Lessons Learned from Jenny Oaks Baker

Yes, I am a day late.

~BUT NOT A DOLLAR SHORT!

So on Sunday I was able to meet Jenny Oaks Baker for the Second time.  With Alex Sharpe!

Both are absolutely amazing and great people!

Now I've had a total of TWO Conversations with Jenny Oaks Baker and the first went something like this;

I pushed through the crowd asking for a picture(the one directly above), she agreed, posed, and the picture was taken.  Afterwards, she took a look at my name tag and said, 

"That's a very musical name."  I knew she was making a reference to my last name: Horowitz.  

I opened my mouth preparing to make some sort of witty response but another person pushed through asking for a picture.  I was already pressed for time, and she was occupied so I chalked it up to being famous, with a mental shrug of my shoulders, I wished her a good evening and got on my way!

The second went like this;

There was less of a crowd this time and my companion, Elder Elliott wanted a picture, I thought, 'why not? what's one more picture?'

This time she noticed my name tag first, and unbeknownst to her, she said the same thing again,

"That's a very musical name." Internally I thought, 

'Here we go again... I wonder how many pictures she has people ask her for on a daily basis?'

Now ready for the rush that would happen after the picture was taken, I had already prepared my response,

"I get that a lot."  I said with a smile, my quick thinking, my wit, all summed up those five words. Perfectly suave in all aspects.  She gave a wry smile,

"I bet you do."

~~

Looking back on this gave me the opportunity to think about names.

Names help us identify things.  We use them to describe things, people, actions.  She may not have remembered me, but she recognized my name.  She, with her 10+ years of musical study, knew the name Horowitz and stated what she had associated with it.

For me right now, I'm on a mission, that entails me spreading the gospel pretty much 24/7.  We are at this time, representatives of Jesus Christ and should act as such.  It's stated perfectly in 'My Mission Commission'

I am called of God.  My authority is above that of kings of the earth.  By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my master and He has chosen me to represent Him--to stand in His place, to say and do what He Himself would say and do if He personally were ministering to the very people to whom He has sent me.  My voice is His voice, and my acts are His acts; my doctrine is His doctrine.  My Commission is to do what He wants done; To say what He wants said; to be a living modern witness in word and in deed of the divinity of his great and marvelous Latter-day work.
How great is my calling!

We each do our best and though were not perfect.  We know what we're aiming for!

T

Diplomatic Epiphany

Due to some really bad weather, poor scheduling, and good 'ol fashioned procrastination, the post for this week was delayed.  So we are getting things back together!

Yes, I should've used flash...

 

The Show must go on~

Last week our district was asked to direct traffic at a diplomatic function.  For me, it was an excellent opportunity to both help out AND go to the Washington D.C. Visitors' Center. (an absolutely wonderful place)

 

So we suited up in the parking gear (lightsabers included), headed out into the chill air and got to work!

I was put in the North-West edge of the Parking lot, with a beautiful view of the Temple.  (See parking diagram below)

It gave me a lot of time to think(one of my favorite pastimes) as I was directing people to where they could park.  Specifically, I thought about prophets.

You may think, "why in the world would he be thinking about old men who talk about the world ending!?" (Maybe...)

That's not the point of a prophet. 

A prophet is put on the Earth so he can help lead and guide us.  He invites us to follow the commandments so that we can live life to the fullest.  This experience helped me understand that on a whole different level!

You see, I was put on the edge of the parking lot to guide people to better parking.  I would wave my 'lightsaber', beckoning people to follow where I was pointing, so they wouldn't have to guess or wonder if there was any parking available.

Some didn't listen.

 They would go ahead and park.  Some wandered aimlessly looking for a spot, eventually either following me, stopping and asking me where parking was available.  I would think to myself 'please, come on!'  or 'there's better parking if you'd just follow me!'

It was actually kind of sad.  The parking right in front of the Visitors' Center didn't get completely filled up until about twenty minutes before the Function ended.  Yet, the other parts of the parking lot were completely full.

People saw an empty space and went for it.  Perhaps they didn't see me or maybe they thought I might direct them to a less desirable spot, I don't know.

Just like the Prophets(sort of), I was leading people to a better place.  I was trying to tell them of a better way.  But some didn't listen, thinking, maybe, they knew more or that they had the right idea.  It may not have occurred to them that my whole purpose was to direct them to a better spot.

It may've been frustrating, but I did gain something;

A new vantage on the purpose of the Prophet.

People are... Human?

We all make mistakes.  Simple as that.  I, myself, have made millions of them throughout my short lifespan of twenty-some years...

Shocking, right?

Mistakes are made, feelings are hurt, some choice words are said, then someone goes home with a knot stuck in their throat and a feeling that they've been wronged.
 
Accepting that truth has been something that I have had some difficulty with throughout my  life.

Let me clarify; I've tried to make a distinction between a person and their actions, President Monson puts it pretty well in this Mormon Message below-

We don't know the reason a person did the things he or she did unless they explicitly tell us.  We don't know their circumstances and feelings(completely).  We can make guesses, but we don't honestly know.  I know I've jumped to an entirely wrong conclusion before(many times :(...). 

"So be kind regarding human frailty—your own as well as that of those who serve with you in a Church led by volunteer, mortal men and women. Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we."[Emphasis Added]

-Jeffrey R. Holland, "Lord, I Believe"

Even when people do things for a malicious reason, I've tried to think about the bright side of things, after all, as Jeffrey R. Holland puts it-