on the rim

For the last six months, a song has been haunting me.  Maybe that is the wrong description.  It is.  I don't know why, but about six months ago, I started practicing a song.  It wasn't even written for a bass, but for an alto.  The range, however was perfect for me.  So I practiced.  I watched a lot of youtube, to get the accompaniment for the piece, having to ignore the soloist.  I came back from Twin, and continued to watch, and to practice. The opportunity came up to sing on Easter Sunday.  The music chair was putting together a number of songs, sung by various groups.  The primary.  A group of Young Women.  A male quartet.  A group of young girls.  The choir, and add me on it.  I had to check to see if the pianist could play the arrangement, as it is VERY complicated. (having been written for violins, cellos, and basses.)  We also needed to shorten it a bit, as in its fullness is nearly 10 minutes in ...

I would suspect that since Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden that a morning had never dawned so bright, so perfect.  That probably went unnoticed by Mary and the other women as they went to the tomb, to do the work that they had had not time for on the day of the Crucifixion.  Still in mourning, they had probably given no thought to how they would move the stone.  When they arrived, and the stone was away from the tomb, probably the last thought they had was that He had risen.  Probably worried that the Romans, or the Priests had taken the body. An angel met them and told them "Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.  He is not here. He is risen, as he said" .Matthew 28:5-6. Imagine the hope that swelled within them!  No doubt the Savior's teaching of the resurrection came to their memory!  They ran to tell the disciples, and on the way, the Savior met them.  They were the first witnesses of the Savior. ...

The Creator was dead. And so He died on the cross.  Willingly surrendering His life, that we may live.  None could have killed Him.  It had to be voluntary.  He chose to do the will of his Father, and to drink of that bitter cup.  The Romans allowed his disciples to take him away, to be buried in a borrowed tomb.  They had to hurry, as the Sabbath was approaching.  Imagine the anguish they felt.  No doubt they fought through tears to wrap him and to carry him to the tomb.  His mother and others wailing, not understanding.  John himself not understanding. They did not understand what happened.  He was Messiah.  The King.  The One who lived a life without sin.  He died a criminal.  All of the teachings, even when He told them that He had to die and would be resurrected were beyond their grasp.  It wasn't beyond the grasp of the Priests though.  The High Priest fully understood what Christ meant when H...

As Jerusalem slept, or retired for the night, temple guards entered the Garden of Gethsemane.  Led by one of the Savior's disciples, Judas, they found the Lord after He had completed His work there.  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was taken into custody and brought before an ILLEGAL meeting of the Sanhedrin, in a trial that was a sham.  It was so rushed that they could not get the witnesses to collaborate their stories sufficiently to convict.  In another ILLEGAL move, they forced Jesus to testify against himself.  Because it was to be, He gave them what they needed for their shadow show trial. Peter who was nearby, he who had proclaimed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, denied Him to others.  Three times.  He was not prepared to follow in the footsteps of his master. The Jews waited until morning to bring him before Pilate, as they had no power to execute.  They would not even enter Pilate's palace, as it was possible there was bread with y...

Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus Christ entering Jerusalem in peace as its King.  It begins Holy Week which culminated in the suffering in Gethsemane, the trial, crucifixion, and death.  A week from today, Christians around the world will celebrate the dawn of the Resurrection.  When the Son of God, made flesh, takes up his body, now glorified and perfected.  He defeated the finality of death.  Because of Him all will be made alive. This weekend, I went to see the movie "The Case for Christ" .  It is based on the conversion of Lee Strobel, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune in the 1970s and 80s.  He broke the story on the exploding Pinto, and the knowledge that Ford had about that defect.  The movie is built around his desire to disprove the Resurrection, as his wife had converted to Christianity.  It is a movie that I would recommend to everyone.  A friend told him that the Resurrection was the key to Christianity, if it could be proven...

First , a congratulatory note to a missionary that I served with.  Elder Taylor.  I served in Jaen along side him for my last three months.  He had barely been in Spain, and was already un Director de Zona .  We had some great times.  He was called today as a General Authority Seventy during the afternoon session of General Conference.  Congratulations Brian, er, Elder Taylor! A much more serious note, pertaining to some observations from General Conference.  I noticed it when President Monson was not in attendance for the afternoon session, and was very shaky as he spoke during the Priesthood session. For those who remember, one of the most iconic photos of President Hinckley was when he sat as the lone representative of the First Presidency during the Presidency of Spencer W. Kimball. For those who may not know what I am talking about, a brief explanation.  Those who serve as Apostles of Jesus Christ in the Church of Jesus Christ o...