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I am a freelance sound engineer. Specifically I do a lot of work and traveling as a simultaneous interpretation audio technician. Meaning, I setup and operate equipment used at conventions and other business or organizational meetings where simultaneous interpretation is used to reach a lingually diverse audience. As part of this work, I interact with many interpreters from a variety of language and national backgrounds. The challenge of their job is the interpretation the terminology and colloquialisms being spoken, having familiarity with a lexicon of not just language but the application of the language being communicated, and then turn that around and communicate that back to the audience in the same spirit and understanding of the original message only fused with the regional lexicon of the audience. It is one of the major factors that separates the good interpreters from the bad ones. In essence, it is as important for the original source to speak with clarity, so that the interpreter able to pass on that message in a way that is understood by the people listening. If one is to consider all the nuances even within American English and its different regions, let alone how to transfer that to another country that doesn’t use the same words, there is plenty room for misinterpretation. For example, in today’s American society, to call something good or even very good you have the following words that can be used to convey the same meaning: Cool, awesome, stupid, wicked, and so on. Taken by dictionary definition there these same words could also mean a low temperature, incredible, ignorant or without education, and evil. However, an interpreter needs to hear these words in a sentence and almost intuitively know that an individual might be talking about a really nice car, not a car with a low temperature. Because there are so many factors that go into the way that a message is conveyed, including both the background and influence of the history of the person giving the message as well as the person receiving it, it almost seems more likely that someone will misinterpret a message in the right spirit and tone, than they will interpret it correctly. So, what does this have to do anything. I’ll offer one quick example of how this relates, and I will do using the principle of tithing and other matters of our financial condition. For years I have heard talks about the blessings of tithing. Some talk about the windows of heaven being opened, others ta

There is a common saying, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” This is of course an optimistic sentiment, the mindset of a proactive individual. Even though it is a common phrase, it doesn’t seem to be a common characteristic or practice. The scriptures have both stories of people who give and grow lemons, and there are those who make lemonade. The story of Joseph of Egypt is one of a person who was given a lot of lemons and who tried to make lemonade. Elder Hartman Rector Jr. in the october 1972 General Conference, shared some thoughts and application of the story of Joseph of Egypt. The story of Joseph, the son of Jacob who was called Israel, is a vivid representation of the great truth that “all things work together for good to [those] who” love God. (See Rom. 8:28.) Joseph always seemed to do the right thing; but still, more importantly, he did it for the right reason. And how very, very significant that is! Joseph was sold by his own brothers as a slave and was purc hased by Potiphar, a captain of the guard of Pharaoh. But even as an indentured servant, Joseph turned every experience and all circumstances, no matter how trying, into something good. This ability to turn everything into something good appears to be a godly characteristic. Our Heavenly Father always seems able to do this. Everything, no matter how dire, becomes a victory to the Lord. Joseph, although a slave and wholly undeserving of this fate, nevertheless remained faithful to the Lord and continued to live the commandments and made something very good of his degrading circumstances. People like this cannot be defeated, because they will not give up. They have the correct, positive attitude, and Dale Carnegie’s expression seems to apply: If you feel you have a lemon, you can either complain about how sour it is, or you can make a lemonade. It is all up to you. “Failure ceases to exist in the face of persistence.” So, the Lord prospered Joseph, and his master saw that the Lord was with him and made Joseph overseer over all his house; and all that he had, he put in Joseph’s hands. So implicit was his trust in this remarkable young man that Potiphar did not bother to keep any accounting of his own possessions Naturally, such a remarkable person would be enticing to the opposite sex, and so it was with Joseph. Potiphar’s wife, who, to say the most for her, was of very doubtful character, attempted to seduce Joseph; but Joseph was untouchable because of his trust

  Israel of the Old Testament, also known as Jacob, was one that was keenly aware of the value and implications of a birthright. Having traded his brother Esau for the birthright, Jacob or Israel, would have been well acquainted with the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant that were attached to the patriarchal order and birthright concept of the time.   Part of the promised blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant is that one would receive a promised land, a place that is set apart from the world by the divine hand of God to be a place of protection, both spiritually and temporally. One LDS Scholar, LeGrand L. Baker, talks about another aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant that articulates the blessing of invulnerability or protection as found in Abraham 2:11 which reads.   11 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal   There is a promise that one will be preserved, and that their righteous posterity will be preserved as well. From the time of Abrahamic, to Issac, down to Israel, this has been the case. Generations of righteous posterity had been preserved and protected. For Israel, circumstances were such, that he favored his 11th son, Joseph. Joseph was to inehrit the birthright after Ruben had forfeited it. Joseph was the first son of his second wife, and tradition called for him to be the heir of that birthright. Israel felt that perhaps that promised lineage of the protections and blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant would continue through Joseph.   In consideration of these factors, after Joseph’s brother’s sell him as a slave and bring a bloodied coat back to their father Israel implying that Joseph had been killed, we can see another layer to the suffering Israel must have faced.   It is a sad thing to experience the death of a child. The scripture in Genesis 37:34-35 states that Israel, upon the realization of his son Joseph’s death:   “rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I

With words being used in the scriptures such as “mysteries” as in “the great mysteries of God,” it is no wonder people feel that it takes a scripture sleuth or gospel detective to find the answers that would be the key to unlocking these great mysteries. But is there a big secret? Does it take a keen mind and excellent observation skills to discover the clues? Well, in a manner of speaking, yes. But that doesn’t mean it is unfindable, or even lost. In fact, the answer is as clear and as present as is Mount Everest, but few there be that climb it. Why do we not climb it, because we are blinded by what we see as our own limitations. We sometimes over think, and over complicate a given task or teaching to the point that we feel we are missing pieces in this great mystery in the quest of eternal progression. The fact that something is called a mystery does not mean it is a mystery to everyone, just to those who haven’t yet figured it out, or who haven’t been exposed to the key. So what is the big secret, what is that missing piece? The following is a quote from R. Kent Crookston:  And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord; For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me; And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father; And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him. And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood. Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved. [D&C 84:35–40] Did you notice it? Did you catch the simple qualification that we need to meet in order to receive the blessing of the Father’s kingdom and all that the Father has? It’s in there, and it is powerful in its simplicity. Sisters, I am completely confident that it is there for you to observe and fully receive as well as the brethren. Let’s go over it again: “And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord.” And how do we “receive” the Lord? He tells us in the next phrase: “For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me.” There it is. That is the qualification. Receive the Lord’s servants. If we receive the Lord’s servants, we receive the Lord. And if we receive the Lord, we receive the Father. And when we receive the Father, we receive the Father’s kingdom and all that the Father has. The scriptures ar