Always at home.

We inspect missionary apartments every 3 months.  When you're a missionary, you don't have a choice about where you live.  Some missionaries live in decent apartments, like ours and like the sisters here.  The four elders here, on the third floor of an apartment building on the outskirts of Napoli, that has apparently not seen a lot of change since we were here 43 years ago, make do with a large apartment that could use a lot of improvements; in fact, Blaine has received permission to do some.  The two elders' apartments in Napoli (Naples) are about the same.

We're encouraging them to bring light and peace into their living space by keeping them at the very least neat and clean.  They are responding in very positive ways; the other night the zone leaders stayed up till 12:30 scouring out their tub.  They had been told that the enamel coating was coming off, and encouraged not to scrub it too hard.  I guess over the next couple of years, that translated to "don't scrub it at all".  They started by seeing the chrome on the bathroom faucet shine when they gave it a real cleaning, and just couldn't stop from there.  They feel the challenge to set a good example, and are stepping up to it in every way.

I tell this story to illustrate how good-natured and willing the missionaries are in general.  They listen, they internalize, and they act.

As a mission and as a zone (our Naples zone includes 4 missionaries in Naples, 6 in Pozzuoli, 2 in Castellamare, 4 in Battipaglia, and 6 in Caserta, plus another senior couple), we've been privileged to participate in two great training opportunities:  Oct. 20 we arose at 4:30 to be able to be in Rome at 8:15, to receive instruction from President Russell M. Nelson, the president of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and his wife Wendy; President Donald L. Hallstrom of the presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy and his wife Diane; and President Patrick Kearon of the Seventy, president of the Europe Area, and his wife Jennifer.

The main theme I took away:  We have a joyful duty!  Today is all we have.  "No matter how much we say of Him (the Savior), it is still too little" - a quote from Pres. Spencer W. Kimball, shared by Sis. Hallstrom.  Drop the anxiety and just work hard and focused.  If you knew who you are, your obstacles would all fall away.  You have been kept in hiding with the Lord until this time.  There is an outstanding promise to gather Israel; hence, the fourth renewal of the Abrahamic Covenant, to the Prophet Joseph Smith (the first three were to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob).

How wonderful to be halfway across the world, and to be able to listen to and shake hands with an Apostle.  Frankly, it is one among many daily evidences that we are on the Lord's errand.

On the 24th we had Zone Conference here, at Napoli.  President and Sister Pickerd, the mission president and wife, as well as the two missionaries who are assistants to the president, Elders Kelley and Rosenberg, spent time with all of us individually and as a group.  We brainstormed lots of ways and principles to teach, were reminded of the guidelines for missionaries (and of things like clean apartments), etc.  Before returning to our fields of labor, we all ate a lunch of Margarita pizza together.  That's Naple's famed pizza.

I'm going to remember to take more photos of people...but here's one of the little street market seven floors below, from the zls' apartment:

And here's Fabio, who will be baptized this Saturday, trying on missionary-hood, thanks to the loan of Anziano (Elder) Ridd's tie:

Then there's another shot of the view from the Pozzuoli church building.  Never get tired of that.   The church is on the left.

Yesterday we visited one of the sweetest people I know, Vincenzo.  Even though he's almost blind, he studies the scriptures every day, thanks to the fact that you can read anything in large type on your tablet.  He made this "casatiello" for us, a Napoli specialty.  Yes, the shell is still on the egg!  There's all kinds of yummy hammy/sausage-y stuff in there too - no, you don't eat the shell.  

You can either look at the garbage in the gutter or at the flower shadowing it.  Yeah.  We love this place.

How could such a romantic word as "caldera" have such a horrific meaning, anyway?

So there's an active volcano in our town.

Or, under our town, and the bay surrounding it.

Often in the morning, we smell sulfur.

On the upside - this place is so pretty!  And the First Century amphitheatre we see from our living room balcony attests to the staying power of this town, Pozzuoli, or Puteoli, as found in Acts 28:13-14.

Also on the upside, we're driving a hybrid, a Toyota Yaris, which augurs way less monthly expense.  We won't be driving the same distances either.  We're here to support the missionaries of the Naples zone, which includes Pozzuoli, Naples, Battipaglia, Caserta, and Castellamare.  We will probably be taking public transportation a lot; often it's a lot simpler than driving.  We've already seen the parking here is ... an exercise in frustration, at best!  After four trips to three offices, we do have a residential parking pass, though.  Another upside!

The church is a three story edifice that was originally intended to be a restaurant; don't know what happened to that plan, because before it was even finished as a building, it was acquired by the Church and repurposed as a real live meetinghouse.  Each of the three floors has a balcony that looks out over the Bay of Pozzuoli.  Another upside!  This information, btw, I obtained courtesy of Sorella Tempesta, one of my favorite member friends from when we were here as young missionaries 43 years ago.  Wow!

More upsides:  the people, of course.  First off, also of course, these wonderful missionaries, three sisters and four elders in Pozzuoli, four elders in Naples, and two sisters in Battipaglia.  There are more, we just haven't met them yet.  Secondly, the gracious members, whom we have only begun to meet:  Sorella Tempesta, the Romanos, the Parisis, the Trimbles, Stutzmans, Lassens, Warners, etc. etc.  Yes, there are a lot of Americans here, with the presence of two military bases nearby.  Thirdly, the "investigators", people who are showing interest in the message our missionaries carry:  Fratello Cono, Gerardo, Raffaele, etc. etc.  And lovely Vera, an angelic woman who understands the story of Adam and Eve better than some members, who is mother to three boys besides her one - who, when asked to read 2 Nephi 2:25, cried out with gladness, exclaiming, "I didn't know that!"

Volcano schmolcano.  We love this place.

fire and heat

wonderful thing:

What do you do in a firestorm?  You create another fire.  That's how I feel about the increased emphasis on the holiness of the Sabbath Day.

When the members of the Church in southern Utah were under the ravages of a severe drought, what did Pres. Snow counsel?  Pay your tithing.  Really.  Pay my tithing when my crops are dying, I've replanted, and those are dying too, and I'm down to my last seeds, my family's survival is at stake.

Yes, really - and the windows of heaven opened (Malachi 3:10).

As I have sat in meeting, hearing the counsel of priesthood leaders both local and general, to reinstate the sanctity of the Sabbath, seeing new ways to apply this counsel and new avenues of growth, I feel continually drawn back to the parallel with Pres. Snow.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865631831/Elder-Ballard-other-LDS-Church-leaders-explain-need-for-better-Sabbath-day-observance-in-new-video.html?pg=all

Really.  Keep the Sabbath, really keep the Sabbath.  All day.  Renew my covenants from the heart, remember them every day, faithfully.  What about combating all this rampant evil?  What about going forth to fight the foe?

Yes, really - then "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord..." (Exodus 14:13).

Honor, with all your heart, might, mind and strength, the Lord of the Sabbath.  The promise is in D&C 59:9 (if not the whole section).

I am really anticipating the change I will surely see, in my own life, and in the lives of the saints (members of the church) of the Toscano stake.  It will shine a great light.

Fight fire with fire.

fun thing:

Even though it is hotter 'n' blazes here - and humid - there is always a nice breeze.  And the evening and the mornings are lovely.  And we have a "portatile" air conditioner that we haul from room to room.

This is not our house!  Gaia, a YSA from Florence, is the fortunate occupant.  

We were just there for lunch.

And I still love being here, doing this.  Every day, in every way.

full circle

wonderful thing for Thursday, 25 June, 2015:

Ten months.  We have been serving in this mission for ten months.  How on earth?  Don't trust Time, y'all!

Our official mission picture

I had an epiphany:  I think I have been buying into the philosophy that says it's okay to blame your parents.  Now that I see it in black and white, I see how absurd it is.  When I was an adolescent in Psych class in high school, we were all about how you're shaped by your environment (parents).  

There is no way I could ever convince myself that my parents did a number on me, anyone who knows them knows they are jewels.  However, they weren't perfect, neither were their parents, they couldn't give me what they didn't have, yada yada yada.

Fast forward to today in the shower; don't ask me why it was there - Blaine says that's where he does his best thinking.  This realization has been coming in increments for some time, but today added a new dimension.  When I blame them for my poor self esteem (which I suffer from time to time, much less than in the past - I'm learning not to give it power), I'm missing the screamingly obvious culprits:  my own poor decisions, and the whispering lies from the Adversary that accompanied and continue to accompany them.

"You really blew it this time."  "You messed up AGAIN."  "You did it all wrong, and it'll never come right."  Yada yada yada

Basically, there is a great and spacious building right inside my head (I Nephi 8:25-28).

Here's the crux:  it's not about poor self-esteem, it's not about blaming.  It's about turning away from the darkness and facing the light.  Again and again and again.  It's about trusting the Power that is the Light, and not giving power to the dark.

And the more I look to the Light, the more I see my parents' faces.

Sometimes serving a mission leads to epiphanies.

Fun thing:

Unless something else gets in the way, we'll be going to Montecatini Saturday evening to watch, of all things, students from BYU-Hawaii who are performers with the Polynesian Cultural Center.  How fun is that!

guest author

Blaine joins us today; if you haven't received his email update, now you have the privilege!

Ciao!

I hope you enjoy following my mission with these e-mail updates.  I planned on setting up a Facebook page when I retired but have not had time.  We are at the halfway mark of our 18-month mission.  We are in full gear and loving it.

We continue to work with our young people here as our primary assignment.   We are also charged with strengthening the Stake in the Florence area.  This is a very broad assignment.  In addition to these, we have been given many specific assignments over the past few months.  Our mission continues to evolve.

We are adjusting well to the language and culture.  We can communicate effectively.  I have to listen with such concentration that after about two hours in a meeting, my head starts busting!  It can be very intense.  I find if you add “-ione” (ee-o-nay) or “-are”(ahr-ay) to the end of most English words, you can make an Italian equivalent. The other day I told someone to click-are on the computer and discovered that it was actually the word for “to click”.  I usually am not so lucky with my word creations. 

We are getting used to the different culture; it doesn’t seem so strange as it did 6-8 months ago.  There are a few things I will not get used to:  there is no salt in the Tuscan bread; in Tuscany (unlike southern Italy), the food is actually quite bland.  We overnighted in a home of a church member 3 hours away last month, and they offered cookies and cake (stuff like Twinkies) for breakfast.   All the Italians close their e-mails with “a big hug” or some other affectionate closing.  I still can’t do that- it just seems too weird. 

We live very simply.  We brought two suitcases apiece. I have a few shirts, pants and suits, and a couple tee shirts for around the house.   Some days I put on a white shirt and tie in the morning, and never leave the house (working on projects).  Some days we leave in the morning, pack a lunch and don’t return until near midnight.  We have no routine day.  I am very comfortable with routines, and like to set my life in patterns … we have very few here, I just go with the flow.  The other day I shaved with Linda’s mousse (instead of shaving cream) and didn’t know the difference till the next day!  We have become very flexible.  Our life is very simple and many things that used to matter don’t much anymore.

We have done a little sightseeing, actually very little.  We have checked out several towns built on the mountaintops hundreds of years ago.  They are always interesting with their walls, towers and ancient churches.  We have yet to visit Cinque Terre and Venice, which are both within a 3-hours’ drive.   

If you do a tour of Europe, look us up; we have an empty bedroom in our apartment and have put up a few guests already.  We are busy, so we will essentially ignore you, but it is an available place to stay just outside of Florence, Italy! 

We really have a great mission.  We get to do so many things.  I love variety.  Our main work is to strengthen and encourage young adults.  We are teaching several Institute religion classes during the week.  We organize and guide a weekly Sunday evening young adult, “home evening”.  We guide ward young adult leaders in planning and implementing their activities.  We spend much time visiting with and encouraging young people in four of the wards in the Florence Stake.  This entails many counseling situations: depression, unemployment, dating, engagements, spiritual problems, homesickness, physical illnesses, peacemaking, family problems and education.  We visit and closely nurture new young adult members of the church in the Stake.   We make visits and teach lessons to struggling less active young church members. 

In addition to working with young adults, we have been asked to work with the youth.   I was a Boy Scout leader for 25 years in Memphis.  We have been given an assignment as stake YM/YW training specialists.   We have done some very thorough stake YM/YW training.  We will continue with follow up training in the subsequent months.  Linda serves as the stake’s young woman’s organization secretary (which involves us in regular stake youth activities).   

One of the most exciting (and time-consuming) things we have done the past 3-4 months is to start up a BYU Idaho “Pathway” program in Florence for the Tuscany region (visit pathway.lds.org for more information). Pathway is a 1-year educational program sponsored by the Church Education System (and BYU-Idaho), that provides educational options to those that may otherwise not have good options.  It is comprised of on-line BYU-I classes and a once-a-week “gathering” meeting in our Florence chapel (which becomes an extension of BYU-Idaho campus for an evening).  It is an incredibly ingenious, low-cost way to offer a college education for those who lack confidence, time or money for a traditional on-campus experience.  We did the startup, recruiting and enrolling.   On an ongoing basis, we oversee administrative needs, organize, and attend the weekly Thursday evening gatherings, which are facilitated by the students themselves.  As “Pathway missionaries”, we have wonderful opportunity to study the course materials, to be prepared to facilitate gatherings.  In addition to this “Pathway” study, we also have daily time to study language, scriptures and prepare lessons. 

In our spare time, we support and encourage this side of our stake’s eighteen young missionaries in teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We have had some choice teaching opportunities with them.  Our job is to become friends with their investigators to help in the transition to church membership.  Sister Hyde and I periodically do park tracking just to help us keep focused on our message and purpose here.  We try to talk with everyone everywhere about the message of the restored Gospel.  We have had some wonderful experiences.

This area of Italy was the last district in Italy.  A stake was recently created.  As such, the stake presidency greatly values our experience and advice.  They tell us they understand branches and districts but have never been a stake before and do not know how one functions.  This is a very awesome responsibility as they frequently call and meet with us to ask for our consultation and assistance on a variety of subjects.  The fact they listen to us places a large responsibility upon us.  I speak very deliberately, not sharing anything unless I feel the sure guidance of the Holy Ghost.  We are currently assisting in training the Bishoprics in the Stake (I travel with a member of the stake presidency to select wards).  It is incredible how open and teachable our stake presidency and Bishops are.  We have become very close friends with many leaders.  We would have never imagined such a rare opportunity to share our experience and understanding of how the Lords kingdom works. 

We have had several opportunities to speak during sacrament meetings, (twice with only an hour’s notice to prepare).  I always carry a few talks ready in my heart, some notes in my notebook and a good Italian dictionary for such situations.  We have had many opportunities to give blessings.  This has been a very rich experience.

We love our mission. This is truly a wonderful and fulfilling experience, though not without its setbacks and heartaches, for in spite of our efforts, we see some young people make poor decisions.  For the most part, we see progress.  We have had numerous rewarding one-on-one experiences, where we felt we were able to offer encouragement.

In addition to working one-on-one, we participate in the strengthening of leaders and moving forward initiatives like Pathway, Young Adults, and YM/YW programs, all of which can bless many.   We could not think of a way in which our mission could be more interesting and rewarding.  As I said, I love variety.

We have spiritual experiences on a regular basis, where we see the hand of the Lord sustaining us in His work.  We are not here to enjoy, but to serve; it does not seem right that we are having such a good time, I expected to make some sacrifice!

We have made a hundreds of friends.  I feel we should be here at this place and at this time. 

We had an experience a few weeks ago which helped us gain a larger perspective of why we are here.  We took a 3-hour road trip north, to visit a man to whom I taught the gospel forty years previous (when I was a 19 year old on a mission to Italy).   I discovered the fullness that he has experienced as a faithful servant of God (as a priesthood leader in his wards and stakes), rearing a beautiful God-fearing family, and seeking consistently to lead others to the grace of Christ that he had discovered.   It was a moving experience.  Shortly before we concluded our joyous reunion, I was sharing some personal challenges in my life.  He listened, and then shared his wisdom and counsel for several minutes.  I was moved to tears as I thought how, forty years ago, a small seed had been planted and had grown into something rich, beautiful and productive, from which I was now eating the fruit. 

This is why I am here.  Someone planted a seed in my life years ago.  It is a good seed, and I desire to share it.  If you would like to know more about what I am doing and why, view my personal profile at www.mormon.org/me/GPBT/blaine .

Elder Hyde

Lick This World Hollow

There have been articles written recently about "Mormon intellectuals" growing disappointed over some issue or other, and leaving the Church, one of the most notable being a Church leader from Sweden who grew alarmed over plural marriage and Joseph Smith (see http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Polygamy).  There are other issues, of course - withholding the priesthood from those of African descent, opposition to calling it marriage when two of the same gender unite, etc. - but I do not propose to confront those issues directly (for in-depth treatment of those topics, see https://www.lds.org/topics/essays?lang=eng ).

 I do not claim to be able to respond succinctly to questions about many of those issues.  What I can report on, is the fruits of "Mormonism" in my personal life and in the lives of those to whom I am close.  What I can claim is that a root which bears fruit this sweet cannot be bitter.

A wise priest out of The Book of Mormon, Giddonah, posed these relevant question to Korihor, an Anti-Christ:  "Why do ye go about perverting the ways of the Lord? Why do ye teach this people that there shall be no Christ, to interrupt their rejoicings? Why do ye speak against all the prophecies of the holy prophets? (Alma 30:22)"

Though I do not have the authority of Giddonah and am not labeling anyone Anti-Christ, still I find the questions applicable here, particularly the one about interrupting rejoicing.  I would alter the question a little bit:  Why do you teach this people that His Restored Church is a sham, and that His prophet is a charlatan, to interrupt their rejoicings?

from http://lukerichards.blogspot.it/

To illustrate my point, I'd like to recall a passage from C.S. Lewis' The Silver Chair.  To set the scene:  the protagonists find themselves fighting the powers of enchantment of an evil queen, who is using her arts to persuade them that Narnia does not exist but is only a figment of their imagination, and that her "underworld" with its dark sorrow is the only real world.  A brave though quirky character named Puddleglum sacrifices his health and safety to break the enchantment.  This is his reply (after stomping on the witch's fiendish fire to quench its power):

One word.  All you've been saying is quite right I shouldn't wonder.  I'm a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it.  So I won't deny any of what you said.  But there's one thing more to be said, even so.  Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things - trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself.  Suppose we have.  Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones.  Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world.  Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one.   And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it.  We're just babies making up a game, if you're right.  But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow.  That's why I'm going to stand by the play world.  I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it.  I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia.

Now - let me see if I can correlate this to the subject at hand.  When I read articles such as those referred to, the effect on me is kind of like that foisted upon our unhappy heroes.  I am tempted to go all dull-eyed and agree, "There never was a sun:"

"Oh yeah.  There's all that controversy.  I don't know how to respond to the clamor.  People are pointing the finger of scorn.  Am I a fool?  Is everything I believe really a fraud?  Am I really, as the brother from Sweden put it, 'in a bubble' threatening to pop?"

That's when I choose to do the Puddleglum thing; I stomp in the fire.  I remember my covenants:  that I have promised to keep the commandments, to stand as a witness, to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth, with all my heart, might, mind and strength - to remember the Atoning Sacrifice made in my behalf, and that I have promised to take upon me That Dear Name, and to serve Him all my days.
I go to my knees.  I open my scriptures.  I study with a believing heart.  I look for opportunities to do good. I listen to wise leaders like Giddonah and Thomas S. Monson.  I remember my own experiences:  countless answered prayers; overarching comfort and peace in times of great anguish; power and grace beyond natural ability when I knew nothing else to do and nowhere else do go; epiphanies and enlightenment giving me vistas beyond human comprehension; the miracles in the lives of those upon whose sacrificial foundation the life I live today is possible; the rock-solid testimony I have been given by the power of the Holy Ghost (Moroni 10:3-5) of the divinity of Jesus Christ, of Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the Restoration, and of The Book of Mormon, together with The Holy Bible and the other scriptures of the Restoration, as the word of God.

As I do these things, principles such as those espoused in the 13th Article of Faith rise like pregnant suns before me:  "We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

I remember all my blessings, and I make a choice to hold on to that supposed "play world", because it licks this world hollow.

So here is my reply to the good brother from Sweden and to anyone else who feels smothered in doubt or who points the finger of scorn:  Why do you seek to interrupt my rejoicings?  What is it about this "underworld" in which we presently find ourselves that you find preferable? You say "that it is not reasonable (Helaman 14:16-23)" that God would need to restore His church through a modern prophet, that He would give commandments to his prophet that are "hard things (I Nephi 16:1)" to bear, that a prophet would behave in such-and-such a manner (knowing the lives of the ancient prophets were no less controversial in the eyes of some, often centuries removed, whose standards are themselves questionable).

Before I respond to that, I quote from my good friend Puddleglum again:

"But you can play the fiddle till your fingers drop off, and still you won't make me forget Narnia; and the whole Overworld too.  We'll never see it again, I shouldn't wonder.  You may have blotted it out and turned it dark like this, for all I know.  Nothing more likely.  But I know I was there once.  I've seen the sky full of stars.  I've seen the sun coming up out of the sea of a morning and sinking behind the mountains at night.  And I've seen him up in the midday sky when I couldn't look at him for brightness." 

These remarks put me in mind of Paul's teachings on the faith of Abraham and others:

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.  And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. - Hebrews 11:13-16

From this I learn not to trust what is "reasonable" by the standards of this world.  Sometimes I feel like a stranger and a pilgrim; but, spiritually speaking, I can say that I have seen the sky full of stars, and the sun in the midday sky when I couldn't look at him for brightness, and all this through my membership in and allegiance to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I may feel suffocated by life in the underworld at times, but I know "Narnia" is there, that despite what appears to be so, my true home is real.

I will follow this admonition to Emma Smith, the wife of the prophet:  "And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better. (Doctrine and Covenants 25:10)"

I will trust that:  "...whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God. (Ether 12:4)"

I will also say this:  These references come from books of scripture that are derided and downplayed by people who say they were brought forth by a charlatan.  How can we, living in a polluted world of diminishing moral absolutes, charge a man living in another era with immorality, with any kind of validity?  Hear instead the words of a contemporary, Parley P. Pratt:

This said Col. Price placed us in a room without beds, chairs, or any other convenience, and chained seven of us all together, with a kind of trace chain, extending from one man’s ankle to another, and fastened round one ankle of each with a padlock.  In this situation we were guarded night and day by about ten men at a time, who stood over us with loaded pistols in hand.  At night we were all stretched on the floor in a row upon our backs, and tried to sleep, but the hard floor, the cold, and the inability to change our position because of our chains, and the noise of the guards effectually prevented sleep.

In one of those tedious nights we had lain as if in sleep, till the hour of midnight had passed, and our ears and hearts had been pained, while we had listened for hours to the obscene jests, the horrid oaths, the dreadful blasphemies, and filthy language of our guards, Col. Price at their head, as they recounted to each other their deeds of rapine, murder, robbery, etc., which they had committed among the “Mormons,” while at Far West, and vicinity.  They even boasted of defiling by force, wives, daughters, and virgins, and of shooting or dashing out the brains of men, women, and children.

I had listened till I became so disgusted, shocked, horrified, and so filled with the spirit of indignant justice, that I could scarcely refrain from rising upon my feet and rebuking the guards, but had said nothing to Joseph, or any one else, although I lay next to him and knew he was awake.  On a sudden he arose to his feet, and spoke in a voice of thunder, or as the roaring lion, uttering, as near as I can recollect, the following words:

“SILENCE—Ye fiends of the infernal pit.  In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you, and command you to be still; I will not live another minute, and hear such language.  Cease such talk, or you or I die THIS MINUTE.”

He ceased to speak.  He stood erect in terrible majesty.  Chained, and without a weapon,–calm, unruffled and dignified as an angel, he looked down upon the quailing guards, whose weapons were lowed or dropped to the ground; whose knees smote together, and who, shrinking into a corner, or crouching at his feet, begged his pardon, and remained quiet till a change of guards.

I have seen the ministers of justice, clothed in magisterial robes, and criminals arraigned before them, while life was suspended upon a breath, in the courts of England; I have witnessed a Congress in solemn session to give laws to nations;  I have tried to conceive of kings, of royal courts, of thrones, and crowns; and of emperors assembled to decide the fate of kingdoms, but dignity and majesty have I seen but once, as it stood in chains at midnight, in a dungeon, in an obscure village of Missouri.

A great and virtuous woman of the time, who knew him well, Bathsheba W. Smith (married to the prophet's cousin), said of Joseph Smith, “I know him to be what he professed to be—a true prophet of God, and the Lord through him restored the everlasting gospel and every ordinance and endowment that will lead us into the celestial kingdom.”

While there are many other witnesses, these two will suffice for now.   To me it is no wonder that the tree that has grown from those roots bears sweet fruit.

The prophet Alma in The Book of Mormon, speaking of faith as a seed producing a tree from which one can pluck the fruit that is the love of God asked of the experience, "O then, is this not real?  I say unto you, Yea, because it is light, and whatsoever is light is good, because it is discernible. (Alma 32:35)"   That is the real world I speak of.

I rejoice in the fruit of the tree; I will hold to the rod that leads to it.  I will stand by this "play world;" I am on the side of Jesus Christ and and of his prophet Joseph Smith even if there is no Jesus Christ and no Prophet of the Restoration; I'm going to live as like a Latter-day Saint as I can, even if there is no Kingdom of God on the earth today - although I testify that these things are indeed so.

The Savior of the World Himself was the target of derision, and many of his early disciples found his acts and words "too hard."  He asked Peter and the others,

Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

I feel the same way about all that I have spoken.

So [says Puddleglum], thanking you kindly for our supper, if [my brothers and sisters] are ready, we're leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives [living for what we know and believe].  Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that's small loss if the world's as dull a place [as the one you claim is real].

The everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ licks this world hollow.