played through my mind so slowly every detail was etched into my memory.
I remember the collapse of 1 WTC.
I remember the void that was left in the sky and in my heart after the plume of smoke blew to the side.
I remember the confusion on my twin boys faces as the twin towers fell.
I remember the disbelief I felt in my soul and saw on my wifes face.
I remember estimating the number of people that could be trapped beneath the rubble.
I remember the grief I bore.
I remember seeing the ghosts of heroes walking and running out of the dust.
I remember how the tears felt on my cheek.

I remember the pentagon.
I remember the field and flight 93.
I remember the prayers I offered for those grieving, for children who’s worlds had been shattered.
I remember the prayers for the firemen, the policemen, the soldiers.

I remember the sadness of knowing that no one would be able to look over the city from there again.

I remember the brotherhood of New Yorkers.
I remember the forgiveness of Americans
I remember the renewal of patriotism.
I remember the unity of this nation.
I remember the resolve of a free people.
I remember the presidents words “Terrorism against our nation will not stand”.
I remember what we are fighting for.
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I still remember

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I still pray

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http://www.usa-patriotism.com/fv/911wwr2.htm (Patriotic Video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nptA5uj6ZRY&v3 (Please Remember Me)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ervaMPt4Ha0 (15 yr old Lizzie Palmer’s Video)