Why do bad things happen to good people?

I recently finished Angels and Demons by Dan Brown and watched the movie. Since this is the only novel I have read since I graduated high school in 2005, and the only novel I have ever completed for my own enjoyment, it was a feat.

While reading, I appreciated an exchange between the Pope's chamberlain and a Swiss Guard. This interested me firstly because Dan Brown, a man on his own search for faith, wrote the exchange. Secondly, I liked the metaphor the camerlengo used to answer the question.

   "Father," Chartrand said, "may I ask you a strange question?"
   The camerlengo smiled. "Only if I may give you a strange answer."
   Chartrand laughed. "I have asked every priest I know, and I still don't understand."
   "What troubles you?" The camerlengo led the way in short, quick strides, his frock kicking out in front of him as he walked. His black, crepe-sole shoes seemed befitting, modern but humble, and showing signed of wear.
   Chartrand took a deep breath. "I don't understand this omnipotent-benevolent thing."
   The camerlengo smiled. "You've seen reading Scripture."
   "I try."
   "You are confused because the Bible describes God as an omnipotent and benevolent deity."
   "Exactly."
   "Omnipotent-benevolent simply means that God is all-powerful and well-meaning."
   "I understand the concept. It's just... there seems to be a contradiction."
   "Yes. The contradiction is pain. Man's starvation, war, sickness..."
   "Exactly!" Chartrand knew the camerlengo would understand. "Terrible things happen in this world. Human tragedy seems like proof that God could not possibly be both all-powerful and well-meaning. If He loves us and has the power to change our situation, He would prevent our pain, wouldn't He?"
   "Would He?"
   Chartrand felt uneasy. Had he overstepped his bounds? Was this one of those religious questions you just ask? "Well... if God loves us, and He can protect us, He would have to. It seems He is either omnipotent and uncaring, or benevolent and powerless to help."
   "Do you have children, Lieutenant?"
   Chartrand flushed. "No, signore."
   "Imagine you had an eight-year-old son... would you love him?"
   "Of course."
   "Would you do everything in your power to prevent pain in his life?"
   "Of course."
   "Would you let him skateboard?"
   Chartrand did a double take. The camerlengo always seemed oddly "in touch" for a clergyman. "Yeah, I guess," Chartrand said. "Sure, I'd let him skateboard, but I'd tell him to be careful."
   "So as this child's father, you would give him some basic, good advice and then let him go off and make his own mistakes?"
   "I wouldn't run behind him and mollycoddle him if that's what you mean."
   "But what if he fell and skinned his knee?"
   "He would learn to be more careful."
   The camerlengo smiled. "So although you have the power to interfere and prevent your child's pain, you would choose to show your love by letting him learn his own lessons?"
   "Of course. Pain is part of growing up. It's how we learn."
   The camerlengo nodded. "Exactly."

(Dan Brown, Angels and Demons, p. 360-362)

My Review
(Note: no spoilers!)

I read the book because I really liked the movie and because Callie told me I should. The movie was very suspenseful, but, surprisingly, so was the book.

Oh, before I forget, the movie is different from the book! Ron Howard (the movie's director) and his screenwriters changed a number of things from the book. The general story is the same, though. So, even if you've read the book, see the movie. Likewise, if you've seen the movie, you would probably be interested to read the book.

The book is generally quite interesting and suspenseful, enough that it moves quickly. However, there were a number of times when I got a bit bored with some of the superfluous detail. For example, in the book, Robert Langdon, the main character, takes a liking to Vittoria Vetra, a physicist, which I feel doesn't really add to the story. If anything, the Langdon in the book just seems scummy to me because of that.

For the most part, I like the movie better. I like the characters in the movie a bit more than in the book. I suppose a lot of that stems from the fact that in movies you can see the characters' facial expressions and hear their inflection. I like the way the Church handles and addresses the situation to the outside world in the movie as opposed to the book's version. Although, there are a number of times in the movie when some of the book's detail would have been most appreciated. Langdon had to work a lot harder in the book to find all the clues and answer all the questions. There were times, in the movie, when it seemed like everything came extremely easy to him. Additionally, there was some character development from the book that I liked, but didn't really make sense for the movie.

So, overall, read the book. Watch the movie. You won't be sorry you did. I don't think.

Coming Soon: Baby

Yes. For those of you who do not know yet, Callie is pregnant. She's just over 37 weeks. Here's a cute picture of her a couple Sundays ago. She might be just a little bigger than that now.

Callie is having a little boy. We are SOOOO excited! We're just anxious to see him.

There's something a little bit different about him, though. He's breech. That means that unlike other babies who are generally sitting with their head at the bottom of the mother's uterus and bum and feet up, he is sitting with his bum at the bottom of the uterus and his head at the top. Breech babies occur in only 3-4% of pregnancies. 7% of women will actually have a breech baby when they go into labor. Therefore, sometimes contractions get the baby to flip to the correct delivery position. There are a few common ways for a breech baby to sit in the uterus.

There's another pretty cute breech presentation that seems the most infrequent. The baby can be kneeling with his or her arms folded. Ha. It looks like the baby's praying. It's cute, but I can't imagine that's very comfortable for the number of months he or she is stuck in that position.

For breech babies, doctors generally recommend a C-section. There are a few reasons why. Hopefully, you can see that the bum and abdomen of a baby folded in half would have a very hard time passing through the birth canal. Okay. That was a HUGE understatement. The baby physically wouldn't fit. Or if it did fit, it would take so long that the baby would likely suffocate before the doctor could deliver the baby.

You may be saying, "Well, what's wrong with coming feet first if he's not folded in half?" Doctors will sometimes deliver that way. It is a rare occurrence, but happens. The risks with that are the the cervix could hang onto the baby's neck making it difficult to get the head out. In that time, the placenta could detach from the uterine wall leaving the baby without oxygen. The doctor also doesn't know what's happening with the umbilical cord while the baby is coming out. The cord could get squished between the baby and the uterus or cervix on the way out, which would again suffocate the baby. The other possibility is that the umbilical cord could be short. If that's the case, as the baby comes out, he or she will pull that placenta with him or her. Again, the placenta is the baby's oxygen source until his or her head is out. So if the placenta comes loose from the uterine wall, the baby will suffocate.

Our baby is Frank breech-- completely folded in half with his feet up by his head. There is a concern with the umbilical cord falling between the baby's bum and the uterus. If he were to then sit on the cord, he would suffocate himself.

Needless to say, there are things to worry about.

Some of you may have heard that doctors will try to turn the baby while still in the uterus. Our doctor has been delivering babies for about 30 years. So we trust him. He has tried to turn first babies, but it usually doesn't work because the mother's muscles are too tight with her first pregnancy. It is also a really painful experience.

There is one other thing for us to consider since we live in Utah. In this state, it is illegal for doctors to deliver a breech baby. So all possible worries aside, we don't have a choice as to how to deliver the baby. He's coming C-section.

Please understand that this is not a terrible thing. Many women who have C-sections enjoy them. We are doing what is best for the baby and for Callie. Callie is being strong and looking for the positives. She is being vary faithful and trusting that everything will work out well. And they will. I'm so proud of her. The more she researches about C-sections, the more her mind is at ease.

Our doctor is wonderful. Because he doesn't want to chance things with Callie going into labor and the baby squishing the umbilical cord, he isn't going to let her go past April 25th. Callie will be 39 weeks that day.

So look forward to some pictures soon after April 25th... if he doesn't decide to come sooner.

I Know That My Redeemer Lives

Wow. First off, I love this video. I love to hear President Hinckley's voice. I absolutely love this song. It is my favorite hymn.

As I was watching, pictures of Celestial rooms in temples flashed across the screen. As they did, I felt a rush of... I'm not sure exactly how to describe it. Joy. Peace. Consolation. I suppose the best way to describe it is I felt a rush of "goodness." It was powerful, and made me really want to be in the temple. Callie and I are going to dinner tonight for her birthday. We're going to decide on a time to go to the temple very soon.

Also, that feeling of goodness absolutely was the Spirit testifying to me of the truthfulness of those things. The gospel of Jesus Christ and everything that accompanies it is true. There is no doubt in my mind. Thanks be to God for that reminder and additional testimony on this day. -Wes

And you, do you believe?

There is a parable. In the stomach of a pregnant woman, two babies are conversing - one, a believer; the other, a non-believer. One asks the other, "Do you believe in life after birth?"

The believer: "Of course. Everyone knows there's life after birth. Here, we're only preparing and developing for what's to come."

"That's ridiculous. There is no such life after birth," says the unbeliever. "Can you even imagine what that world would look like!?"

Believer: "Well, I don't know all the details. But, in that world, there will be more light and joy. For example, we'll eat with our mouths."

"That's far too funny. We have our umbilical cord, and it feeds us. No one has ever come back from there. Life merely ends with birth."

Believer: "No. I don't know exactly how our world will look after birth, but either way, we'll see Mother. And she'll take care of us."

"Mother?" asked the non-believer. "You believe in a mother? Where is she?"

"She's everywhere. She's all around us. Thanks to her, we're alive. And without her, we are nothing."

Unbelieving baby: "A complete lie. I've never seen any mother. Therefore, it's obvious that she simply doesn't exist."

"No. I don't agree. When everything is raging out of control, we can hear her singing and feel her caressing our world. I believe that our real life begins only after birth. And you, do you believe?"

Interesting that this would be on a Russian news channel.

The Soul's Captain

Hopefully, you have seen the movie Invictus with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. It's a pretty good movie. I haven't heard how Nelson Mandela is in real life, but Freeman portrays him as probably the most Christ-like leader I have ever seen depicted in film. It was pretty inspiring to me.

The poem, by the same name as the movie, by William Ernest Henley, is referenced several times in the movie. While Mandela was incarcerated on Robben Island, the poem Invictus was a great source of strength and inspiration for him because of its message of self-mastery.

The first 3 stanzas of the poem are pretty inspiring. As President Hinckley said, "It is a great poem. It places upon the individual the responsibility for what he does with his life. Through these many years, when I have been faced with difficult choices I have repeated these stirring words."

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,


Black as the pit from pole to pole,


I thank whatever gods may be


For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance


I have not winced nor cried aloud.


Under the bludgeonings of chance


My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears


Looms but the Horror of the shade,


And yet the menace of the years


Finds and shall find me unafraid

It matters not how strait the gate,


How charged with punishments the scroll,


I am the master of my fate:


I am the captain of my soul.

The last stanza, however, is rather defiant of any god or "higher power." In it, Henley basically says he can choose his own path, make his own rules, and that he is above any sort of punishment found in scripture.

After Henley wrote Invictus, Orson F. Whitney, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wrote a response entitled The Soul's Captain.

The Soul's Captain

Art thou in truth? Then what of him 

Who bought thee with his blood? 

Who plunged into devouring seas 

And snatched thee from the flood?

Who bore for all our fallen race 

What none but him could bear. – 

The God who died that man might live, 

And endless glory share?

Of what avail thy vaunted strength, 

Apart from his vast might? 

Pray that his Light may pierce the gloom, 

That thou mayest see aright.

Men are as bubbles on the wave, 

As leaves upon the tree. 

Thou, captain of thy soul, forsooth 

Who gave that place to thee?

Free will is thine -- free agency 

To wield for right or wrong; 

But thou must answer unto him 

To whom all souls belong.

Bend to the dust that head "unbowed," 

Small part of Life's great whole! 

And see in him, and him alone, 

The Captain of thy soul.

Our New Abode

You may have been privileged to hear the story of our apartment-finding fiasco this year. Well, for those of you who weren't so privileged, I'll spare you and just go right into pictures.

We are enjoying our new place. It comes at a price. We're paying more than we would like, but we were just days from having to be out of our other place and had to take something. It's pretty nice. The paint is actually new. The management didn't just try to sell us on the idea that the apartment was "newly-remodeled," like at our last one... which, by the way, still had white streaks on the wall from where they had patched holes from the previous tenants and the carpet obviously hadn't been replaced since 1980. This place was actually recently remodeled. We are the second people to live in it since everything was done. The carpet still has life to it. It's not matted down. The kitchen and bathroom have granite countertops. The appliances are new. There's a stacked washer and dryer (HUGE selling point). The bedroom is considerably bigger. Now we can fit all our stuff in it. There's not as much storage at this place as at our old place, but we've found out how to make it work. We bought a few cabinets and a bookshelf from Walmart.

The layout is quite different than our other place. The layout of the last apartment was more of a long rectangle with all the rooms going straight back. From the living room you could see clear to the bedroom. This place is more of a square layout. You enter into the living room (and we had to put our table in there because it's too big for the space in the kitchen). To the left, there's a little entryway into the kitchen. Then, there's a hallway leading to the bathroom. This hallway takes a turn and enters into the bedroom. This layout segregates things and gives it more of a home feel than before.

So here are the pictures. Enjoy!

The entryway with tile. We like that.

The plaque my mom made us. She did these for one Christmas (I think it was 1996). Yes. It is on slate. This one used to hang at Grandma and Grandpa's house. With Grandpa's recent passing, it needed a new home. So my mom took off the year of Grandma and Grandpa's wedding and put the year of our wedding on it. Thanks mom!

"My Religion" - Tyler Smith

A few weeks ago, I read this very well-written response to a generally difficult question for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). One of my best friends from the mission, Tyler Smith, who is always very crafty with words, wrote it. I commend it to you all. Check it out and let me know what you think.

http://www.alltyler.com/2010/06/my-religionfor-real.html

I add my testimony to Tyler's. Christ is the center of my faith. He is the Redeemer of my soul. I wish there was something I could do to repay that debt fully. The only thing I can do is try my hardest to live my live as He lived His. We can all do it. "Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am" (3 Nephi 27:27). However, we don't always have to live that way because Christ wants us to or commands us to. With time, we will want to live that way. It will be sweet and joyous to us to help others, to say a kind word, to look for the good in others, to be a better person. After all, we are here to have joy. "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25). As Tyler suggests, focus on those things. Leave the world building to later.