Your lungs are awesome. They magically make you breathe to regulate a precise balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide, among several other jobs critical to life. They do this despite your best efforts to overcome this balance. The lungs even have a super secret stash of air that is used only in emergencies. In fact, it is very difficult to access this stash. In order to access it, you have to stop breathing.

I’m not talking like hold your breath stop breathing, but chemically induced apnea stop breathing. When someone is given a drug that shuts off the breathing center in the lungs and the brain, the body quickly uses the available oxygen and, if needed, opens the secret stash called the functional residual capacity (FRC) to stay alive.

Interestingly enough, the air we breathe in (and the air in the FRC) is only about 21 percent oxygen and the average adult uses about 3-4 mL of oxygen/kilogram/minute to maintain an adequate oxygen level. So the average 150-pound person needs about 280 mL of oxygen/minute. Now, the secret FRC lung vault can hold about 2 liters of air. So, 21 percent of 2 liters is 420 – this means that right now, your FRC has 420 mL of available oxygen should you receive a lethal dose of Propofol. Knowing that you need approximately 280 mL of oxygen, this would give you about (420/280 = 1.5) one and a half minutes before the oxygen level in your blood starts to drop.

Still with me? If you need to take a break and grab a drink or something, I understand. We haven’t got to the awesome part yet…

Upon inducing anesthesia, we frequently induce apnea and take over the respiratory system. We do not often tell our patients that we will administer a lethal dose of Propofol in order to induce apnea. We say that you (the patient) will fall asleep and you will wake up. Let’s be honest, you don’t care about the details, you just want to be out…

Anyway, we understand how to monitor and manipulate the FRC for everyone’s benefit. As I have just explained it would take around a minute and a half of not breathing before we see any changes on the monitor. It really shouldn’t take longer than that for your CRNA to take over your breathing and start to mechanically deliver oxygen in order to sustain life. There are several techniques and tools that we learn to use to do this most efficiently, and it is awesome. But… things don’t always go smoothly. The real trick is understanding or predicting the patients who are at greater risk than normal and preventing those bad situations, giving yourself the best possible chance for success and safety.

At this point, I feel that I should tell you that anesthesia is very safe and that this is precisely what anesthesia providers have been trained for, and it really is what we do everyday, several times a day… If you asked me to analyze some data about marketing or customer satisfaction and present it to a board of anybody, I would be terrified…

Now, there is a very simple practice called pre-oxygenation that your CRNA can use in order to make sure that you are safe and that your oxygen level remains perfectly within the happy brain zone. Earlier we learned about how the air (and the FRC) contains 21 percent oxygen. Prior to surgery, your CRNA will put a mask on your face and have you take several deep breaths of 100 percent oxygen. Filling your lungs (and your FRC) with 100 percent oxygen has some amazing consequences. Lets do more math… here comes the awesome part…

As mentioned above, your FRC at 21 percent gives you 1.5 minutes of high oxygen levels. If you fill your FRC with 100 percent oxygen, you get 2000 mL or oxygen (instead of air). Knowing that you need 280 mL or oxygen/minute to keep levels up, math tells you that you theoretically get (2000/280 = 7.1) 7 minutes before your oxygen levels will drop.

Yes, you could shut your lungs down for more than 7 minutes before your oxygen levels even start to decrease. That means that after pre-oxygenation, I could give you a drug that would stop you from breathing, leave the O.R., walk down the hall to the cafeteria, grab a doughnut, sit and eat the doughnut, walk back, wash my hands, and come back into the O.R. before your oxygen levels drop.

Now, of course there are disease processes and several conditions that alter this, and I am simplifying things, but the basis remains true. One and a half minutes of safe oxygen levels versus 7 minutes of safe oxygen levels is very significant. And all this due to the simple means of applying a mask for a few moments before surgery… such a simple thing can greatly increase a patient’s safety and security.

So… What does this have to do with anything that belongs on this blog?

In Alma 49, we learn about the city of Noah: “the city of Noah, which had hitherto been a weak place, had now, by the means of Moroni, become strong, yea, even to exceed the strength of the city Ammonihah.”

What are the means of Moroni?  He used simple means: dirt, sticks, and rocks to create great things: impenetrable forts.  These provided safety and security to his people.  But more than that, Moroni “had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God” (Alma 48:7).  Faith and trust in the Lord was the true strength of Moroni’s armies.

Our simple means include the primary answers…

Daily scripture study is a simple process that plays a crucial role in keeping us safe and secure against the adversary. It brings strength and inspiration in times of need. Church attendance and partaking of the sacrament is a simple way to fill your spiritual FRC with 100 percent goodness. Like pre-oxygenation, prayer does not have to take hours to be affective. The blessings of simple obedience are endless. Let’s invest our time and trust in the basics. After all, by small and simple things are great things brought to pass (Alma 37:6).

Perspective is the way we see things when we look at them from a certain distance… It is like being in a forest and having a tree in front of you. Unless we step back, we will not be able to appreciate what a forest really is. So what is the eternal perspective of the Gospel?

Our loving heavenly Father has created a plan for us. This plan is called the plan of happiness. We chose to participate in this plan by coming to earth, gaining experience, and learning so that we could return to Him and receive a fullness of joy.

“Understanding this plan of happiness provides us with an eternal perspective and helps us to truly value the commandments, the ordinances, the covenants, and the trials and tribulations. ” – Elder Pino

1. Understanding and having an eternal perspective helps us truly value the commandments.

The commandments are the rules. Elder Holland said: we need [you] to stay on [the team] and stop dribbling out of bounds just when we need you to get in the game and play your hearts out! In almost all athletic contests of which I know, there are lines drawn on the floor or field within which every participant must stay in order to compete.”

The rules or commandments are not there to hinder us or keep us reigned in from having fun. The rules are there to make sure we are having fun!

I grew up across the street from a complex of baseball fields. There were 6 in total. Fields 1, 5, and 6 were used for little league games, the other were used for pony league, and high school ball. I played baseball every summer and it seemed like everyone else did. After our games, my friends and I would stick around and play baseball until it was so dark that we couldn’t see the ball anymore.   There were never enough of us to play full on baseball, so we would play ‘double-or-nothing’. I loved playing on fields 5 and 6. But we quit well before dark if we had to play on field 1.

Field 1 didn’t have an outfield fence. This created 2 problems. 1) the ball would roll forever. This made for really long innings of the 2 outfielders running all over the place. 2) Because the field didn’t really end there were people in the “outfield” that we had to watch out for… They didn’t understand that six 12-year-old kids were in the middle of a very important game – and it couldn’t wait. It wasn’t fun to try and explain to them that the ball was flying at them because they were in our field. That is when I learned that boundaries were actually a good thing.

Could you imagine playing soccer or football without any out of bounds?

That is only part of it… We have all probably played a game before where someone is bending the rules a bit. I think we all know who I am talking about…

Not only is it not fun to play without boundaries, it is not fun to play with others who don’t follow the rules and it is even worse when you are playing with others who don’t know that rules. Football without rules would be a bloody free for all.

So… having an eternal perspective not only helps us keep the commandments, but also helps us truly value them (especially the hard ones like home teaching or service or Sabbath day observance). The commandments exist to help bring us happiness. If you are struggling with a commandment, it will help to approach the commandment using an eternal perspective.

2. Understanding and having an eternal perspective helps us truly value ordinances and covenants.

Ordinances and covenants can be very powerful. How often do we remember the importance of taking the sacrament and what it really means? Many of us have made covenants.   Do we always remember them?

I know that for me personally I need to be much better and keep an eternal perspective regarding covenants. It is easy for me to remember the contracts that I have signed regarding work, a car, a house, etc.… and I get caught up in mortal contracts and the consequences of them, but do not always take the time to evaluate and ponder the eternal covenants that I have made. I invite you all to re-study and re-ponder the importance and the power of the sacrament and the other ordinances and covenants that you have made.

3. Understanding and having and eternal perspective helps us truly value the trials and tribulations.

Jesus Christ told Joseph Smith: “Peace by unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.”

Speaking to His apostles, He said: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

He reassured Moroni: “If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble… for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

How can we ‘truly value’ the “gift” of weakness? These scriptures teach us that we are to endure our afflictions well, be of good cheer, be humble, and have faith…

We will struggle, we will fail – that is part of life. But if we have the right perspective, we can come to value the trials and tribulations. The Lord has said that he gives us weakness. It is up to us to decide whether to value and use the gift, or to throw it outside in hopes that some passerby will come by and pick it up.

An example of this can be found in the book of Mormon. Ammon is with the servants of king Lamoni. The bad guys come and scatter the flocks because they are bad guys. Ammon knows that he is on the Lord’s errand. He has an eternal perspective on things. The servants of King Lamoni are on the king’s errand. They have a temporal or mortal perspective. Let’s see and compare how they feel about the same trial…

The servants said: ‘Now the servants of the king began to murmur, saying: Now the king will slay us, as he has our brethren because their flocks were scattered by the wickedness of these men. And they began to weep exceedingly.’

Compared that response to: ‘Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth… the power which is in me… that I may lead them to believe in my words.

Completely opposite feelings, servants were weeping while Ammon felt joy. That is the difference of perspective and faith. Nephi and his older brothers provide another example of this. They went through the same trials and tribulations. They were together. Nephi knew he was on the Lord’s errand and had an eternal perspective. His brothers were following what they thought were the foolish imaginings of their father. Their perspective was mortal.

The trials were not easier for Ammon or Nephi, but having the proper perspective made an enormous difference in every aspect of their lives.

Elder Pino states: “It is extremely important that we do not make decisions of eternal value from the perspective of mortality… The Lord knows what He wants to accomplish with each of us. He knows the kind of reform He wants to achieve in our lives, and we do not have the right to counsel Him. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.”

Again, we all have struggles.   Continue in obedience, really push yourself. Try even harder and you will see the blessings. They will come I promise you. As you continue to keep the commandments (especially the hard ones) and pray to see the eternal perspective… YOU WILL SEE IT.

Back when I was about 15 our scout group went on a campout to Flaming Gorge. My preparation was very thorough as I carefully loaded up my backpack for our 3 day camp. Thanks to my thoughtful considerations to the necessities our trip would require, our entire group of already obnoxious, rambunctious and annoying teenagers increased our capacities to annoy. This was all thanks to my backpack, which consisted of almost nothing but candy. While the leaders likely thought the mixture of not only teenagers, but sugar crazed teenagers in the confines of a 4.5 hour car drive was exhausting, my energy seemed to increase the longer we drove.

Upon arrival we promptly set up camp and upon completion I loudly asked “what are we doing now?” We were by a lake, in the mountains, and I had roughly 7 pounds of sugar circulating in my bloodstream. My leaders (who already looked like they wanted to go home) responded with as much enthusiasm as Ben Stein in the old claritin clear commercials and said “play cards”. I thought for a moment then said “okay, then what?” Their response: Silence… and they both climbed into their tents. I asked “what day are we renting a boat to go on the lake?”… “We’re not” was their response. “Did we really drive all the way here to play cards?” I asked? “yes”, came the response. I quickly realized the fun police had apparently threatened my leaders with their very lives at any attempt no to bore us to death. I felt like I had no freedom to enjoy the wild outdoors. So, naturally I did what any logically thinking teenager would do in the wilderness with no compass, no sense of direction, while in a place he’s never been. I grabbed my buddy and we left the group and snuck off to enjoy our newly taken freedom and fun.

Hours later it started to get dark so we headed back to camp. We entered our camp before sundown, both soaking wet from swimming, and I with a bloody earlobe thanks to a not so cool live lizard earring experiment that sounded a lot cooler than it really turned out to be. We received the welcome I should have expected. Our leaders chewed us out, and lectured us about the importance of not leaving the camp with the security of the others. They were upset we had not told anyone where we were going or when we’d be back. They had no way to track us or contact us and were clearly upset with us. From that moment we were then forbidden to leave the camp again unless our entire group was together or we had a leader with us. Bummer! This we realized was “true” lack of freedom and our actions lead to the lamest scout trip in history basically sitting in camp playing cards for 3 days.

We had wanted freedom and fun and thought we were getting it, but that was not the case. As it turned out our “fun and freedom” lead to exactly the opposite. It lead to being captive in a place we thought would provide us freedom. What we thought was the solution, was actually the problem. We had misread the entire situation, we had been deceived.

How many people in the world today have been deceived by this very thought process. The adversary is an expert in the art of deception. He and his followers have the whole “smoke and mirrors” game down pat. The world accepts, rewards, and even glamorizes the empty, hollow, and superficial things of the world while doing the opposite to the positive and righteous things. Sound familiar? How about Isaiah 5:20: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter”!

How many of us buy into this? How many of us go in search of things, places, substances, or activities to fill a void, bring a solution to, or bring us what either ourselves or the world incorrectly perceive as “happiness” or “fun” to provide what we feel is “freedom” but it doesn’t last. Why doesn’t it last? Simply because it never was! Wickedness never was happiness. (Alma 41:10) Smoke and Mirrors is all a game, the adversary’s game, and any game you play with him, you lose.

The world has and will continue to judge and call the LDS Church as something it is not. Our religion is viewed and described by the world as “restricting” and “no fun”. The adversary’s smear campaign is well funded, and is running on all cylinders. They have the support of the mass entertainment industry that constantly puts out product that is immoral, and filled with lyrics about sex, violence and drugs. They boast about and glamorize the adversary’s best weapons. The very same weapons he uses and employs on anyone and everyone including those helping him move his work along.

The world has painted a lie as the truth, and the truth as a lie! However, words, thoughts, actions, laws, and opinions of the world cannot and indeed will not change the truth. A lie is a lie, no matter how many believe it. The FACT is, the TRUTH is, it’s our abstinence from these substances, materials, things, and behavior that NOT restricts us, but allows us our freedom! Avoiding drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling, or other addictive items or behavior is exactly what allows us to remain free. It keeps us free from slight to even crippling addictions or lifestyles. How many marriages, families or friendships are broken up due to addiction of various kinds? How many people live subject to, or as an absolute slave to a drug, a cigarette, alcohol, gambling or pornography? How many people have to schedule their days and even their entire lives around something that has such a grip on them they can’t function without it? Their addictions have their full and constant attention and affect them physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially? Addictions can be destructive, crippling and destroy everything you have including life and health itself! After reading the “fine print” packaged with the world’s idea of “fun” does it still sound like fun? Does it still sound like it provides freedom?

Finding a solution to a problem has never been nor will ever include trying to forget it or drowned it out with any type of activity or substance. I’m not trying to be insensitive to or offend those with any type of addition, or who participate in these actions. Nor am I saying they are bad people, I’m just pointing out that those actions or substances don’t provide what they are advertised or pretended to provide. This is simply the adversary in one of his areas of expertise: False Advertising.

The reality is and will always be this: Happiness doesn’t come from a “thing”. It doesn’t come from a nicer car, bigger home, nicer clothes or material goods. Happiness doesn’t come from anything that money or influence can buy. Happiness doesn’t come from anything that can be destroyed, traded or taken from you. Rather, true happiness comes from something worth more than anything money can buy. Something worth so much, it’s priceless. Something made affordable to every single person on the face of the earth because it’s free! I am talking about a relationship with our Living and Loving Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ.

That is true happiness. Lasting happiness. Happiess that lasts because it is and always will be. The best part of all this is that Christ loves you and will help you out of any situation or addiction. Whether a lifestyle or substance is life altering or simply nagging, our Father in Heaven can help. He can guide you away from the smoke and mirrors to something stable, unchanging, everlasting and solid. Himself.

If “A Bug’s Life” has taught me anything it’s that every single grasshopper on the entire planet is a huge jerk. Normally I wouldn’t stereotype an entire species with an innumerable population based on the actions of a few fictional characters in a fictional children’s movie, But….

Every year I plant a little garden in an attempt to support my addiction to fresh garden salsa. In preparation I pull the weeds, till the dirt, supplement the dirt, and get it ready as best I can to give the seeds and plants the best chance to thrive hoping they will produce good fruit (and veggies). Sure enough after all that work is done, and well into the watering, continual weeding and caring for the plants and just as things are starting to look good, a bunch of grasshoppers roll into town. These punks ignore every possible message that could be learned from “The Little Red Hen” and help themselves to my hard work. They flaunt their lack of proper garden etiquette as they do every year which then leads me to grabbing a BB gun and going “grasshopper hunting”. Never once have I sat down and meticulously made invitations with ribbons and doilies for all the grasshoppers in the neighborhood inviting them to party in my garden all summer long. Never once have I thought to myself “man, I really enjoy the uninvited company of these grasshoppers” or “I sure am grateful they are here eating and ruining my crops I worked so hard to grow”. Yes, I love grasshoppers… just like I love taxes, splinters, and traffic jams.

The other inevitable deterrent to my garden, your garden, yo mamma’s garden and every other garden in the world (other than an aquaponic or hydroponic gardens) is that it will also grow weeds. In fact, my weeds grow better than my plants do. I don’t plant weeds, water them, care for them, or nurture them in any way. The only attention my weeds get is my grasp as I rip them from the soil. Yet despite all this my weeds continue to be the hardy and consistent plant kingdom version of Cal Ripken Jr.. The bottom line is this: If I want anything good to come from my garden I have to continually watch over and care for my plants and seeds so they will hopefully yield forth good fruit (or veggies). Good plants are much harder to grow then weeds and If I’m not careful, my garden would eventually be overrun with, and contain nothing but weeds. President Hinckley described my entire situation perfectly when he said

“Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds”.

Here’s the kicker, and the real reason I hate grasshoppers. It’s not “that” they eat but rather “what” they eat. You would think that when they roll up to “Riley’s Garden Buffet” to eat they would dine on the abundance of strong and vigorous healthy looking weeds… but they don’t. They ignore the weeds like little kids ignore veggies at the dinner table. They focus all their effort in destroying my crops and nothing but my crops. It seems they are determined to destroy all that is good in my garden and leave nothing but weeds in their stead. The bottom line is this: Grasshoppers persuadeth no garden to do good, no, not one. Neither do weeds; neither do they who are like unto them.

What I’ve come to realize is that no matter what I do (believe me I’ve tried) weeds and grasshoppers are completely and totally inevitable. Sure, I could avoid gardening all together to hopefully avoid them, but to avoid gardening would mean I would forfeit the fruit (and veggies) I so much desire. The realization is I cannot prevent grasshoppers and/or weeds from entering my garden. All I can do if I want to yield forth good fruit (and veggies) is put forth the continual and constant effort needed to keep my garden in the best possible shape I can.

So now we reach the end of this entry… I’ve done nothing but vent about grasshoppers and weeds like this was a gardening forum rather than a LDS Blog. So what’s my angle? Rather than wrangle everything in for you, my hope with this post is that while reading you were able to catch the symbolism and comparisons within it. Realizing what each “item” of the “parable” may represent. What is the garden? What is the dirt? Who is the gardener? What are the fruits? What or who are the Grasshoppers and weeds? Once we make the connections, my hope with this post (if it made sense to anyone) is that it will cause us to look back at our own “gardens” and see what needs to be done or improved upon to ensure we all have good strong “plants” to bring forth much good “fruit”.

My Grandfather has a tie. This is a very special tie. It was given to him by his true love. In all of my experiences with them together I never saw anything but unconditional love from my grandfather toward my grandmother. She has since passed on and is now in heaven making sure all things are in order, that everyone is using correct grammar, and overseeing the flowerbeds.

I noticed this special tie at my sister’s wedding. The entire family was outside the temple waiting for the couple. I approached and told him that I liked his tie. He thanked me, smiled and in true Grandpa Ralph fashion, began to teach.

He taught me that each Scottish clan had their colors or specific plaid pattern that they would wear. It made me think of flags or banners used in war – individual titles of liberty, if you will. Everyone knew who you were and to whom you belonged based on the colors you wore. He was wearing his prized McIntosh plaid tie.

My grandmother was a McIntosh… and you knew it… red hair and all. She had given him the tie. Grandpa continued to tell me that he wore this tie on special occasions when he thought that Grandma would have liked to be there (such as weddings and baptisms).² He joked that the only problem with the tie was that most of the family thinks that he only owns one tie.

He continued, still in true Grandpa Ralph fashion, now to apply his lesson on Scottish history to me. He asked me my middle name. Its Sam. He asked me where I got my middle name. He reminded me that I am named after a great man. A McIntosh. And that the colors that he was wearing, are my colors too.

Fast forward several months…

I received a package in the mail 4 days ago. Included were a McIntosh crest and a tie. This is a very special tie. It was given to me by someone I truly love. It is my very own McIntosh plaid tie. ‘Coincidentally’ enough I spoke in sacrament meeting yesterday (two days after receiving the tie) about keeping an eternal perspective and how it helps give us the right motivation. It was only on my way to church as I was thinking about how awesome I looked in my new tie that I truly understood what this tie was all about to me.

Yes, it symbolized my grandmother and grandfather, their legacy, their love and teaching, and their examples of discipleship… but the thought was given to me that I should zoom out and look at things from a farther off perspective. That is when it really hit me. Men had been wearing McIntosh plaid for years and years and years before I was born. Good men, like my grandfather, and great grandfather. I was just one person carrying the colors. Family is so important. Names are not always just names. The gospel of Jesus Christ is eternal. My hope now is that someday my children, (especially my first, because of his name) will understand how awesome a responsibility it is to wear McIntosh plaid.

²Grandpa was at my son’s baptism some days after the wedding wearing his McIntosh plaid tie. It meant a great deal to me. I was very happy to see him, and I was very happy to see the tie. I do want to say that, while I have gained a tremendous amount of love and respect for the McIntosh name, it takes nothing away from what it means to me to be an Alexander. I have been compared to other Alexanders my whole life, and I am humbled to be included in the group.

Coincidence |kōˈinsədəns, -ˌdens|

A.) A remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection

B.) What we call the will of God when we don’t want to acknowledge His hand in an extraordinary occurrence. (I made this one up)

It plays beyond our senses’ reach,
directs our movements, touches each
and every soul to bend and sway,
With guiding sweet, melodic play,

This music played by angel hands,
does guide the hearts, and feet of man,
to play the part they’re meant to play,
and brighten up the dark of day.

Our God composes perfectly,
This influential symphony,
Ensuring that by unheard sound
Our earthly Angels will be found.