We Stand Up for the Honest Man

by Homer Hickam. author of October Sky and We Are Not Afraid

A dishonest person is nearly always frightened. They lie to keep the truth at bay and use whatever verbal gymnastics they can to cloud the issue they are forced to confront. Conversely, an honest person is someone who isn't afraid of the truth and lays it out as simply as possible. It's easy to tell the truth teller because the truth is always simple. As soon as you have trouble following the reasoning of a fellow, you can pretty well figure they're lying about something. That means they're probably scared, too.

Two honest men can solve anything. One liar can foul up the works. To get rid of fear, admire and support the honest person, and be one yourself.

We stand up for the honest man.
We stand up for what we believe.
We are not afraid.

Friends Forever

by Elder Marvin J. Ashton (1915–1994)

My wife and I were in the front of our yard one day when the newspaper boy came down the street on his bicycle. His bicycle was loaded with papers. About 20 or 30 yards in back of him, there was another boy following him on a bicycle. I was not sure at that time what their relationship was, but I did notice they were coming down the street at a pretty good clip.

When the newspaper boy came to our sidewalk entry, he was traveling too fast to make the approach to our home, and, as a result, he went one way, the bicycle went another way, and the papers went everywhere. Noticing the boy had fallen on the lawn and was not hurt, but realizing that he would undoubtedly be embarrassed from the fall in front of his friend, we moved toward him.

At the sight of this perfect three-point landing, if we may refer to it as that, his companion shouted his pleasure and laughed heartily with complete and full enjoyment at the misfortune of his associate.

Trying to relieve the embarrassment of the paper boy, knowing he didn’t want help but he wanted to have his pride repaired a little, I took a few more steps toward him and said: “It’s kind of a low blow to have your friend laugh when you’ve had a bad spill, isn’t it?”

He went on picking up his papers without even looking up. Finally, he had the papers back in place and got on his bicycle; and as he started out away from our home, he made the remark: “He isn’t my friend—he’s my brother.”

His words have been ringing through my ears with a great deal of significance ever since then. I sincerely feel that one of the great purposes of family evenings and home teaching is to have family members realize that a brother can be a friend, and that a sister can be a friend, and that a father and a mother can be more than parents, they can be friends.

I would hope and pray that we may catch the wisdom and the inspiration of building a home so that our members in that sacred unit can look upon a father and say, “He is my best friend,” or “My mother is more than a mother, she is my friend.” When we realize that parents and family members can be more than blood relations and are in very deed friends, then we will have a glimpse of how our Heavenly Father wants us to live, not only as brothers and sisters but as very close friends.

A noble trait

Last Sunday, I taught a lesson on gratitude to the young men in our church. The lesson included a discussion on the story of the ten lepers and how only one of the healed ten returned to thank the Lord. After the lesson while the young men and other leaders were filing out of the room, one of the leaders stopped and thanked me for the lesson. As we talked, it occurred to us that out of all the people in the class (about 10 people total), he was the only one who said thank you. We had a little chuckle at the time, but the more I thought about that experience, it made me realize even more just how true the scriptures really are!

Presidential pressure

Our poor president. His opponents have called the war "...a most bloody and costly failure." As one foe put it, "Defeat, debt, taxation, sepulchers--these are your trophies." However, the poor president I speak of isn't President Bush. These comments are not about the war in Iraq. They are descriptions of the Civil War and then President Abraham Lincoln, made by Lincoln's contemporaries.

Some said that Lincoln had converted the government into despotism, all for that most ignoble cause--abolition. There were those who even called for President Lincoln's imprisonment. Tired of the growing body count, they wanted to end the war, even if it meant continued slavery. They believed that Lincoln had consistently acted unconstitutionally in conducting the war.

Sound familiar? And if you think President Bush has overstepped his bounds, think of this: Lincoln put into motion the arrest of hundreds of Southern sympathizers across the North, including newspaper editors. Let the White House press corps chew on that one for a whiles.

Whatever the similarities and differences between these two presidents, it seems evident that both of them have been motivated by a firm belief that their actions were not only justified, but imperative. When I hear about Lincoln's firm resolve regarding the preservation of the Union, it amazes me to think about how easy it would have been in the years since for other countries to overthrow a loosely-formed confederation of states that were not joined in such a solid union.

What then of our current conflict? Could the outcome of the present struggle possibly be as critical to the course of history?

Only time will tell.

Source of quotes: Wyatt Kingseed. "The Fire in the Rear." American History August 2007: 47-51

Talk about waffling

About 15 years ago, James Holsigner, President Bush's current nominee for surgeon general wrote a paper wherein he called homosexuality unhealthy and unnatural. Now he's telling senators, "The paper does not represent where I am today."

Holsinger told the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. "It represented a specific time, in a specific context, for a specific purpose. I can only say I have a deep, deep appreciation of all people, regardless of background or sexual orientation."

Holsinger tried to explain away his paper by saying that it was intended to be a literature review of health issues related to homosexuality for an audience with a Christian orientation.

It sounds to me like the nominee is good at saying just what a particular audience wants to hear.

Full story:

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=37450&dcn=e_gvet

A musical gift

6-year old Connie Talbot on the final night of Britain's Got Talent.

The gold standard of love

No additional words are necessary here...the video says it all.

Man's best friend

The neighbor family behind us has a dog, a small black dog with a very annoying bark. Most of the time, the dog is tied up on their back deck. The dog barks at the drop of a hat, so the mere opening of our back door and walking out on our deck started him going and he would keep barking pretty much the whole time you were outside. I was getting to the point of not wanting to go walk out the door.

That is, until about a week ago. I was on the cell phone in our basement and stepped outside to get better reception. A few moments later when I ended the call, I looked over to see our neighbor standing on his deck--with his dog. I hadn't hardly seen, let alone spoken with this neighbor, so I shouted a greeting to him and waved, to which he responded in kind. Just a quick interchange--but it changed the dog. He no longer barks at me when I go outside.

It's as if seeing me interact cordially with his master was enough to allay his insecurity toward me. At first I thought maybe he simply wasn't noticing my emergence into his domain; however, the last several times I've gone outside, I walked around the deck making noises, and he just went about his business seemingly unaware of me. A few times I heard him bark and thought, "oh no, hear we go again", only to look at him and realize he was barking at a bird or some noise in the distance. Then he was quiet again, and glanced at me as if to tell me I'm in his fave five now.

I'm definitely happy about this new development. I'm enjoying my new found friendship--and the peace and quiet.