Onward Christian Soliders

Sorry if this post isn't as good.  Blogger deleted the entire post just before I went to publish.  Nothing like a little frustration to start the post but I did get inspiration after waiting this week through the election results and avoiding most social media sites...

I bet you sang the title (or now are singing it in your head).  This week has been obviously unique from most as the United States again elected a President to fill the Executive Branch of our government.  I don't have any need to go further than that except to say that whether or not you are happy about the election results, none of that matters.  Seriously.  This is hardly a blip in the vast radar screen of time and all eternity.  What does matter is that you are faithful in your prayers and your service to your fellow man.  And that you treat your fellow man with the same love Jesus Christ gave as part two of the greatest commandment.  During this year and many years previous since the institution of Social Media, I have found a few falsehoods that should be brought up in regards to loving your fellow man:

1.  Facts and Laws PROVE things
I take you back to your 6-8th grade of science.  We learn all about predictions, theories, and laws.  Yeah, I still have to dust off that section of my brain too.  That one experiment you did for the fair PROVED potatoes produce electricity/baking soda causes explosions right?  Right?  Well, it produced an often repeatable result.  But you started with the question, "What will happen if..." and made a prediction.  You merely represented a possibility of action.  Stay with me and ponder this while we move on to fact...

Facts are data.  Seriously that easy.  Number of people in my household at 5:54 PM is x.  Crickets chirp at x chirps per minute at x temperature.

Laws are rubrics to piece together facts.  Laws are longstanding theories but still require interpretation and... they can change!  Even the Lord has had laws enabled that were fulfilled (Law of Moses anyone?).

Don't be wooed into this pattern of "(Group stereotype) is DESTROYED by this fact" I see so often these days.  Facts are data.  Laws are rubrics.  Only the Lord can establish commandments.

2. America is divided.
Yes, America has division.  But everywhere has divisions.  Are you married?  You have divisions.  But America is not choosing sides.  You can choose more than two options in life.  Remember "Good, Better, Best"?  It still applies.

We see a lot of bad things daily (or nightly depending on the shift).  But you can't judge the world by instances.  ALL of the people you meet are Children of God.  Some are choosing different paths than you but that doesn't make you divided.  Some of the people you deem as worthy representatives, others find distasteful or worse, evil.  We are all in different stages of life and the gradient of opinions is greater than the easy "choose the left or right" we all see.

America is full of strong-willed people like many other countries.  The Lord has humbled us many times and we see often the swallowing of pride to unify and uplift each other.  Be that quiet side of the social media that serves to serve, not to make a YouTube Top 10.  Be the representative for what is good behind our flag.

So what have we learned?  Hopefully something beneficial and spiritual.  I was unexpectantly moved to tears today while singing the 3rd verse of the Star Spangled Banner (we had a Hymn Sing sacrament meeting... ask if you don't know what that is).  I struggled through the 2nd verse but was completely overcome by the lyrics by the last:

"Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!

Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land

Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!"

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"

I actually am tearing up again reading this.  THIS is what America is.  THIS is what we fight for every time we load up and move out.

Don't despair, LEOs.  We may have losses (including again today).  Your mourning band is wearing out as is mine.  But we trust in God.  We fight for goodness and love of our fellow man.  Keep going.

God bless this country to allow us to keep serving each other and the world.

Godspeed LEOs.

-LDS Sheepdog

Politics and Religion Together?!

November is on it's way so my preface is promoting.  I am doing another Reader's Choice and Spouse questions post by the end of November/first of December.  Please forward your questions from yourself, your spouse, or other LEOs.  The most anonymous way is actually commenting (disregard the previous post about email unless you are like all of us with a "burner email").  I have the settings moved to ensure you have anonymity.  And personally, I like that idea.  I will also post the questions posed (and edit/generalize again for anonymity) so we can all answer each other with more than my meager experience.  Sorry for the interruption of post....

Many of you have been fully aware of the political banter happening between some members of our church and certain political parties.  I am not putting any of the full details here because obviously I want you to be uplifted after reading, not more likely to delete this website from your browsing history.  I honestly think a lot of that is just a joke.  The enjoyment I see is the activity of our members in whichever party or group they subscribe to and the outreach to make informed and appropriate decisions.  Some decisions are difficult.  We may feel forced to pick poor choices.  We may feel like nothing we choose matters.  But let me remind you that you are a part of this Earth. And in so being, you are a part of the decisions and voices for good.

Take a look at 3 Nephi 9.  Here the world as the Nephites know it has be utterly let desolate.  Cities have been leveled.  The survivors are mourning and fearing.  Then, the voice of the Lord offers comfort and a question I was left reflecting thanks to my Gospel Doctrine instructor today:

(Verse 13) "O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?"

These are the survivors of terrible tragedy.  These are the more righteous of the people of the Earth.  Any yet they are told to repent of their sins and be converted.  This is a reminder to us all that being on a list of the one true church does not mean we are all set.  We have to be constantly growing in the gospel.  We have to keep progressing.  And we have to be a part of the betterment of others.  Isn't that why you took this career?  Don't give up.  Christ isn't here yet.  And if you take anything from this verse, even if He was here, we aren't done yet.  Your participation in the betterment of this Earth is required if you wish to stay on the right hand of God.  Don't give into the politics.

Now of course I am suggesting discussing both Taboo Topic #1 (Politics) and Taboo Topic #2 (Religion).  Take a deep breath.  Its only taboo because people fear having an opinion and being themselves.  Don't get suckered into anger and don't give into the quietness of fear.  You are part of this Earth!  Now study up on the topics and vote for the people and items YOU discern as best with the assistance of the spirit.  And when you finish, go back to the service you do both at work and not.

Godspeed LEOs.

-LDS Sheepdog

A-Type is only a type

At times, I have always wondered if I am some anomaly in the law enforcement world.  I do enjoy catching "dirtbags," but the concept of being a sheepdog like an attack German Shepard has always been a little foreign to me.  Don't get me wrong, the need to act is not something to compromise.  Safety for sure.  But the need to be a billy club welding authoritarian seems a little much for an 8-12 hour shift.  Thus the title of this post: A-Type is only a type.

Think about the Lord's personality.  He was firm and loving at the same time.  We can be the same.  We can counsel and love while still upholding the laws and consequences of actions.  I have definitely been guilty of letting passion overtake my emotions.  Nothing drives anger more than presumed "righteous" retaliation.  No one should feel less for allowing anger for misdeeds done to the innocent.  But it is when we let that anger fester beyond reasonable that our loss of control can turn situations far worse.  I should have prefaced this entire block by saying I am not suggesting what you personally are doing is wrong.  In fact, I believe pretty much all of you reading are in fact doing right by the Lord and your fellow man.  I am merely putting into your mind the need of constant re-evaluation.

This world we live in can be a cruel judge of character.  23.999 hours a day, LEOs around the world successfully protect the public from the evil out there.  You perform tremendous work even through stress, persecution, and sleep deprivation.  You serve when you are sick, when you are hungry, when you are depressed.  You watch over the community in areas where you are at a ration greater than 1000 citizens per 1 LEO.  And you do all this without a single blemish.  Until the one .0005 second incident when you lost sight.  Then all of the years of work is wiped away to put your blemish on display.  We have seen a lot of this thanks to the wonderful and ever changing age of information.  You could still find yourself in this position regardless of what you do, but maybe this small reminder will help decrease your odds.

Ok, now back to the encouragement.  You are your own type.  While we all share qualities befitting a LEO, those qualities are only one part of you.  B-Z types are all still needed.  Do not let anger or fear guide your life.  Practice safety and your verbal judo.  Counsel after custody.  Use all of the talents the Lord has blessed you with.  And remember still the spiritual nature of your talents.  There are many type of sheepdogs in the world (seriously, look it up.  There are a ton).  Be the one Heavenly Father has prepared you to be.

Godspeed, LEOs.

-LDS Sheepdog

PS I am hoping to do another round of both the Reader's Choice and Spouse questions.  The goal is to have the posts by Thanksgiving.  Please forward your questions from other LEOs if they are too afraid to post.  The most anonymous way is emailing me (because I know that was a concern last go around).  I will also post the questions posed to all of you for answering (again, email for anonymity) so we can all learn together.  Thank you.

How are you really?

Today's question is one I have been pondering since General Conference more heavily.  While I would love to dive into the different conference talks, I think that is inspiration best left to you to gain personally.  So after this, go read another talk because this one was amazing.

So how are you doing?  Probably a question up there with, "what's up?" or "how about this weather?" but this time you are reading it... and I actually think you should think about it.  Many might respond, "surviving" or "pretty good" but those answers are lame and not productive in anything more than moving on to the next subject.  Are you feeling downtrodden?  Maybe angry?  Having a trial day?  Or maybe you are having a great time and the world is just peachy.  Maybe you are happy or excited.  Is your mind calling to attention now how you are really doing?  Good.  Let's begin.

The world judges state of mind by others.  Some choose to be optimistic, some pessimistic, some scientific, some existential, and so on.  None of these are how you are really doing.  No accommodation or reprimanding from work can say how you are doing.  The only way you can see how you are doing is by comparing to yourself.  You are your rubric.  You are the graph and chart of your well-being.

Let me hammer this home: you are the only person that matters when it comes to your progression or regression.  Period.  Get off Facebook, Pintrest, Twitter and the like for comparison.  Stop looking at others lives and how great they are compared to you.  Take advice with a grain of salt (yes even mine).  Dive into the scriptures for guidance.  Seek for the spirit in your study and prayers.  Ask the Lord to assist you in your personal advancement.  Be inspired from doctrine.  Go back and review conference (seriously, it was awesome).  Now let's review:

- You are your only comparison standard.  If you are progressing or not, improve and continue.
- Stop using other comparisons not approved by the Lord.  This is a long-term hike, not a race.
- Ask yourself, "how am I doing, really?" often and answer honestly.  It's ok if you use the blow-off comments discussed when it isn't you asking.

I hope this self-reflection helps.  One last piece of advice... with the reminder that I am not the prophet or a set of scriptural doctrine: you are doing better than you think. 

Godspeed LEOs.

-LDS Sheepdog

Tears may fall but good people still rise

Nothing hurts worse than an amazing week followed by tragedy. We were truly blessed by our Prophets and Apostles last weekend. Nothing I would have written could have compared to the amazing spirit felt listening. And yet from that day on, our mourning bands and moments of silence were abruptly and reluctantly returned to the forefront.  And here we are again, trying to find good in a lone and dreary world. Here is my small contribution to your healing:

Satan thrives on your fear and hate. He wants you to be angry and hardened towards those who do ill. Contrast that with what Heavenly Father and Jesus desire. We are here to find joy. This is not to say bad things won't happen, because we are all free to make choices. And others are free to make choices. Sometimes tragedy happens. But as I was reminded in General Conference, this is not the end. We are preparing our lives for our Eternal life.

Don't let bad things crush you. Rise above the filth. Rise above the hate. Rise above the smut. Eliminate the sources of your pain. Replace your time spent digging into the dirt of the world with articles of God. Chatter at work and among friends will happen, but steer the conversation toward something productive. Serve and teach. Live and love. You are the good men and women willing to fight evil so do so to the fullest!

Remember that you are a child of God. He cares about your feelings. Reach out to him.

May you find peace in the whirlwind. Godspeed LEOs.

-LDS Sheepdog

Refocus and Remember

I have unfortunately not been able recently to post last week again due to recent events and some personal ones.  Thankfully, most of the events have been weighted toward good rather than sadness.  But the newsfeeds we are being bombarded by seem to be heavily toward criticism, anger, sadness and the like.  LEOs, we have certainly been tested these past few weeks.  Please don't be downhearted.  As with many of the saints of old, trials are normal.  Hatred of good is always present.  misunderstanding and unrighteous judgement are and will continue to exist.  For those in mourning, realize this life has always been a short one.  Why bring up these less-than-inspiring facts?  Because we don't rely on a worldly understanding of morality, judgement, or plan.  Our plan relies on those who are actually reliable: the Godhead.

I was listening to April's General Conference and came across the talk "Always Remember Him."  While not all of the talk is specific to this post, I really enjoyed a return to basic principles and my testimony was truly strengthened.  There was a story discussing the seemingly unfairness that sometimes accompanies us in this life.  The story discusses a woman who had a desire to to become a journalist but was told she would work in the sewers.  I am not going to spoil it because you MUST read it to fully get the truths and testimony behind it.  Read it.  Seriously.  Back to my point...

This story ended with the following:

"She told me, “I feel I should treat that man better than he treated me—but I do not have that strength.” Sometimes that strength is not within us, but it can be found in remembering the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

When trust is betrayed, dreams shattered, hearts broken and broken again, when we want justice and need mercy, when our fists clench and our tears flow, when we need to know what to hold onto and what to let go of, we can always remember Him. Life is not as cruel as it can sometimes seem. His infinite compassion can help us find our way, truth, and life.

When we remember His words and example, we will not give or take offense."

I was struck by this (especially the middle paragraph).  I have felt this pain.  We all have.  We have all cried for true justice.  We have all cried for mercy.  But life is in fact not as unfair as we perceive.  And though maybe currently we feel our pleas are on deaf ears, sometimes that comfort needs to begin with our own humility and diligence.

I was pondering the temporal bickering recently and coming up with quick jabs of response and possible ways to verbally combat the injustice and hatred.  Now of course, I realize the stupidity of my quest in that airing all the "facts" and "dirty laundry" of others rarely if ever would actually solve anything.  While in my "planning phase," thankfully, the Lord stepped in.  I was caught up thinking of some of the spiritual needs I had neglected.  I prayed and pondered ways to improve my own self.  Of course, it started as a way to gain spiritual fodder to combat the bickering.  Meanwhile, my mind was brought along a long standing question I had.  The Lord helped me find and gain revelation to answer a question I had near 15 years ago.  It was mind-blowing!  I hadn't felt that kind of genuine joy in study/understanding since midway through my mission.  This isn't to say I haven't had great inspiration, but not as many due to my own diligence.

Only after this great experience did I realize this was actually an answer to my real goal of finding joy in the trials.  I had wanted to combat the bickering but really, I needed to find joy in the turmoil often described as life.  The Lord reminded me, much like the General Conference talk, that there is a plan.  It is a Plan of Happiness.  Some days require enduring some (or a lot) of unpleasantness.  But that is not the point of life.  The point of life is to gain a body, be tested to increase ourselves, and return to our Father in Heaven ready to continue our Eternal progression.  We are not here to win a race, indulge in pleasure, or prove we are the best.  It is not to show our power, or prove we are more righteous.  We are all children of God and therefore everyone is a brother or sister to each other.  What good family would let each other be in misery if they could help them out of it?

So let's all take a pause from the "____ DESTROYS ____ and their position with this video" and move toward uplifting each other.  Change the angry subject to something productive.  Reach out and provide service.  Don't give up LEOs.  You are precious in the sight of the Lord.  All His children are.

Godspeed LEOs.

-LDS Sheepdog

Heroes Never Die

LEOs, today is a solemn one. I am sure all of you know the memories that are flooding back today. Some of you started this career due to today's events 15 years ago. Everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when it happened. Terror. Panic. Anger. Sadness. All those feelings satan wants us to live by. Maybe you questioned your beliefs. Maybe you pondered revenge. Maybe you just thought it wasn't real. But all of you stepped up to meet the opposition and serve.

Today, we honor the sacrifice of heroes and more importantly the recognition that all people have the potential for greatness and empathy if given the chance. 15 years ago we bonded. Political rivals, high school bullies, racisms, family feuds, and the likes all disappeared in an instant for common concern for each other. We gave comfort. We cried together. We prayed together. We served together.

15 years is a long time to remember back to. Traumatic incidents will burn images in our minds but even those memories can fade with time. Let's remember our heroes. Ponder their sacrifice. Realize some gave their lives in a perfect emulation of our Savior. Pray for peace but also go and publish it. "Never Forget" is more than a special phrase meant to encourage unity. "Never Forget" is a plea, and one we find often in the scriptures. Never forget all the sacrifices others have given but if you do, remember. You are all the protectors against evil. Now go chase the wolves away from His sheep.

Mourn then take courage.

Godspeed, LEOs.

-LDS Sheepdog