What is Love? It's bringing a dead soldier back to the trenches

The story is told of a soldier who asked his superior officer if he might go out into a dangerous area between the trenches to bring in a seriously wounded comrade.

“‘You can go,’ said the officer, ‘but it’s not worth it. Your friend is probably killed, and you will throw your own life away.’ But the man went. Somehow, he managed to get to his friend, hoist him onto his shoulder, and bring him back to the trenches. The two of them tumbled together and lay in the bottom of a trench. The officer looked very tenderly on the would-be rescuer, and then said, ‘I told you it wouldn’t be worth it. Your friend is dead, and you are wounded.’

“‘It was worth it though, sir.’

“‘How do you mean “worth it”? I tell you, your friend is dead.’

“‘Yes, sir,’ the boy answered, ‘but it was worth it, because when I got to him he said, “I knew you’d come”’” (A Story to Tell, comp. General Board of the Primary Association and Deseret Sunday School Union Board [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1945], p. 28).

All around us are those that are in need of assistance. Sometimes we assist and sometimes we shy away from the opportunity or don't even know the opportunity is there. How faithful are we to those we love? How loyal are we to our friends? How compassionate are we to a stranger? How kind are we to an enemy?

Go after and help those in need. You never know whose angel you are supposed to be.

What is Love? It's bringing a dead soldier back to the trenches.

What is Love? It's sharing your birthday with Jesus

It's that special time of year, that special holiday. That's right. It's my wife's birthday. Her birthday always falls on Christmas, December 25th.


Megan has always gotten the shaft having to share her birthday with the Savior of the World, but each year she graciously steps aside to honor the King of kings. We try to honor her day in the midst of His day, however. And for three years we have tried to honor her on her day with what we have called The M-other Project.


You can click here to see our yearly video honoring my wife. Happy Birthday Megan... and Jesus.


What is Love? It's sharing your birthday with Jesus.

What is Love? It's finding out Maria's age

Maria is ten years older than José, and next year she will be twice as old as José. How old are they now?

Okay, so this problem came up for me the other day. Long story short... I needed to solve for M (Maria). I had no idea how to do it and after asking a colleague or two I was still stumped. I sent the problem to my wife and she gave me the right answer but couldn't show me how she got the right answer.

It was time to swallow my pride and go back to the source of all math truth... my Dad. I sent him an email with the problem and told him I would explain why I needed the answer later. He then sent me a dissertation on how to solve for M and it made sense. I thanked him profusely and then realized it was the first time since geometry in 10th grade that I actually enjoyed math.

It reminded me of Mark Twain's quote: “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”

Thanks for being patient with me Dad. It only took 21 years for me to understand your math lesson.

What is Love? It's finding out Maria's age.

Maria is 19 BTW. M=J+10 Therefore: M+1=2(J+1)

What is Love? It's giving root beer floats to half of your kids

Weeks ago two of our boys got in trouble. (We'll let them remain nameless for this blog post.) As punishment for their crimes we said they could not have dessert after dinner.

As it happened, a family in the neighborhood invited us over for root beer floats that evening. We readily agreed and made our way over to their house shortly after dinner. Not a word was spoken between Megan and I as to whether or not our boys would get to have a root beer float, but both of us knew we would have to face that challenge soon.
We had a great time at the neighbor's and the time came for root beer floats. The family started to dish them up and our two troublemakers looked up at us with forlorn faces.

The family asked how many to make and we were at a crossroads:

1. Let the boys have a root beer float to avoid awkwardness, airing our dirty laundry, and the sadness that accompanies leaving a child out of the fun.

2. Stick to our principles and make sure our children understand that there are consequences for poor choices in spite of the heartache we would undoubtedly feel from withholding the treat when everyone else gets one.

"These two won't be getting a root beer float tonight" we said.

It was hard, it was sad, but it was the right thing to do. So much of this generation is "entitled" to whatever they want. Our kids need to know that choices have consequences. If parents won't teach kids responsibility and accountability then the court system certainly will.

What is Love? It's giving root beer floats to half of your kids.

What is Love? It's an 8 year old angel

Spencer W. Kimball once said: "God does notice us, and he watches over us, but it is usually through another person that he meets our needs."

For the last several months my wife, Megan, has taken it upon herself to teach our boys the power and importance of service. We call it "Service Saturdays."

Megan designates one Saturday each month where she tells the boys to get their gloves on and grab some tools to go do some good in the community where we live. Our oldest boys are 9 and 7 (soon to be 8).

They jump in the car without a complaint, say a prayer that God will direct them to do good, and off they go looking for someone to help. That alone is impressive and I praise my wife for her efforts to make men out of boys. But it doesn't stop there. Each Service Saturday has met with a great experience for my boys. Two Saturday's ago was no exception.

A few weeks ago Rexburg, Idaho was hit with a flash flood. Mr. Harrop had just had back surgery, Mrs. Harrop had a bad knee and the flash flood got mud and water in their basement through their basement window well. Megan and the boys showed up in time to see Mrs. Harrop outside trying to clean up the mess the flood had caused a fews days previous. After some persistence, Mrs. Harrop agreed to let the boys help and they went to work. She started to cry and said she was at her wits end and didn't know what to do when they suddenly pulled up and offered to help. She called them angels.

She called my boys angels.

The boys got down and helped loosen the dirt and dug up the rocks from the window well and put the rocks in a bucket, then to a wheelbarrow, then dumped the wheelbarrow.

Although Mrs. Harrop was grateful for an act of kindness, words cannot express the appreciation I felt for a mother who took my boys to serve and a women who let them move rocks.

What is love? It's an 8 year old angel.

What is Love? It's a neighborhood firework show

America's Independence Day is my favorite holiday of the year. Each year we attempt to have a firework show in our driveway. We invite all the neighbors over and let the kids have fun with the smaller fireworks before bringing out the "aerials."

This year was no different. We had about 50 friends and neighbors come over and enjoy the evening together. This year I decided it was time to take our fireworks to the next level. I created a movie and music to go with the firework display. The kids got excited about that and wanted to step it up too. They decided they would put together a patriotic song and sing it that night.

So, showtime came. We played with smaller fireworks for an hour or so. We then welcomed everyone to our driveway, the kids sang their song, we queued the movie and music which led right in to our firework display. Thank you all for coming. Thank you for being great neighbors, and thank you for all those who have fought and died for our country. You can view my video here.

God Bless America.

What is Love? It's a neighborhood firework show.

What is Love? It's eating potato chips with God

I periodically receive email messages that contain a thought provoking message. Who knows where these emails come from or their authenticity but one that I read today, forwarded from my mother, touched me in the right way.

I once heard someone say: "You never know whose angel you are supposed to be." I have also read the following: "God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs." (Find quote in context here.)

The short email message forwarded to me today fits with the quotes above. You never know how you will help another in life's journey. Enjoy:

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a big bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer, and started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer, when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him some chips. The man gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

His smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, "Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?"

He replied "I ate potato chips in the park with God." However, before his son responded, he added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

What is Love? It's eating potato chips with God.