Sunday, November 16, 2008

Halloween High Jinks!

This year, Sheri and I have continued our amazing tradition of lets-make-up-a-costume-in-the-next-30-minutes-that-reeks-of-SuperCoolAwesomeness. Take a look:



Yes, my children, I am Waldo and Sheri is Wanda - the slightly less well-known caper of disguise. We had it all; the matching shirts, hats, bluejeans, brown shoes, and unusually large biceps. The best part about our costumes is that we kept blending in to our surroundings - nobody could find us! Which may have accounted for the extraordinary amount of desserts stolen and people being mysteriously pantsed. (Although I discovered something very interesting: trying to pants someone wearing a onesie is much more difficult that you would suspect. Just thought you'd want to know.)

Let's play a game. It's called, "Try to find the hidden Meyers":

Here's a hint: If I'm not careful, I might be beat up by the Big Bad Wolf and then eaten by Little Red Riding Hood.

This one is a little trickier. But if you look closely enough, you can see that Wanda appears to be nothing more than a floating head. If you're not careful, you could mistake her for one of those balloons with glasses and a white fuzzy on top.
Here we are with our friends "Sick" and "Tired" - probably about how you're feeling right now.
Here we are in all our glory. The schools Student Spouse Association - each couple more terrifying than the last!

Probably the best part of the night was the following costume. Looks like we already know what we're going to be next year! Boo-ya!


(He told me that the tie was "to make the costume look more manly". Buddy, you don't need no stinkin' tie - you've got manliness oozing out of you!)

Victory!

As all of you have heard, Proposition 8 PASSED earlier this month. Sheri and I have been absolutely thrilled about it. We felt that it was a very historic election and are so happy that the people of California chose to support marriage that is ordained by God. We realize that in many ways our fight has just begun. People all over the nation are gathering together to persecute and tyrannize our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and many others. But we are confident that whatever the outcome, we are privileged to join in the fight for what is right. We would like to thank all of our friends, family, and others across the nation who have consecrated so much time, money, and effort in this issue.
To sum up, I would like to share a portion of an address given by the late Elder Neal A. Maxwell who at the time was one of the leaders of our church. I love these words from a man who was a prophet of God:

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions...President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'

"This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ!"

"Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions. Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened."

"Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel."

"There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself."





Emphasis added to the quote. To see the full discourse, see:
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=1846d0640b96b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1