Romney Vs Holyfield Charity Fight

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As you may have already heard, former Massachusetts governor and 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney is set to take on five-time heavy weight boxing champ Evander Holyfield in the ring on May 15th. Event proceeds will benefit Charity Vision, a non-profit with the goal of eliminating curable blindness by providing treatment to those who would otherwise be unable to access care.

While Paige Lavender first covered the news in her Huff Post article breaking news of the main event, what you may not already know is that this fight comes complete with an official weigh-in featuring the contenders. The official weigh-in will be held at XCEL Fitness in Holladay, UT on May 14, the night before the main event. As with the main event, proceeds from tickets purchased for the weigh-in will benefit Charity Vision and its efforts to eliminate curable blindness around the world.

The weigh-in event will feature all Fight Night fighters as they complete their physical exams and weigh-in for the big fight the following evening. The Weigh-in roster includes Evander Holyfield and Mitt Romney, as well as fighters Wes Capper, Steve Rolls, Leon Spinks III, and Jose Haro. Evander Holyfield is also scheduled to take the mic to share stories from his career as well as his views regarding the importance of maintaining physical fitness and giving back to the community.

If you’ll be in the SLC area that week, you can purchase tickets online for the weigh-in event. Each $25 General Admission ticket gives the gift of sight to someone with curable blindness. The weigh-in event will take place from 6:00PM to 8:00PM at the local training facility.

The main Fight Night event will be held at the Rail Events Center in Downtown Salt Lake City the following night, May 15, at 6:30PM, and Weigh-in attendees will have the chance to win a pair of tickets to attend the sold-out black-tie gala featuring the headliners as well as preliminary fights between Freddy Spielberg and Gary Cobia, Jordan Smith and Christian Nava, Wesley Capper and Kent On Sippio-Cook, and Leon Spinks III and Rashad Ganaway.

Following the MayPac madness, join in the fun to be at one of the most buzzed about fights this year while helping an amazing cause!

Church Ball Chat

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by Seattle Jon:

Yet another church ball season came to an end for me last night in the regional tournament, but not before I had this pre-game skype session with two of the other players. Enjoy.

[2:20:59 PM] Luke Warmer: what time do we show up?
[2:21:13 PM] Dave: there should be some warm up time by about 845
[2:21:29 PM] Dave: Bring compression sleeves
[2:21:32 PM] Dave: Knee braces
[2:21:35 PM] Dave: Headbands
[2:21:43 PM] Dave: Chewing gum
[2:21:56 PM] Luke Warmer: ... the usual
[2:22:08 PM] Dave: Small sun visors worn reversies
[2:22:25 PM] Dave: and bring a good whistle too
[2:22:30 PM] Dave: For warm ups/
[2:23:14 PM] Dave: Snap away warm up pants
[2:24:15 PM] Dave: A small spray water bottle for combing your hair back if it gets too disheveled
[2:24:41 PM] Luke Warmer: with switch-blade comb
[2:24:56 PM] Dave: Bring the gym bag that fits 7 regulation basketballs in it
[2:25:21 PM] Dave: And any extra ankle braces you have lying around. We'll need all of them.
[2:25:29 PM] Seattle Jon: reebok pumps
[2:25:39 PM] Dave: Wrist bands. Extra thick.
[2:25:52 PM] Dave: Neck warmer, lip balm
[2:25:55 PM] Luke Warmer: oxygen tanks
[2:25:55 PM] Seattle Jon: a small towel for wiping the floor of sweat
[2:26:03 PM] Dave: yes bring extra
[2:26:11 PM] Seattle Jon: one of those foam fingers
[2:26:17 PM] Seattle Jon: actually two, for the bench guys
[2:26:28 PM] Seattle Jon: an extra scoreboard battery
[2:26:40 PM] Dave: Bring the clipboard that has erasable marker for drawing up the play coming out of time out
[2:26:47 PM] Seattle Jon: I have one dave
[2:26:50 PM] Seattle Jon: I'm coach
[2:27:01 PM] Dave: We'll need an extra because you might snap it in half
[2:27:05 PM] Seattle Jon: good call
[2:27:37 PM] Dave: Bring 3 water bottles. One with water, one with gatorade
[2:27:43 PM] Seattle Jon: the other one for urine
[2:28:17 PM] Dave: Bring one of those dog training clickers for Bob
[2:28:26 PM] Dave: He responds well to that
[2:28:58 PM] Seattle Jon: bring an extra backboard in case you shatter one
[2:29:01 PM] Dave: You might have to write this down. It's a good list.

Consider it written down, Dave.


Seattle Jon is a family man, little league coach, urban farmer and businessman living in Seattle. He currently gets up early with the markets to trade bonds for a living. In his spare time he enjoys movies, thrifting and is an avid reader. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and the Japan Fukuoka mission field. He has one wife, four kids, a cat and four chickens.

MMM Library: Endure to the End Zone

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by Scott Heffernan:

This post was originally published August 10, 2011.


Scott Heffernan is an artist, designer, and photographer living in Seattle. He works on the creative team at Archie McPhee, doing all manner of strange things. He grew up a child of the 80s in Salt Lake City and loves skateboarding, toys, and thrifting. He served a mission in England/Wales and has a degree in American Sign Language from the University of Utah. He has one wife and two kids. Twitter: @ScottHeffernan. Tumblr: ScottHeff.tumblr.com.

True Grit and the Tour de France

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by Reid:

Andy Talansky off the bike in the stage 7 sprint finish

Every summer I have a fight with myself that I predictably lose. The ever-present doping scandels and scoundrels of professional cycling make me vow to stop watching. Then the Tour de France begins and I cave in like a house of cards.

Andrew Talansky breathed a giant breath of life back into U.S. hopes in European pro peloton when this promising young American stood on the top step of the podium last month as the winner of the Criterium du Dauphine. Winners of the Dauphine are always competitive at the Tour, and frequently gone on to win it. Andy had horrific crashes in stages 7 and 8 which forced him to abandon the race after stage 11.

Prophet Playing Cards: Snow & F. Smith

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by Seattle Jon:

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of collecting sports cards and memorabilia with my dad. This series is an attempt to try and recapture some of those feelings by making my own prophet playing cards.

Prophet Playing Cards: Smith & Young | Taylor & Woodruff

Seattle Jon is a family man, little league coach, urban farmer and businessman living in Seattle. He currently gets up early with the markets to trade bonds for a living. In his spare time he enjoys movies, thrifting and is an avid reader. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and the Japan Fukuoka mission field. He has one wife, four kids and three chickens.

GO USA! BEAT GHANA!

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Forget blessing your food or thanking Him for a few extra days of kids in school ... pray for U.S.A. goals.

GO U.S.A. BEAT GHANA!

Why I’m Glad I’m Not That Good at Soccer

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by Shawn Tucker:

This week I’m glad that I’m not that good at soccer. I’m good enough to get together on weekends to play with some friends, and I can hold my own. But when I was growing up, I wanted to be a very, very good soccer player. I wanted to play professionally. I played on some very good teams, but I was always just a player who could make a solid contribution, nothing more.

So when I turned 19, well, no one from Barcelona or Arsenal or even Tottenham (who I would have told “no”) was hoping that I would be playing for them. Without those prospects, and mostly because I really wanted to, I went off to Chile for two years. No need to talk about my mission experiences, as they were pretty typical—I saw the historical shift in Chile as they moved from dictatorship to democracy, witnessed miracle after miracle in the lives of amazing people, and had a knife pulled on me by someone who ended up just being a knife salesman. You know, typical stuff.

Mr. Parker is very, very good at what he does, and he has an entirely different set of circumstances. Not only am I glad that I’m not that good at soccer, but I’m glad that I didn’t have to make the decision he has made. I will add, for the sake of full disclosure, that as a Tar Heels basketball fan, I’m glad about the inspiration he received.

This week, it turns out, I’m especially glad that I’m not that good at soccer. On Wednesday I saw a picture and then a video on Facebook of a young Chilean man opening his mission call. He and his parents are clearly filled with joy. And his parents were two people who were baptized in Chile when I was there. I had the privilege of teaching them, loving them, and yearning for them to receive blessings that I felt God had for them. When I commented on their son’s picture, Mauricio, the father, wrote “mira tus frutos—gracias” which means “look at your fruits, thank you. I wrote back, “this makes me shout for joy and weep with gratitude.”

And that is why I’m glad that I’m not that good at soccer.

Are Kids Sports a Hidden Scourge in Society?

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by Seattle Jon:

I'm coaching my son’s little league team again this year, which meant 2+ hour practices three days a week in March and 2.5+ hour games three days a week through the end of June. That's a lot of baseball. And when you spend that amount of time around baseball you meet other parents who also spend a lot of time around baseball. So what do we talk about?

Mostly about how to balance being the supportive parent who spends three hours a day driving all over town to allow our child to pursue his or her dreams without becoming the supportive parent that drives all over town to allow our child to pursue OUR dreams.

I've witnessed a few situations with kids over the last few years that I can only describe as exhausting. Little league baseball wasn't enough, as parents spent thousands of dollars on "select" baseball to get formal training and weekly tournaments, hired local celebrities for private hitting lessons and bought top-of-the-line equipment and gear. Not to mention these kids were also still playing select soccer, basketball or lacrosse. Just imagining the time and money required to make this work makes me want to take a nap then start looking for a second job.

Prophet Playing Cards: Taylor & Woodruff

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by Seattle Jon:

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of collecting sports cards and memorabilia with my dad. This series is an attempt to try and recapture some of those feelings by making my own prophet playing cards.

Prophet Playing Cards: Smith & Young

Seattle Jon is a family man, little league coach, urban farmer and businessman living in Seattle. He currently gets up early with the markets to trade bonds for a living. In his spare time he enjoys movies, thrifting and is an avid reader. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and the Japan Fukuoka mission field. He has one wife, four kids and three chickens.

Guest Post: Top Five Running Blogs By LDS Runners

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It's a new year. Time to get off your lazy rear and get into shape. Many folks turn to running to drop some pounds, do a couch-to-5K, take up a hobby, or cross a marathon of their bucket list. But the good intentions of January 1 can quickly wear thin, long before your waistline gets very thin. Keep the fitness motivation going by checking out the adventures of top notch LDS running bloggers.

Here are five of the best LDS running blogs that will keep you motivated and interested while you pursue your own running fitness goals. I try to regularly read pretty much every blog by an LDS runner that I can find. These blog selections are based upon the awesome running stories and the sprinkling of LDS lifestyles discussed in the blogs. These blogs show that LDS runners are pretty great people, or, at least are pretty normal people that rise to the occasion with hard work, goal setting and the ability to write and hit the publish button on their blog on a regular basis. So go read these blogs and then lace up your running shoes and google a good couch-to-5k or marathon training program.

No. 5 Fast Cory (www.fastcory.com)

Cory Reese is a long-distance runner living in southern Utah. Does he bang out a scenic southern Utah picturesque 100 miler on a weekly basis? Does he run 20 miles around his neighborhood on a Friday night just for the fun of it? It sure seems like he does. Check out his blog for his long-distance running adventures. It is just plain fun to read and he seems like a cool dude.

No. 4 See Mom Run Far (www.seemomrunfar.blogspot.com)

Erin Henderson is a superwoman living in Wyoming. She has a family of 12 kids yet ran 3,480 miles last year, often getting up at unchristianly early hours to get her runs in so that she can still take care of her large family. She has a working goal of qualifying for the Women's Olympic Marathon Trials. Her blog is an interesting mix of race reports, training tips, family interactions and an amazing example of juggling family, work, church and running.

Seahawks Win! Seahawks Win!

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Scott Heffernan and Seattle Jon celebrate with Russell Wilson following last night's Super Bowl victory.

BUSY - Are you?

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by Casey Peterson (bio)

On a cool, clear, and quiet fall evening, I walked off the football field with my 7th grade son for the final time this season. Last game emotions are always enigmatic. There is a feeling of relief of not having five or six days each week committed to practices and games. There is allayment in escaping parental perceptions that their son didn't play enough, sometimes despite a disappointing attendance record at games and practices. And there is always great happiness in escaping a season without serious physical injury to any of the boys.

However, I also was filled with a great pride in how much each individual boy had improved in skills, abilities, and confidence. I was humbled and grateful for the feeling of teamwork and camaraderie that had encompassed the team throughout the year. I admired the great men who I was able to coach with, knowing their dedication and sacrifice to be with these boys. I was appreciative of each boy who left his comfort zone and overcame challenges to play a physical and a tough game. Some challenges were in stature, some in skill, some in ability to focus, and some in being assertive at a time in life where everything seems awkward. And the mere act of putting in the effort built respect and confidence individually and collectively.

With these juxtaposed emotions running through my mind and heart, I looked down at my son. A serious accident last year prohibited him from playing. This year I watched his effort go from cautious, to measured, to all out fun. He was able to feed off the energy of others, grow from confidence of coaches, and overcome his critical father on the sidelines. When he thanked me for coaching him as we got in the car, I wouldn't have traded the moment for anything. At that moment, I realized I couldn't afford to miss these opportunities. At the first of the season I had a pretty good list of justifications not to coach. I am a full-time university administrator, I teach evening university classes, and also am completing my doctoral degree. I have five uber-involved kids, a family farm to run, and a time-intensive church calling. I feel stretched, but can't remember the last time I said I was too busy. I heard other parents use the four letter word (busy) to escape the duty, at times even emphasizing the four letter word (busy) with other four letter words.

One of my heroes has always said that busy stands for "Being Under Satan's Yoke." I think that can be taken several ways, but inevitably everyone thinks they are busy. It is not a condition predicated by number of kids, number of jobs, number of positions or titles. I am slowly learning it is a condition we choose to use as a cop-out, one that costs us meaningful and worthwhile experiences where we can be serving others instead of doggedly guarding our lists of excuses of "busy-ness." I'm convinced that it is in the times when time logistics don't add up for us, yet we persist in dedicated efforts to serve others, that God steps in and gives us the most sweet and precious glimpses into pure happiness. Last night, in the dusk of a fall evening surrounded by smelly and emotional boys, I was afforded one of those glimpses.

Football, Faith and Healing

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by Casey Peterson (bio)

Fall is here, football feeling is in the air, and the emotion that comes with it is an indescribable sensation that permeates individuals and communities. Simply put, I love it. Kenny Chesney sings of this phenomenon in his song "Boys of Fall."  He aptly describes the emotion with the lyrics;

"When I feel that chill, smell that fresh cut grass
I'm back in my helmet, cleats, and shoulder pads
Standin' in the huddle listenin' to the call
Fans goin' crazy for the boys of fall."

While at a recent game sitting in the stands on a warm, sunny day, letting the sights, sounds, and smells of fall football wash over my senses, I was basking in the euphoria of proudly watching my son Chad that I love dominate the game that I love (and hate). I watched him confidently jog onto the field and into the huddle. I watched play after play as he broke off long runs, threw pinpoint passes, interspersed by an occasional deep ball. By halftime he had thrown several touchdowns and run for another one en route to a sizable lead in the game. On one particular play, with his receivers covered, he scampered around the edge and down the sidelines for a long gain. With defensive players closing in, he ran out of bounds to end the play, only to be tackled and thrown onto the hard track. By his reaction, I thought I was going to witness his first altercation, but as the referees separated players, and he held his emotions in check, I saw him run to his coach across the field. I saw a coach grab his finger, give a quick yank, throw on some tape, and send him back out. I recognized the familiar sight of a dislocated finger, and felt the gnawing worry deep in my stomach. As the game progressed though, he appeared to be fine, and kept playing well.

That night as he got home from the game, I felt the worry return when I saw the swelling down the finger and into the hand. The next morning it was worse, so we went to the doctor. The deep worry turned to painful shock as we saw two breaks, one of them being a gruesome displacement. An immediate appointment was set with an orthopedic surgeon to set and pin the mangled finger. On Sunday, on the way back from home teaching, my son asked me for a priesthood blessing. Again the gnawing worry returned to my stomach. Would I be able to pronounce a blessing in accordance with God's will, and not my own? Would my conflicting emotions of wanting him better, but fearing yet another injury if he did return, allow me to block out myself and let God's words work through me? Would the words I would say affect my relationship with my son if they didn't happen? With these questions and others, I went to my room to pray and prepare.

Endure to the End Zone 3: Prophet Playing Cards

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by Seattle Jon (bio)

Introducing Prophet Playing Cards to celebrate tonight's opening kick-off. Have a great NFL season cheering for your football teams, real or fantasy. Go Seahawks. (previous Endure to the End Zones)

Endure to End Zone graphic by Andrew Beck

Guest Post: Turning Over In Your Grave

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Richard Tait is the proud father of a married son enduring graduate school at ASU, and a beautiful YSA daughter at LDSBC. He has spent 27 of the best years of his life married to the same woman for almost 30 years. Richard writes for his own blog, Mormon Third Eye, where he talks about the Third Eye ... the notorious eye in the back of the head, or the extra view of life that God blesses parents striving to do the right thing with so they can see more of life than the children they chase after. Amazingly, Richard has missed only one weekend post in the past 320+ weeks, a streak that started soon after he was released as Seattle Jon's bishop in Maryland. You can read Richard's other guest posts here.

A House Divided

We all know what "turning over in your grave" means; the conjecture that someone who has passed away would strenuously object to an action carried out by someone else, often a loved one, who is still living. I'm certain we all know of situations where the son or daughter of a deceased parent has behaved so reprehensibly that knowledge of the incident and/or its evil impact penetrates the portals of death and disturbs the departed. It nominally refers to only the most heinous of crimes, such as murder, violations of established morality, or speaking ill of one's treasured alma mater.

But what does it really mean? Often we don't truly comprehend the reverberating waves of what is said until it impacts us personally and touches our very soul. I had a sincerely satisfying experience just a few weeks ago permitting me to fully appreciate what "turning over in your grave" means. However, quoting the merely mortal words of the completely fictional superhero Captain Underpants, before I tell you that story, I have to tell you this story.

This Story

The following post-teenage tragedy replays itself literally hundreds of times a year across the Wasatch Range, from the freshly-scrubbed streets of Provo to the smelly smokestacks of North Salt Lake - classic episodes of forbidden love. BYU boy meets UofU girl, or vice-versa, they fall madly in love with each other, and it is not until being blinded by the sparkle of romance that they arrive at the terrible realization that they are "sleeping with the enemy" and intend to marry a representative of their alma mater rival. However, filled with an abundance of love for each other, and a belief in President Kimball's mantra that any man and woman possessing enough selflessness and commitment to covenants can make a marriage work, they resolve to make each other happy despite their cavernous difference on this one aspect of life, and they do. The vicissitudes of life take over - children are born and raised, homes are bought and sold, and BYU-UofU sporting events are won and lost. All during this time the masses of bi-academic BYU-UofU marriages continue to function almost normally and bless the earth with a built-in healthy dose of conjugal conflict and rivalry that provide additional dimensions to the spice of life. Against all odds, these mixed couples usually successfully raise well-adjusted children in a loving, nurturing environment.

That Story

UofU Craig and BYU Janet met on neutral ground, fell in love, and got themselves married in the temple for eternity. Theirs was a love that would last the challenges of intense inter-school rivalry. They served in church callings, raised kids and neighborhoods, and maintained a marriage, all while not vacating their allegiance to their respective alma maters. The annual BYU-UofU football game parties at their house were legion - the world would stop turning for those four hours on that fall afternoon during intense discussion over the merits and weaknesses of each sides' capabilities to cross the goal line.

Bronco Mendenhall a Fan of MMM!

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by Seattle Jon (bio)

We knew Bronco read the blog, but we didn't realize he was such a big fan.

Watch reactions from BYU football players: here
Read SL Tribune articles: G. Monson and J. Drew
Follow the storm on Twitter: here
Probably Certainly being discussed on CougarBoard, too: here

MMM Library: Droppin' Sh*t Bombs in the Cultural Hall

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by Luke Warmer (bio)

This post was originally published on April 15, 2011.

Pop! A week ago today, I came down from a routine jumpshot and collapsed on the cultural hall floor and cussed a mighty and bellowing cuss - the injury seemed to have momentarily deactivated my usually adroit cuss-censor. (A moment later the missionaries came out of the adjoining Relief Society room with well-trained stink-eyes and investigators in tow. Blush.)

Goodbye un-ruptured Achilles Tendon, you will be missed.

I'm thirty-three and work a desk job, but the moment I step on a court I forget all about my sedentary reality. In my head I become seventeen. My body disagrees with my head on this age issue. So my body - always the resolute arguer - settles things by completely rupturing my largest tendon. (C'mon body; we both know there were plenty of ways you could have proven your point without sending me to the DMV for a handicap parking tag.)

Like most Momos I've been having dramatic debates between my mind and body since... oh let's see... about the onset of puberty. It's probably safe to assume that my body was still angry about losing one-too-many of those hormonal arguments during my teenage years and was waiting in the wings for a chance to win a debate in melo-dramatic fashion.

Thus begin the chronicles of our hero, (referring to myself in the third person for dramatic effect) hobbling around on crutches and gearing up for a year of grueling rehab.

Has anyone else got wrecked in church-activities? Did your cuss-censors hold-up, or were they glitchy like mine? What is the most awkward place you've experienced cuss-censor failure (think Ralphy in A Christmas Story)?

MMM Library: Linked Parents, The Chain Conundrum

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by Casey Peterson (bio)

This post was originally published on January 25, 2012.

I grew up on a very large cattle ranch among a most colorful group of cowboys. I quickly became familiar with their ability to communicate in different types of metaphors, mixed metaphors, and mixed up metaphors. I’ll let you decide which type relates to the lesson of the chain.

The story is told of an old cowboy who pulls up to the local hardware store in his beat-up pickup truck, and determinedly marches into the store as fast as his bowed legs can carry him. “Give me the strongest chain you’ve got” he demands to the store clerk. The clerk politely inquires the length, and then measures, cuts, and delivers the chain to the impatient buckaroo. Within the hour, the quiet of the store is broken and filled with the rumble of the old truck, the clicking of run down boot heels on the sidewalk, and a loud rattling sound as the chain is angrily tossed back on the counter. “This chain don’t work” states the old cowboy. “I hooked on with it, and no matter how hard I pushed, it wouldn’t move a thing. It’s not stronger than my rope I tried to push with this morning.”

The chain metaphor and analogy was used to remind me in many situations of the difference between “pushing” and “leading.” When pushed, individual links of a chain go different directions, acting independently, and lacking a common purpose, they serve little use. Yet when pulled by a common purpose, each link lends individual strength that collectively fortifies the chain as a whole. Several times in my life I have found myself pushing, not leading.

Last night, I found myself once again reflecting on the lesson of the chain. I was standing in the corner of the gym at my son's basketball game. You see, I prefer standing near the corner, away from parents who are exerting their own “chain” powers. Some by pushing and shouting at their kids, the referees, and the coaches. Others by quietly complaining and comparing abilities of said kids, referees, and coaches. I’ve determined no one in the stands seems to be happy, and the swell of chain pushers inevitably spills ugly frustrations out on the court to a group of emotional, changing, somewhat insecure teenagers who are trying to figure out how to function as a pulled chain, linking their individual abilities in a cohesive athletic effort. So I choose to stand apart where I have to deal with my own emotions, independent of the commotion in the stands.

Guest Post: Being Grateful for My Imperfections

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It doesn't matter if you’re man or woman, gay or straight, dark- or light-skinned. All can equally submit guest posts to Modern Mormon Men. Write something now and submit via email.

Alex Balinski is a Senior in Communications at BYU. He and his wife have a baby boy. After graduation Alex plans on building open educational websites. One project he and his wife are working on right now is a mission prep website that has over 7,500 clean travel and mission prep videos hand-picked for LDS families. Next Alex plans to create a database of thousands of interactive video interviews with thousands of successful professionals. Alex occasionally writes on his blog Scripture News.

Image via Salt and Light

I've been thinking recently about two physical weaknesses I've been endowed with: frequent headaches and motion sickness. As I write this post I am experiencing a moderately-strong headache. If I tilt my head forward, my head may throb. Headaches are a weakness I inherited from my mother. While they are not usually strong, they do come somewhat frequently and can make it difficult to feel productive.

My other weakness, motion sickness, does not prohibit me from most normal activities but has tempered some of my physical activities. To help you understand how easily I get motion sick, I feel dizzy after turning around once. I also begin to feel nauseous after one move on the swing.

Sometimes I ask myself why I've been given these weaknesses. Is there some purpose behind the challenges, or would I be better off without them? I like to think that behind things I can't control there is a purpose.

Growing up I have been very physically active. Without any exercise regimen I could usually do about 20 pull-ups. By exercising a couple minutes a day I was able to build up to over 40 pull-ups at one time. If it weren't for my headaches and motion sickness, I could see myself becoming obsessed with extreme sports that could put my life in danger. I also could see myself focusing too much on competition and becoming prideful.

These concerns may seem silly, but for me they are real. I honestly feel that if I didn't get headaches or motion sickness, I might have chosen a more worldly lifestyle, and thus would have forfeited many spiritual blessings.

My weaknesses have helped me to remember my dependence on God and avoid extreme lifestyles. Next time you face a personal challenge, I invite you to consider how your weakness might be a blessing in disguise from your Heavenly Father.

The Spirit and the Seahawks

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by Seattle Jon (bio)

The following video was created by EastLake Church in Seattle. After watching, I sent it along to my bishop and a member of the stake presidency (both good friends) and suggested they do their own coin toss since our ward starts at 9 a.m. and the Seahawks kick-off at 10. It's a long shot, but you never know until you ask ...



BEASTLAKE 2 from EastLake Church on Vimeo.