Category Archives: Food

Lessons From Donuts

31 Sunday Jan 2016

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Donut

On this blog, we have learned a lot from many different real, or seemingly random, scenarios that have gospel lessons hidden inside them. Everything can be gospel related, especially here. We have 4 different authors, 4 different unique perspectives on the gospel which turns into 4 different ways in which we see it in our everyday.

The beauty of having 4 diverse voices, and experiences is that it flavors the soup. It isn’t just a one-note kraft mac and cheese dinner, its a gourmet flavorful version with gorgonzola cheese, lightly sprinkled with toasted bread crumbs, bacon, with a side of honey-glazed creole cornbread.

For example…

I learned that Rudolph the red-nosed-reindeer can be a type for Christ,
and spiritual promptings may, in fact, feel similar to taking off your ski boots.

I learned that devouring M&M’s can be compared to the virgins filling their lamps with oil,
and that Adamantium (the metal alloy in Wolverines bones) is like the armor of God.

And thats not all…

I learned that the separation of the wheat from the tares is a lot like walnuts in cookies, that multiple gospel lessons can be learned from Super-heroes,
and that gospel perspective can be seen through 6 foot northeastern snowdrifts.

Not too shabby. All these lessons are examples of how real life always seems to be able to circle around to some gospel principle, IF we look at real life through gospel eyes. God really does speak to us in the language we understand.

So, in keeping with that theme, today I’d like to talk about……donuts.

Not just any donut, but the sweetest donut, the most delicious donut, the donut of all donuts. The best ever made, or imagined. It is the buttermilk donut from Bosa donuts.

Something happens within your body when you consume a donut of this caliber. You become one with it. It becomes one with you, it becomes you, and fills you with a flood of happiness that is unquestioned and unparalleled.

Some scientists may say that it is pancreatic death spasms, compensating for the bazillion grams of pure sugar invading and flooding your bloodstream, but thats debatable, I’m saying its a rush of pure happiness.

This happiness then travels to your brain, heart, and the rest of your body. You are now hooked. It is an experience you will never forget, and the first thing you want to do is share this experience with everyone else. Not with the donuts you just purchased of course, that would be too much to ask, but to suggest that they, also, run to the store to purchase their own and partake in the bliss that is the buttermilk donut.

This happiness is almost the same as Father Lehi felt, when he partook of the fruit of the tree in his dream. It was pure happiness, like the most delicious happiness ever…

And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted.….And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit¹

Lehi’s “fruit” filled him with joy. The fruit he tasted was the love of God. Which is the single most valuable thing in the world. There isn’t a buttermilk donut on the face of the earth, or any hand-breaded chicken breast in a homemade biscuit smothered with black pepper tabasco gravy that could do that. Although, it is amazingly delicious.

food

Hand breaded chicken breast on a homemade biscuit with black pepper tabasco gravy from Serious Biscuit in Seattle, WA

Temporal happiness cannot compare with the eternal happiness, and joy of God’s love. The temporal rush of happiness from a donut inevitably sputters out, gets broken down, and just turns into unflattering adipose deposits we regret later.

So, every time you eat a donut, or fancy steak, or a Costco pumpkin pie, you can think about Lehi’s fruit. Its one little step in changing our perspective to seeing everything in a gospel sense. Putting on our gospel lenses to see what the Lord sees, how He sees it.

In one of our Sunday school lessons at the beginning of this year, we read a line in a talk by Ezra Taft Benson, he said, “Indeed, I have a vision of flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon².” When we had the lesson, I read those words with my eyes, but the phrase that made it to my head was, flooding “my life” with the book of Mormon. So, since then, I have tried to flood my life with it, reading, or listening all through the day. The results? I see lessons, similarities, types, examples, and answers in everything around me. Even in donuts.

When we look at our lives through the lens of the gospel, we can see everything a little more clearly. We also start to see gospel similarities in just about every situation, and that perspective gives us clarity as to why we are really here on the earth, and changes the way we make everyday decisions. And the cumulative effect of all the good decisions we make gives us the happiness that lasts, the happiness that Lehi experienced, and not just the fleeting sugar rush of the best donut on the earth.

1. 1 Nephi 8:11,12

2. Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon

Sweet to thy taste

27 Tuesday Oct 2015

Posted by in Agency, Food

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Most of us understand the the basic process of food digestion.  We eat something, our body converts it to energy, and then whatever is left over is disposed of.  Since it is interesting, let’s quickly recap the details of this digestive process.

The digestive system is a group of organs working together to convert food into energy and basic nutrients to feed the entire body (which the body uses for energy, growth, and cell repair).  This process begins with the mouth, – more specifically the act of chewing (breaking food into smaller pieces) – essentially breaking it down into a manageable form/size that our body can absorb and use.  This food goes down our throats, through the esophagus and into the stomach.  The stomach holds the food, mixes the food, grinds the food, secretes enzymes that continue to break it down. It passes from the stomach into the small intestine where the food is further broken down and the nutrients contained in the food are absorbed into the body. From the small intestine, the food is handed over to the large intestine, or the colon where what is left (mainly food debris and bacteria) starts to accumulate and solidify.  From there, the food (unused remnants) eventually passes the rest of the way through the body and is discarded.1

The most interesting part of this process to me is the timing.  According to the Mayo clinic; after we eat it takes approximately 6-8 hours for food to pass through the stomach and small intestine.  Then, it takes another 40 hours to pass through the large intestine and bowels.  That’s a total of about 48 hours of transit time from eating to disposal.

Now, that timeline may not seem like a big deal, but think about the the reasons that most of us decide what to eat or what not to eat.  If we are honest, the primary driver for most of our eating is how something tastes. Therefore, we base an entire 48-hour digestive process in which our bodies will slowly and methodically break down and pull nutrients from food and give our bodies the energy they need to sustain life on the tiniest period of time that we will actually taste the food. Even in conservative terms, if the process of actually chewing food takes a total of 5 minutes (I’ve never chewed food for that long), that’s only .17% of the process time. That’s less than 1/5th of 1%.  But, for reference, if we want to include the entire period that we sit down to eat a meal (let’s say a half-hour), that still only adds up to 1.04% of the digestive process timeline.

If we are basing our food choices solely on how something tastes (good or bad) without any thought to how my body will react to the food, how many nutrients my body will be able to break down and absorb, or that foods potential effect on my body as a whole, we are missing something, in fact, we are missing 99% of something.  With this information, we should be able to evaluate our foods overall effect on our bodies before making a choice about eating it or not eating it.  Our body may in fact vote to overrule our taste buds quite frequently – if not constantly – because in reality our stomach and intestines have the job of breaking down and absorbing any nutrients found in those M&Ms for 47 hours, not 47 seconds, so it should get a 99% (and overwhelming majority) vote on the matter.

This applies to foods that we do eat (but maybe shouldn’t) and to food that that we don’t eat (but maybe should).  After all, how many of us will gladly eat a handful of jelly beans because they taste delicious for 3 minutes, yet don’t eat asparagus2 because it tastes gross for 3 seconds?  By doing this, we subject our bodies (and 99% of the digestive process) to the grueling and fruitless attempt of trying to absorb phantom nutrition from jelly beans because we wanted a few seconds of tickling taste buds, or in other words we decide that how we feel right this minute is more important than how we feel for the next 48 hours.

We are constantly making important decisions, yet we fall into the forgetful trap of basing those choices on how we feel during the smallest moment in time (i.e. tasting food), forgetting the affect that choice will have on the much longer (and more important) process (digestion), since that is where the nutrients are absorbed by the body.  Then, we complain about our bodies not providing us with ‘energy’ to “run and not be weary, and walk and not faint.”3

We also may fall into the forgetful trap of basing how we feel about a food we are served (trials, difficult times, struggles, emotions, challenges, etc.) during that same small moment of time – considering them to be gross or unwanted because they are not delicious to us in the moment of chewing.  While our brains may be saying “this is gross, spit it out” our body and our spirit (the 99%) are likely shouting for joy at the prospect of the long and meticulous opportunity to process some “real” food saying “finally, something we can work with; just wait and see how much nutrition and energy this will give you in the next 48 hours.”

Let us remember that often times – if not all the time – the foods that are the most beneficial to us might taste a bit bland, bitter, or even kind of gross – at least at first.  Yet, if we can make it through the 5-minute chewing process, those foods which are nutrient dense and very beneficial, can spend the next 48 hours traveling through our digestive systems giving us valuable energy, vitamins, strength, and life, which in turn start to become and feel delicious to us.  Then, we can make a more informed and conscience decision about how we feel, and choose to enjoy the process of selecting and preparing4 and enjoying the food that we know will do us the most good – and we start to understand that food is about much more than our taste buds.

The Lord has been preparing food for a long time.5 He is the master of all master chefs.  He prepares food that is highly beneficial for each of us on an individual basis, and we can rest assured that our bodies and sprits are pleading with our brains to get on board with the process of digestion by seeing the food which has been prepared for us, and then choosing to chew on it.  That chewing starts the process of digestion and allows the rest of the long process of nutrient absorption to commence.  Let us all take a second look at the broccoli and the asparagus on our plates (and in our lives) and realize that 10 seconds of chewing will be well worth the 48 hours of life that it gives.  Let us choose to eat the best foods, and be “willing to receive” that which He gives us.  “For what doth it profit a man if [food] is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the [food]?  Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the [food].”6

Notes

1 The majority of the information in this paragraph is taken from WebMD.com.

2 I chose asparagus, but you could insert any number of vegetables here that are healthy for our bodies but that may not taste as good as M&Ms.

3 D&C 89:20, Isa. 40:31

4 Although the preparation of food is not addressed in detail here, the process of preparing food (planning, grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, etc.) is very much a part of the overall process, and in all reality should be as much a consideration in our choice as anything else.  This can be viewed as adding an additional few hours into the process (lowering the time spent chewing to an even smaller percentage), and raising the overall timeline of digestion and food processing.  Here you may ask the question: “If I spend the necessary time planning, preparing, and actually eating the best foods all the time, my whole day would be spent revolving around food and eating.”  Yes, it might.  It would certainly take a bit more time that it currently does – and perhaps this thought gives added weight to the instructive phrase “the need for constant nourishment” that we hear (and take upon our hearts) in the holiest of all places. Let us see the parallels in food that are continuously all around us.  See also D&C 29:34-35 for important context in this post and in our thoughts about food and how it affects us.

5 See JST Matthew 6:27, Psalms 136:25, and D&C 59:18-19

6 D&C 88:32-33

7 The title to this blog post “Sweet to thy taste” is taken from Proverbs 24:13

Not Papaya Juice

25 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by in Food, Opposition, Silence, Trials

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Something awesome happens when you squeeze an orange.  Juice comes out.  It doesn’t matter whether it is sliced in half and then squeezed with hands directly into a glass or chopped up in big pieces and thrown into a juicer, or even if it is peeled and then ‘juiced’ by my teeth and they chomp up and down, the fact of the matter is that regardless of the particular method of squeezing involved, the juice that is inside that orange is going to come out under pressure.

How strange would it be if we squeezed an orange, only to find something other than orange juice?  Perhaps it could be apple juice, pear juice, or if you are really unlucky it could be guava or a papaya juice – or worse still a glob of black goo.  That’s when you just throw it in the trash (papaya and goo).  We would label it as a Pharisee fruit and shake our heads in disgust wondering what on earth went wrong.

Fruit is a product of a tree1, and rightfully and literally is called the fruit – not just because that’s its name, but also because it is a literal product of, or the end result of the growth process of that tree/vine/bush.  In this sense, the juice that is inside the fruit could be considered the fruit of the fruit – or the end result of that fruit’s maturity – or in other words, what it ultimately has to give at the end of it’s life cycle (when its time to be squeezed).

Paul taught, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance”. 2 Peter added, “beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful”.3

Mosiah and Alma were almost identical in their descriptions of the qualities that we should posses (as enticed by the Holy Spirit), being “submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, and all long-suffering”.4  Then, the Lord himself indicated that power (the only real kind) must gained and exercised by “long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge”… and that our  bowels should be “full of charity, and that virtue should garnish our thoughts unceasingly”.5  By my count that’s a list of at least 31 traits (at least 13 are duplicates) that should be “in us” if we have the spirit and if we are to be good fruit.

The next question then, is what comes out of us when we are squeezed?

Regardless of what method of squeezing is used, or who (or what) is doing the squeezing; if we experience pressure (and we do), our fruit juice will start to come out.  Squeezing could be things like pressure at work,  juggling the various demands on our time, busy schedules for everyone, church callings, high expectations, unfair and perhaps uninformed judgments, words, thoughts, or actions towards us by anyone and everyone, and really every other thing in the whole world that has been specifically tailored to our individual lives, or products of living in a fallen world to see how we respond individually to being squeezed.  After all, that’s why we are here isn’t it?

When things get hard (they will and they do), and the light seems to be fading, and sometimes when the lights are bright and everything is fine, you can bet you’re being squeezed – and what comes out of us (how we treat others, how we turn outward in that moment, how we act, etc.) is a really good indicator of what is really inside of us.  Let’s all hope that when we are being squeezed we have more to offer than a pile of black goo or papaya juice – because this world already has enough anger, resentment, vengeance, un-forgiveness, lack of patience, short-suffering, harshness, contention, vice, vanity, pride, selfishness, and insubordination.  There is enough and to spare of that black goo.  Instead, let’s hope that when things are the hardest, the toughest, the gruesomest, the darkest, and the most difficult – when we are really getting squeezed – that sweet and flavorful fruit juice of the spirit is what people will see coming from us.  Things like patience, charity, long-suffering, kindness, temperance, goodness, faith, joy, meekness, humility, and love.  Let’s match the world and provide enough and to spare.

To come back to the center of everything, let’s think about the time when the best of us all was squeezed beyond anything that you or I can even imagine.  Then realize that during those excruciating moments of absolute pain and anguish, the fruit that was “in him” was literally squeezed right out of him, and was left for all to see – and it was the purest of all love.  Pure, humble, constant, amazing love.   His squeezing was so intense, that it caused him “even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit”. 6 Yet there he was, all the while worried about you and me, and making sure that we had a way out.

Let’s share goodness, even when we don’t think anyone deserves it.  Maybe especially when we know they don’t deserve it, because after all, we are all in the growing process of becoming fruit, and the juice that is inside of us is what we ultimately have to give during every step and leading up to the end of our life cycle.  And fortunately for all of us, a loving father has provided us a strong and beautiful tree (and vine) that provides nourishment, love, and encouragement through his grace to help us be the best fruit we can be.

Notes

1 – I realize that there are some fruits that grow on vines, bushes, or in bogs as well, but the principle is the same (they grow on some type of plant).

2 Galatians 5:22-23

3 2 Peter 1:5-8

4 Mosiah 3:19 and Alma 13:28

5 D&C 121:41-45

6 D&C 19:18

We all Scream for Ice Cream

22 Monday Jun 2015

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Once upon a time, I was super smart and knew everything. I pretty much ruled the world, which, in fact, revolved around me. I was obviously the most important kid in the universe, and no one could do anything about it.  My kingdom, during this era of enlightenment, was Payson Junior High School.  I was in 8th grade.

My co-rulers and I, who also happened to be equally as smart as I was, made it a daily occasion on our lunch break, to walk the quarter mile off campus to take our lunch at the local Dairy Queen. Now, this Dairy Queen was known throughout all the land as the most delicious, for it served the greasiest fries on the earth and the best pink sauce ever. Anyone familiar with this prize winning establishment can vouch for the authenticity of this statement. An enormous grocery bag of these things could be purchased for a mere 80 cents. But, the prize of the Dairy Queen lunch caravan wasn’t the greasy fries, it was the jumbo ice cream cone. People would travel from all around just to partake of its hugeness.

This ice cream cone only cost around 65 cents, and contained roughly 19 revolutions of ice cream carefully swirled on top of the sugar cone. It was massive. Just for kicks, because we were the collective kings of the jungle, they also placed a plastic monkey toy on top of the Everest cone as homage to our greatness. This tower of sugar, milk and deliciousness kept us coming back day, after day, after day.

You have to imagine in your mind, our group of 14 year old geniuses in those days. There was Myself, Brad, Anthony, Mark, Mo, Josh and others, after purchasing our delectable diabetes cones, would play Street Fighter on the arcade console for the 5 minutes before we had to make our trek back to reality.  The distance from the school would only allow this short time to be enjoyed inside the Dairy Queen, the next 10 minutes or so would be spent trying diligently to consume the entire cone which we had just purchased.  Frequently teetering on the brink of brain freezes, this was no small feat. Oft times we would fail in our attempts, and would sadly, and with much dismay, have to dispose of our remaining cone in the trash can just outside the doors of the school.

One day, Mo, one of the eldest of our company, came up with one of the best consolation prizes ever. In his experienced wisdom, he showed us that it was ok if we didn’t finish our bucket of ice cream upon our return to school.  If we did have a cone left, we could, in our last moments of an enjoyable lunch, throw our remaining frozen treat projectiles “toward” the garbage can.  If the ice cream and cone somehow smacked the brick wall 14 feet above the garbage can, and slowly trickled down, inch by inch, leaving a snails trail of vanilla in its wake, all the better!

Again, we were a group of very smart and brilliant kids.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with 8-10 kids throwing ice cream cones in the general direction of the garbage can everyday after that right?  Pretty soon, in our wisdom, we would actually purposefully eat less ice cream to save most of our cones to make a more dramatic ice cream explosion. Oh man, we had so much fun!…..for about 4 days.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Apparently,the custodians at Payson Junior High School didn’t really like scrubbing down the ice cream war zone everyday. On the 5th day of our ice cream disposal system, after the first 3 missiles were fired at the wall, the sweet little custodian lady burst out from her secret hiding place and we were busted.  The worst part about this whole thing is that it wasn’t until I actually saw her, that I even realized that it probably wasn’t a good idea to chuck ice cream at a wall.  Maybe I wasn’t so super smart after all?

Needless to say, myself, Mo, Brad, Anthony, and a few others were blessed with the privilege of spending a week after school washing lockers, and being servants to the sweet little custodian lady who had the last laugh.  And that is where my life of crime began and ended. Sorry again Mrs. Franz.

I spent a week cleaning after school because I didn’t see the big picture.  I couldn’t see past my own cheap entertainment.  My own selfish desires to watch ice cream cones slowly trickle down a brick wall, took precedence over worrying about who would have to clean it up.  I was blinded by my own indifference.  I didn’t see the big picture.

In the Book of Mormon, Jarom, the son of Enos, was explaining the mindset of the Nephites during his time which was only about 60 years after Lehi left Jerusalem.  These Nephites were supposed to be the righteous ones, they had been separated from the Lamanites, and had the scriptures, and the prophets. But, just as always, something got in the way. He says in Jarom 1:3…..

“Behold, it is expedient that much should be done among this people, because of the hardness of their hearts, and the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of their minds, and the stiffness of their necks; nevertheless, God is exceedingly merciful unto them, and has not as yet swept them off from the face of the land.”

It is our natural tendency to become complacent, to see only what we want to see, and to forget about everything that isn’t directly effecting us. We don’t pause to look at the big picture. We tend to separate, and contain God into a small 3 hour window on Sundays, and forget Him the rest of the week. We cant let this happen to us. 


When we see things happening in the world around us what do we think?  Do we brush it off as something that is only happening halfway across the world, or in some other country, or state?  What about our own community? Do we see attitudes and behaviors that remind us of any societies in the Book of Mormon? Do we involve ourselves with any of them? We need to take the time, and open our blinded eyes, soften our hardened hearts, and start to listen with our spiritual ears.  Its part of what we need to learn here in this life. Lets look at our lives through the lens of the Book of Mormon. If our people had a chapter, what would it read like?

Hopefully we can all learn from my ice cream shenanigans that we need to stop and look at ourselves, and how we are living, to see if there are any ice cream cones that we are chucking at the wall. After all, someone is always watching.

The Best and Worst Cookies Ever

10 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by in Food

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It’s a known fact to everyone who has ever tried my Mom’s chocolate chip or molasses cookies that they are the best cookies ever created by the hands of a mortal. Like Frodo’s sword that glowed blue when there were Orks near, I seemed to have the ability as a kid to detect and sense when there was cookie dough near. Suddenly, like a Duck’s instinctive and unstoppable urge to fly south for the winter I was drawn to the kitchen to eat as much dough as I could before being shooed or forced out. Unfortunately, so were all my siblings. We all arrived within moments clamoring like the seagulls on “Finding Nemo” for a bite (or handful) of cookie dough. Each of us like moths drawn to a flame pretended (or didn’t even pretend) to want to “help prepare” the dough although we all had the same obvious ulterior motives in mind to consume as much dough as possible.

Her cookies were always delicious… except this one time.

I came home to cookies already prepared. I saw that there were about 30 on the plate and naturally planned to eat them all before anyone else saw them. So, I poured a tall glass of milk, and dipped the cookie. I took my first bite expecting a euphoric cookie experience. “crunch”. Peanut? No. Cashew? No. Brazil nut? No. Almond? No. What was this? Uh oh… oh no…. that’s when my mind processed the taste and texture. Walnut! Barf city! I felt I had been duped, had, deceived, tricked, cheated and played. I felt I had been violated as had my taste buds. Yes, the harvest had come and the wheat had not been separated from the tares. I was so upset that I only ate like 17 of the 30 cookies… Yeah, I showed her.

Is this post entirely about whether or not it’s a sin to include walnuts in cookies? No, because we all know it pretty much is. This post is about SEPARATING the walnuts from the cookies… or in more scriptural reference, separating the tares from the wheat.

We all live in the same world. We are all brothers and sisters yet there is turmoil and injustice everywhere. We are aware of the morals and standards of the world that are in such rapid decline its unreal! There is civil unrest, wars, and rumors of war throughout the world. There is so much extortion, violence, murder, theft, dishonestly and breaking of the Sabbath day that it’s treated mundanely and violated so routinely it’s as if there were never commandments against them! The messages portrayed as socially acceptable are mind boggling. The lyrics and messages in music, media, tv shows, and movies today is absolutely unbelievable and seems to be numbing us as a culture to evil itself. It attempts to bombard us until our acceptance of evil reaches a higher teir, only then to repeat that cycle indefinitely. Maybe this is what it means to live in the world, but not be of the world. We must draw our line, because the world will not! It seems we as a people have reached and will continue to push the limits of “anything goes”. This world is very ripe and It seems it truly is time for the harvest. Are we prepared? To further Colby’s message in his last post, If it were in the scriptures we would read somewhere in Moroni where he would have said “Checketh thyself, before thou wrecketh thyself”.

Whether we like it or not, the walnuts will be separated from the cookies, and the tares from the wheat. Hopefully we’re excited about that day. However, the question is: Are we really ready for it? Are we made up of pure delicious cookie, or do we still have walnuts that we need to address and eliminate? If that’s the case, the day is today, the time is now, we can’t afford to procrastinate!

It’s time for a self examination. Right here, right now. What are we made of? Really, when we look deep into ourselves, what are we made of? Are we fully and truly and deeply converted in this Gospel? Are we going to Church because we ourselves desire it? Do we really want to or are we going through the motions because your parents, or spouse wants you to? Are we trying to improve ourselves each day? Are we truly seeking to be more like our Savior? Or… are we as Colby worded it “comfortably complacient?” Are we stuck in cruise control without much thought? Are we hollow and made of words vs made of actions?

It’s time for a wake up call. This sifting process is not separating Members and non members. Not at all! This is separating our hearts, our intents, our desires and who we truly are. God is no respecter of persons and just because we go to Church or just because we have a recommend that doesn’t guarantee our safety. Does it help? Of course!… if we are truly converted! Just being a member isn’t good enough anymore. Just showing up isn’t good enough anymore. Being a “hearer of the word” isn’t good enough anymore! Was it ever good enough? We need to be “doers of the word” also. It seems the time has come to make sure we are deeply rooted into the Gospel of Christ so when the storm comes we will not be torn from our place. We need to be strong and ready.

I wouldn’t ask you to do anything I haven’t done myself, and what’s helped me a ton is very simple. Right now, grab your phone and read the lyrics to the child’s song “If the Savior stood beside me”. Read through it a couple times. Better yet, memorize the chorus. Now, go through 1 entire day with those lyrics constantly in your mind. Think of those lyrics before you made a decision. How would that change your patterns, habits, language, demeanor or thought processes? Would it alter your music choices or entertainment choices? Would it affect what you watch, or do? Would it effect how you parent? How would you change? What would you change?

This post is not to offend others or to elude to myself being superior or perfect. Ha! We all know that’s not true. This is a simple method that has helped me through the years refine myself as I continue to define myself as a follower of Christ. To show my Savior that I know he is my Salvation and my way. That He is my compass. To show him that I not only believe, but also KNOW that fact. To not only say but to also DO those things which I should. To make and continue to make the necessary changes in my life to rid myself of “walnuts” so when the harvest comes, I am as prepared as I can be. Of course you and I will continually have to rely on the Atonement. That’s why it’s there. Use it, don’t abuse it, and let’s decide to make ourselves better every day. Starting Now!

Pharisee Food

26 Tuesday May 2015

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A few weeks ago while I was chatting with someone who I had recently met, he asked what I like to do (for fun).  This is a standard question, and I thought for a few seconds about how I would reply – I thought to myself: “I could say golf, because I do enjoy it, but I don’t go nearly enough to justify that as a real answer.  I could say camping, but I won’t because we really don’t do that often enough either”.  I thought of a few more things that I could have justified or said to sound a bit more well-rounded, but then I decided on a simple and honest truth.  I replied; “I love to eat”. 1

I think we can all relate to this right?  But before we say yes, let’s understand that my saying “I love to eat” is much different than if I had said; “I love food”.  Much different.

To understand this difference, we first need to understand that “food” is defined as “any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc.”. 2 Just in case we might misunderstand what food is, the keywords of that sentence are “nourishing”, “sustain life”, “provide energy” and “promote growth”.  If we eat, drink, or otherwise take into the body something that is not nourishing, or does not sustain life, does not provide energy, or does not promote growth, etc. it is not considered “food”.   It is fake food.  Fabricated food.  False food.  Phony food.   Counterfeit food.   Not even close to real, nourishing food.  It is Pharisee food.  So-called ‘food’ that claims to be super nutritious, jam-packed with essential vitamins and minerals and all sorts of healthy ingredients, yet inwardly full of sugar, harmful, and energy sucking garbage that will make me turn into a pile of goo.  ‘Food’ that screams to the consumers via marketing campaigns, commercials, or celebrity endorsements.   ‘Food’ that will cleverly and boldly list all of the wholesome and organic ingredients, with no thought to their changed or modified state which eliminate any nutritional value (if there was ever any in the first place).  ‘Food’ that is packaged to be seen of men, or to be tasted for their much artificial flavorings.

Thus my statement above makes sense now, because I love to eat all the things that are not ‘real’ food.  Things like M&Ms, ice cream, chips, skittles, cookies, and more ice cream.3   These items are the pretend food that sing sweetly to you while you roam the grocery store. The pretend food that is placed in all the right places to lure you into their trap.  The pretend food that is so beautifully packaged, and the pretend food that is less expensive than real food. And maybe worst of all – this fake food is also delicious – well, at least it seems to be delicious while you are eating it. It’s so good, so clever, and so deceptive, (and we are so eager to believe it) that we may actually think we are eating real food.  Somehow we think that this substance, or combination of substances will somehow nourish us, sustain life, provide energy, and promote growth.4    And yes, I tend to avoid food in an effort to eat.

The problem with this fake food is that it turns on you.  It betrays you very soon after you’ve eaten it.  Sometime between when it was softly singing you a lullaby in the grocery store and the 13 seconds following ingestion, it becomes poison and we can’t figure out how this seemingly delicious treat is causing our body to scream out in pain.   Instead of sustaining life, it feels like it’s taking your life.  Instead of providing energy, it provides illness.   It makes us feel so wrong, yet for some reason – after we feel so horrible – we think that the only thing that can make it better, is something worse.  So, we add to our woes by eating even more.  We avoid all the real food that will make the pain stop.  We are forced into the fetal position, and vow to never eat another particle of ‘food’ ever again.  Then, after a few hours of laying on the couch in a Pharisee food coma, we somehow forget the pain of the last few hours and we’re ready for shake from Dairy Queen and some M&Ms.  What, that’s just me?

So, we invite others to partake in our misery, because after all, misery loves company.  Some (reasonably) will respond in the negative to our clever invitation, but we don’t give up.  We say things like “it’s not fun to eat a shake by myself”, or “eating healthy is boring”, “real food tastes gross”, or worse, we have “the attitude of mocking and pointing our fingers at those who had come and were partaking of the fruit”. 5

Hopefully we can all see the connection here, because in the world today there are plenty of things out there that pretend to be food, but in reality are only Pharisee food.  Fake food that will claim to be fantastic, healthy, life changing, delicious, and full of life sustaining ingredients, but in reality are nothing but garbage that do us harm.  Food that (regardless of their Pharisee promises) will not provide us with nourishment, energy, growth, or sustenance.

Yet, there is something out there that will provide us with all of those things.  The true bread of life.  The gospel of Jesus Christ.  Let’s learn to love food instead of just eating, and then let’s ask ourselves, “where is the next food“?

Notes

1 – I added a few other things to the list after the fact, mostly to sound a little more normal.  After all, who answers that question with just ‘I love to eat’?  I also told him that I love to read and also ride my bike.  I am pretty sure he was really impressed with my sophistication and uniqueness.  He never could have imagined meeting someone so diverse and expansive in his or her worldly interests.   As a side note – I do love eating while I read and eating while I bike (obviously).  Reading while I bike is too hard.

2 Dictionary.reference.com/browse/food?s=t

3 Lest anyone think I discriminate; I include frozen custard, frozen yogurt, and all of their relatives in this general category.  I love them all.

4 Let’s be clear.  Eating this type of food will help us grow all right.  It will just help us ‘grow’ in all the wrong ways.  It will help us grow away from health.  It will help us grow fat.  It will help us grow tired.  It will help us grow weary.  The same could be said for sustaining life.  It will sustain us only in the sense that it will not immediately kill us.  It will lull us away carefully into unhealthy and and horrible habits, while promising that it’s packed with vitamins and minerals and whole grains.

5 1 Ne. 8:27

Where’s the Next Food?

05 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by in Food, Journeys

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A few years ago, a good friend (and co-worker) of mine told me of a frequent occurrence related to meal time at their house; his son – who was age 10 at the time – would finish his plate of food, and immediately ask “dad, where’s the next food”?  It didn’t matter if it was breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, helping 1 or 2, the question came…”dad, where’s the next food”?  Apparently he was always on the lookout for the next food.  However, over the years as my friend and I have laughed over this recurring story, I have wondered if the question is only partly based on physical hunger (legitimately asking “where is the next food” because I am still hungry), but also partly based on knowledge and planning (for his mental preparation and ease, he needed to know where the next food fit into his day, so that he didn’t get overly anxious about not knowing where the next food is).  Maybe he just wanted to know the plan for ‘the next food’, or maybe just an assurance that there would indeed be a ‘next food’.  The point is – he was always eagerly awaiting ‘the next food’, and he was not satisfied with being full – even in that moment.

Another story related to ‘the next food’ is one that we are all likely familiar with; it’s called a vacation.  For me, 85% of the fun of vacationing is searching for, strategizing, planning, looking forward to, and then waiting for ‘the next food’.  Even if you are in the act of consuming ‘the current food’ or so full from ‘the last food’ that you are ill.  On vacation, we longingly ask the question “where’s the next food”?  This is pretty much what Disneyland is right?  At least for me it is.  Walking from the churro cart to the pretzel stand, only to be distracted by the ice cream shop or the frozen slushies.  This also happens to be a great activity to engage in while the children (or everyone else in the party minus the baby) are in line for 30-45 minutes.  This is likely why it is called the happiest place on earth.  Once, while vacationing with Colby and Catie a couple of years ago, we made it a goal to find the best fish tacos.  This led to an exhaustive search of the entire local area, and by necessity a taste test at nearly every location.  It didn’t matter if we were hungry or not, we were in constant search of ‘the next food’.  This process naturally culminated with the four of us being seriously ill (nigh unto death) for most of the vacation and then at our final destination (our last meal before we left) we found the best fish tacos.  They were delicious, and Colby made the perfect observation while we were forcing the food down; “just think of how good these tacos would be if we were actually hungry”!   The point is – we were always eagerly looking forward to ‘the next food’, and we were not even close to satisfied with just being full.  We wanted to be stuffed to the brim, and then start planning ‘the next food’.

Why is either of these stories important?  I think the answer is in the process of always looking for what’s next and never thinking that you’ve made it.  We should always ask the question, “where’s the next food”?  Whether that’s a meal, whether it’s a certain job or responsibility in the church, whether it’s a task that we’ve been sent to earth to accomplish (no matter where we live), whether it’s a person we need to affect, whether it’s something we need to experience and learn, whether it’s a situation at work, or even if there seems to be a noticeable lack of clearly orchestrated situations, we need to ask the question “where’s the next food”?  What can I learn from this situation or experience?  Even if we are spiritually full, let’s seek out and look for ‘the next food’.  Because after all, we don’t want to consider ourselves ‘satisfied’, lay on the couch, fall asleep, and then wake up 4 hours later with a rumbling stomach and no idea where ‘the next food’ is or where it will come from.

There are many stories of ‘journeys’ captured in the scriptures.  Journeys (by necessity) include tribulation, trials, murmurings, afflictions, struggles, successes, sickness, death, and every other possible thing.  That’s what makes them interesting right?  Yes.  But one important element of a journey is that sometimes the participants of these journeys think (or thought) that they were done ‘journeying’ (the point where they felt ‘satisfied’ or even ‘stuffed full’ of food), and thought  “yes, we made it.  I can stop looking for the next food because here it is in abundance”.

For example, in 1 Ne. 17, Nephi picks up with yet another journal entry in verse 1; “And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness”… this is like the 86th time since leaving Jerusalem that they’ve stopped and rested, only to pick up and leave again.  He then starts listing all the fun they’ve had along the way (he cites much affliction, women bearing children, raw meat, murmurings, etc. along with many of the blessings they’d seen) then he gives us a fact check in verse 4: “And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness”.  Eight years.  Eight.  When Lehi told them that they were leaving Jerusalem to find the promised land, I’m not sure any of them had eight years in mind. I bet they were pretty tired of looking and searching for ‘the next food’.  In verses 6-7 they arrive in what they called ‘Bountiful’ because of its much fruit and wild honey, and other things which were prepared that they might not perish (not to mention it’s on a beach).  My guess is that they all looked around (at the much fruit, honey, beachfront property, lack of murderous colleagues, etc.) and thought; “Okay, I can do this place.  We made it.  We can stop searching for the promised land because we are here.  I guess dad wasn’t totally crazy.  This place is for sure the promised land, so the journey is over.  No more looking for ‘the next food’.

Another example is found in Ether, where we find the Jaredite party on a journey from the great tower to their own promised land.  They have a remarkably similar story (journey through lands ‘where man had never been’ likely filled with many afflictions, struggles, successes, etc.) through the wilderness until they reached the seashore.  It may be that they had the very same thoughts as Nephi and Lehi’s party (we made it).  So, they pitched their tents and they dwelt there upon the seashore (Ether 2:13).

In each of these two examples (and logically in all of our indivudial and familial journeys through the wilderness, which is code for our lives here in mortality), there is a theme of continual and repetitive movement, progress, struggles, blessings, trials, murmurings, etc. with the overall goal to arrive at the promised land.  Its something they are continually seeking, looking for, being led to, and hoping for, but if and when we think we have made it (when we stop asking where’s the next food), that’s when the Lord needs to jolt us out of a rut and remind us that we haven’t quite made it yet, because somehow it’s always just over the next ridge or just past that river on the horizon.  It might also be a part of the journey to ask ‘are we there yet’? 495 times to which the short answer ‘no’ is given…. all along the way (but that’s a post for another day).

In Nephi’s case (1 Ne. 17:7-8), it was after many days that the voice of the Lord came to him…and basically said “you may think that you’ve made it, and I know 8 years seems like quite a long time to wander, but I actually want you to build a boat and cross the sea, any questions?”  To Nephi’s credit, and as a fantastic example of obedience he said (again), “I will go and do, but where should I go to find ore to make some tools”? (vs. 9).

In the case of the Jaredite party, there is an interesting difference in the Lords presentation of ‘the next food’ to the brother of Jared.1 In Ether 2:14 we read that (4 years after the Jaredites had arrived at the seashore) ‘the Lord came to the brother of Jared and for the space of three hours did talk with him and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord’.  Three hours of chastisement is bad enough, but three hours of chastisement directly from the Lord probably felt longer to Mahonri than the 8 years that Lehi and Nephi wandered through the wilderness.  The phrase ‘no longer called upon the name of the Lord’ seems a lot like ‘stopped looking or asking about the next food’ to me.  I think that 4-year period of seashore lounging might have started to look like a permanent vacation to the Jaradites, and they might not have wanted ‘the next food’, because they were satisfied with the food that they already had (and that they’d already spent enough time ‘looking for more food’).  This might have had something to do with them ‘not calling upon the Lord’.  I would guess that during that three hour chastising party the Lord let Mahonri know that he hadn’t quite arrived at the real promised land.  He might have also mentioned that 4 years is a long time to not ask ‘where’s the next food’?  This thought is strengthened by the Lords direction in verse 16, which says “Go to work”….2

For each of us and our mortal journeys the Lord will continually provide us with ‘the next food’ – especially if we are looking for it and asking for it.  Sometimes ‘the next food’ is disguised as a tricky situation at work that can teach us patience or give us an opportunity to show love to someone who really needs it. Sometimes ‘the next food’ is dressed up as a more than difficult home teaching assignment or partner.  Sometimes ‘the next food’ is an absolute shower of blessings that overcome you and fill you right up.  Sometimes ‘the next food’ is a tender mercy that could be considered a quick snack or power bar for the hill that you may or may not know you need to climb right around the corner.   Sometimes ‘the next food’ looks exactly like ‘the last food’, which you threw in the trash (didn’t eat) because you hate broccoli. Sometimes ‘the next food’ doesn’t look like what you ordered at all…. and in a huff you flag down the waiter and say “excuse me garcon, I ordered the filet mignon with mashed potatoes, and this looks like sautéed mushrooms and asparagus…. I think there has been some mistake”3, and the waiter looks at you with some pity, some humor, and much understanding and says “sir, this is the chef’s special prepared just for you, I think that you’ll find it most enjoyable…. if you’ll try it.4  Then, after you’ve completed this course, he will prepare for you the house special, a dish that the chef calls ‘the next food”.

Notes

1 Even though Nephi’s guidance (to build a ship) was ‘after many days’, it appears that these ‘many days’ were considered a typical period of rest for their party, because there was no chastisement from the Lord indicated in the record, nor did it appear that Nephi had ‘failed to call upon the Lord’ during those ‘many days’.

2 This story (the brother of Jared’s chastisement) has a very successful ending, as we all know.  Shortly after this mega chastisement, the Lord shows himself to the brother of Jared in one of the most amazing scripture stories that we have – ever.  The veil is completely removed, faith is done away with, and the Lord ‘could not withhold anything from him’ and the brother of Jared sees everything that had been, and all that would be (Ether 3:25-26).  Sounds pretty awesome to me.  It would also appear that the 3-hour chastisement was effective to bring the brother of Jared down to the depths of humility – which unlocked some serious power (see Ether 12:27 and 2 Cor. 12:9-10 for a review of how weakness is strength), and we’ve already covered here how failure is a necessary ingredient for success.  All of this indicates Mahonri’s humility, understanding, and action – because he listened when the Lord said ‘Go to work’, which is what all of us should do when we’ve been chastened.  Listen, understand, (and as Casey put it so well here), ponder, and then go to work. Don’t forget the secret ingredient.

3 This idea (‘the next food’ being the same ‘food’ we’ve seen time and time again, but have repeatedly thrown away or discounted for whatever reason) or not being ‘served’ what we think we’ve ordered is cause for thought (and serious pondering) because the Lord does not make mistakes, and there is most definitely a plan and purpose to each serving of ‘the next food’.  If I am continually being served  ‘food’ that I don’t want, don’t try, or turn away, I may have some questions to answer – especially when we are brought face to face with ‘the chef’ attempting to explain why we didn’t try the ‘food’ that he prepared especially for us.

4 As you grew up, your parents serve you vegetables right?  Yes.  No kid really likes broccoli and asparagus, but they are healthy and the parents understand that even though it may not be pleasant, they do your body a service and provide valuable nutrition, and this is why they serve them to kids.  Miraculously, the child grows up and learns to love asparagus and broccoli, and cannot fathom a time when this was not so, potentially losing sleep over the many times in past years that they’ve thrown delicious asparagus right into the trash can (with joy).  What a horrible thought.

I Really Like M&Ms

06 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by in Food, Preparation

≈ 1 Comment

A few years ago I had a problem, a serious problem.  I was addicted to peanut M&Ms. Now, before you discount this as a funny story or even a non-serious problem, I should impress upon your minds the seriousness of the matter.  This problem was in every sense of the word an addiction. It was unhealthy, unrelenting, and insatiable, and – as a hallmark feature of a true addiction – I was largely unaware of the magnitude of the problem while ensnared in its chains.

I had, have, and still do love peanut M&Ms more than any human should, and this particular problem started when I was visiting one of my brothers’ homes in Arizona.  He had a large jar of candy sitting on the counter and it just so happened that this large jar of candy was filled (literally filled, like a swimming pool of sugar and peanuts and chocolate) with peanut M&Ms.   While we were there visiting this candy jar was available for any and all to partake at their leisure.  No limits, no effort (except for lifting off the candy jar lid, which I soon just left sitting on the counter for ease in stuffing my face more quickly), no parental influence to tell me that was enough (after all, I was an adult right?), nothing but myself to govern my appetite for the delicious treat.  This trip (in which I ate the majority of his candy) was only the beginning of my problems.

Soon after this initial frenzy, and my true discovery of these M&Ms, I quickly transitioned from ‘wanting’ them to ‘needing’ them.  I needed them every day.  I needed them to be by my side to give me comfort when I was weak.  I needed them to speak peace to my heart when others were mean to me or didn’t understand me.  I needed them to assure me that everything was fine and I needed them to feel good (this is healthy right?) – and it just got worse from there.  Soon, not only did I ‘need’ peanut M&M’s, but I ‘needed’ them in a larger quantity and with less frequent breaks.  At first, a small (single serving) package would fill the void, which quickly transitioned to me ‘needing’ a ‘tear-n-share’ size bag.  This seemed a simple enough transition, after all, good + more good = more good.  Then, over time, my dependence upon M&M’s grew and I needed a ‘small bag’, then a ‘large bag’ (I completely skipped the ‘medium bag’ since it seemed appropriate).   This problem escalated into my ‘need’ for a family size Ziploc bag (you know, the kind you get at Walmart or Costco in the mega bulk section) which I would hoard for myself and devour in a weekend.  Read that again to understand where I was…I would consume an entire 45 oz. bag of peanut M&M’s in a weekend – by myself.

What happened next, was disturbing, but also very logical.  I began to store them.  I began to think to myself “what if I can’t go to the store and buy more?” or even worse, “what if I want some (need some) and don’t have any?”  That was unacceptable to me, so I ALWAYS had more than I needed just in case I wanted some.  In fact, I remember a time when I went to the store and bought 2 or 3 ‘tear-n-share’ size bags for a trip only to reason with myself that ‘I would probably need more’ so I went right back and bought twice that amount.  I am not proud of this.   When I was home, I hid them in various locations (in case someone found one stash – I would always have another).  I was totally prepared for any event, because I knew that I would be safe and that nothing was going to prevent me from enjoying M&Ms.

Now, the law of diminishing returns is in full force when you eat M&M’s.  But that doesn’t stop most people, and it certainly didn’t stop me from trying to plow through it chasing the delicious taste of the first few M&M’s (you know, the one’s I could taste before my body started begging me to stop).  I would make myself ill each time I would feast upon them.  Many times I would go to bed in an absolute state of sugar-coma vowing to not go quite that overboard next time – only to eat a bowl of M&M’s for breakfast the next day.  I had M&M’s in my baseball bag, my golf bag, my wallet, the pocket of every pair of pants I owned, my computer bag, my car, and probably my scripture bag.  There was no activity (including sporting events that I participated in) that was exempt from the tentacles of my disease (yes I did also buy them at the snack shack).  I made sure of that.  I even painted a pumpkin in the image of a yellow M&M for Halloween.

To be fair and honest (as you can imagine) I gained 40 pounds during these dark times.  40 pounds!  Imagine if you put 40 pounds of M&M’s on a scale, because that’s exactly what my hindquarters and midsection was comprised of (your welcome for that image in your minds) and it was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination.

Flash forward a few years to now – and I have shed this habit.  I still love M&M’s but I managed to free myself from their addictive powers, and since I can see a lesson to be learned from this experience, including turning weaknesses into strengths (See Ether 12:27) I’d like to relate it to a parable that we all know; a parable in which my M&M’s can (and hopefully will be) likened to ‘oil’.  This story is found in Matthew 25:

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

If we consider my love for, storage of, preoccupation with, and constant protection of M&Ms a ‘simile’ for what we should be doing with our ‘oil’ we can learn a valuable lesson.  Do I have sufficient storage of oil in my lamp?  Am I worried that if I take a trip I might run out?  Am I worried that my rate of oil consumption is more accelerated that my rate of oil storage?  Do I have enough oil stored up in case of emergency?  What about Saturday night when I know the store is closed on Sunday?  Have I prepared my oil stash to last the night or next day?  What about if we were bears and I had to survive a long harsh winter in a cave?  Have I stored enough oil for myself?  Have I helped my family store their oil?  Do I have various stashes in case one gets spoiled?  Am I confident that no matter what happens I can and will have access to this oil in time of need?

This gathering and hoarding of oil is a good thing – and the more weight we add the better.  Imagine the spiritual pounds we will add if we continually seek after, feast upon, and store this oil to the same degree that I did with M&Ms.  There is no law of diminishing returns with this oil – in fact it’s the opposite – the more we eat, the better it tastes, the more ravenous we become and the more spiritual pounds are added to our hindquarters and midsections.  Then, when the rubber meets the road and the bridegroom comes – we will have enough in our store to abide the day.  Those without stores of oil or ‘no meat on their bones’ will be left asking those who appear more plump to ‘give us of your oil, for our lamps have gone out’.  These spiritual pounds are not shareable, and they are only gained by repeated consumption of spiritual food and the only advice we can give at that point is to ‘go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves’ – or in other words – go get yourselves some M&Ms and start eating.