Tender Mercies

Kayleen and I have talking lately about how and why Father loves us so much.  I have decided to document some of the tender mercies in my life. Some of these have been discussed before, but some I have held close to my heart.  A big reason why my faith is where it is, is due to Father's stream of "love notes" in my life.  These notes are what the Apostles call "Tender Mercies"

When I was 15 or 16, I had been hurt by what I felt was an emotional betrayal by my mother.  I was not really aware of the wound, but Father was.  One night I "dreamed a dream." I had two pet cats. One was a tiger and one was another big cat, but more of a happy cat.  I came into the room, and these cats were in cages, behind bars.  I heard them pleading to be let free.  I opened the cages, and both cats came bounding out, playing with me and romping all around.  As I lay in bed, I realized that I had been holding my emotions tightly within, not allowing them to be expressed in any manner. During my life, I have had a challenge to keep my emotions open for others to see while keeping a leash on the anger or meanness of emotions.  I still remember this dream as an inspired love note from Father, helping me find greater joy and fulfillment in life.

In previous posts, I have talked about other dreams to help me through difficult times.  I have found many love notes delivered to me through dams.

Fourteen months into my mission, I was given a difficult assignment from The Lord.  After I got my transfer let, the mission president called me to talk to me specifically about my companion.  He wanted to go home. He had said that he would stay one year before he went home.  His year would be up and he wanted to go home.  Instead of regular missionary work, we walked the streets of Berlin talking about our calling and our testimonies.  Mostly his conversation could be called "venting." At night I would kneel down to pray, and I felt what I can only describe as a spiritual hug.  He comforted me every single night.  He let me know that He knew exactly what was going on and that I was doing exactly what He wanted me to do.  As Alma said, there can be nothing as sweet and exquisite as the love of God.

Five weeks into this companionship, I was praying one night and felt something a little different. It was almost like the Spirit said, "Just a minute, I have something to tell you. You will be going to Hamburg for the next Zone Leader council meeting."  This was interesting since I was not a zone leader. Sure enough, it was confirmed a few days later, that I would be traveling to Hamburg on the train, and that Elder Xxxxxxxson would be getting a new companion. At the time, I wondered why it was important to give me that message with an almost audible voice.

It didn't really matter why, it did happen and I knew it. A few days later I was with a Zone Leader and I asked him if he was taking anyone with him to Berlin for the meeting. He confirmed that it was me, and then looked at me and said, you already knew that, didn't you? I said yes.

I concluded that Father wanted me to know that even though the assignment was hard, he knew that it was hard and he thanked me for my help. A few months after I was home, Elder Xxxxxxxson visited me at home, thanking me for my patience with him.  He said that my testimony helped, and that he did come to know that the church was true.

In 1976 circumstances took me to Arizona for a few weeks in the summer. I was driving my old car, and at one point the electricity just stopped working. I tried to find the answer to the problem but could not all day.  That night, I was praying and I heard an almost audible voice tell me that tomorrow, He would help me fix my car. The next day I putzed with the car for an hour, and suddenly, I had the answer come into my mind. I tried the fix, and it worked. At the time, I wondered why He would take the time to help me in that relatively unimportant task. I concluded He wanted to let me know that He was my Father and would continue to impart information to me to help ME in MY life as long as I was worthy.

A year or so later, I was dating a woman somewhat consistently.  At one point, I found that she had done something I felt was a betrayal.  I was angry. It was during finals and I was so worked up I couldn’t concentrate and really messed up my first day of finals. I went home from school, kneeled down and prayed.  I heard an almost audible voice say, "Go to the temple." I didn't really feel like going to the temple.  I was angry, worked up, and confused. Again the voice said, "Go to the temple."  So, I went to the temple. It was soothing to feel the spirit. Because it was afternoon, there weren't a lot of people in the session, so they had everyone stand in the prayer circle. The person voicing the prayer, at one point said, "Help us, Father, to forgive others, especially those whom we love." There was more, but the point hit home.  I wondered at the time why Father would give me such an explicit answer.  I concluded that since I tried to follow His counsel when He gives it, He was more open to share advice with a poor servant like me.

A year later, I had moved away from home.  I had three women in my life. Kayleen, Mari, and Lori.  As always, I prayed for Father to help me find my Eternal Companion. I asked if any one of the three was a relationship I should pursue.

I heard an almost audible voice say, "Kayleen."  Because I was not expecting an answer, I asked, "what?"  He replied, "Kayleen." Suddenly, I knew why he had been so open to giving me audible answers.  When the time came, He wanted me to recognize the voice so that when the time came, I would not dismiss His answer.

The courtship was not completely smooth, which is why I needed to know up front that this was the relationship for me to pursue. 

The rest is history.  We fell in love, we married, and now we are strolling (or perhaps limping) into the Celestial Kingdom.  We are trying very hard to bring our children and grandchildren with us.

I don't know much, but this I do know...

40 Years Ago.

Let's set the stage a bit.  I was a freshman in college in Cedar City Utah.  I was not on the acceptable path for young men of our faith.  My second quarter's grades had just come out, and they were not up to my expectations.  I was running out of funds and my hope was running on fumes. 

   I was depressed. I felt like a failure.  I knew that something in my life was missing, but I did not know where to turn.  When I was young I had learned about prayer.  So in March 1973, I began to pray for help. At first it was just because I didn't know where else to turn.  After a few days, I realized I felt better when I prayed, so I continued.  After about a week of evening and morning prayers, I found a triple combination my grandmother had given me for High School Graduation.  In the flyleaf she had written among other things, "My this book bring answers to life's questions..." 
   Woe.. Stop the presses.  Answers to life's questions.  Isn't that what I am seeking? Okay, I have been praying for help.  Is help really to be found within the pages of The Book of Mormon?
  So I began reading.  This was (of course) not the first time I had begun, but this time, the book grabbed me by the throat and by the heart.  For the next three weeks, when I would pick up the book, I would enter a spiritual realm unlike any other (except for one sacred moment in the temple). I felt like I was within a pillar the spirit, my own personal world.  Everything else was shut out.
    Looking back, I believe I was much like Lamoni, who collapsed for 3 days while the spirit was teaching him of the goodness and mercies of our Savior.  Once, my room mate Will walked into the room.  I pointed at the book, and with tears and a broken voice, said, "This is truly the most correct book ever.  It is all true." 
Tangent  Will Robinson (Yes, that is his name) was 6'4" tall and rail thin. Think 'Abraham Lincoln,' except his hair was longer and his beard WAY more scraggly.  About a year later, I got a letter from Elder Robinson.  He had cleaned up and was serving in the London England Mission.
Back to the Story As I read in the Book of Mormon every day, the book took hold of my spirit. I felt my desires change. I continued to pray at night, and as I prayed for direction, I began to have a fantastic desire to share the gospel.  By the second week of March I was convinced.  By the third, I was converted.  I drove home one weekend, and Oscar Whiting pronounced my patriarchal blessing upon me.  Among other things, I was told that in the pre-mortal world, I had promised Father that if He would let me come in this dispensation, I would do anything and everything He desired. I talked to my Bishop and got some paperwork for a mission.
   In May, Bishop Johnson signed off on my paperwork and sent it to the Stake President.  A week later I met with President Anderson.  My papers went into Salt Lake about the 18-22 of May, 1973.  I went back to school for Finals, finished up and came home for the summer (I thought). 11 days after my papers were in, I received a letter from Harold B. Lee, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The letter officially extended a calling to the Germany North Mission.  I was to leave July 7, 1973, just 5 weeks later.
  Now, 40 years later, what do I know? 

• I know that Father knows who I am, and that when I ask for help, in sincerity, He will help.  He especially likes to help me when I am involved in moving His work forward.
• I know that the Book of Mormon is the Inspired word of God. I know it was written for our day by ancient prophets.  I know it was translated by the gift and power of God.  Joseph Smith was and is the prophet of the restoration. I understand through my own experiences (many more since the ones 40 years ago) that God does give answers to prayers, often times by what is written within the pages of the Book of Mormon.
• I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Father's work.  I realize that other churches have truth, but they don't have the priesthood of God. Within this Church are the ordinances of salvation and exaltation.  Within this church are the Keys to the Mysteries of Godliness. 
• I know that God, my Heavenly Father is my God.  I am His son.  His Firstborn Son, Jehovah, is my Lord and Savior. To them I owe everything. To them I have pledged all that I have and all that I am.

After 40 years, the Book of Mormon just keeps getting more applicable in my life.  The Church, though run by imperfect men, is the vessel that extends salvation to mankind.  The children sing a primary song, "I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints..."  I tend to think of myself in that sense, but not so much in membership as in ownership.  God has given me everything I ever really desired and asked for.  How can I deny Him the same?

That being said, we are headed to Mesa today, for time in the Temple with Father, and then to a Ballgame for Mothers Day.

Day 4, 5, 6 - We're Just Two Lost Souls Swimming in a Fishbowl...

Okay, enough of Pink Floyd

Day 4 - Tuesday.  After the long day on Monday, we decided to take it easy. We drove into Kona town, parked the car, and walked around to see what we could see.  The first thing we could see was the sea..  This is from the pier in Kona. When the Cruise ship came in on Wednesday, they had to use shuttle boats because the channel isn't deep enough for a ship.

We found out that Kapu means "the Law."  In actuality, Kapu doesn't mean don't enter, or no trespassing, etc. It means that you can enter if that is where you need to be. But if you aren't supposed to go in, you really shouldn't enter. In this case, it was in front of the Hale where the sacred drums for the Lu'au is held. Which means that if I am the guy in charge of the sacred drums, it is okay for me to go in, but I better know the correct way of pounding the drums.

 

Tuesday's sunset was good, but not spectacular.

Day 5 - Wednesday
We went snorkeling to a couple of spots. We actually saw a gree sea turtle next to the pier as we were getting in the zodiac boat.  On the way out to the first spot, we saw a whale tail.  The other zodiacs came in, since this is very late in the whale watching season.  Most mamas and babys have gone to Alaska for the Summer. Not these guys.  We saw two adults and a calf. 

After that excitement, Mare showed us some sea caves. These formations and excavations by the ocean currents are spectacular.

She must have taken us to 12 or 15 all together.  Some were big arches like this.

Some included either vertical or horizontal blowholes as well.

This blowhole blew the top right out of the cliff.

The second spot we snorkeled was the bay into which Captain Cook sailed. He sailed in twice, and out once. The area within the posts around the monument is still English territory.  By the way, the snorkeling in that bay was world class. It was Awesome, in the true sense of the word.  I felt like I was swimming in a aquarium. I will have to go back to that site. Unfortunately, it is accessable either by boat, or a two mile hike in (which means a two mile hike out.)

Day 6 - Thursday.

We started off driving north. Our guide on Wednesday told us about a white sand beach north of the Airport.  We found it without any problems. The coastline along there is beautiful, but different than most islands.

Any white sand beaches on this island are :Storm Beaches."  The island has enough coral to begin the white sand, but has not had the time to build up the reservoir yet.  So this beach has some sand as a result of storms bringing the sand up from the bottom or from other islands, and depositing it on the shore. 

I did see some coastline here I would love to paint.

We saw some small tide pools, but not a lot of sea life in the pools at this point.

Again, the lava formations are amazing.  We see the layers of the lava flows as the build up on top of each other.

Hawaii has two kinds of Lava. One kind is the smooth flows where we see ripples, crevices and layers.  It comes out of the vent at about 2100 degrees F. That kind of lava is fairly easy to walk on, or even climb up or down on.  The Hawaiian word for this kind of lava is ah'ah.  This kind has already cooled to 700 F, so it kind of explodes as it hits the atmosphere, water, or whatever.  It is never easy to walk on. It is sharp, jagged, and as Kennedy would say, "it is dangerous."

We drove down south a ways as well. We stopped here at an old Hawaiian structure. I don't know what it was for, but Kayleen took a picture of the plaque so we will be able to find out.

We continued further south. We were suddenly out of the desert and into a temperate zone.

This is an interesting tree that grows a whole bunch of bell flowers. Some of the trees are huge. This one was fairly small, still covered in bells.

Okay, tonight we had a amazing sunset.  I think I will title this Photograph "The tree of Life."

And so another day in Paradise.comes to an end.  We seem to be closing quickly on the closing ceremonies of the trip.  I do have to say that we are relaxed. This has definitely worked as a "de-stressor.

Day 3 - Now I know that Man is Nothing ( Continued )

Kennedy, We're Okay

One of the advantages to having our tour guides, is that both did an excellent job of understanding not only the basic workings of the volcanoes, but also portraying the feelings and emotions of those connected to the island. I should have put these first few pictures in yesterday's post. In order to access the lava tube, we needed to descend into a volcanic vent. This huge hole had been foliated with various types plants to "add color." Because of the plants, it is hard to see just how deep this hole is.

Again, here we are in front of the tube. No-he took the picture for us.

 

 The entrance to the tube is preceeded by more of the vent.  The vent may actually come off the main lava outlet, or at least one of the main outlets at the time.  so the hole extends downward a long way from the entrance to the tube.

 After we climbed back out of the lava tube, we walked through the rain forest again back to the edge of the cinder cone. 

I just thought this was a cool picture, the dead tree extended out over the edge of the crater.  If a squirrel climbed out on the log, he would have a LONG way to fall. That would be a great way for him to crack his nuts.  Except it wouldn't be a squirrel, it would be a mongoose.

Tyler took over as our guide at this point. He talked to us about the Lava Trees, the Oe'He tree. I don't think the spelling is even close.  The lava tree has a special bark that helps cool the lava around the bark, insulating the tree for a while. Eventually the heat does burn up the tree, but not before the tree creates a natural vent for the lava steam and emissions, as well as a place for new plant life to begin growing.

 

We drove back down the hill to the coast again.

Tyler stopped some of the lava projections to teach us about some of the properties of lava. There was also a turtle down in the water eating the seaweed off the rocks.

The black lava rock forms a precarious and intriguing coastline. The layers of the various flows become very evident as we step out onto the rocks.

It is easy to see how the lava came this far and was stopped, more or less, by the ocean.  There are many places where the waves have broken away the layers of the lava.

When the ocean rages against the rocks, natural arches, pools and caves are formed. Tyler took my camera down into these rocks to take my picture.  He took other cameras or cell phones as well.  I;m just glad it was someone else's cell phone he dropped under some rocks and not my camera.

We then drove down to the area where an entire town has been wiped out, except for one lone merchant - Uncle Robert. This used to be a beautiful black sand beach in front of Uncle Robert's café and country store. All the houses, stores, farms, everything, was pushed aside by lava flow from 1983 through 1998.

 

We walked out onto the flow about 1/4 mile to the ocean. 



 

Again, the ripples and flows of the lava are evident. It is easy to imagine the rock face cracking as the lava cools un-evenly.

In places, the lava is pushed up, much the same way ice expands and cracks as it freezes.

When Uncle Robert's wife had terminal cancer, she started planting coconut trees on the flow to help prepare the rock face for other growth.  After she passed away, many others have come and planted coconuts in her memory.

The result at the ocean is again a black sand beach.  Access to the beach is not quite as easy as it was back in the 1970's

We see other growth starting on the flow now. In another 100,000 years or so, we may see the fertile soil that the Island enjoys.

Uncle Robert still runs a thriving business.

He may be more famous now. His café serves excellent food at reasonable prices, and --- the tables are always full.

After dark, we drove out into the active flow area, as close as they could let us go. We are about 3 miles away from the flow at this point. Tyler told us this was the first night in a couple of weeks that they had this kind of view. He may have been trolling for a larger gratuity, I don't really know.
At any rate, the lava continues to flow, but most of the lava is deposited in the ocean under the water line.  When the water and lava meet, the lava cools immediately, often causing an explosion of the lava, resulting in 'black sand."

We arrived back at the condo at 10:30 pm Hawaii time.  It was a very long day, but one in which I have been overwhelmed by the power, majesty, and sheer will power of nature.  As I knelt down to pray, I felt compelled to confess, as did Moses after his vision of the creation, "Now I know that man is Nothing."

Day 3 - Volcano National Park

Now I Know that Man is Nothing

We thought we had signed up for an 8 hour tour.  Nope - it was 14 hours. This  Monday, April 14, 2013 is one of those profound experiences I will never forget. After picking up the last of the couples, we headed south, passing through the coffee plantations.  I learned more about coffee and why Kona coffee is so good, than I will ever need.

Our first stop was a Bakery. Normally Hawaii isn't known for its baked goods.  Wrong - we have found the two best bakeries in the world - one on Kauai and this one in the town of Na'alehu. We got some apple stuffed things that were to die for, so we bought more and carried them with us for the rest of the day.

We ate is a little gazebo The weather was sunny, clear and very nice.

 We had a few more minutes, so we walked around taking pictures, 'cause that's what we do.

These Afrikan Tulips are high up on a tree. Kayleen's lens couldn't get the blooms, so guess what, I'm elected.  They are certainly majestic.

Here we see some of the southern most bays in the United States. The picture is a little fuzzy since it was taken in a moving vehicle/

From here, the topography changed.  The influence of the recent (100,000 year or so) of volcanic activity was evident.  the mountain peaks and valleys assume the shape of cinder cones and lava flow.

 

In the distance we could see the smoke or steam coming out of the vents.  The air is a little sulphuric,
but not as bad as the day before driving through Kona. Those with allergies to VOG or VEG started to become affected by the atmosphere.

The terrain in many places is rough and sparsely vegetated. 

After lunch in a very peaceful campground, we rive into the museum. 

The first thing we see is the summit crater.  From time to time (not for a few years though) this may partially fill with lava.  When lava is not in evidence, the fumes, or VEG, vent through this hole, relieving some pressure so that the lava can flow out of the fissures and tubes instead of exploding out. 

There are other rings around the edges as evidence of other, additional seismic and volcanic activity.

The VEG comes out constantly, sometimes in trickles, sometimes in plumes, but it is always present

 We drive a few miles away to the edge of a nearby cinder cone.  from here, we still see the VEG from the summit vent. Down below we see the crater of one of the ancillary flows from this volcano.

 

Because there has been no recent activity, and no indicators of imminent activity, people are allowed to hike down into this crater and walk across the floor. It is about a 2-4 hour walk, and we have other things to do, "miles to go before we sleep" so to speak.

 

We do walk about 1/2 mile around the rim to a lava tube. Kayleen's camera is dead at this point, so I make sure I get the bird for her.

This is Nohe (No-Hay).  She is an amazing and passionate guide. We could feel her passion for the history of Hawaii, the respect and reverence for the Hawaiian culture, along with a passion for the quest for knowledge and truth.  Every moment of the day, she spent teaching us about something, mostly by word, and also by example.

The lava tube is not very long, but it is contained.  We hike down about 150 feet into a small crater or fissure to enter the tube. We actually exit the tube through a stairway in one of the vents.

We will pick up the remainder of the day on the next post.  The day was overwhelming and Awesome (in the true meaning of the word) seeing the power and destructive forces of this planet.  I know that I will never look at the creative process the same.  So much needs to be understood before se seek to create new or different life. The consequences of transplanting life from one environment into another need to be understood, and all that stuff.