Miracoli a Milano

  The Parable of the Pianist When I was a kid, I made the mistake of saying, “Mom, I think I want to try the piano…” and before I could change my mind, she had enrolled me in lessons. There was no going back from there. I took lessons for many years, stumbling along the way, but as each year passed I got a little better, until as a teenager I was playing a lot of the familiar classical pieces.  My favorite memory of those years of musicianship was that of going into the chapel at night when no one else was in our church building. I would leave the lights off, and sitting alone in the quiet stillness, I would play the first movement of “Moonlight Sonata” by Beethoven. It was my favorite piece. The acoustics of the chapel were perfect, and I could close my eyes and play, and it took me to another place.  As I would finish the final notes of the movement and the resonance of the keys faded, I would open my eyes, and there was nothing but...silence. It was a beautiful experie...

  LIFE IS PAIN I grew up in a family of movie watchers. We had conversations at the dinner table comprised entirely of famous movie lines. Our favorite movie to quote was The Princess Bride. One night, during one of our movie line marathons...our mother suddenly cracked. Exasperated from her day, and running on her last ounce of patience, she slammed her fist on the dinner table and declared, "NO MORE MOVIE LINES, I MEAN IT!" After a moment of silent shock and awe, all 7 of us kids looked at each other, smiled, and then in unison we responded, "Anybody want a peanut?!" We all had a good laugh...even our mother.  To illustrate my point of this entry, may I indulge myself with one additional movie line from this cinematic masterpiece? In the story, the Dread Pirate Roberts has kidnapped Princess Buttercup. He is ridiculing her for abandoning her "one true love" (Wesley), and for allowing herself to marry the evil Prince Humperdink. In a very dramatic moment,...

  The Miracle of Faith It is human nature that people need to see something before they can believe it. “I’ll believe it when I see it” we like to say. Many an atheist has looked to the heavens and argued that science, rather than Divinity, is responsible for our world and universe, and that the existence of God cannot be proven, because He cannot be seen. In Alma Chapter 30 of the Book of Mormon, Korihor and the prophet Alma had this very same debate:   43 And now Korihor said unto Alma: If thou wilt show me a sign , that I may be convinced that there is a God, yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words. (I’ll believe it when I see it) 44 Alma replied…. all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth , and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion , yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.       Today, in our modern day ...

11/ 21/2024 Il Miracolo del Sacrificio What an amazing, whirlwind experience the MTC was! Wow. 10 days of 12 hour long learning marathons, accompanied by constant spiritual highs that can only be experienced in a place like the Missionary Training Center. In it, you find a concentrated population of 2,000 people, whose whole focus 24/7 is on following the Savior Jesus Christ, and learning to love and serve people like He did.  As I pondered this one night, I was taken back to 32 years ago, as a 22 year old missionary serving in El Salvador. My days and nights were completely focused on the happiness and well being of others. I was about 16 months into my mission experience, and I remember one morning having an epiphany:  I was completely happy and utterly content doing what I was doing. I had left my home, my comforts and my girlfriend (who at this point was no longer my girlfriend...haha) to dedicate myself and sacrifice my own wishes and wants for the well being of others. A...