You always have a fill unit

I got to teach today and one of my fellow brethren and faithful LEO made a great connection we can easily understand.  I know you can all read the title but I'll bait you along a bit...

Dispatch: [your callsign], we have a report of a suspicious person walking around [neighborhood].
You: 10-4, en route. 2 minutes.
Dispatch: Available unit to fill?
Your next closest partner: [their callsign], en route, extended.  About 10 minutes.

Now like most of you, I am sure a similar reaction happens: "Dang, I am going to be solo for a bit. ?I hope it is nothing but a misunderstanding."  Maybe a little bit of fear kicks in.  Uncertainty often does this, but that feeling of being alone certainly heightens the adrenaline and anxiety a bit.

Now contrast that with your partner saying, "On scene."  Even if it is nothing more than knowing there is one more there to assist and watch your 6, it still calms the nerves (Unless it is your old FTO haha).

The why is answered pretty simply: we love the opportunity to bounce an idea off the other person, look for support, and know there is someone else out there ensuring you don't stray from the line.

Now back to the meat of the metaphor...

Jesus Christ performed the Atonement for everyone.  While the focus of this often takes on the idea of removing physical and spiritual death permanently, there is more than just these important pieces.

As I reiterated during my lesson, I will say again here: Jesus' Atonement was for every person on this earth AND it was individualized to YOU specifically.  Hard to digest as the worldly view would say this is rather unattainable.   But it is true.  Everyone matters to Christ.  You matter to Christ.  How do you know?  First, realize that Jesus Christ had no sin.  He had no debt to pay, no wrongs he needed to correct, no health issues, nothing.  He lived a perfect life on THIS earth.  So now look a Alma 7:11-12.  He did it all to know how best to help us.  All those days of the academy pain and mental anguish: already overcome.  The fear and anxiety of a difficult call: yep, that too.  Career stress, marital stress, injury, sickness, peer pressure, humiliation, EVERYTHING: Christ took it all on so he could help us.  And not just any help of course.  The kind of help we all need.  A role model who has all of our best interest in mind with none of the power-hungry or political motivation.  Jesus Christ loves you so much he was willing to take on the previous uncertainty of death for you.

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Jesus Christ is your fill.  He is there whether you call for Him or not.  He is motivated by a love of YOU individually and the love of our Heavenly Father.  He has your 6 and every other angle covered.  But it comes back on you to seek Him and His counsel.  Got issues?  Got sin?  Got pain?  Seek Him and do what He asks.  They have already been dealt with by Christ.

So LEOs, have courage.  Our Heavenly Father's plan is a plan of happiness!  And we have the best partner and fill with Christ!

Godspeed LEOs

-LDS Sheepdog

Working and the Sabbath (post 1)

NOTE: As this is meant to be an interactive site, I hope to add to this title in later posts

So another week is done and now some of us prepare for our Sabbath worship.  It really is the best thing to start your week with right?  And while those who are able to maintain a normal (or mostly normal) Sunday, many of us have, are, or will be put on a Sunday rotation.  This... for lack of a better word... sucks.  Now let me lead this posting by saying I am currently not on this shift, but I have worked it with this job and in others of the past (including BYU Police of all places!).  And here is where I make a plug for you all to comment so my further posts have even more experience behind it.  Seriously, I don't want to be the only experience here.

At an early age, I was introduced to this unique concept of determining the balance of Sabbath worship and work.  My first real job was taking care of boarding animals.  Go figure, they still have to eat, get out of the cage, and take meds even on Sunday!  Now I had often been told that working on Sundays was bad.  Ok, maybe I interpreted it as that.  So the struggle of having a job vs following the Lord seemed overly complicated.

Then I actually pondered the counsel.  It was not (and never has been) that working on Sundays is bad.  It is that the Sabbath is a day to worship the Lord.  Our General Authorities have counseled for years this point.  But did you know they have also counseled for years that there are certain jobs that are "essential services that must be continued on the Sabbath."

"Some work must be done on Sunday. (See Elder Mark E. Petersen, Ensign, May 1975, p. 49.)"

Emergencies need us to respond.  The world needs our service.  And do you think the Lord would just say, "oh well, its Sunday so I guess it will have to wait"?  Of course not.  That is Pharisee/Sadducees talk.  But I will add one "however": I am talking about a NORMAL scheduled, overtime, or mandatory shift.  That really sweet extra gig is likely not following after correct counsel.

Here is the counsel that most struck me the most (though it was not this Ensign quote and unfortunately I was unable to locate the more recent one):

"... it seems clear that we should not take the position that all such work should be left strictly to nonmembers. We need good Latter-day Saints in all honorable occupations, to influence and to bless those they work with and those they serve."  Working on Sunday, Ensign

Do you hear that LEOs?  The world needs good Latter-Day Saints to bless others.  You are who he is talking about.

Takes on a new meaning for us right?

So now that you know what you do is needed and supported, how do you go about your life without the normal service?  Quick answer: adapt and overcome.

Longer answer: you (and your family) need to counsel with the Lord for the best way to keep the Sabbath day holy and increase you spirituality.  This is the only actual counsel I can give on the matter.  I do have some advice from my experience and others.

- Start your Sabbath with the same diligence you would give if you were finally able to attend a normal service.  Wake up early, pray, study, ponder, give thanks, prepare.  Though this is just another day at work, the time before and after are still the Sabbath.

- Because you likely are going to have weekdays off that hardly anyone else is going to have off, go to the temple.  Seriously.  It will be filled with elderly people and missionaries.  Who better to gain wisdom with?  And if you live further from the temple, you now have more time to get there.  Make the sacrifice like you would if you could have the Sabbath off.

- Give up a full lunch time to attend a Sacrament meeting in your area.  Invest in an earpiece and keep the patrol car ready to go but get inside.  I know it is not possible for everyone, but put forth the effort and like my first point, prepare for it.

- Try doing some community policing on Sunday.  Unless a hot call comes out, I don't know a department anywhere that would send you to Admin for serving the community.  Remember Jesus' travels?  He didn't just teach, He showed his love.

Awesome and true statement

I know there is more advice but start with this.  Do the little things.  Get and keep an active temple recommend.  And remember, you are doing better than you think.  Take it to the next level.  The Lord could come at any time and what better time than catching us serving our fellow man?

Godspeed LEOs

-LDS Sheepdog

Of Academies and Missions

I would have to say on at least a weekly basis, someone somewhere is either talking about the academy/FTO or their mission.  While there is nothing like a good story, there at least can be some lessons learned (even the really, really weird ones).

So let me pull a "on my mission" and an "in the academy" for you all.

On my mission, we did missionary work... awesome line right?  Probably sounds like an answer your kid tells you when you ask about how school went.  Well, there are mission and academy/FTO stories for days.  For all the stories I have heard and of course the ones I've told, there is one thing I have found that makes serving in Law Enforcement so unique.  I found my mission extremely comparable to the academy.  I am sure you all found similar.  If you were not able to serve a mission, trust me, its very similar in challenges.  Still don't believe me?  Let's compare:

Yeah, we all remember the worry of an IP

-"I will be hard, but it will be worth it"
-"The toughest thing I had ever done (at the time)"
-"I thought I knew a lot, but man was I wrong"
-Uniform... make that well pressed, clean, fitting uniform in the training stage (the actual mission/FTO and after... maybe not so much)
-You thought at the end of the MTC/Academy, you had it in the bag... then day one of training really started and you felt more like a middle schooler starting as a freshman.
-Ridged schedule, with only wiggle room as to staying late
-Clean cut hair

Fear.  And a little excitement

-Clean shaved (men... at least)
-Nametags
-Lots of forms
-Trainers
-The first REAL contact with a non-scenario person
-The second trainer/Greenie Breaker (insert all the scenarios and emotions here)
-Stress/worry for yourself and others
-Lots of walking and standing (maybe running for both, but I had a bike in one)
-Practicing people skills
-Blisters, sores, cuts
-LOTS of sweat and tears
-Family time hindered
-A bittersweet excitement when it is over

And most importantly (hopefully) - A greater understanding of Jesus Christ
Seriously.  This is the most important point.  I was not that great at primary as a kid but I can tell you in my mind, I sang a lot of "Give Said the Little Stream," "I Am a Child of God," and other songs in my head to refocus my mind.  I studied my scriptures more earnestly than ever.  I prayed harder than I had ever done.  And I mean for both the mission and the academy/FTO.  I'm no better than any of you.  I struggled to comprehend and was in no way a "top of the class" kind of guy.  It is all about hindsight and repentance.

So take a moment and ponder your time when that, "oh yeah on my mission/academy/FTO" comes up.  Find the correlations to the Savior.  Didn't serve a mission?  Doesn't really matter.  You are serving one now.

The Savior taught in parables because that is how people relate and comprehend best.  Have you studied the Doctrine and Covenants or Book of Mormon lately?  I mean really studied it?  We are like the warriors.  We are like the missionaries.  We are like all those called by the Lord to do something greater than ourselves if we only seek after it.  So dive in and surprise your wife, your kids, your family, your Sunday School teachers, everyone.  Show them the discipline you learned suffering through the trials and exiting the victor of your "academies."

Remember, the Plan of Happiness includes right now!  Now MOVE IT RECRUIT!!!

Add more comparisons in the comments!

Godspeed LEOs

- LDS Sheepdog

Spring to the Rescue

This is the most awesome time of year! The Easter/Conference/Church Anniversary always makes for the best start to spring. Which certainly makes up for the increase in crimes we go to thanks to the nicer weather. 

I was struck by Mervyn B Arnold and his talk "To the Rescue: We Can Do It" this conference. It was an interesting concept given our profession. Think about this:

A Code 3 call comes on the radio.  You are close to the call. Someone is facing serious danger and you have the potential to rescue them from it. Do you go?

Of course you do. Beyond policy or "being a good beat partner," we are sheepdogs. We rescue those sheep who are under attack by wolves.  Code 3 lights and sirens, guns drawn, adrenaline pumping, mind focused rescuing. No hesitation or crippling fear. 

Now let's change it slightly:

You become aware of someone who needs help. Small... Big... Not important. They need something and you have it. You are the closest person to them.  Do you go?

Now I will start with the worst option. Passing it on to a Home/Visiting Teacher, or the bishop to see if they can help. Maybe we sit on it to see who takes the fill (sorry, had to make the metaphor). But why? 

Fear is always around in this world. It is Satan doing it. He nurtures it. We can literally fight off fear in our work but crouch behind insecurity or inadequacy when the spiritual call arrives. 

Elder Arnold gives us the hope to fight through the fear. Take the same courage we have at work and push through. Pepper spray sucks but we can still fight. Getting a drugged up giant to comply is hard but we can do it. As Elder Arnold says, "we must never give up" on the rescue.

My fellow LEOs, use your skills on and off the field. You are a hero. Be a hero. Not just like some comic book but like the greatest hero of them all: Jesus Christ. 

Godspeed LEOs

- LDS Sheepdog

And so it begins

First and foremost, if you have never read "Officer of the Peace," go now. This was my inspiration and motivation to make this blog (Ensign Feb 1994).

Second, I am but one man. I don't have all the answers and my life is in no way more qualified than your life. This life is created as a Plan of Happiness by our Heavenly Father, his son Jesus Christ with assistance from the Holy Ghost. Use Their help in catching whatever benefits the Spirit wants you to gain.

Last, this is a blog to commune, find joy, and know you are not alone. Ever. This is NOT a place for political banter, Monday morning quarterbacking, or comparing. We are all children of God. Find joy in the journey. You are more than sheepdogs, you are the Good Shepard's apprentices.

Godspeed LEOs.

- LDS Sheepdog