October 30, 2011
It is hard to raise kids. It was difficult when I was I was a boy; however, now it is almost impossible. After a wonderful primary program at Diane’s (our oldest daughter) where their two youngest (who happen to be boys) had sung their hearts out about all things spiritual, we went their house and began the ritual of trying to determine what can/should/must be done to keep the Sabbath holy. After a rhetorical comment/question by Diane about what we did when our four boys were young, we hummed and hawed and muttered something about getting through it. I attempted to answer but was caught up in try to make sense out of my own thoughts and really didn’t give the topic a meaningful answer.
This may make no sense at all, but it is the best I seem able to do. The answer goes to the root of the challenge; namely, why are we trying to do what “everybody” else can’t seem to do, has given up, or simply doesn’t believe is important? Because we care and because we have the framework of the Gospel to provide us with compelling evidence that our role in raising children is the second most important thing we, as mortal parents do while on this earth. We have been told that the first and great commandment is to love God; the second is like unto it to love our neighbor as ourselves. Simply put, if we love someone (including our self) we will do whatever is necessary to provide a solid structure in the home in which they can grow and find their personal awareness of God and our purposes on this earth.
Translating this to semi-logical English goes something like this.
Create an environment in which there is no doubt that you love your spouse, your children, your family, and God
Choose your battles carefully. Once a friend told me that sometimes people stand up so straight they fall over backwards. If you compel in all things you are not following the precepts of God. We all have our own agency and need to be able to see the results of our actions – both good and bad.
Design an atmosphere in which each person has an opportunity to share his or her talents. I could never throw a ball, but I could wrestle and tackle. Remember! Boys are just young men. They begin getting these weird hot flashes in their brains and other parts of their bodies long before they have any idea how to control, much less use them. It is kind of like the idiot savant that can’ tie his shoe, but can run a rubix cube in 29.2 seconds. Time takes care of most of these problems, but a caring mom and dad that are there to help explain what is going on with the hair in strange places, the smell, and the thoughts can go a long way to helping children reach manhood without permanent mental and physical scars. Your husbands/dads can explain some of these alligators to you.
Package things in the same way food is packaged. In many cases the biggest cost and the most important element is selling a concept, food, medicine, or life plan is in how it is presented. Once, a young family had to sit in front of the church congregation and make a presentation showing how their family put together a family home evening. One of the boys, about nine, was simply not having any of it. The mother was sure to have thought that she should take Samuel Clements’ humorous advice and placed the boy in a large pickle vat until he was about fifteen, then plugging up the holes. Instead each time he would pass gas, roll his eyes, lounge down almost slumping to the floor, or any of ten thousand other things boys can do to make their parents completely irrational, she would simply stare at him with this pleasant, big cheesy grin until he completed his exercise in futility. Then, they would go on with the presentation. It worked. It may even work again. In other words be consistent. Kind of like playing “chicken” when you have all the cards.
Well, I believe that is enough unsolicited advice for now. As Grandmother Stanley said as we sat around the table in this conversation, they grow up so fast and then we are all alone again.
God bless you in all your efforts to love, to give, and to serve
GPA Duane Jacobs, friend, uncle, cousin, grandfather, brother, and fellow child of our Heavenly Father.
Note: That friend’s name was Sharon Johns. She was one who really gave her all to be a Chritian and to love god, neighbor and self. dj
Monday, October 31, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
First weekly note
My dear friends and family--
I have been attempting to do this for many years. Today in our Sunday School class (seven year olds) one of the comments was that we have to actually do things - not just think about them; thus, my resolve.
Hopefully, I will keep these brief and to the point. You don't have to read them. I am sure I will get more from them than anyone else. It is just nice to have someone to send them to. So, here goes.
In General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, President Boyd K. Packer shared a story of an individual who had held hatred, and malignant feelings over the death of his wife. After many years he was approached by a Stake President (ecclesiastic leader) and after a brief conversation and recounting of the story, the advise of this great leader was, "John, let it go." I am positive President Packer turned and looked right at me during this telling and said through the television, "Duane, let it go." I have done my very best to "let it go" over the past month and it really feels great.
May God's sweet spirit be with you until we meet again,
Duane Jacobs, AKA Grandpa Jacobs, Uncle Duane, Dad, pops, and friend.
Second week
Wow!
This is fun. Hard to believe I have made it through a second week of a resolution.
This is Easter. The day we celebrate the atonement and resurection of our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ. I am ever more inspired as I grow older and see the wisdom, the love, and the blessings we receive through our Savior. His gift is the most remarkable element we have in our lives.
We have in our family, a variety of christians, all wonderful, charitable, and delightful sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. May we always look to our common belief in our Savior and not concern ourselves inordinately with the differences that sometimes get in the way of wonderful relationships. I a few weeks I may attempt to share some thoughts with some who have strayed from their faith in Christ. There are some fundamentals that transcend the entire human family that help me and many others understand the great truths regarding God, his Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
May God continue to bless and keep you as you strive to live your lives in accordance to his holy will.
I love you all,
Duane, Grandpa Jacobs, father, pops, Uncle, and friend
Week three
May 1, 1965 may not be especially noteworthy to most people, but to Jean (that's Grandma J) and me, it is the most monumental day of our lives. We were married that day, 46 years ago, in the Los Angles Temple and by the authority of the Holy Priesthood sealed together with the promise that we could be together forever. But wait!! There is a catch. We made a covenant, or two-way promise. Simply put, if we worked diligently to help each other, to serve God, to serve our fellow human beings, and generally follow the principles Jesus Christ established for his Church on this earth, we could, indeed, live what we call eternal life and exaltation, residing, growing, and loving each other forever.
The first step was the marriage. The second step is making sure we don't do something stupid, like forgetting the plan, falling for some quick and easy detour out of love, or any of a million other little tricks Satan has for destroying our eternal happiness. The third step is the hardest. It is what President Kimball (LDS Church President some years ago) noted when he said that his most compelling desire was to "endure to the end."
Thank you all for being my family and friends and for allowing me to share my thoughts with you. May God be with you and yours as you work in the little things in life each day. Love your kids. Love your parents. Smile at your adversaries. Do something good for someone everyday.
Until next week,
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, Pops, Dad, Uncle, cousin, Friend.
Week four
Today is remembered as "mother's Day." It is one of the few things my mother, Lucy Baca Jacobs Livermore truly felt was a waste of time. Mother didn't even like to go to church on mother's day because she felt unworthy of the accolades; like she had not been a success because everybody else had "perfect kids". A contraire, mother dear. You were and are a Saint in the highest order. You worked your way through the shark infested waters of life to raise four children who have earnestly tried to emulate you in staying close to our Savior; in doing good to others; in doing whatever you could to assist us in raising our own children and grandchildren.
So, today we salute you as our model. we hope and pray that you who are mothers know how important you are in our lives. Rest assured, other people's children pick their noses; fight with you and your other children; say they aren't "churchy" like you; get carried away with too much violence, sex, and other mortal nonsense on the tube, ipods, movies, and real life. Remember! in the preexistence, we all told Jehovah that we knew we could do what was asked of us if He would just give us the chance. He did. We are here attempting to carry out that commitment. We all have agency. We all rebel. We all go through our times of temptation and many times fall way short of what we promised Jehovah. Moms, your job is to continually climb back on the strait and narrow path that leads to eternal life and exaltation and the very best example you can in showing the rest of us the way.
God bless you. We love, admire, and appreciate you.
Uncle, Grandpa, pops, Dad, cousin, friend, etc.
Week five
Sometimes reflection is a good thing. We don't want to dwell on our past accomplishments or our utter failures; however, it is nice to take a walk back through our lives and see what we have done to make us who we are. This week I came to the firm conviction that I was given this earthly opportunity so I could teach, or share my temporal and spiritual values and knowledge with others. As I look back in my life, I envision thousands of precious moments in which I found myself face-to-face with another human being in a moment of mutual enlightenment.
One such moment was in a classroom several years ago. One of my students, Jody J came in with her kids and shared that her children's care giver had not been able to tend the kids that day and wondered if they might be able to sit in the back of the room while she attended the class. Now the neat part. Two of the three children were autistic and had a terrible time sitting still, or doing anything a "normal" child might do. I said no, you can't put them in the back of the room, but you can let each of them sit right here in the front of the room at a computer. The children were in exemplary form. Jody, the mother and her kids had a great time, but I was the real winner that day because I relearned, for the umpteenth time that we are all looking for that time, that place, that way in which we can soak in knowledge and be right with ourselves and others.
Now, I know I broke school rules, violated ten thousand policies, and general made a mockery of the whole "shootin match", but if I were so fortunate as to be able to do it over again, I would do exactly the same thing because it was the right thing to do.
Good by again, my wonderful family and friends. I like this reflection process. I will share other stories and their impacts on my life later.
God bless "all, you all"
Duane Jacobs, Grandpa, Uncle, brother, cousin, and always a friend
Week Six
Around 1956 our family (Charles Glenn Jacobs, Lucy B. Jacobs, and Glenn, Marie, Lynda, and me.) went on a long, road trip to San Angelo, Texas to see Uncle Caton Jacobs and their family. We found a bunch of teen-age, or so girl cousins and had a great time sharing in their lives. Over the years I have visited with cousin Helen who claims to have always been a blond, but I distinctly remember her being a red-head. Yesterday I had a great visit with her about some temporal stuff which really has no lasting import. However, when she was ready to say good by, she shared a wonderful, cherished statement asking our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to bless me and be with me and my family, which is the direction I would like to go in this week's visit. Welcome to my weekly visit, Helen.
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She is a member of the Southern Baptist Church. We both are Christians and have a strong testimony of Jesus Christ as He who Atoned for us, giving us the opportunity to be resurrected and return to live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for the eternities. There is no greater blessing than that. Our entire existence could be clad with gold and we could have every temporal thing we ever could conceive; however, that experience would not hold a speck of value when compared to our eternal salvation.
We live in a day and age when Israel sits on the top of a powder box; the lives of millions and billions of people are viewed as little more than the temporary mixing of a few carbon and miscellaneous mineral elements. My desire is to be of some small assistance in aiding those around me who struggle with their understanding of why they exist, why God loves them, and how they can find peace and goodness around them.
God bless you all,
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, Uncle, Cousin, brother, and friend
Week seven
I was going to visit about some more of the amazing students I have been blessed to associate with over the decades; however, a very fresh, beautiful experience this week takes precedence. This is a story about youth, Christ-like love, family, friends, determination, dedication, and the very goodness of the human heart.
Several months ago our wonderful daughter-in-law, Cammi was diagnosed with colon cancer. Cammi and Andy, our son, are avid runners, having run since infantcy and both have been highly involved in Orem High School coaching. When a young man from the team learned of the situation, he organized "Camie's Run." The outpouring of thanks and appreciation for Camie and her family was overwhelming, with runners of every age and category doing their best to share their appreciation for this great spirit.
We often hear of the negative, nasty elements associated with our youth, so this was especially invigorating to me. I truly saw the best of the best on Saturday. As I saw many of my children and grandchildren zipping past Grandmother and me as we trudged along it gave me new hope and excitement about the future.
Our job on this earth is to "Come unto Christ and rid ourselves of all ungodliness . . .", then continue on, truly enduring til the end.
Next time I want visit with you about some of the people I have met, taughted, and loved who are from other religious, ethnic, and cultural groups.
Until then, God bless you as you strive to Serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, Friend, Uncle, cousin, brother, etc.
Week eight
Today is fathers' day. What an interesting concept. Marketers would like it to be like Christmas and Easter, with tons of purchases. Fortunately, they haven't totally corrupted it yet. It is still a great day to visit with family and friends, contemplate our heritage, and plan for the future.
My dad was a good guy, just not very well understood. He may have been one of those who was born to the wrong century. He would have been much more content in the mid 1900's without the "stuff" that clutters our lives. He lived the better part of his life as a rancher. He tried farming, selling insurance and real estate, and construction (He was in the CB's during WWII, while in the Navy); however, he always came back to the cows and horses. One great story happened a few years after Jean and I were married. Jean's dad was a life-time meat cutter, and of course dad was a rancher. Jean's folks came to visit when we had the Cordes Junction (Near Prescott) ranch. Dad asked dad Scott to shoot a cow in the trailer. He couldn't get a good shot, so my dad grabbed the gun and said, "%$&*&^(&^, let me do it and promptly shot out the spare tire. The tire got replaced, the cow got shot, cut and wrapped, and all had a good laugh, many times over.
Now that I have been a dad and a grandpa for 46 years I have started to appreciate the vital role fathers play in their children's lives. Mother's are the key, but the father in any family can unlock doors of trust, spirituality, hope, occupational aspirations, and daily living that moms sometimes need a hand with. Makes a great concept. Mom and dad working together to ensure lasting happiness for their kids as well as for themselves. I am, no doubt one of the most blessed persons on the planet; having a sweetheart that has stuck with me through sickness, health, poverty, wealth, education and degrees, successes and failures makes me whatever I am.
I believe there is a solid pattern to being a good dad. Be consistent, live according to the spirit, love unconditionally, and never take yourself too seriously. Oh, and listen to your wife.
I put off doing this thing - writing my thoughts - for years, thinking it would be very difficult, but it has turned out to be a tremendous blessing for me. If anyone else gets value from it, we can just call that collateral value.
May God bless you in your daily afairs. May your family be well and well loved.
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, Uncle, friend, cousin, neighbor, etc.
Duane Jacobs
Week Nine
Sometimes life just couldn't get any better and then blessings from Heaven come pouring in and it is almost embarrasing to see how blessed we actually are. Jean and I went down to Southern Utah to celebrate the passing of Jean's Aunt Bea. We saw friends and relatives from every association we had ever experienced. We saw a genuine renewal of faith,of love,and of hope for the future.
I had the opportunity to visit my roots and see where some of my experiences have led.
Some of my friends, nieses and nephews, grandchildren, etc, are creating mischief in their families. I know exactly what you are up to because it was only a few short years ago that Iwas in your shoe. I was angry with the world, with God, and with myself. My parents just weren’t “cool”. You see, my father was old and my mother was a Mexican and they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and I didn’t want to be religious. Imagine this. I was five years old and my parents wanted me to sit up on the front row of the church and be “blessed” like a baby. I did just what many of you do on a regular basis. I pitched a fit, embarrassed everyone, and sure enough, I never got that blessing. Another time, we went to the school in Concho where we lived and they wanted me to get a shot so I wouldn’t get sick from one of the dangerous diseases that plague children. I honestly don’t know to this day whether I got the shot or not, but I am embarrassed to say that once again, I put up an awful fight, embarrassed my family, and generally made a fool of myself. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. I was a knot head and lost out on many positive opportunities to bless me, bless my family, and make things better for them.
It wasn’t until much later, when I was about fifteen that I began to get a glimpse of the problems I was causing for my parents and for me. I did so many dumb things, disobeying God and my parents during those years that I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if God had just said, good riddance to ad rubbish and booted me out. But because God and our parents want only the very best for us, they continued to love me. God gave me the Holy Ghost. Sometimes he would show up at the most awkward times. Sometimes his voice wouldn’t be quiet and low. He would practically have to shout at me and kick me in the hind end to get me back on course. My parents had no idea what to do with me, so father would do what he called a good tromping, which of course did no good what-so-ever.
While I was in the Navy, I started to get the message. My parents love me. God loves me. I am the one that doesn’t understand. Heck, I don’t even love me. I began to do what Enos in the Book of Mormon did. I wrestled with God. He always won. But each time, I became stronger and wiser and closer to God. I met and married my incredible sweetheart and we have been working on this whole business of understanding our role in life, or what we are supposed to do for over 46 years.
My parents have gone to their spiritual rewards. I would give anything if I could take back some of the ignorant things I did to them – no can do. Now it is just me and God and of course my wonderful wife. Those of you who have gotten off track (That is most of us) still have those golden opportunities available. You have had glimpses of the goodness of God and of the blessings of the Holy Ghost. I challenge you to take the opportunity to seek out His blessings. I promise you as one who just about lost his testimony and knowledge of God and his love for each of us. Grab on and go forward. Talk to God. Talk to your parents. Be a good example to those around you.
I love you and only want the very best for you. God bless you in all that you do.
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, friend, brother, uncle, cousin, uncle, etc.
Week ten
When I was a young boy our family lived in Concho, Arizona in a little white house that had been used to store hay and grain for several years prior to our arrival in about 1950. My father and mother went to work cleaning and refurbishing it including completing electrical, framing, kitchen and a bathroom. There was no water so dad created a railroad tie tower, I expect was about six feet high, then purchased a used gas 1,000 gallon gas tank and cleaned it, tarred the inside, put it on the tower next to the windmill. Then he ran a pipe in from the tank through the kitchen window and we had running water.
There is a saying, "some people would gripe if they were hung with a new rope." I am not completely sure what it means so I will give my interpretation. Very simple, we are a spoiled people. We (I don't like to generalize, but I am gonna) have more than anyone else in the history of man, temporally and spiritually and yet we gripe moan and complain. We say we are entitled to have this and that. We say the government, our neighbors, our family, or whom-so-ever we get around to blaming for our current frustrations need to step up and make us happy.
Please, step back and think with me for a moment. God allowed us to come to earth, collect our mortal bodies, make our own mistakes, earn our own respect, and generally do whatever we are inclined to do. He gave us the right to be free, to toil and take care of our families needs. He gave us the ability to communicate with Him and be guided by his hand. As I read in the bible, the Book of Mormon, and living prophets, I am confident that God is not pleased with all the nonsense that goes on in his name. People have been fighting for centuries over differences in churchie things. My dear departed Aunt Lola (mother's sister) gave the best advise. Her family was divided among christian churches including Baptist, Catholic, and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She always took the high road and said, "well, we just need to enjoy each other while we are here. God will straighten us all out when we get to the other side."
Back to the little white house in Concho. Perhaps we should all focus more on the fact that we have family, we have God in our lives, we have the opportunity to help many people who are less fortunate than ourselves, and we are still here on earth with the blessing of being able to serve His people.
There I go, getting preachy again.
You are all wonderful,
Grandpa Jacobs, friend, brother, cousin, Uncle, etc.
Week eleven July 3, 2011
Hang on to your hats. I am going to get way preachy about our fantastic country, The United
States of America. I was eighteen years old, graduated from high school, and beginning my freshman year at Arizona State University. I had no idea why I was there, no goals, no "mission" in life, and certainly no business taking up space and resources that could be much more appropriately spent on others who had the ability and the desire to play at the level. So, I played, went to very few classes, and generally flushed the semester down the toilet. On November 8, 1961 I joined the United States Navy. My folks joked about me joining the Navy so, ". . .nobody would boss me around." I don't remember it that way, but it certainly fits my profile at that time, so it was probably true. I served honorably for almost four years, sailing to WESPAC (Japan, Hong Hong, Phillipines, Hawaii, etc) learning many things, but mostly beginning the steps toward finding out who I was, where I came from, and where I would go after this life.
I have been honored and privledged over the years to be numbered among those who have served in the United States Armed Services. I served right between the Korean and Vietnam wars and during the assissanation of President Kennedy, and the bay of Pigs invasion which only through divine intervention did not begin world war three. We never were part of actual combat service, but we saw plenty of our service men make mistakes though use of tobacco, alchohol, sexual promiscuity, gambling, and other pieces of the Seven Deadly Sins which cost them their health, their families, and in many instances their very lives. I was blessed during this time to have the Spirit of Christ, The Holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost (depending on your specific spiritual reference.) Sometimes, I would be nudged so hard because of the prayers of my honored mother, that the Holy Ghost would almost have to knock me off my feet to get me to hold to the Iron Rod and maintain a semblance of decency and respect.
Thanks to those in my early years, to my mother, to my magnificient wife of 46 years, to the principles and directions from Prophets of God in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and to all those who I have had the priviledge of "teaching" in my professional life, and in my religious life, I can now say that I have answered each of those question I referenced before; namely, who am I (a spiritual child of our Heavenly Father, where did I come from (from the eternal realms as a spirit, residing in the very presence of God); why am I here (to gain a body and do everything I possibly can to be allowed to open my personal book of life and be found worthy); and where am I going (though the atonement of Jesus Christ, be allowed to return to his presence and continue in eternal growth and knowledge with my family).
Your friend, cousin, brother, uncle, and fellow believer in our great creator, our Heavenly Father
Duane Jacobs
Week twelve July 10, 2011
God gave us many rights. Along with those rights came the privilege of being the master of our own destiny. It works this way. We can do anything we want. When I was just a little shaver, I would put up a great fit when asked to do a job around the house. One such event went something like this. Mom or dad would ask me to mow the lawn. I was sixteen and as you know, that was way beneath the dignity of any self respecting sixteen years old. When I wanted to go visit my friend Ted, the only answer they gave was that I needed to do the lawn first, so I would get the trusty lawn mower out, mow like only a crazy, mad kid can do, get it done in no time at all; then be free to go about my youthful nonsense. I could have been more helpful. I could have done many things to make life easier for my parents and for myself. Instead, I chose to put myself through the grinder of life just to prove that I could do it my way. That was in Scottsdale, Arizona about 1959.
Right now the world as a unit is kind of that way. Our country, the United States of America is on a collision course with destiny. Israel and the United States are locked in the same course, on the same side. England, Canada, Australia, and a few others are with us in spirit, but have such struggles from within that they can’t successfully maintain the destiny of their forefathers. Our sacred obligation is to get out the trusty lawnmower and fight like there is no tomorrow to ensure that our freedoms, our rights, and our sacred honor are maintained.
This is what we must do:
1. Live close to God, relying on his council and direction.
2. Live close to our families, relying on the strength of unity and love which abides in our homes
3. Speak out, with reverence, respect, and appreciation for what we have
4. Give forth charity (remember! The pure love of Christ)
5. Seek out opportunities to help our parents, our friends, our government, and our country
God shares with us that he is not a fan of those who slink around in silence waiting for others to do what is right. God wants us to step up, speak out, and hold to the truths with which we have been blessed.
You are all wonderful,
Grandpa Jacobs, friend, brother, cousin, Uncle, etc.
Duane Jacobs
Week thirteen July 17, 2011
My dear family and friends
The world is full to the brim with wonderful, caring people. I see them everywhere. Yes, I know there are problems in the world; however, there are so many off-setting experiences and blessings that it does kind of balance out and make us more appreciative of life itself. This letter writing business has become so exciting that I can hardly wait until the next Sunday when I can share the wonderful things I see and hear during the week.
This week I was at the pulmonary clinic getting my blood checked and listening to a sweet southern gal tell how her Girl Scout troop worked and slaved selling tons of cookies; then, decided to give all the proceeds to a young man who has been battling cancer. This boy loves the toys from the Movie Cars and Cars2, so they gave him a boatload of these little Cars reminders. The boy was thrilled beyond belief, the Girl Scout leader had been successful in helping the girls understand the true blessings of love and charity, and their act of understanding and love will be long remembered by all those who participated.
I was about eight years old and lived in Concho, Arizona, a tiny rut of a town with a few hundred people scattered around the valley. I had no idea we were dirt poor because everyone was in the same kettle of fish as we were. Most were Hispanic and they lived in small, adobe homes; some with dirt floors. I would play with friends on many afternoons when school let out and we would end up in their homes. In my friend Albert Archuletta’s home (this was a fine, upscale home) we would find lots of chatter and food and water. We would also see evidence of a very strong bond of love and caring. One daughter had a bad disorder that caused her to be unable to speak, or walk, or play, or do any of the things we take for granted, but she was part of the family and everyone took part in her care and simply recognized that she was family period. I can’t remember her name, but Albert, the Archulettas and the little girlleft a lasting desire in my heart to do whatever I could to love all our family, our friends, our enemies, and all those in whom we come in contact.
Your friend, cousin, brother, uncle, and fellow believer in our great creator, our Heavenly Father
Duane Jacobs
Week fourteen July 24, 2011
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints celebrates July 24th as Pioneer Day; the day when a small party of “saints” came across the mountains and Brigham Young saw the Salt Lake Valley for the first time, declaring, “This is the right place.” It was not pretty and green, it was not even habitable looking, but it was where God wanted his people to build a new life. Many things have threatened the pioneers during the past 168 years; however, they have remained, inviting all who wished to join them in this great desert.
The commonalities between the habitation of the Great Salt Lake valley by the “Mormons” and the return of the Jews to Israel are not lost on those who study truth, freedom, and the will of God. Both cultures praise their right to worship God and consider their location to be because God was willing to provide a “homeland” for their use. Both have a Jordan River flowing South to North and a Dead Sea flowing from the Jordan River. Each is foretold in Isaiah and each has struggled with outside sources to remain a viable flourishing gathering place.
The similarities go on and on; however, it is the threat of annihilation that truly boggles the mind. Inconceivable as it may seem, scheming humans posing as religionists from many cultures, faiths, and circumstances have destroyed millions over the centuries. Today is no different. This very day, Israel is being threatened with extinction through individuals, and governments who would put them in the position of having indefensible borders with no means of protection from the leaders of nations surrounding them with the stated goal that Israel must be erased from the face of the earth.
In visiting with my distinguished brother, Glenn, on this issue he states that this is just the first of the great conquering marauders dastardly deeds. The goal, the long-term mission of many countries and leaders is to create a One-world Government; thus, eliminating all borders and creating a single justice, monetary, governmental, and societal mold for all. First, Israel, then the Louisiana Purchase, then the New Mexico territories, then California, then the new commonwealth of Europe, then Canada, the Central and South American Countries, Africa, and the rest can be picked up like lice off a dog.
This all sounds like rhetoric from a bad science fiction novel. I hope and pray to God daily that it is just that. We have always been told to fortify ourselves with the truth, do everything we can to live our lives as if we were going to go on for centuries, and then protect our right to do so with every fiber of out being.
I give my apologies to those who may be offended by this, or are too young to understand. May we all live in peace for ever.
Your friend, cousin, brother, uncle, and fellow believer in our great creator, our Heavenly Father
Duane Jacobs
Week 15 July 31, 2011
Once upon a time I was a little boy I told our Sunday school class today, but today when I look in the mirror I don’t see the little boy. Instead a see a bald headed, gray haired, old, fat man. Why it was only yesterday that I went with my mother to Uncle Chris’s funeral in Springerville, Arizona. Mother was really great that day (as she always was) and asked me if I could drive. I had just received my driver’s license and was ever so proud to say I could. It was about two hundred miles, so it was a good test of my abilities, but we arrived in good stead and participated in the funeral. This was a wonderful Catholic funeral with all of its reverential, respectful attention to the dearly departed.
The people were most wonderful and the element of this trip I remember most. After the funeral we sat in Aunt Marian’s living room enjoying food, conversation and wonderful stories about those who had gone before us. After I shared that comment with our Sunday school class today, I asked them why we do family research and why we have such an interest in knowing our grand parents and great grand parents. I asked them how many of them knew their grandparents and I was stunned to find that most didn’t have a real good idea of the names of those beyond with whom they currently reside.
My personal belief is that we can all learn much about ourselves relating to our past, present, and future. That through review of notes, letters, and conversations of those gone from this earth, we can find significant clues to the paths we should avoid, avenues we should urge ourselves to travel, and goals and missions we would be well advised to strive to attain. We are, one day, fit, young, ambitious, all-knowing, and indestructible. The next day, we are a bald headed, gray haired, old, fat man. We have lived our lives in the manner we choose. Personally, I am grateful to a Father in Heaven who loves me and provided me with a Savior and the Holy Ghost to urge, inspire, nudge, and direct me in paths that have been wonderful. I would have never chosen teaching as a profession. I would never have lived with the blessings of the Word of Wisdom. I would never have married my sweetheart. In short, I couldn’t be more in love with life, with my family, with my eternal companion, my wonderful children and their spouses; and of course my incredible grandchildren.
God bless you in attending to your family.
Your pop, grandpop, uncle, cousin, and friend
August 14, 2011
Today we gave a lesson to our seven and eight year-old primary children about God’s love for all his children. We had a lighted, world globe and watched as the children told where they, or someone they loved had been able to go. We talked about the differences in skin pigment, in the differences in culture, and in dress. But, mostly we talked about how much alike we are and how much God loves us and wants us to be kind and loving to each other.
In 1962, I was in the hospital in Yokosuka, Japan. I was released from the hospital to participate in a day of R and R (rest and relaxation). I found myself in a movie theatre where a movie was playing about World War II. Interestingly, it was from the Japanese perspective, and as you will recall, they didn’t win that war and many lost their lives. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as I went to the lobby, but was thrilled to have several servicemen (they must have been officers) come up and start talking to me in quite reasonable English. They explained that English was required in their schools and that they would enjoy sharing some of their culture with me. They took me to their officer’s club and shared dinner with me and much pleasant conversation. I have always looked back at the time spent with these delightful people as a benchmark in my life that elevated me to higher aspirations, higher awareness of the human spirit, and knowledge of the marvelous nature of the human relationship with God, the Eternal Father.
Since then I have taught and learned from virtually every people on earth. My collection of mementos’ from 68 years of living includes little evidences of my exposure to Chinese, Navajos, Iranians, Afghans, Germans, Mexicans, Hondurans, Irish, Japanese, Israelis, Hopi, Apache, Lakota, Brazilian, Russian, Checzk, Romanian, Tongan, and many, many more. It has been my absolute personal blessing to share with each of them these golden opportunities.
Will Rogers is quoted as saying he never met a man he didn’t like. There have been a few with whom I disagreed; however, in looking back, they were all pretty darn good people and If I were able to go back in time and redo some of these experiences (with my current understanding of the human soul) I would like to think that I would have been able to handle those circumstances just a little better.
You are always in my prayer
God bless you in attending to your family.
Your pop, grand pop, uncle, cousin, and friend
August 28, 2011
One of the earliest moments I believe I can remember in my life was when we lived in Cashion, Arizona. We lived way out across the Salt River on a farm for which my father had traded Glenn’s Trading Post in Concho. This was in 1948 and I was five years old. We had to travel into town by crossing the river, then driving on to Cashion and Tollison. My sister was born there in the Hospital on April 8, 1949. Aunt Louella had a dark green van and she took us to see mother and our new baby sister. It was a long time ago and they didn’t have visiting privileges like they do now, so we did the next best thing. We (actually, my brother Glenn) built a really neat guitar and we serenaded mother and baby Lynda from the grass through their window on the first floor of the hospital.
All these years later, mother has gone on to a fine reward because she served so valiantly in this life loving God, Jesus Christ, and her family. Glenn, Marie, Lynda and I are the old guard now and our collective desire is to do whatever we can to live up to the standards that mother provided for us. On a recent visit with Aunt Lynda and her husband Steve Fetzer, Jennifer Sabin and Lynae Woolf - her daughters – and I were trying to give comfort and support to her because she has been ill and not able to do the things she has in the past. For those of you who don’t know Steve, he is a genuine rock of civility and has given his all to help Lynda through these trials.
As in every family, ours has its frustrations, dislikes, fears, and other discrediting factors; however, our goal is and should always be to do the very best we can to overlook differences and embrace our understanding of eternal families. Mother used to say, “Duane, there is no U-Haul to Heaven”, to which I would always acknowledge her wisdom in not becoming obsessed with the “toys” of this world, but to focus on the eternal values of loving God, loving our fellow beings, and loving ourselves.
God bless you all in your daily struggles to truly understand God’s admonition, “Man is that he might have joy.” We receive that joy through service to our fellow men.
Grampa Duane Jacobs, Cousin, uncle, brother, and friend
September 4, 2011
Pure musings
Grandmother Jean Jacobs and I have had the distinct pleasure of seeing all of our grandchildren during the last month. We marvel at their distinctive natures. Each has his or her own very unique style, notions, mental capacity, desires, spiritual capacity, and pointedly, his or her own very unique spirit. Various religions and cultures have wide ranging perspectives on where we came from to begin our lives. Obviously, each has a perfect right to believe anything they may. My personal belief is that we all came to this earth as spirit children of our Heavenly Father; that we lived through a war of whatever sort in Heaven and came to this earth to gain a body and live our lives in a way that would allow us to return to His presence.
How beautiful the plan of salvation under which we live. Mother told a story about an elderly man that died many years ago. He was a rancher and was an avowed atheist. In addition he had spent most of his life as a mean spirited, cranky fellow, with little trust or love for anyone. Mother and Aunt Lola Salazar went to his funeral which was a very simple gathering to pay tribute to this gentleman. Knowing well of his lack of spiritual faith and belief, most found it extremely difficult to know what to share with his family. Finally, trying valiantly to find some words in her heart that would provide some comfort to the family, she went over to the casket and looked at him and said, “well, he sure did keep his hair looking nice.”
Look out for those around you. It takes no time at all to smile and say hello, to share a moment on the sidewalk telling someone they were missed at church, to tell a loved one that you do love them and want the very best for them. Watch especially for those who are shy, “different”, unassuming, or for any other reason do not fit in with those around them. Many times we are prompted (now, you know that can come from what ever spiritual presence you share) by the Spirit of Christ, or the Spirit of the Holy Ghost to go out of your way to do something different than you normally would. Don’t stop to have a philosophical debate with yourself. Don’t argue with God saying that you are just too busy; that you will catch Him next time. Most promptings come in very subtle ways and it is up to us to listen, pray, and be in tune with heavenly messengers so we will be able to be vehicles of good for those around us.
Don’t be preachy, high falloutin, snobs looking down at others and bashing the last tiny lights of hope from their fragile existence. Use that famous four-letter word, LOVE, and let them know that you care and are there for them. Without love, or the true spirit of Christ, we can in no way be of service.
God bless you in all your daily activities
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, Grandpa, Uncle, Cousin, and friend
September 11, 2011
Ten years since the day of infamy. A full decade since our world was ruptured by evil straight from the jaws of hell. If it wasn’t so important to remember and vow to never let it happen again, it would be best to simply erase it from our minds, from history, from its ever looming potential, and simply go our merry ways, as if nothing like this would ever happen again. Unfortunately, those same maniac powers are still in full regalia and waiting; because timing is everything.
Recently I was visiting with Grandmother Jacobs’ relatives celebrating the 88th birthday of her Aunt Grace. Her son John and I were visiting and noting that we had now become the elder generation. The mantle had been passed and we were the ones looked to for direction. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are still those who are older than us, some would rather eat ground glass than look for direction from us, and we certainly don’t have all the right answers. What we have; however is the wisdom that comes from living and making mistakes, trying to make things right, then moving forward again.
In the great and marvelous New Testament of Jesus Christ, we find many clues to how we should live our lives. In St. Matthew and in St. Luke the Lord, Jesus Christ is praying to our Heavenly Father and is asked to teach people how to pray. His eloquent, simple, and Christ-like answer, of course has come to be known as the “Lord’s Prayer”. If you haven’t read it lately, or pondered its depths, I urge you to do so. Much comfort will come from understanding why we wear this earthly body of flesh and what we are supposed to do.
Perhaps I will write a book and in this book I will make it clear – at least in my mind – why we are here on the earth and why we have been placed here at this specific time. Maybe I will title it, “Only God Knows the Hour and the Time.” Then I will base the rest of the book which will be extremely short on an old lecture I used to give titled, “PMA”. The prevailing definition of PMA, of course is Positive Mental Attitude; however, the definition I address in this discussion is “Please Make Adjustments.”
Simply put, we can all simply ignore reality and determine that the economic luxuries with which we have become so accustomed are too engrained to be eliminated. Or we can take the negative road and determine that these same life pleasures will shortly be a thing of the past and our only recourse is to keep playing the same tune Nero did as he watched Rome burn. My recommendation is to Please Make Adjustments in what we are willing to do to keep those things which are most precious to us; our God given freedoms, our lives, liberties, and pursuit of happiness.
But, I get carried away.
God bless you in all that you do.
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, grandpa, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend
September 18, 2011
In first century AD, Paul worked hard to keep the saints focused on living lives that emulated the plan and the commandments our Savior Jesus Christ gave us. Of significant interest is the fact that the people then, just as now, would fall off the gospel wagon at the first convenient curve in the road. Paul warned about excesses and sin in all the same quarters we see it today. One sweet lady in church told us to be watchful for inappropriate language she referred to as “potty mouth”. She even went so far as to share with this audience of several thousand that we all needed to know that “our little darlings” may well be part of the problem.
Is swearing and telling dirty jokes a really bad thing? I think so. One of my biggest nemeses has been my return to swearing when I hit my finger, get into it with driver rage, or simply get caught up in the moment and forget that I don’t want to have those words in my speech and vocabulary. When I return to our Savior and report, I will have to report that I have failed in my attempt to rid myself of these words and thoughts; that they are indelibly imprinted on the very fibers of my brain and heart.
So, that is my challenge and this is how I plan on squashing the dirty little beast. My good friend Frank Yoder says that after spending 20 years in the US Coast Guard, he had heard all the nasty language he could handle and makes it quite clear that he wants no part of it; going so far as to put it in his criteria for people qualifying for mentoring through his Resource and Reentry program in Southern Utah. He notes that in order for people to change they have to:
1. Have a genuine desire to change their lives; whether they be homeless, felons, substance abusers, or other, he says they can do it.
2. Remain free from alcohol, tobacco of all types, drugs and other addictive substances
3. Find and participate in some form of spiritual community, using the opportunity to find new friends, new activities, new experiences, and new life dimensions.
4. Seek the help of Almighty God in finding a rebirth of their lives and those closest to them.
5. And, his personal recommendation that individuals should avoid swearing and dirty jokes
I am going to follow this list of recommended activities. I believe it is through repentance, and commitment to follow the teachings of Christ, that we move forward in our lives. We, as mortals, are not capable of living our lives perfectly, but we can recognize our imperfections – our sins, and move step by step, day by day, closer to the point in which we embrace the scripture, in Moroni 10:32, “Come unto Christ and rid yourselves of all Ungodliness. .
May God be with you each and every day as we move through the miracle of all miracles – the very lives we live.
Duane Jacobs,
Grandpa, pops, cousin, uncle, and friend
September 25, 2010
Two sayings: 1) Time heals all wounds, and 2) Time wounds all heals. What a difference a little word tweaking makes. The first takes the good and the bad and notes that with time, things will look better and be better for those who attempt to let hurtful thoughts and actions dim with time. The second takes the same good and bad thoughts and actions and allows them to fester, foment, and generally become a cancer on our souls as we wait for those who have done things which we feel were inappropriate to get what is coming to them.
While serving as Director of Career and Placement Services at Utah Technical College in Provo/Orem, I was called in to the office by the dean of Student Services and given a letter which said I had been fired for cause. Totally caught off guard, I walked out of the office and met up with Gil Cook, a long-time friend. I told him that I couldn’t see and that I needed him to take me to the nearest spot where I could be out of sight so I could get my bearings and go on from there. He complied and soon I was writing up my side of the story and trying to get, “the heals to be wounded.” I was given all the encouragement in the world to challenge, sue, or otherwise create a problem for the college and the two vice presidents who had done what I began referring to as creating a vice presidential sandwich with me as the meat. Wonderfully for me, I realized that if they were that mean spirited, working duplicity and pent up anger at the world in my direction, I didn’t want to be part of the college, or these two yahoos. I began looking for and soon received a much better position as a tenured track professor, serving at Weber State University for one year; then, Utah Technical College for twenty three years until my retirement in 2009. I most certainly could have fought and won. The problem was that it would have been for something I no longer felt I wanted to do and it would have been all about retribution. I have been guided by good friends, my incredible wife, and the Spirit of the Holy Ghost in many things, but perhaps none greater than this personal triumph over a deep seated hurt.
Now in my retirement years, I look forward to great opportunities to be part of activities that will be helpful in blessing the lives of my family; those in my community who struggle with temporal and spiritual experiences, and those who yearn for the blessings of peace and economic security through following the principles and practices given us through the inspired works of the founding fathers, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution.
Both my mother and father began to say, “. . . we ain’t dead yet”, as they got a few years under their respective belts. Well, I ain’t dead yet, either, so I am going to keep banging the drum regarding those issues about which I feel strongly.
Please keep your eyes open, your ears tuned to hear those things that are virtuous and of Good report, and your spiritual senses keen to the work our Father in Heaven would have you accomplish.
God bless you in all your efforts as you share your knowledge of God the Father, Jesus Christ, our elder brother, and Comforter, or Holy Ghost.
Gpa Duane Jacobs
Grampa, Uncle, brother, cousin, and friend
October 2, 2011
My dear friends and family--
I have been attempting to do this for many years. Today in our Sunday School class (seven year olds) one of the comments was that we have to actually do things - not just think about them; thus, my resolve.
Hopefully, I will keep these brief and to the point. You don't have to read them. I am sure I will get more from them than anyone else. It is just nice to have someone to send them to. So, here goes.
In General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, President Boyd K. Packer shared a story of an individual who had held hatred, and malignant feelings over the death of his wife. After many years he was approached by a Stake President (ecclesiastic leader) and after a brief conversation and recounting of the story, the advise of this great leader was, "John, let it go." I am positive President Packer turned and looked right at me during this telling and said through the television, "Duane, let it go." I have done my very best to "let it go" over the past month and it really feels great.
May God's sweet spirit be with you until we meet again,
Duane Jacobs, AKA Grandpa Jacobs, Uncle Duane, Dad, pops, and friend.
Second week
Wow!
This is fun. Hard to believe I have made it through a second week of a resolution.
This is Easter. The day we celebrate the atonement and resurection of our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ. I am ever more inspired as I grow older and see the wisdom, the love, and the blessings we receive through our Savior. His gift is the most remarkable element we have in our lives.
We have in our family, a variety of christians, all wonderful, charitable, and delightful sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. May we always look to our common belief in our Savior and not concern ourselves inordinately with the differences that sometimes get in the way of wonderful relationships. I a few weeks I may attempt to share some thoughts with some who have strayed from their faith in Christ. There are some fundamentals that transcend the entire human family that help me and many others understand the great truths regarding God, his Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
May God continue to bless and keep you as you strive to live your lives in accordance to his holy will.
I love you all,
Duane, Grandpa Jacobs, father, pops, Uncle, and friend
Week three
May 1, 1965 may not be especially noteworthy to most people, but to Jean (that's Grandma J) and me, it is the most monumental day of our lives. We were married that day, 46 years ago, in the Los Angles Temple and by the authority of the Holy Priesthood sealed together with the promise that we could be together forever. But wait!! There is a catch. We made a covenant, or two-way promise. Simply put, if we worked diligently to help each other, to serve God, to serve our fellow human beings, and generally follow the principles Jesus Christ established for his Church on this earth, we could, indeed, live what we call eternal life and exaltation, residing, growing, and loving each other forever.
The first step was the marriage. The second step is making sure we don't do something stupid, like forgetting the plan, falling for some quick and easy detour out of love, or any of a million other little tricks Satan has for destroying our eternal happiness. The third step is the hardest. It is what President Kimball (LDS Church President some years ago) noted when he said that his most compelling desire was to "endure to the end."
Thank you all for being my family and friends and for allowing me to share my thoughts with you. May God be with you and yours as you work in the little things in life each day. Love your kids. Love your parents. Smile at your adversaries. Do something good for someone everyday.
Until next week,
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, Pops, Dad, Uncle, cousin, Friend.
Week four
Today is remembered as "mother's Day." It is one of the few things my mother, Lucy Baca Jacobs Livermore truly felt was a waste of time. Mother didn't even like to go to church on mother's day because she felt unworthy of the accolades; like she had not been a success because everybody else had "perfect kids". A contraire, mother dear. You were and are a Saint in the highest order. You worked your way through the shark infested waters of life to raise four children who have earnestly tried to emulate you in staying close to our Savior; in doing good to others; in doing whatever you could to assist us in raising our own children and grandchildren.
So, today we salute you as our model. we hope and pray that you who are mothers know how important you are in our lives. Rest assured, other people's children pick their noses; fight with you and your other children; say they aren't "churchy" like you; get carried away with too much violence, sex, and other mortal nonsense on the tube, ipods, movies, and real life. Remember! in the preexistence, we all told Jehovah that we knew we could do what was asked of us if He would just give us the chance. He did. We are here attempting to carry out that commitment. We all have agency. We all rebel. We all go through our times of temptation and many times fall way short of what we promised Jehovah. Moms, your job is to continually climb back on the strait and narrow path that leads to eternal life and exaltation and the very best example you can in showing the rest of us the way.
God bless you. We love, admire, and appreciate you.
Uncle, Grandpa, pops, Dad, cousin, friend, etc.
Week five
Sometimes reflection is a good thing. We don't want to dwell on our past accomplishments or our utter failures; however, it is nice to take a walk back through our lives and see what we have done to make us who we are. This week I came to the firm conviction that I was given this earthly opportunity so I could teach, or share my temporal and spiritual values and knowledge with others. As I look back in my life, I envision thousands of precious moments in which I found myself face-to-face with another human being in a moment of mutual enlightenment.
One such moment was in a classroom several years ago. One of my students, Jody J came in with her kids and shared that her children's care giver had not been able to tend the kids that day and wondered if they might be able to sit in the back of the room while she attended the class. Now the neat part. Two of the three children were autistic and had a terrible time sitting still, or doing anything a "normal" child might do. I said no, you can't put them in the back of the room, but you can let each of them sit right here in the front of the room at a computer. The children were in exemplary form. Jody, the mother and her kids had a great time, but I was the real winner that day because I relearned, for the umpteenth time that we are all looking for that time, that place, that way in which we can soak in knowledge and be right with ourselves and others.
Now, I know I broke school rules, violated ten thousand policies, and general made a mockery of the whole "shootin match", but if I were so fortunate as to be able to do it over again, I would do exactly the same thing because it was the right thing to do.
Good by again, my wonderful family and friends. I like this reflection process. I will share other stories and their impacts on my life later.
God bless "all, you all"
Duane Jacobs, Grandpa, Uncle, brother, cousin, and always a friend
Week Six
Around 1956 our family (Charles Glenn Jacobs, Lucy B. Jacobs, and Glenn, Marie, Lynda, and me.) went on a long, road trip to San Angelo, Texas to see Uncle Caton Jacobs and their family. We found a bunch of teen-age, or so girl cousins and had a great time sharing in their lives. Over the years I have visited with cousin Helen who claims to have always been a blond, but I distinctly remember her being a red-head. Yesterday I had a great visit with her about some temporal stuff which really has no lasting import. However, when she was ready to say good by, she shared a wonderful, cherished statement asking our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to bless me and be with me and my family, which is the direction I would like to go in this week's visit. Welcome to my weekly visit, Helen.
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She is a member of the Southern Baptist Church. We both are Christians and have a strong testimony of Jesus Christ as He who Atoned for us, giving us the opportunity to be resurrected and return to live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for the eternities. There is no greater blessing than that. Our entire existence could be clad with gold and we could have every temporal thing we ever could conceive; however, that experience would not hold a speck of value when compared to our eternal salvation.
We live in a day and age when Israel sits on the top of a powder box; the lives of millions and billions of people are viewed as little more than the temporary mixing of a few carbon and miscellaneous mineral elements. My desire is to be of some small assistance in aiding those around me who struggle with their understanding of why they exist, why God loves them, and how they can find peace and goodness around them.
God bless you all,
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, Uncle, Cousin, brother, and friend
Week seven
I was going to visit about some more of the amazing students I have been blessed to associate with over the decades; however, a very fresh, beautiful experience this week takes precedence. This is a story about youth, Christ-like love, family, friends, determination, dedication, and the very goodness of the human heart.
Several months ago our wonderful daughter-in-law, Cammi was diagnosed with colon cancer. Cammi and Andy, our son, are avid runners, having run since infantcy and both have been highly involved in Orem High School coaching. When a young man from the team learned of the situation, he organized "Camie's Run." The outpouring of thanks and appreciation for Camie and her family was overwhelming, with runners of every age and category doing their best to share their appreciation for this great spirit.
We often hear of the negative, nasty elements associated with our youth, so this was especially invigorating to me. I truly saw the best of the best on Saturday. As I saw many of my children and grandchildren zipping past Grandmother and me as we trudged along it gave me new hope and excitement about the future.
Our job on this earth is to "Come unto Christ and rid ourselves of all ungodliness . . .", then continue on, truly enduring til the end.
Next time I want visit with you about some of the people I have met, taughted, and loved who are from other religious, ethnic, and cultural groups.
Until then, God bless you as you strive to Serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, Friend, Uncle, cousin, brother, etc.
Week eight
Today is fathers' day. What an interesting concept. Marketers would like it to be like Christmas and Easter, with tons of purchases. Fortunately, they haven't totally corrupted it yet. It is still a great day to visit with family and friends, contemplate our heritage, and plan for the future.
My dad was a good guy, just not very well understood. He may have been one of those who was born to the wrong century. He would have been much more content in the mid 1900's without the "stuff" that clutters our lives. He lived the better part of his life as a rancher. He tried farming, selling insurance and real estate, and construction (He was in the CB's during WWII, while in the Navy); however, he always came back to the cows and horses. One great story happened a few years after Jean and I were married. Jean's dad was a life-time meat cutter, and of course dad was a rancher. Jean's folks came to visit when we had the Cordes Junction (Near Prescott) ranch. Dad asked dad Scott to shoot a cow in the trailer. He couldn't get a good shot, so my dad grabbed the gun and said, "%$&*&^(&^, let me do it and promptly shot out the spare tire. The tire got replaced, the cow got shot, cut and wrapped, and all had a good laugh, many times over.
Now that I have been a dad and a grandpa for 46 years I have started to appreciate the vital role fathers play in their children's lives. Mother's are the key, but the father in any family can unlock doors of trust, spirituality, hope, occupational aspirations, and daily living that moms sometimes need a hand with. Makes a great concept. Mom and dad working together to ensure lasting happiness for their kids as well as for themselves. I am, no doubt one of the most blessed persons on the planet; having a sweetheart that has stuck with me through sickness, health, poverty, wealth, education and degrees, successes and failures makes me whatever I am.
I believe there is a solid pattern to being a good dad. Be consistent, live according to the spirit, love unconditionally, and never take yourself too seriously. Oh, and listen to your wife.
I put off doing this thing - writing my thoughts - for years, thinking it would be very difficult, but it has turned out to be a tremendous blessing for me. If anyone else gets value from it, we can just call that collateral value.
May God bless you in your daily afairs. May your family be well and well loved.
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, Uncle, friend, cousin, neighbor, etc.
Duane Jacobs
Week Nine
Sometimes life just couldn't get any better and then blessings from Heaven come pouring in and it is almost embarrasing to see how blessed we actually are. Jean and I went down to Southern Utah to celebrate the passing of Jean's Aunt Bea. We saw friends and relatives from every association we had ever experienced. We saw a genuine renewal of faith,of love,and of hope for the future.
I had the opportunity to visit my roots and see where some of my experiences have led.
Some of my friends, nieses and nephews, grandchildren, etc, are creating mischief in their families. I know exactly what you are up to because it was only a few short years ago that Iwas in your shoe. I was angry with the world, with God, and with myself. My parents just weren’t “cool”. You see, my father was old and my mother was a Mexican and they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and I didn’t want to be religious. Imagine this. I was five years old and my parents wanted me to sit up on the front row of the church and be “blessed” like a baby. I did just what many of you do on a regular basis. I pitched a fit, embarrassed everyone, and sure enough, I never got that blessing. Another time, we went to the school in Concho where we lived and they wanted me to get a shot so I wouldn’t get sick from one of the dangerous diseases that plague children. I honestly don’t know to this day whether I got the shot or not, but I am embarrassed to say that once again, I put up an awful fight, embarrassed my family, and generally made a fool of myself. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. I was a knot head and lost out on many positive opportunities to bless me, bless my family, and make things better for them.
It wasn’t until much later, when I was about fifteen that I began to get a glimpse of the problems I was causing for my parents and for me. I did so many dumb things, disobeying God and my parents during those years that I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if God had just said, good riddance to ad rubbish and booted me out. But because God and our parents want only the very best for us, they continued to love me. God gave me the Holy Ghost. Sometimes he would show up at the most awkward times. Sometimes his voice wouldn’t be quiet and low. He would practically have to shout at me and kick me in the hind end to get me back on course. My parents had no idea what to do with me, so father would do what he called a good tromping, which of course did no good what-so-ever.
While I was in the Navy, I started to get the message. My parents love me. God loves me. I am the one that doesn’t understand. Heck, I don’t even love me. I began to do what Enos in the Book of Mormon did. I wrestled with God. He always won. But each time, I became stronger and wiser and closer to God. I met and married my incredible sweetheart and we have been working on this whole business of understanding our role in life, or what we are supposed to do for over 46 years.
My parents have gone to their spiritual rewards. I would give anything if I could take back some of the ignorant things I did to them – no can do. Now it is just me and God and of course my wonderful wife. Those of you who have gotten off track (That is most of us) still have those golden opportunities available. You have had glimpses of the goodness of God and of the blessings of the Holy Ghost. I challenge you to take the opportunity to seek out His blessings. I promise you as one who just about lost his testimony and knowledge of God and his love for each of us. Grab on and go forward. Talk to God. Talk to your parents. Be a good example to those around you.
I love you and only want the very best for you. God bless you in all that you do.
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, friend, brother, uncle, cousin, uncle, etc.
Week ten
When I was a young boy our family lived in Concho, Arizona in a little white house that had been used to store hay and grain for several years prior to our arrival in about 1950. My father and mother went to work cleaning and refurbishing it including completing electrical, framing, kitchen and a bathroom. There was no water so dad created a railroad tie tower, I expect was about six feet high, then purchased a used gas 1,000 gallon gas tank and cleaned it, tarred the inside, put it on the tower next to the windmill. Then he ran a pipe in from the tank through the kitchen window and we had running water.
There is a saying, "some people would gripe if they were hung with a new rope." I am not completely sure what it means so I will give my interpretation. Very simple, we are a spoiled people. We (I don't like to generalize, but I am gonna) have more than anyone else in the history of man, temporally and spiritually and yet we gripe moan and complain. We say we are entitled to have this and that. We say the government, our neighbors, our family, or whom-so-ever we get around to blaming for our current frustrations need to step up and make us happy.
Please, step back and think with me for a moment. God allowed us to come to earth, collect our mortal bodies, make our own mistakes, earn our own respect, and generally do whatever we are inclined to do. He gave us the right to be free, to toil and take care of our families needs. He gave us the ability to communicate with Him and be guided by his hand. As I read in the bible, the Book of Mormon, and living prophets, I am confident that God is not pleased with all the nonsense that goes on in his name. People have been fighting for centuries over differences in churchie things. My dear departed Aunt Lola (mother's sister) gave the best advise. Her family was divided among christian churches including Baptist, Catholic, and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She always took the high road and said, "well, we just need to enjoy each other while we are here. God will straighten us all out when we get to the other side."
Back to the little white house in Concho. Perhaps we should all focus more on the fact that we have family, we have God in our lives, we have the opportunity to help many people who are less fortunate than ourselves, and we are still here on earth with the blessing of being able to serve His people.
There I go, getting preachy again.
You are all wonderful,
Grandpa Jacobs, friend, brother, cousin, Uncle, etc.
Week eleven July 3, 2011
Hang on to your hats. I am going to get way preachy about our fantastic country, The United
States of America. I was eighteen years old, graduated from high school, and beginning my freshman year at Arizona State University. I had no idea why I was there, no goals, no "mission" in life, and certainly no business taking up space and resources that could be much more appropriately spent on others who had the ability and the desire to play at the level. So, I played, went to very few classes, and generally flushed the semester down the toilet. On November 8, 1961 I joined the United States Navy. My folks joked about me joining the Navy so, ". . .nobody would boss me around." I don't remember it that way, but it certainly fits my profile at that time, so it was probably true. I served honorably for almost four years, sailing to WESPAC (Japan, Hong Hong, Phillipines, Hawaii, etc) learning many things, but mostly beginning the steps toward finding out who I was, where I came from, and where I would go after this life.
I have been honored and privledged over the years to be numbered among those who have served in the United States Armed Services. I served right between the Korean and Vietnam wars and during the assissanation of President Kennedy, and the bay of Pigs invasion which only through divine intervention did not begin world war three. We never were part of actual combat service, but we saw plenty of our service men make mistakes though use of tobacco, alchohol, sexual promiscuity, gambling, and other pieces of the Seven Deadly Sins which cost them their health, their families, and in many instances their very lives. I was blessed during this time to have the Spirit of Christ, The Holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost (depending on your specific spiritual reference.) Sometimes, I would be nudged so hard because of the prayers of my honored mother, that the Holy Ghost would almost have to knock me off my feet to get me to hold to the Iron Rod and maintain a semblance of decency and respect.
Thanks to those in my early years, to my mother, to my magnificient wife of 46 years, to the principles and directions from Prophets of God in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and to all those who I have had the priviledge of "teaching" in my professional life, and in my religious life, I can now say that I have answered each of those question I referenced before; namely, who am I (a spiritual child of our Heavenly Father, where did I come from (from the eternal realms as a spirit, residing in the very presence of God); why am I here (to gain a body and do everything I possibly can to be allowed to open my personal book of life and be found worthy); and where am I going (though the atonement of Jesus Christ, be allowed to return to his presence and continue in eternal growth and knowledge with my family).
Your friend, cousin, brother, uncle, and fellow believer in our great creator, our Heavenly Father
Duane Jacobs
Week twelve July 10, 2011
God gave us many rights. Along with those rights came the privilege of being the master of our own destiny. It works this way. We can do anything we want. When I was just a little shaver, I would put up a great fit when asked to do a job around the house. One such event went something like this. Mom or dad would ask me to mow the lawn. I was sixteen and as you know, that was way beneath the dignity of any self respecting sixteen years old. When I wanted to go visit my friend Ted, the only answer they gave was that I needed to do the lawn first, so I would get the trusty lawn mower out, mow like only a crazy, mad kid can do, get it done in no time at all; then be free to go about my youthful nonsense. I could have been more helpful. I could have done many things to make life easier for my parents and for myself. Instead, I chose to put myself through the grinder of life just to prove that I could do it my way. That was in Scottsdale, Arizona about 1959.
Right now the world as a unit is kind of that way. Our country, the United States of America is on a collision course with destiny. Israel and the United States are locked in the same course, on the same side. England, Canada, Australia, and a few others are with us in spirit, but have such struggles from within that they can’t successfully maintain the destiny of their forefathers. Our sacred obligation is to get out the trusty lawnmower and fight like there is no tomorrow to ensure that our freedoms, our rights, and our sacred honor are maintained.
This is what we must do:
1. Live close to God, relying on his council and direction.
2. Live close to our families, relying on the strength of unity and love which abides in our homes
3. Speak out, with reverence, respect, and appreciation for what we have
4. Give forth charity (remember! The pure love of Christ)
5. Seek out opportunities to help our parents, our friends, our government, and our country
God shares with us that he is not a fan of those who slink around in silence waiting for others to do what is right. God wants us to step up, speak out, and hold to the truths with which we have been blessed.
You are all wonderful,
Grandpa Jacobs, friend, brother, cousin, Uncle, etc.
Duane Jacobs
Week thirteen July 17, 2011
My dear family and friends
The world is full to the brim with wonderful, caring people. I see them everywhere. Yes, I know there are problems in the world; however, there are so many off-setting experiences and blessings that it does kind of balance out and make us more appreciative of life itself. This letter writing business has become so exciting that I can hardly wait until the next Sunday when I can share the wonderful things I see and hear during the week.
This week I was at the pulmonary clinic getting my blood checked and listening to a sweet southern gal tell how her Girl Scout troop worked and slaved selling tons of cookies; then, decided to give all the proceeds to a young man who has been battling cancer. This boy loves the toys from the Movie Cars and Cars2, so they gave him a boatload of these little Cars reminders. The boy was thrilled beyond belief, the Girl Scout leader had been successful in helping the girls understand the true blessings of love and charity, and their act of understanding and love will be long remembered by all those who participated.
I was about eight years old and lived in Concho, Arizona, a tiny rut of a town with a few hundred people scattered around the valley. I had no idea we were dirt poor because everyone was in the same kettle of fish as we were. Most were Hispanic and they lived in small, adobe homes; some with dirt floors. I would play with friends on many afternoons when school let out and we would end up in their homes. In my friend Albert Archuletta’s home (this was a fine, upscale home) we would find lots of chatter and food and water. We would also see evidence of a very strong bond of love and caring. One daughter had a bad disorder that caused her to be unable to speak, or walk, or play, or do any of the things we take for granted, but she was part of the family and everyone took part in her care and simply recognized that she was family period. I can’t remember her name, but Albert, the Archulettas and the little girlleft a lasting desire in my heart to do whatever I could to love all our family, our friends, our enemies, and all those in whom we come in contact.
Your friend, cousin, brother, uncle, and fellow believer in our great creator, our Heavenly Father
Duane Jacobs
Week fourteen July 24, 2011
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints celebrates July 24th as Pioneer Day; the day when a small party of “saints” came across the mountains and Brigham Young saw the Salt Lake Valley for the first time, declaring, “This is the right place.” It was not pretty and green, it was not even habitable looking, but it was where God wanted his people to build a new life. Many things have threatened the pioneers during the past 168 years; however, they have remained, inviting all who wished to join them in this great desert.
The commonalities between the habitation of the Great Salt Lake valley by the “Mormons” and the return of the Jews to Israel are not lost on those who study truth, freedom, and the will of God. Both cultures praise their right to worship God and consider their location to be because God was willing to provide a “homeland” for their use. Both have a Jordan River flowing South to North and a Dead Sea flowing from the Jordan River. Each is foretold in Isaiah and each has struggled with outside sources to remain a viable flourishing gathering place.
The similarities go on and on; however, it is the threat of annihilation that truly boggles the mind. Inconceivable as it may seem, scheming humans posing as religionists from many cultures, faiths, and circumstances have destroyed millions over the centuries. Today is no different. This very day, Israel is being threatened with extinction through individuals, and governments who would put them in the position of having indefensible borders with no means of protection from the leaders of nations surrounding them with the stated goal that Israel must be erased from the face of the earth.
In visiting with my distinguished brother, Glenn, on this issue he states that this is just the first of the great conquering marauders dastardly deeds. The goal, the long-term mission of many countries and leaders is to create a One-world Government; thus, eliminating all borders and creating a single justice, monetary, governmental, and societal mold for all. First, Israel, then the Louisiana Purchase, then the New Mexico territories, then California, then the new commonwealth of Europe, then Canada, the Central and South American Countries, Africa, and the rest can be picked up like lice off a dog.
This all sounds like rhetoric from a bad science fiction novel. I hope and pray to God daily that it is just that. We have always been told to fortify ourselves with the truth, do everything we can to live our lives as if we were going to go on for centuries, and then protect our right to do so with every fiber of out being.
I give my apologies to those who may be offended by this, or are too young to understand. May we all live in peace for ever.
Your friend, cousin, brother, uncle, and fellow believer in our great creator, our Heavenly Father
Duane Jacobs
Week 15 July 31, 2011
Once upon a time I was a little boy I told our Sunday school class today, but today when I look in the mirror I don’t see the little boy. Instead a see a bald headed, gray haired, old, fat man. Why it was only yesterday that I went with my mother to Uncle Chris’s funeral in Springerville, Arizona. Mother was really great that day (as she always was) and asked me if I could drive. I had just received my driver’s license and was ever so proud to say I could. It was about two hundred miles, so it was a good test of my abilities, but we arrived in good stead and participated in the funeral. This was a wonderful Catholic funeral with all of its reverential, respectful attention to the dearly departed.
The people were most wonderful and the element of this trip I remember most. After the funeral we sat in Aunt Marian’s living room enjoying food, conversation and wonderful stories about those who had gone before us. After I shared that comment with our Sunday school class today, I asked them why we do family research and why we have such an interest in knowing our grand parents and great grand parents. I asked them how many of them knew their grandparents and I was stunned to find that most didn’t have a real good idea of the names of those beyond with whom they currently reside.
My personal belief is that we can all learn much about ourselves relating to our past, present, and future. That through review of notes, letters, and conversations of those gone from this earth, we can find significant clues to the paths we should avoid, avenues we should urge ourselves to travel, and goals and missions we would be well advised to strive to attain. We are, one day, fit, young, ambitious, all-knowing, and indestructible. The next day, we are a bald headed, gray haired, old, fat man. We have lived our lives in the manner we choose. Personally, I am grateful to a Father in Heaven who loves me and provided me with a Savior and the Holy Ghost to urge, inspire, nudge, and direct me in paths that have been wonderful. I would have never chosen teaching as a profession. I would never have lived with the blessings of the Word of Wisdom. I would never have married my sweetheart. In short, I couldn’t be more in love with life, with my family, with my eternal companion, my wonderful children and their spouses; and of course my incredible grandchildren.
God bless you in attending to your family.
Your pop, grandpop, uncle, cousin, and friend
August 14, 2011
Today we gave a lesson to our seven and eight year-old primary children about God’s love for all his children. We had a lighted, world globe and watched as the children told where they, or someone they loved had been able to go. We talked about the differences in skin pigment, in the differences in culture, and in dress. But, mostly we talked about how much alike we are and how much God loves us and wants us to be kind and loving to each other.
In 1962, I was in the hospital in Yokosuka, Japan. I was released from the hospital to participate in a day of R and R (rest and relaxation). I found myself in a movie theatre where a movie was playing about World War II. Interestingly, it was from the Japanese perspective, and as you will recall, they didn’t win that war and many lost their lives. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as I went to the lobby, but was thrilled to have several servicemen (they must have been officers) come up and start talking to me in quite reasonable English. They explained that English was required in their schools and that they would enjoy sharing some of their culture with me. They took me to their officer’s club and shared dinner with me and much pleasant conversation. I have always looked back at the time spent with these delightful people as a benchmark in my life that elevated me to higher aspirations, higher awareness of the human spirit, and knowledge of the marvelous nature of the human relationship with God, the Eternal Father.
Since then I have taught and learned from virtually every people on earth. My collection of mementos’ from 68 years of living includes little evidences of my exposure to Chinese, Navajos, Iranians, Afghans, Germans, Mexicans, Hondurans, Irish, Japanese, Israelis, Hopi, Apache, Lakota, Brazilian, Russian, Checzk, Romanian, Tongan, and many, many more. It has been my absolute personal blessing to share with each of them these golden opportunities.
Will Rogers is quoted as saying he never met a man he didn’t like. There have been a few with whom I disagreed; however, in looking back, they were all pretty darn good people and If I were able to go back in time and redo some of these experiences (with my current understanding of the human soul) I would like to think that I would have been able to handle those circumstances just a little better.
You are always in my prayer
God bless you in attending to your family.
Your pop, grand pop, uncle, cousin, and friend
August 28, 2011
One of the earliest moments I believe I can remember in my life was when we lived in Cashion, Arizona. We lived way out across the Salt River on a farm for which my father had traded Glenn’s Trading Post in Concho. This was in 1948 and I was five years old. We had to travel into town by crossing the river, then driving on to Cashion and Tollison. My sister was born there in the Hospital on April 8, 1949. Aunt Louella had a dark green van and she took us to see mother and our new baby sister. It was a long time ago and they didn’t have visiting privileges like they do now, so we did the next best thing. We (actually, my brother Glenn) built a really neat guitar and we serenaded mother and baby Lynda from the grass through their window on the first floor of the hospital.
All these years later, mother has gone on to a fine reward because she served so valiantly in this life loving God, Jesus Christ, and her family. Glenn, Marie, Lynda and I are the old guard now and our collective desire is to do whatever we can to live up to the standards that mother provided for us. On a recent visit with Aunt Lynda and her husband Steve Fetzer, Jennifer Sabin and Lynae Woolf - her daughters – and I were trying to give comfort and support to her because she has been ill and not able to do the things she has in the past. For those of you who don’t know Steve, he is a genuine rock of civility and has given his all to help Lynda through these trials.
As in every family, ours has its frustrations, dislikes, fears, and other discrediting factors; however, our goal is and should always be to do the very best we can to overlook differences and embrace our understanding of eternal families. Mother used to say, “Duane, there is no U-Haul to Heaven”, to which I would always acknowledge her wisdom in not becoming obsessed with the “toys” of this world, but to focus on the eternal values of loving God, loving our fellow beings, and loving ourselves.
God bless you all in your daily struggles to truly understand God’s admonition, “Man is that he might have joy.” We receive that joy through service to our fellow men.
Grampa Duane Jacobs, Cousin, uncle, brother, and friend
September 4, 2011
Pure musings
Grandmother Jean Jacobs and I have had the distinct pleasure of seeing all of our grandchildren during the last month. We marvel at their distinctive natures. Each has his or her own very unique style, notions, mental capacity, desires, spiritual capacity, and pointedly, his or her own very unique spirit. Various religions and cultures have wide ranging perspectives on where we came from to begin our lives. Obviously, each has a perfect right to believe anything they may. My personal belief is that we all came to this earth as spirit children of our Heavenly Father; that we lived through a war of whatever sort in Heaven and came to this earth to gain a body and live our lives in a way that would allow us to return to His presence.
How beautiful the plan of salvation under which we live. Mother told a story about an elderly man that died many years ago. He was a rancher and was an avowed atheist. In addition he had spent most of his life as a mean spirited, cranky fellow, with little trust or love for anyone. Mother and Aunt Lola Salazar went to his funeral which was a very simple gathering to pay tribute to this gentleman. Knowing well of his lack of spiritual faith and belief, most found it extremely difficult to know what to share with his family. Finally, trying valiantly to find some words in her heart that would provide some comfort to the family, she went over to the casket and looked at him and said, “well, he sure did keep his hair looking nice.”
Look out for those around you. It takes no time at all to smile and say hello, to share a moment on the sidewalk telling someone they were missed at church, to tell a loved one that you do love them and want the very best for them. Watch especially for those who are shy, “different”, unassuming, or for any other reason do not fit in with those around them. Many times we are prompted (now, you know that can come from what ever spiritual presence you share) by the Spirit of Christ, or the Spirit of the Holy Ghost to go out of your way to do something different than you normally would. Don’t stop to have a philosophical debate with yourself. Don’t argue with God saying that you are just too busy; that you will catch Him next time. Most promptings come in very subtle ways and it is up to us to listen, pray, and be in tune with heavenly messengers so we will be able to be vehicles of good for those around us.
Don’t be preachy, high falloutin, snobs looking down at others and bashing the last tiny lights of hope from their fragile existence. Use that famous four-letter word, LOVE, and let them know that you care and are there for them. Without love, or the true spirit of Christ, we can in no way be of service.
God bless you in all your daily activities
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, Grandpa, Uncle, Cousin, and friend
September 11, 2011
Ten years since the day of infamy. A full decade since our world was ruptured by evil straight from the jaws of hell. If it wasn’t so important to remember and vow to never let it happen again, it would be best to simply erase it from our minds, from history, from its ever looming potential, and simply go our merry ways, as if nothing like this would ever happen again. Unfortunately, those same maniac powers are still in full regalia and waiting; because timing is everything.
Recently I was visiting with Grandmother Jacobs’ relatives celebrating the 88th birthday of her Aunt Grace. Her son John and I were visiting and noting that we had now become the elder generation. The mantle had been passed and we were the ones looked to for direction. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are still those who are older than us, some would rather eat ground glass than look for direction from us, and we certainly don’t have all the right answers. What we have; however is the wisdom that comes from living and making mistakes, trying to make things right, then moving forward again.
In the great and marvelous New Testament of Jesus Christ, we find many clues to how we should live our lives. In St. Matthew and in St. Luke the Lord, Jesus Christ is praying to our Heavenly Father and is asked to teach people how to pray. His eloquent, simple, and Christ-like answer, of course has come to be known as the “Lord’s Prayer”. If you haven’t read it lately, or pondered its depths, I urge you to do so. Much comfort will come from understanding why we wear this earthly body of flesh and what we are supposed to do.
Perhaps I will write a book and in this book I will make it clear – at least in my mind – why we are here on the earth and why we have been placed here at this specific time. Maybe I will title it, “Only God Knows the Hour and the Time.” Then I will base the rest of the book which will be extremely short on an old lecture I used to give titled, “PMA”. The prevailing definition of PMA, of course is Positive Mental Attitude; however, the definition I address in this discussion is “Please Make Adjustments.”
Simply put, we can all simply ignore reality and determine that the economic luxuries with which we have become so accustomed are too engrained to be eliminated. Or we can take the negative road and determine that these same life pleasures will shortly be a thing of the past and our only recourse is to keep playing the same tune Nero did as he watched Rome burn. My recommendation is to Please Make Adjustments in what we are willing to do to keep those things which are most precious to us; our God given freedoms, our lives, liberties, and pursuit of happiness.
But, I get carried away.
God bless you in all that you do.
Grandpa Duane Jacobs, grandpa, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend
September 18, 2011
In first century AD, Paul worked hard to keep the saints focused on living lives that emulated the plan and the commandments our Savior Jesus Christ gave us. Of significant interest is the fact that the people then, just as now, would fall off the gospel wagon at the first convenient curve in the road. Paul warned about excesses and sin in all the same quarters we see it today. One sweet lady in church told us to be watchful for inappropriate language she referred to as “potty mouth”. She even went so far as to share with this audience of several thousand that we all needed to know that “our little darlings” may well be part of the problem.
Is swearing and telling dirty jokes a really bad thing? I think so. One of my biggest nemeses has been my return to swearing when I hit my finger, get into it with driver rage, or simply get caught up in the moment and forget that I don’t want to have those words in my speech and vocabulary. When I return to our Savior and report, I will have to report that I have failed in my attempt to rid myself of these words and thoughts; that they are indelibly imprinted on the very fibers of my brain and heart.
So, that is my challenge and this is how I plan on squashing the dirty little beast. My good friend Frank Yoder says that after spending 20 years in the US Coast Guard, he had heard all the nasty language he could handle and makes it quite clear that he wants no part of it; going so far as to put it in his criteria for people qualifying for mentoring through his Resource and Reentry program in Southern Utah. He notes that in order for people to change they have to:
1. Have a genuine desire to change their lives; whether they be homeless, felons, substance abusers, or other, he says they can do it.
2. Remain free from alcohol, tobacco of all types, drugs and other addictive substances
3. Find and participate in some form of spiritual community, using the opportunity to find new friends, new activities, new experiences, and new life dimensions.
4. Seek the help of Almighty God in finding a rebirth of their lives and those closest to them.
5. And, his personal recommendation that individuals should avoid swearing and dirty jokes
I am going to follow this list of recommended activities. I believe it is through repentance, and commitment to follow the teachings of Christ, that we move forward in our lives. We, as mortals, are not capable of living our lives perfectly, but we can recognize our imperfections – our sins, and move step by step, day by day, closer to the point in which we embrace the scripture, in Moroni 10:32, “Come unto Christ and rid yourselves of all Ungodliness. .
May God be with you each and every day as we move through the miracle of all miracles – the very lives we live.
Duane Jacobs,
Grandpa, pops, cousin, uncle, and friend
September 25, 2010
Two sayings: 1) Time heals all wounds, and 2) Time wounds all heals. What a difference a little word tweaking makes. The first takes the good and the bad and notes that with time, things will look better and be better for those who attempt to let hurtful thoughts and actions dim with time. The second takes the same good and bad thoughts and actions and allows them to fester, foment, and generally become a cancer on our souls as we wait for those who have done things which we feel were inappropriate to get what is coming to them.
While serving as Director of Career and Placement Services at Utah Technical College in Provo/Orem, I was called in to the office by the dean of Student Services and given a letter which said I had been fired for cause. Totally caught off guard, I walked out of the office and met up with Gil Cook, a long-time friend. I told him that I couldn’t see and that I needed him to take me to the nearest spot where I could be out of sight so I could get my bearings and go on from there. He complied and soon I was writing up my side of the story and trying to get, “the heals to be wounded.” I was given all the encouragement in the world to challenge, sue, or otherwise create a problem for the college and the two vice presidents who had done what I began referring to as creating a vice presidential sandwich with me as the meat. Wonderfully for me, I realized that if they were that mean spirited, working duplicity and pent up anger at the world in my direction, I didn’t want to be part of the college, or these two yahoos. I began looking for and soon received a much better position as a tenured track professor, serving at Weber State University for one year; then, Utah Technical College for twenty three years until my retirement in 2009. I most certainly could have fought and won. The problem was that it would have been for something I no longer felt I wanted to do and it would have been all about retribution. I have been guided by good friends, my incredible wife, and the Spirit of the Holy Ghost in many things, but perhaps none greater than this personal triumph over a deep seated hurt.
Now in my retirement years, I look forward to great opportunities to be part of activities that will be helpful in blessing the lives of my family; those in my community who struggle with temporal and spiritual experiences, and those who yearn for the blessings of peace and economic security through following the principles and practices given us through the inspired works of the founding fathers, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution.
Both my mother and father began to say, “. . . we ain’t dead yet”, as they got a few years under their respective belts. Well, I ain’t dead yet, either, so I am going to keep banging the drum regarding those issues about which I feel strongly.
Please keep your eyes open, your ears tuned to hear those things that are virtuous and of Good report, and your spiritual senses keen to the work our Father in Heaven would have you accomplish.
God bless you in all your efforts as you share your knowledge of God the Father, Jesus Christ, our elder brother, and Comforter, or Holy Ghost.
Gpa Duane Jacobs
Grampa, Uncle, brother, cousin, and friend
October 2, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
October 15, 2011
Surprise!! This is Saturday, not Sunday. Grandmother and I have been on the road for the last ten days. What a hoot. Our job on this trip is to figure out what we are going to do for the next 20, or so years, or until we get twinkled. The options are endless; the only thing that is verboten (I threw my vast knowledge of German for Sue Laing) is doing nothing. One of the most intriguing contrasts between working and playing (being retired) is how time is organized. We really don’t have to do anything, so there can be nothing scheduled. If there is nothing scheduled, or aspired to, nothing gets done, and we live with no growth, no learning, and no progression. Eons back I was given a card with the, famous “end of the trail” picture on it. The drawing is of an American Native on horseback, a spear in the back, a huge canyon drop-off in front of him, with head hanging down, and virtual certainty of impending death. Paraphrasing, the frame is appropriately tltled, when there are no dreams, life ends.
Grandmother and I have seen thousands of wonderful human beings live their lives half-way. A young couple from Florida spend about a year and a half as part of our wildly extended family. He had been in prison for all kinds of things, the most offensive, He was selling poison in the form of drugs to children. He and his wife had four children with another on the way. Because she was a drug addict, she showed positive for drugs and the new baby was taken away at birth, only to be returned after months of proving that she was “clean”. No sooner than they got the baby back, they began another baby, lost her job under suspicious circumstances, lost his job under similar conditions, and ended up going back to Florida, only to repeat the cycle again. I could fill books with stories of individuals who have fallen off the strait and narrow and wandered through life without purpose and without hope, but you get the picture.
We need to learn from these individuals and avoid the pitfalls they have shown us. Those who are younger than me –which now tends to be almost everyone – can appreciate the gravity of leaving the Iron rod (The word of God) and wandering through the dark and dreary mists (the confusion and embarrassments of standing tall) and encouraging others to follow. Not long ago, somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 years, I watched as one after another of my fine friends in the Navy would go out into the mist, get drunk, get venereal disease, fill their lungs with poison gasses, and generally deny all that their parents had shared with them that was good. I assure you that is much easier in the short run, to follow the crowd than to hold on to the Word of God.
It was especially difficult for me because I didn’t have a firm foundation in spirituality. One day in Sasebo Japan, Dault Martin said, “Jake”, you need to have a beer. It won’t hurt you and it will make you feel like a man to experience what it can do for you. He bought on and put it in front of me. Weak as I was, I tried it. The best of luck (remember the Holy Ghost) was that I couldn’t stand the taste of it. To me it tasted like brine water. End of that challenge? No, not really. There were similar challenges with tobacco, with hard liquor, with tempting young ladies flaunting the bodies and asking to be used “for a price”. I must have been a terrible pain to the “spirit” assigned to me because he always had to bring me up short. I was able to move through the word of wisdom and sexual temptations without being scarred for life. I never had sexual relations until I met and married grandmother Jacobs. I was not so fortunate in the word of wisdom department and was reminded of that recently when a nurse in a sleep study facility asked me if I had “ever” smoked. I said yes, fifty years ago and she sighed and said, Yes, many tell me that they had the same problem during their military service. Up shot. Just leave that junk alone.
God gave life so we might experience JOY. Joy comes through doing the will of our Father in Heaven. Live close to the spirit, love your family, look out for those who are less fortunate than you, forgive those who do things to harm you.
Surprise!! This is Saturday, not Sunday. Grandmother and I have been on the road for the last ten days. What a hoot. Our job on this trip is to figure out what we are going to do for the next 20, or so years, or until we get twinkled. The options are endless; the only thing that is verboten (I threw my vast knowledge of German for Sue Laing) is doing nothing. One of the most intriguing contrasts between working and playing (being retired) is how time is organized. We really don’t have to do anything, so there can be nothing scheduled. If there is nothing scheduled, or aspired to, nothing gets done, and we live with no growth, no learning, and no progression. Eons back I was given a card with the, famous “end of the trail” picture on it. The drawing is of an American Native on horseback, a spear in the back, a huge canyon drop-off in front of him, with head hanging down, and virtual certainty of impending death. Paraphrasing, the frame is appropriately tltled, when there are no dreams, life ends.
Grandmother and I have seen thousands of wonderful human beings live their lives half-way. A young couple from Florida spend about a year and a half as part of our wildly extended family. He had been in prison for all kinds of things, the most offensive, He was selling poison in the form of drugs to children. He and his wife had four children with another on the way. Because she was a drug addict, she showed positive for drugs and the new baby was taken away at birth, only to be returned after months of proving that she was “clean”. No sooner than they got the baby back, they began another baby, lost her job under suspicious circumstances, lost his job under similar conditions, and ended up going back to Florida, only to repeat the cycle again. I could fill books with stories of individuals who have fallen off the strait and narrow and wandered through life without purpose and without hope, but you get the picture.
We need to learn from these individuals and avoid the pitfalls they have shown us. Those who are younger than me –which now tends to be almost everyone – can appreciate the gravity of leaving the Iron rod (The word of God) and wandering through the dark and dreary mists (the confusion and embarrassments of standing tall) and encouraging others to follow. Not long ago, somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 years, I watched as one after another of my fine friends in the Navy would go out into the mist, get drunk, get venereal disease, fill their lungs with poison gasses, and generally deny all that their parents had shared with them that was good. I assure you that is much easier in the short run, to follow the crowd than to hold on to the Word of God.
It was especially difficult for me because I didn’t have a firm foundation in spirituality. One day in Sasebo Japan, Dault Martin said, “Jake”, you need to have a beer. It won’t hurt you and it will make you feel like a man to experience what it can do for you. He bought on and put it in front of me. Weak as I was, I tried it. The best of luck (remember the Holy Ghost) was that I couldn’t stand the taste of it. To me it tasted like brine water. End of that challenge? No, not really. There were similar challenges with tobacco, with hard liquor, with tempting young ladies flaunting the bodies and asking to be used “for a price”. I must have been a terrible pain to the “spirit” assigned to me because he always had to bring me up short. I was able to move through the word of wisdom and sexual temptations without being scarred for life. I never had sexual relations until I met and married grandmother Jacobs. I was not so fortunate in the word of wisdom department and was reminded of that recently when a nurse in a sleep study facility asked me if I had “ever” smoked. I said yes, fifty years ago and she sighed and said, Yes, many tell me that they had the same problem during their military service. Up shot. Just leave that junk alone.
God gave life so we might experience JOY. Joy comes through doing the will of our Father in Heaven. Live close to the spirit, love your family, look out for those who are less fortunate than you, forgive those who do things to harm you.
10/23/2011
This is about a true hayseed moving to the big city of Mesa, Arizona from Concho, Arizona. I was in fifth grade then, so I was eleven. Mother had asked dad to move us to the city so we could get some of the opportunities in education and future life experiences that Concho simply didn’t have. Somehow dad traded the white house in Concho for a house on a long, lean strip of a lot at 1056 E. 6th Avenue in Mesa and we were off to the races as big city folks.
We traded a school in Concho with two classrooms, first to fourth in one and fifth to eighth in the other for, in my case, as single school for the fifth grade with ten thousand classrooms, or so it seemed. I began to recognize that we were “different” when my teacher asked me to step out of the room and stand in the hall for a moment. Not wishing to miss anything I listened as she told the rest of the students to knock off the nasty comments and play nice with me. I didn’t know we were financially poor, and looked like we just came out of last the century. I didn’t know that being a left-handed, studdering, “Mexican”, from the sticks was all that serious of an offense. But, then I really didn’t know enough to even know that I was being talked about, or made the blunt of crude, childish jokes and pranks.
Two very positive things come from this story. The first is that this wonderful teacher, Mrs. Cheeney was kind enough to see a problem, reach down and help someone up the ladder of life. The second came a few weeks later. I remember like it was yesterday that we were sitting in chairs like we have in the choir loft, only wood with no soft cushions and a teacher was trying to get us to learn the beautiful song, America the Beautiful. The kids like any normal gangly group of eleven year olds, were off in their own worlds and not really interested in learning much of anything. We were getting really tired and I put my head forward to rest a bit when this warm, sweet little blond girl, named _______ Ellsworth, put her hand on my head gave me a sweet rub. Without saying anything in words she conveyed a feeling that all was well and that she didn’t think I was all that bad.
I took those two experiences with me to the classroom for my future years as a student and as a teacher. Today in our Sunday school class of seven and eight year olds, we talked about being pure, as in “pure in heart.” Grandmother Jacobs and I try, each week, to follow the example of Mrs. Cheeney and the sweet blond Ellsworth girl and seek out those who may need a small hand up. This work that we are all vested in as mortals is about a single thing. Our sole job in this earthly realm is to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and reach out of our comfort zone to help those who are least able to help themselves. We promised God we would do our best so we could return to his presence. This is the example our Savior gave us to follow. Every act he did was to give us comfort and assurance. His final act on the earth gave us the atonement for our sins and the opportunity for all mankind to have eternal life. As we share our lives with others, may we be a positive influence on the lives of all those with whom we come in contact.
God bless you in all your worthy efforts.
GPA Duane Jacobs, friend, grandpa, uncle, cousin, popsa, etc.
This is about a true hayseed moving to the big city of Mesa, Arizona from Concho, Arizona. I was in fifth grade then, so I was eleven. Mother had asked dad to move us to the city so we could get some of the opportunities in education and future life experiences that Concho simply didn’t have. Somehow dad traded the white house in Concho for a house on a long, lean strip of a lot at 1056 E. 6th Avenue in Mesa and we were off to the races as big city folks.
We traded a school in Concho with two classrooms, first to fourth in one and fifth to eighth in the other for, in my case, as single school for the fifth grade with ten thousand classrooms, or so it seemed. I began to recognize that we were “different” when my teacher asked me to step out of the room and stand in the hall for a moment. Not wishing to miss anything I listened as she told the rest of the students to knock off the nasty comments and play nice with me. I didn’t know we were financially poor, and looked like we just came out of last the century. I didn’t know that being a left-handed, studdering, “Mexican”, from the sticks was all that serious of an offense. But, then I really didn’t know enough to even know that I was being talked about, or made the blunt of crude, childish jokes and pranks.
Two very positive things come from this story. The first is that this wonderful teacher, Mrs. Cheeney was kind enough to see a problem, reach down and help someone up the ladder of life. The second came a few weeks later. I remember like it was yesterday that we were sitting in chairs like we have in the choir loft, only wood with no soft cushions and a teacher was trying to get us to learn the beautiful song, America the Beautiful. The kids like any normal gangly group of eleven year olds, were off in their own worlds and not really interested in learning much of anything. We were getting really tired and I put my head forward to rest a bit when this warm, sweet little blond girl, named _______ Ellsworth, put her hand on my head gave me a sweet rub. Without saying anything in words she conveyed a feeling that all was well and that she didn’t think I was all that bad.
I took those two experiences with me to the classroom for my future years as a student and as a teacher. Today in our Sunday school class of seven and eight year olds, we talked about being pure, as in “pure in heart.” Grandmother Jacobs and I try, each week, to follow the example of Mrs. Cheeney and the sweet blond Ellsworth girl and seek out those who may need a small hand up. This work that we are all vested in as mortals is about a single thing. Our sole job in this earthly realm is to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and reach out of our comfort zone to help those who are least able to help themselves. We promised God we would do our best so we could return to his presence. This is the example our Savior gave us to follow. Every act he did was to give us comfort and assurance. His final act on the earth gave us the atonement for our sins and the opportunity for all mankind to have eternal life. As we share our lives with others, may we be a positive influence on the lives of all those with whom we come in contact.
God bless you in all your worthy efforts.
GPA Duane Jacobs, friend, grandpa, uncle, cousin, popsa, etc.
Friday, October 14, 2011
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October 9, 2011
November 9, 2011 will be the fifty year anniversary of my enlistment in the US Navy. I was eighteen, weighed 165 pounds, had dark brown hair and an urge to see what life was all about. During my four-year enlistment I learned:
I had a brain and I could actually learn and enjoy it.
God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are the most important part of my life.
Who my best friend and eternal mate would be.
Why we are here as mortals, and
Why we all have unique, crafted challenges, illnesses, handicaps, mental capabilities, and desires – both good and bad.
Today, I shared this anniversary note in a testimony meeting in St. George, Utah, giving tender thanks to our dear friends, Howard and Cathy Shaffer. They have been with us since the very beginning of our wild and venturous time as team Jacobs. It was Howard who invited me to Church meetings on the USS Hornet while during our two Westpac tours and helped me build a budding testimony of Jesus Christ. He also gave me an invitation to his wedding reception to Cathy Shaffer, my bride’s double cousin. I was late to the reception and just about missed it, but thanks to Cathy’s very “organizing” mother, I was soon moving through the reception line.
I passed through the line and saw an old friend from the Long Beach First Ward, Linda something, or other. I mentally noted that she had nudged (shoved) Jean so hard she almost flew out toward me, saying something like, I know him, he’s single. I really thought she was about sixteen until I walked around with her for a few minutes looking at wedding gifts and wondering what had just run over me. When we got over to her parents, the Holy Ghost (always looking after me) told me that I needed to make sure I followed up on this golden opportunity. She must have liked me a little because she invited me to go chase to bride and groom. The next week I took her to a young married activity in Palm Springs with Harold and Lucille Blevins. We must have looked like we belonged to each other because one of the men began visiting with us and asked how long we had been married. When told that this was our first date, he said, “why, he double toothpicks, I thought you was married.”
A month later, I asked your mother, grandmother, aunt, friend and the love of my life if she would marry me in the Temple of Our Lord. She agreed and eleven months later on May 1, 1965 we went through this marvelous experience and began our lives together. We have had the opportunity of seeing each of the five elements I found in the Navy become integral parts of our eternal friendship. We have been professional educators for forty years, gained bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, enjoyed raising six children, watching the next generation raise twenty six grandchildren, go through several decades of helping people - strangers and family alike – through giving them a place to live, something to eat, a thought of hope and encouragement, a chance to see spirituality in their lives, and a friend.
I owe everything I have, have done, or will do, to my Heavenly Father and my eternal bride. Without God I am no more than the dust of the earth. Without my bride, Jean, I am some inept, wanderer, in the bowels of the confusion and lower life activity that prevails in most arenas on the planet.
So for the record we were all given a mind, we all serve God the Father, we all need to have those special people around us that we call family, we were placed on this earth to be tested (we told God that we could do what he asked of us and we are here to prove it to ourselves) and gain our temporal tabernacle; so we could understand what our limitations, handicaps, live duration, and other life ingredients have to do with our eternal progress. Do we understand why people get cancer; why people do bad things; why some people have, “all the luck”; or why our lives are as they are? No, but we do know that God has blessed each of us with the exact special lives we need accomplish the challenges and opportunities we are given.
God bless each of us as we go through our incredible unique lives.
Gpa Duane Jacobs
Grandpa, pop, friend, uncle, cousin, and all else.
November 9, 2011 will be the fifty year anniversary of my enlistment in the US Navy. I was eighteen, weighed 165 pounds, had dark brown hair and an urge to see what life was all about. During my four-year enlistment I learned:
I had a brain and I could actually learn and enjoy it.
God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are the most important part of my life.
Who my best friend and eternal mate would be.
Why we are here as mortals, and
Why we all have unique, crafted challenges, illnesses, handicaps, mental capabilities, and desires – both good and bad.
Today, I shared this anniversary note in a testimony meeting in St. George, Utah, giving tender thanks to our dear friends, Howard and Cathy Shaffer. They have been with us since the very beginning of our wild and venturous time as team Jacobs. It was Howard who invited me to Church meetings on the USS Hornet while during our two Westpac tours and helped me build a budding testimony of Jesus Christ. He also gave me an invitation to his wedding reception to Cathy Shaffer, my bride’s double cousin. I was late to the reception and just about missed it, but thanks to Cathy’s very “organizing” mother, I was soon moving through the reception line.
I passed through the line and saw an old friend from the Long Beach First Ward, Linda something, or other. I mentally noted that she had nudged (shoved) Jean so hard she almost flew out toward me, saying something like, I know him, he’s single. I really thought she was about sixteen until I walked around with her for a few minutes looking at wedding gifts and wondering what had just run over me. When we got over to her parents, the Holy Ghost (always looking after me) told me that I needed to make sure I followed up on this golden opportunity. She must have liked me a little because she invited me to go chase to bride and groom. The next week I took her to a young married activity in Palm Springs with Harold and Lucille Blevins. We must have looked like we belonged to each other because one of the men began visiting with us and asked how long we had been married. When told that this was our first date, he said, “why, he double toothpicks, I thought you was married.”
A month later, I asked your mother, grandmother, aunt, friend and the love of my life if she would marry me in the Temple of Our Lord. She agreed and eleven months later on May 1, 1965 we went through this marvelous experience and began our lives together. We have had the opportunity of seeing each of the five elements I found in the Navy become integral parts of our eternal friendship. We have been professional educators for forty years, gained bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, enjoyed raising six children, watching the next generation raise twenty six grandchildren, go through several decades of helping people - strangers and family alike – through giving them a place to live, something to eat, a thought of hope and encouragement, a chance to see spirituality in their lives, and a friend.
I owe everything I have, have done, or will do, to my Heavenly Father and my eternal bride. Without God I am no more than the dust of the earth. Without my bride, Jean, I am some inept, wanderer, in the bowels of the confusion and lower life activity that prevails in most arenas on the planet.
So for the record we were all given a mind, we all serve God the Father, we all need to have those special people around us that we call family, we were placed on this earth to be tested (we told God that we could do what he asked of us and we are here to prove it to ourselves) and gain our temporal tabernacle; so we could understand what our limitations, handicaps, live duration, and other life ingredients have to do with our eternal progress. Do we understand why people get cancer; why people do bad things; why some people have, “all the luck”; or why our lives are as they are? No, but we do know that God has blessed each of us with the exact special lives we need accomplish the challenges and opportunities we are given.
God bless each of us as we go through our incredible unique lives.
Gpa Duane Jacobs
Grandpa, pop, friend, uncle, cousin, and all else.
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