Indubitable: April 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012

Dumt & Farligt: Hi-Res Danish Destruction

This video is pretty awesome showing high-resolution high speed images (2500 frames/second) of various crazy stunts from a Danish TV program. It kind of makes 'Wipe Out' and 'Most Extreme Elimination Challenge' look tame.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Profit vs. Loss

I just finished reviewing the profit/loss statements for my practice this year, breaking down employees and activities by their overall cost vs. profitability. It is a pretty cut and dry process of figuring out how much it costs to have someone come to work vs. the revenues they generate. As the Lord's prophet to the Nephite people, King Benjamin went through a similar process of weighing the value of his people to the Lord. He laid out the cold, hard facts and illustrated the degree to which his people were indebted to God. They were so deeply 'in the red' that were they to serve him continually, they would still be unprofitable servants (Mosiah 2:20-21).

There are certainly days when I have an acute awareness of my many shortcomings. These are magnified by the lens that helps me recognize the degree to which I have been blessed. Fortunately for me, Benjamin then recounted how an angel had appeared to him to declare "glad tidings of great joy". The angel instructed Benjamin that he should teach the people about the atonement of Christ and the great plan of redemption so "they may also be filled with joy" (Mosiah 3:3-4). Rather than focusing on the fact that they owed so much to God, Benjamin showed them the degree to which they were loved by God. This evidence was provided by describing the ministry of Jesus Christ and his ransom for men (Mosiah 3:5-11). Although we are all unprofitable servants, our souls remain of great worth to God (Moses 1:39).

This account reminded me of the pivotal moment in the life of Enos when he wrestled before God to receive a remission of his sins. He remembered having heard his father speak often "concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints" (Enos 1:3). He admits that he had a certain amount of guilt (it was swept away in the end), but that was not what caused his soul to hunger. Rather, it was his recollection of the joy of the saints--a topic on which he had heard his father speak of so frequently.

It strikes me that a message of glad tidings of great joy is something we can’t hear enough of. Though it is certainly helpful to have an awareness of our indebtedness to God and our inherent unprofitability, we need to hear and experience the joy--not just in eternity, but here and now. This joy comes as we understand the worth of our soul in God's eyes (see also D & C 18:10-13). Lose this perspective and our life is a realization of our unprofitability to God, and our inability to ever be 'in the black' on our own. Gain it, and we can comfortably admit that, though unprofitable, we are of great worth to Him.

Lee's Ferry

Lee's Ferry Rainbow

I resolved earlier this year that I would fish more in 2012. This weekend was my first day on the water this year--and what a day it was. Lee's Ferry was first established in 1871 by John D. Lee, a Mormon settler commissioned by the Church to provide a crossing for the Colorado River. It is a 15 mile stretch of the Colorado below Glen Canyon Dam and is renowned as a wild trout fishery. It hasn't been stocked since 1992 and now has a density of self-sustaining Rainbow trout of 20,000 fish per mile. It is the most spectacular scenery conceivable with 1000-foot orange cliffs rising strait up from the edges of the river. Rob & Luke, Rick & Steve and Jeff & Chase came along. We had great guides from Lee's Ferry Anglers.

It's a pretty amazing fishery. Thanks to water flowing out of the bottom of Lake Powell, water temperatures don't vary much more than 45 degrees all year long. The water is too cold for conventional hatches to come off in all but the hottest summer months when they get a cicada hatch. As a result, we fished tiny zebra midges with a small split-shot and strike indicator. It definitely polished up our nymph fishing tactics.

Glen Canyon Dam

One the way out we went through Kanab, Utah and Paige Arizona so we could drive over the Glen Canyon Dam and take a look at Horseshoe Bend from the lookout. It was spectacular. Luke scrounged up a few lizards to boot. Coming back through Jacob's Lake offered an amazing view of southern Utah from the Kaibab forest at 8000 feet elevation.

This should definitely go on the annual 'To Do' list.