Tuesdays with Muerte

Helping my Circle Leader patch up her radiator (May 23, 2017). What Circles Has Taught Me For most of my life, I've attempted self-improvement from the solitude and safety of my own mind and heart. Being vulnerable can feel scary, even dangerous. Generally, when I am presented with opportunities for growth, my instinctive approach is to pretend I'm stronger than I am or to "armor up" emotionally in anticipation of potential attacks. (I was afraid to truly open up to others for fear that they would confirm my worst fears about myself—that I'm not enough.) However, in helping local families realize their goals of escaping poverty, I also have learned to share my insecurities and receive the motivation and support I didn't know I needed. I've learned from participating in Circles it's that isolation is an unhealthy coping mechanism in the face of conflict, fear, hardship, and other growth opportunities. Instead, healthy growth naturally occurs in an ...

The Dream Last night, in my dreams, I was a young tennis pro at an exclusive country club.  The club was located in a majestic old-growth forest somewhere along a coast; it felt like a subtropical Redwood Forest, but in Italia. I won't try to chronicle the many events of my dream. Instead I'll just set the stage for the most incredible one. The entire dream took place the last two weeks of summer. Since tennis lessons had died down, I was fortunate enough to be able to work as an event photographer at a professional tennis tournament happening nearby. I was single and anxiously looking for fun opportunities to end the summer right. One afternoon at the tournament, I ran into a friend, Deborah Weiss, who was sitting down to lunch with girlfriend of hers. Thrilled to see a friendly face after months of social isolation, I asked if I could join them. After briefly reconnecting with Deb, I turned to her friend to introduce myself. "Hi. I'm Bryan. I'm a photogra...

Law #4 of Power: Always Say Less Than Necessary.  "When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinx-like. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.”  ― Robert Greene, The 48 Laws of Power When you know. Don't blink. Boxing referee Steve Willis really loves his job. Bros before credit card debt. BYU Cougars, December 2015 Meditative. Don't mess. What's your price? Concert dad. BYU PDA. YesYesYesYesYesNo. The only acting lesson I'll ever need. #hollaback Forever Alone. "Let me love you!" Kodoma from  Princess Mononoke IRL. Ineffectual security guard. #Irma When you like the smell of imported cigarettes.  ...

Recognizing the Holy Spirit's "voice" is paramount to the pursuit of truth. If one can identify God's method for confirming truth in one's own life, personal revelation through study and prayer becomes incredibly meaningful. According to the LDS  Bible Dictionary , "when a person speaks by the power of the Holy Ghost that same power carries a conviction of the truth unto the heart of the hearer ( 2 Ne. 33:1 )." But how can each of us recognize what that power feel like? One approach to get at the answer to this is by sharing three different people's attempts at describing what the Holy Ghost feels like for them: 1) Lucas G. Merrill — "Feels like anticipating a satisfying pee." In 2014, Lucas was one of my favorite Sunday school students; he was also the class clown. As an inquisitive 13-year-old with relatively-little experience in the gospel, Lucas often made irreverent remarks during class. However, beneath his impious facade, he po...

Primary answers Primary answers aren't only primary answers because they are given by primary children. They are primary answers because they are essential to our fundamental happiness and eternal exaltation. I need to try to make primary answers more primary in my life. Heartfelt prayer Earnest study of doctrine (scriptures, latter-day prophets, personal revelation) Faithful church and temple attendance Meaningful service Satan is still trying to mess with our agency Satan is real. Tragically, he hates the children of Adam. Over millennia, he has perfected the most cunning ways to molest us. To effectively trouble "A-game" disciples in particular, Satan often distracts us with good  things, then guilts us for not choosing the best . As Wormwood said to his nephew Screwtape, "a moderated religion is as good as no religion at all, and more amusing." (C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters ) Not because I  have to  but because I  want to When fee...

Introduction  Quiz Question : You suddenly find yourself engaged in a cordial but controversial discussion with someone who has equally strong yet opposite moral standards and values as you have. You are respectfully asked to share your opinion on the topic. How do you proceed? A) [AVOID]   In an effort to avoiding contention, y ou hold firm to your beliefs internally, but resist voicing them. Instead of engaging further, you attempt to delicately steer the conversation to a less divisive  topic upon which you can both agree. B) [RESEARCH] You haven't yet developed a firm position on the topic. And you are unafraid to say so. If the topic is intriguing, you ask the person you're speaking with for some resources and promise to return after researching both sides of the topic. C) [SUBMIT]  Disagreeing makes you feel nervous. The other person has some strong points, and you feel unable to adequately defend your position on the topic. Desiring to m...

I wrote this post to help a roommate better understand a priesthood-worthiness conundrum regarding the Word of Wisdom ( D&C 89:4-21 ). He felt the Church's position on abstaining from drinking coffee was hypocritical when sugary sodas and "energy" drinks are just as unhealthy, yet permitted by the Church. It was especially confusing for him to hear that, back in the day, plenty of faithful Latter-Day Saints "got away" with drinking a little alcohol, coffee, and/or tea and were still deemed worthy to hold the higher priesthood and temple recommends. Many problems which members encounter often stem from the mistaken belief that what they have been told my someone in the Church is somehow the Church position, expectation, or official stance. In fact, the error may be in what others have presumed to be the Church's official position. On many issues, the Church has no official position.  So regarding specific applications of teachings found within the Chur...