Thus far, the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement has:

• Blocked and shut down transit bridges in Portland, Chicago and Seattle.
• Injured dozens of police officers.
• Littered the lawns of universities, public parks and churches with trash, abandoned tents, drug paraphernalia and blocked countless roads and byways.
• Interrupted the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of everyday employed people.

What have they accomplished? Better yet, what are their goals? Are they united or are they a group of people whining about their lives without doing anything to actually change that direction? Thus far, all I have seen is the interruption of regular, everyday hardworking people’s lives in OWS’s attempts to make somebody pay. These employed people have to leave home hours early and arrive home hours late, taking away from valuable time with their families, just to get through the crowds.

Believe me, I want a full-time job that provides for my needs, with a little extra to put away for rainy day. I want affordable healthcare. I want affordable rates for home and student loans. I want to be able to provide for myself and (someday) a family.

But what satisfaction would come in life if all of that were handed to me on a silver platter? If I have learned one thing from reading about my family history (Mormon and proud!), it is that my ancestors worked hard; they labored hard all day, every day to provide a roof and food for eachother. They didn’t have much, but they appreciated and loved what they had. Some of them worked two and three jobs to make ends meet.

Am I frustrated with how the banks have been operated by their boards? Yes, absolutely. Do I want, hope for and welcome a change? Yes, absolutely. Does their “movement” have any chance of making positive change in a good direction? No, I don’t believe it does. If they want to change the way the banks operate, they get to VOTE their current elected officials out of Congress! The existing laws that can help the situation aren’t enforced and any new laws that might help willl not be passed by those in office now.

These OWS people want jobs? McDonalds in North Dakota has a starting wage of $15 and hour. They want healthcare? They want an education? Go work hard. Don’t expect somebody else to pay for it, and don’t punish everyone in the town or city you live in who is trying to work just as hard as you claim to be.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka LDS Church, Mormons) announced the creation of a new calling (a position or job within the Church) to be filled within each of it’s over 1,000 congregations designed for single members: The Matchmaker*. While the soon-to-be-filled calling is officially called the “Ward Dating Specialist,” many have speculated that this position may well be a permanent foundation in the future of Mormon marriages.

Since the early days of the Church’s foundings, the leaders have pressed for the membership to marry young (18-21 is preferable). But in recent years, members have been putting marriage off, waiting for a more financially solvent time to begin such a daunting commitment as a family.

With this new approach to marriage, many have speculated that the Church will soon return to it’s original practice of prophetically arranged marriages; in which the President of the Church decides who will marry whom.

It is not yet apparent how the general membership of the Church will receive this news.

*This is a JOKE. Please, do not think any less of the good ol’ Mormons just because I like to poke fun at them… ’cause I am one!

Tomorrow will be two months since my Mother passed through the veil of mortality into the eternities. Since then, we have struggled as a family to find the feeling of “home” in our house. I am amazed at all of the little things Mama did that made our house a home; the decorations, the cute things she sewed, painted and made; even her annoying socks with bells on them– they all seem so empty without her beautiful face to brighten our days.

Yet still I feel her. Upon laying my head down to sleep, I have felt Mother tucking me in. While sitting in the House of the Lord, I heard her speaking words of Love and comfort to me; words that only she could have said to uplift my spirit. While talking with my Father and brother, I have felt her sitting there with us; telling us that she Loves us.

So often I have heard that upon our departure from this mortal life, we are done. That’s it! No more living. There are few greater fallacies than the claim that this life is all there is! I know from sacred, personal experiences that the “dead” from this world do live on; they are intimately aware of us and our needs. They are positioned to assist us with our greatest fears, struggles and trials, far more than they could have in this life.

Such experiences have solidified my faith in Heavenly Father’s plan; that great Plan of Happiness. Though taught in various forms worldwide, I cannot express my gratitude to know the full extend of that plan. We are eternal beings! Our lives neither began upon our birth in this mortal world, no do they end upon leaving it! Our Savior, Christ, has atoned for the sins, weakness, pain and sickness of all humanity; such that we have full right to the gift of salvation, and full access to exhalation, should we choose it.

I wish that I could adequately relate how grateful I am that my Mother is no longer suffering physical pain, as well as her ability to influence and guide me with great power, as the Lord deems necessary. I am also grateful for the closeness, care and concern that has grown even deeper between Dad, my brother, nephew, sister-in-law and I. Though we miss our Matriarch, we have come to depend our each other and the Lord so much more.

What a great and Loving God we have!

Say your Hail Mary’s, praise Allah and feed the poor: your prayers have been answered!

Verizon Wireless announced today that the Apple iPhone 4 will be coming to the Nation’s Most Reliable Network. Pre-orders for existing customers can be made online staring Feb. 3rd, 2011, with general orders opening up on Feb. 10th. (Perhaps Verizon/Apple will put out some awesome commercials during the Superbowl, reminiscent of Apple’s infamous release of Macintosh in 1984.)

While details of the data plans and tethering charges have not yet been released, the cost of the phone is as follows:

• 16GB – $199 w/ 2-year contract
• 32GB – $299 w/ 2-year contract

Verizon declined to comment on pricing plans, utilization of data during calls, download speed and tethering pricing. Though not uncommon for Verizon to be nearly as secretive as Apple, it would have been beneficial to offer existing AT&T customers a great incentive to switch.

A quick review of Verizon’s Getting Ready Guide for existing customers reveals one big hiccup for me; all existing voicemail’s will be lost upon transfer to the iPhone. While everyone else may not be the virtual pack-rat that I am; there must be more than a few people out there that hoard their voicemails with the same fervor of Scrat in Ice Age.

Don’t get me wrong, though; I am stoked for the iPhone to come to my favorite network. Perhaps the biggest point to consider though– is it worth extending a contract now with the iPhone 4, or is it best to wait until June when they will probably release the iPhone 5?

Source: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/iphone.jsp

My darling Mother, Charlene Gayle Whitaker, 60, passed away at home on December 1st, 2010 after a long battle with cancer. She was a dedicated housewife and mother her entire life. She is survived by her loving husband, Howard (Bud); two sons, Chad and Derek; two brothers, James and Michael Slayden; and three grandsons, Chad and Jarett Majestic and Kayden Whitaker. Services were  held at 11am, Saturday, December 4, 2010 at the LDS Apple Blossom Chapel, 25 West Apple Blossom Way, Salem, UT with a viewing prior to services at 10am. Interment at Salem City Cemetery.

Eulogy: Written by Jann Peterson, and given by Wanda Cox.

Charlene Gayle Whitaker was born on January 8, 1950 to Winnifred Elizabeth Corson and James Darrel Slayden in Cedar City, Utah. At only a few days old, she moved to Southern California where she lived most of her life, except for the last several years living here in Utah. She grew up in Chino, El Monte and Covina, California where she graduated from Northeastern High School. She also attended Chaffey College and Beauty School, where she received her Cosmetology License. She married Howard (Bud) Whitaker on February 5, 1977 in Pico Rivera, CA and their marriage was later solemnized in the Los Angeles temple for time and all eternity. They moved to Alta Loma where they raised two sons, Chad and Derek.

Charlene worked out of her home doing nails while in California and more recently in utah, she worked at JoAnn Fabric where she was the manager of the Viking Sewing Department. As early as two months ago, she still had a desire to go back to work. Charlene had a work ethic that included being honest, arriving at her job early and staying late. She loved to do machine embroidery and was able to each others while she worked.

Charlene could make anything. She was particularly skilled at sewing, toll painting and handcraft. She was so creative and it showed in every aspect of her life, from painting her nails to coordinate with a particular holiday to wearing colorful clothes and hats. She turned objects that didn’t look so good into something that looked like a million dollars and made gift that she would give away to her friends and neighbors. She loved serving and making things for others and recently made bookmarks for people in her ward when they had a birthday. These are just some examples of her creativity at work.

Their friends, Brenda and Terry of 35 yrs, told of the time when Bud and Charlene had invited them to go square dancing but they didn’t want to do it. They were very persistent about going and finally the couple said,”let’s just do it once and then tell Bud and Charlene we don’t like it and then we won’t have to do it again.” They went the first time and loved it and continued to do it for many years.

Charlene had a good sense of humor and enjoyed joking with her family and they in turn joked around with her. Chad tells of the time when he was about 12 and had hung a bucket of water just inside his bedroom door. He called to Derek to come back to the bedroom. Derek wouldn’t come so Chad just kept calling out for him to come. Finally, Charlene had had enough of the yelling back and forth so she went to Chad’s room to tell him to knock it off. Chad was surprised to see him Mom and tried to tell her not to come any further and at the same time he looked up at the bucket. Charlene looked up and for some reason the bucket was balancing on the door instead of dumping all over her. She turned and walked out and Chad followed to apologize and found his Mom leaning over with her head in the kitchen sink and he thought she was crying. As he leaned over to apologize, he saw mascara running down her cheeks because she was laughing so hard. She said to Chad, “That was funny – don’t do it again.”

She served her family in many ways, especially when the boys were younger, as team Mom to their ball teams. The banners she made for the teams were hand drawn and painted. When they moved to Utah it was hard for her to be so far away from her grandsons because she loved having them around. She and Bud would drive to California and pick them up and bring them back to Utah so she could keep “Grandmothering” them. And then she had Kayden to keep her going. Derek tells of the time when he had just started his first semester of college and he was struggling with the adjustment of school. Things were not going well one night, and he decided to just get in his car and drive the three hours it takes to get home. When he got there, he and Charlene sat on the kitchen floor and talked through the night. She helped him and said only the things that Mom can say. He went back to school the next day.

Charlene and Bud’s home was open to all who needed a place to stay. her brother, Jim, tells of when he and his brother were young and Charlene was older and had moved away from home, she would always make a point of inviting them over to her place to spend time with them. Many family and friends have been welcomed where Charlene could care for them.

Charlene struggled with health issues throughout her life, specifically diabetes from a young age and then later with cancerous lung and brain tumors. She was a fighter and did everything possible to beat it. She was appreciative of the help that was given to her and especially the priests for bringing the sacrament each Sunday. She has a love for her Savior and wasn’t afraid to die.

Of all the traits that can be said of Charlene; her creativity or sense of humor, her willingness to do things for others or welcome them into her home; the most important attribute that emerges, as we speak of this special woman, is that she was very devoted to her family and friends.

We pay tribute Today to Charlene Whitaker; a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a sister, a friend. She is survived by her loving husband, Howard (Bud); two sons, Chad and Derek; two brothers, James and Michael Slayden; and three loving grandsons.

Lately I have been involved in some wonderfully uplifting conversations with some close friends. We have been able to discuss politics, religion, values, education and a plethora of other topics together; all without judgement or discontent in the eye of disagreement.

On the flip side, I have experienced some conversations with other friends that were, for lack of a better term, a complete waste of good air. It seemed that regardless of what my views were, or how much I listened to and respected their views, unless they were in direct correlation with what the other person said or thought, I was chastised and mocked for my beliefs. I was called “old-fashioned,” “ill-informed,” and my personal favorite, “ignorant.”

It seems that the current definition of “discussion” is, “Give me my Truth, or I will give you my Hate.”

When did society come to a point that an opposing view, by nature of it being different from one’s own view, is wrong and ignorant? Haven’t some of the most rewarding ideas in our history come from open discourse of opposing views? (Think about it.. the Magna Carta, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, etc.)

I do not have much to say other than the questions posed in the previous paragraph. I enjoy open discourse and encourage others to listen to the views of those with whom they completely disagree. There might just be more in common than previously recognized.

My mind has been widened and my spirit has been uplifted by hearing beliefs and philosophies that are not my own.
For that perspective I am ever-thankful to Father in Heaven!

Today was the groundbreaking of the Rome, Italy temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Church president, Thomas S. Monson presided over the services. Here is a snippet from the groundbreaking, including some excited responses from the Italian saints:

To begin with, I would like to say that I have the most Loving, inspiring and spiritually-tuned Mother that I have ever known.

Since I was in the 6th grade, she has struggled with cancer in various forms. The past two years have been especially bad given that the cancer in her brain has grown, despite various surgeries and treatments. As this has happened, I have seen this beautiful woman slowly decay physically. Her speech began to slur, eventually leading to an inability to communicate at all. She lost her appetite, which left her unable to maintain body strength; leaving my Father, Brother and I to assist her with every facet of her life.

It has been our honor to assist her through all of this. Times have been tough; though I have constantly felt the Love of Jesus Christ resting upon our home.

Today we had one such moment that I will always treasure.

A lady from my Mom’s local church came by to visit with Mom and give her a beautiful necklace made just for her. We had the usual difficulty communicating with Mom, though she did seem to understand a little more clearly today than before. After her visit, I helped Mom finish her lunch and then helped her into bed.

Usually, it is quite a laborious task to get her into bed. With her unable to help, she is pretty much “dead weight”. But today, she helped quite a lot. Almost instantly though, she seemed to “wake up” from months of incoherence. She looked at me and said, “I love you so darn much, Derek!” I almost could not believe my ears! Not only had she said a full sentence, but she was able to put emphasis clearly on each word. I immediately sat down beside her and said, “I Love You too, Mama.”

..I should back up for a moment. You see, Mom’s ability to speak lapsed the most while I was in California this last July. Because I was gone then, I haven’t had the opportunity to converse with her since before I left. That made today all the more special to me.

We proceeded to have a conversation for several minutes. She expressed her Love for me, as well as how proud to have me as her son (though I jokingly say that second part was her medication talking!). I took a brief recess to call my Dad and Brother (they were at the store and work, respectively) to tell them to come home asap. I returned back to Mom to continue the conversation. She told me how she felt worried about us boys; wondering how we are doing. I assured her that though it has been hard, we Love her and are honored to care for her. I assured her that my Brother, Dad and I are well. She shared that she didn’t know what she wanted to do; to live with the pain or to pass on to our Father above. I promised her that as long as she wanted to stay, we would care for her and keep her comfortable; but when her time comes, I invited her to go home to Heaven.

Mom asked me to give her a priesthood blessing (as an Elder in the LDS Church I have the ability to do so). It was an uplifting and beautiful moment; being able to lay my hands on my Mother’s head and offer a blessing from her God meant just for her. Both of us had faces strewn with tears of joy and peace.

As our discourse continued, her speech began to lapse. Though there was the occasional word that gave hint to what she wanted to say. When my Dad and Brother arrived, we gathered around her and had a nice time talking and joking together as a family.

My Mother expressed well over two-dozen times today her great Love for all of us. Even when she was going to bed this evening she told my Dad how worried she was about my Brother and I. She is truly a magnificent Mother. During our discourse, we talked about family trips, conversations and even a few fights that we’d had. It gave me the opportunity to apologize, as her the same (though she didn’t have need to.)

Words cannot accurately express how I am feeling currently. The spirit of God has filled my heart and our home today. Whatever the future holds, I know that God is in it. That gives me great comfort. God is truly Good.

Today I just want to say that I Love my Mother. She has done so much for myself and my family and asked for near-to-nothing in return. It is an honor to be the son of Charlene Whitaker.

I Love You, Mommy.

180th Semi-Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Saturday Afternoon Session video feed.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ 180th Semi-Annual General Conference video feed.

The 180th Semi-Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
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Well, I have spent the better part of the past couple of hours pondering the words that were spoken during the Afternoon and Priesthood sessions today. More importantly though, I recall the feelings that came to me. This post will be quite brief, as most of what I remember are feelings that are, to me, very sacred and personal; things between myself and Father.

What I took away from the sessions was the great need to include my Saviour in my daily activities. He is, after all, the life and light of the world.

President Thomas S. Monson, the living Prophet of God, spoke about making choices in life.  He shared his “Three R’s of Choice”:

The Right of Choice:

He quoted President David O. McKay, “Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life is God’s greatest gift to man.”

The Responsibility of Choice:

Of this, President Monson said,  ”We cannot be neutral.There is no middle ground. The Lord knows this. Lucifer knows this. As long as we live upon this earth, Lucifer and his hosts with never abandon the hope of claiming our souls.”

The Results of Choice:

“All our choices have consequences. Some have nothing to do with our salvation have nothing to do with our salvation. Others, have everything to do with it.”

As he discussed those “Three R’s”, situations came to my mind where I made choices that I knew were not in harmony with the law of God. Since I desire to be with Him again someday, it is of eternal importance that my choices reflect that desire; both inwardly and outwardly.  Not to boast or have pride in myself (President Uchdorf gave a phenomenal talk on Pride, basing it on President Ezra T. Benson‘s talk “Beware of Pride”), but rather to show the happiness that comes from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I wish that I could more accurately describe the thoughts, feelings and emotions that I have, but I think that perhaps I am meant to ponder some more.

But alas (again!), the best is yet to come!

Tomorrow has more in store!

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM MST: Music and the Spoken Word (live link)

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM MST: Sunday Morning Session (live link)

2:00 PM – 4:00PM MST: Sunday Afternoon Session (live link)

The 180th Semi-Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Twice during the Saturday session of General Conference today I heard Elder’s quoting a previous Prophet, Ezra Taft Benson. President Benson spoke of the importance of having a Prophet today; not just reading the words of deceased Prophets.

The following is a list of “fourteen fundamentals” that President Benson gave regarding Prophets and the importance of following them. Number fourteen is my favorite.

For the full article, see:

Liahona; June, 1981

“First: The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.

Second: The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works.

Third: The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.

Fourth: The prophet will never lead the Church astray.

Fifth: The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.

Sixth: The prophet does not have to say “Thus saith the Lord” to give us scripture.

Seventh: The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.

Eighth: The prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.

Ninth: The prophet can receive revelation on any matter–temporal or spiritual.

Tenth: The prophet may be involved in civic matters.

Eleventh: The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.

Twelfth: The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.

Thirteenth: The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency–the highest quorum in the Church.

Fourteenth: The prophet and the presidency–the living prophet and the First Presidency–follow them and be blessed; reject them and suffer.”

(emphasis added)

“It is contrary to the design of heaven for the Lord to reaveal to us individually what he has already revealed collectively.” -?

“True success in life comes from true consecration of one’s life to the purposes of the Lord” Elder D. Todd Christofferson

The two quotes above really stuck out to me during this session. I do not remember the name of the Elder whom I reference in the first quote, but I will update the post once it is published one the Church website.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable session! Though the beginning of the session had some audio issues (which caused a pethora of my friends to text and call me pleading for a resolution. lol), I am grateful that it was promptly fixed.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave a heartfelt testimony to the members of the Church:

“We sustain you. That we return to you those same heartfelt prayers and that same expression of Love.
We all know there are special keys, covenants and responsibilities given to the presiding officers of the church. But we also know that the Church draws incomparable strength; a truly unique vitality from the faith and devotion of every member of this church.
Whoever you may be. In whatever country you live, however young or inadequate you feel or however aged or limited you see yourself as being. I testify that you are individually Loved of God, you are central to the meaning of his work -and you are cherished and prayed for by the presiding officers of his church.”

Often times, I feel that I lose sight of the fact that everyone plays an essential part in the plan of God. It is easy to forget that without the young girl at the grocery store, the man on the telephone trying to sell me the latest and greatest in home cleaning and the woman walking down the street with her pack of faithful children close behind –without each of these, the purposes of God would be bankrupt and void.

One life does matter.

I feel a sense of inspiration rising within myself to spread a helping hand out beyond my area of comfort. You see, my Mother has been struggling with her ailing health over the past several years. Father, Brother and I have dedicated ourselves to seeing to her care; feeding, cleaning, bathing and most importantly –talking with her. Our neighbors, friends and family have shown such Love and concern that I can hardly relate the great relief that we have felt as a family.

Such expressions of Christ-like Love have inspired me. They have inspired me to look not only within my own home; but to look to those very same neighbors that have helped to uplift and inspire my family. I hope to remember these feelings when times get tough. I hope to look out to others with a hand of concern and aide just the same as they have for me.

So many of the talks given during this session “hit home” to me. I am excited to read over the talks given during this session once they are available online .

But alas, the best, as they say, is yet to come!

The General Sessions will be available online at new.lds.org, radio.lds.org and various television and radio stations wordwide.
Saturday Afternoon session today: 2:00 PM MST (online, tv and radio)
Priesthood session today will be at 6:00PM MST at your local LDS church.
Music and the Spoken Word: Sunday at 9:00AM MST (radio.lds.org and radio)
Sunday Morning Session: 10:00AM MST (online, tv and radio)
Sunday Evening Session: 2:00PM MST (online, tv and radio)

The 180th Semi-Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The 180th Semi-Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Relief Society General Session video.

This afternoon while taking a break from seemingly endless lines of code, I felt impressed with the experiences my family and I have been blessed with lately. I want to emphasize the word “blessed”.

Though it has been emotionally, physically and spiritually draining seeing my Mother’s health deteriorate through lung cancers, tumors, surgeries, doctor’s appointments, late night bathroom breaks, falls, disorientation and inability to communicate, I have never seen greater faith and dependance on God than in my Mother’s eyes. She has never thought twice about calling upon my Father and I to minister to her spiritual needs by asking for a Priesthood blessing. When any other person would say, “I am exhausted! I cannot walk, I cannot speak, I cannot eat on my own; surely the Lord will not hold it against me for staying home from church today”, Mother insists that we help her get ready and take her to church.

I have sat by her bedside during particularly difficult evenings when she can do nothing but lay in pain; holding her hand and gently reminding her that I am there beside her. Each and every time I feel that I have walked away more uplifted by her strength and determination than I could ever be a support to her.

With the same Love and fervor I have grown close to and realized amplified respect for my Father. Never have I seen such Love, dedication and concern for another human being. He spends his entire day seeing to her needs. Getting her dressed, brushing her teeth and hair, assisting her in the bathroom and shower, feeding her and most importantly; Loving her. As his sweetheart and wife has gotten sick, my Father has only grown more affectionate. The occasions of calling her “sweetheart”, “honey” and “dear” are more frequent and hold so much Love that I can hardly express how it impresses me.

My brother and I have had the honor of “stepping up” to the new responsibilities of caring for Mom and Dad. We have grown so much on our own and as a family as we have served one another with Love and willingness. I have gained a greater Love and respect for him and his choices in life through his trials.

When the doctors told us that our only option left was a chemotherapy treatment that had, at best, at 20% chance of success, we had a very difficult decision to make. If the treatment worked, then Mom would remain as she is now; unable to communicate well or take care of herself. If it didn’t work, then she would continue to digress, but experience the awful side effects of chemotherapy in addition to the natural pain. Yes, it could lengthen her life, but what quality of life would that be for her? My Father spent quite some time discussing it with my Brother and I; we each spoke our opinions and we prayed that God would let us know what to do. Eventually we decided that it is in Mother’s best interest to not go through with the treatment and give all faith in God –knowing full well that His plan may be for her to die and return to Him.

Ultimately, I am thankful for the knowledge I have of God’s Plan of Happiness and the eternal nature of the family. Though I am selfish and want nothing more than to spend time with my Mommy, I do not wish for her to be in pain. Even if that means her returning to our Father in Heaven. You see, her death will not be a permanent one! It will last physically for a short time until the Resurrection. Yet her spirit will exist continually; and that spirit is her; every Love, passion, opinion and joy!

Such knowledge brings me hope and peace in a time of difficulty. We have been sealed as an eternal family within the sacred of House of the Lord. We have the opportunity to live together forever as a family; with endless potential for growth and happiness. Such a promise certainly does make any suffering here in mortality worth it.