Thoughtful Dissent

Long time, no blog. I am going to attempt to post a little more often.

The one or two of you that happen to read this probably know that I am LDS. A common theme in our church is "obedience"; obedience to God, obedience to civil laws, obedience to church leaders, etc. I ran across some interesting quotes recently that relate to this topic. The following was printed in the Ward Teachers Message of June 1945:

"When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan--it is God's plan. When they point the way, there is no other which is safe. When they give direction, it should mark the end of controversy. God works in no other way. To think otherwise, without immediate repentance, may cost one his faith, may destroy his testimony, and leave him a stranger to the kingdom of God."

I recently read an editorial in the BYU student newspaper on the California Prop 8 issue (anti-gay marriage initiative) that included a paragraph strikingly similar to the one quoted above. I dare say that if one was to read this quote in a gospel doctrine class, many members would nod their heads and mumble "amen". Several would probably enthusiastically endorse it. I wonder how many would get uneasy? Interestingly, the quote in 1945 caused a bit of controversy. Then-church-president George Albert Smith was asked about the quote by a leader of a different church in Salt Lake City. I found President Smith's response to be both fascinating and reassuring. Here it is:

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Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Office of the First Presidency
Salt Lake City, Utah
December 7, 1945

Dr. J. Raymond Cope
First Unitarian Society
13th East at 6th South Street
Salt Lake City, Utah

My dear Dr. Cope:

I have read with interest and deep concern your letter of November 16, 1945, in which you make special comment on "a short religious editorial prepared by one of your (our) leaders entitled "Sustaining the General Authorities of the Church'". You say that you read the message with amazement, and that you have since been disturbed because of its effect upon members of the Church.

I am gratified with the spirit of friendliness that pervades your letter, and thank you for having taken the time to write to me. The leaflet to which you refer, and from which you quote in your letter, was not "prepared" by "one of our leaders." However, one or more of them inadvertently permitted the paragraph to pass uncensored. By their so doing, not a few members of the Church have been upset in their feelings, and General Authorities have been embarrassed.

I am pleased to assure you that you are right in your attitude that the passage quoted does not express the true position of the Church. Even to imply that members of the Church are not to do their own thinking is grossly to misrepresent the true ideal of the Church, which is that every individual must obtain for himself a testimony of the truth of the Gospel, must, through the redemption of Jesus Christ, work out his own salvation, and is personally responsible to His Maker for his individual acts. The Lord Himself does not attempt coercion in His desire and effort to give peace and salvation to His children. He gives the principles of life and true progress, but leaves every person free to choose or to reject His teachings. This plan the Authorities of the Church try to follow.

The Prophet Joseph Smith once said: "I want liberty of thinking and believing as I please." This liberty he and his successors in the leadership of the Church have granted to every other member thereof. On one occasion in answer to the question by a prominent visitor how he governed his people, the Prophet answered: "I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves."

Again, as recorded in the History of the Church (Volume 5, page 498 [499] Joseph Smith said further: "If I esteem mankind to be in error, shall I bear them down? No. I will lift them up, and in their own way too, if I cannot persuade them my way is better; and I will not seek to compel any man to believe as I do, only by the force of reasoning, for truth will cut its own way."

I cite these few quotations, from many that might be given, merely to confirm your good and true opinion that the Church gives to every man his free agency, and admonishes him always to use the reason and good judgment with which God has blessed him. In the advocacy of this principle leaders of the Church not only join congregations in singing but quote frequently the following:

"Know this, that every soul is free
To choose his life and what he'll be,
For this eternal truth is given
That God will force no man to heaven."

Again I thank you for your manifest friendliness and for your expressed willingness to cooperate in every way to establish good will and harmony among the people with whom we are jointly laboring to bring brotherhood and tolerance.

Faithfully yours,

Geo. Albert Smith [signed]

Lake Powell 2007

We spent the week of 7/13-7/20 at Lake Powell. We own a share of a houseboat at Bullfrog. It's an older boat, but we have a great time every year. This year, I had a new Nikon D200 SLR camera to play with. It's an excellent camera and I enjoyed playing with it and experimenting with the settings. Especially the shutter priority options when shooting out the back of the ski boat. Here is a sampling of some photos from the trip:

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A little shout-out to our missionary. He comes home on 9/5.



Cousin Jake getting horizontal:



Jake on the wake skate:



Jake skipping on the foil of the air chair:



Jake making it look easy. Trust me, this is anything but easy.



My lovely wife:



Lance and Laurence dueling it out on the tubes:



Richard Glazier doing it old school:



This is Richard again but he is not crashing. He lays out like this and balances with his hand and foot and then goes right back up (most of the time anyway).



Laurence Glazier catching some air:



We visited "The Crack" just south of Knowles Canyon. It was very cool:



Lance doing a grab:



Lance losing his balance:



Don't worry, he was fine:



Some rappeling shots. We brought our rappeling gear and had a great time rappeling off of cliffs into the water. We will definitely do this again next year.

Me:


Mallory:


Spencer:


Julie:


Mr. Catfish saying hello.



Julie and Carolyn showing their catch. The fishing was awesome.



Navigating the houseboat:



Lance in the water. Check out the reflection in his glasses.



Laurence on the zipline:



Julie doing a morning run:



Julie in silhouette:



Me doing some "long rope skiing". We tied three ropes together (180 ft total length) to water ski in the mornings. It was a blast. You could glide forever.



Spencer:



Showing off our growth after the trip:

The Subway in Zion

As I have mentioned before, our family loves the outdoors and we try to take advantage of the unique opportunities here in the mountain west. This past weekend we enjoyed what may have been our favorite adventure to date: hiking the Left Fork of North Creek (A.K.A. "The Subway") in Zion NP. I have heard about this slot canyon for years. I have had quite a few veteran hikers/canyoneers tell me that this is their favorite hike anywhere. It is one of 18 slot canyons in Zion NP that require a limited availability back country permit. It is also the most sought-after permit and thus is one of two canyons that are on a lottery basis. You have to apply to a lottery three months in advance in order to get a reservation and they limit the permits to a maximum of 50 people per day. We applied back in March along with our friends, the Glaziers, with the understanding that we would both apply in the hope that one of us would win. We struck out but they got a permit for 12 people.

The following are some photos I took of the trip. The deepness of the canyon resulted in lots of contrasting shadows which made the photography a little tough with my little Canon. I have a Nikon D200 on order and all of the parts came (lenses, filters, flash, etc.) last week except the camera body (argh!). Oh well, that gives me a good reason to go back.

This is a shot of Spencer on the way in. We spotted a car at the bottom of the canyon and hiked from the top to the bottom. It is about eight miles total distance. The first three miles are in a beautiful pine forest with white sandstone from the Kayente formation gradually transforming to the red Navajo sandstone as you drop into the canyon. The canyon runs left to right in the back of the photo, just before the tall mesa in the distance.



Here we are dropping into the canyon. This is my wife and younger three kids. I like the backlighting on this one:



This is Hannah Glazier rappeling over our first major obstacle. She is only seven years old but performed like a champ.



This is my daughter at the edge of the first of several swims. The water was about 50 degrees. My poor wife about froze to death (she doesn't tolerate cold very well. At one point I looked at her and her lips were blue. Next time we go back she will have a full-body wet suit. She brought a shorty but surrendered it to my son.



My son, Lance, at another narrow part:



One of many gorgeous spots. The colors in the photo don't quite do it justice.



We found that inflatables were quite handy in getting the packs through the deep spots:



One of my favorite parts:



The formations were incredible:



Nearing the "Subway" portion of the hike:



One of the more famous spots in the hike. This is in the "subway" section. It is named the subway due to the rounded nature of the bottom of the canyon. You see lots of photos of this particular area on postcards, etc. for Zion NP.



One of several short rappels. The adults just used a hand line, but we put the kids in harnesses and let them rappel down. They loved it.



The bottom part of the subway:



Mallory in a very cold "hot tub".



Yours truly.



The Jones family.



There were several spectacular falls over cascading red sandstone terraces just below the subway. The kids discovered that you could ride down them on the inflatables.



Another shot:



On the way out, we found this rock covered with dinosaur tracks.



A closer look. It appears to be a biped carnivore from the late Jurassic. From the gait, I would say it was a female, about two weeks from dropping her eggs. It also looks like she had an minor injury on her left side.



It took us about 10.5 hours to do the entire hike. We did not see another soul in the canyon. From the cars in the parking lots, it appeared that there was one group in front of us and one behind. When we got to the bottom parking lots, the rangers were there waiting to check on our permits.

This is one of those cases where the reality matched the hype. It was a fabulous experience.

God Bless Hugh B. Brown

The more I learn about this man, the more I love him.

This is from his talk "A Final Testimony". I have read a few lines from this, but it is enlightening to read the entire passage.

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"There seems today to be a tendency toward flippant thinking, a lack of thought. There seems to be a tendency to belittle what our fathers and mothers thought because we feel we have made some progress scientifically. We are too ready to conclude that everything from past generations is now folly and that our main duty today, as far as the past is concerned, is to get away from it. There is not enough of the attitude of the sincere investigator among us. When we come into a new field of research that will challenge our due and honest consideration, we should be warned against coming too quickly to a conclusion, of forming a decision too hastily. We should be scientific -- that is, open-minded, approaching new problems without prejudice, deferring a decision until all the facts are in. Some say that the open-minded leave room for doubt. But I believe we should doubt some of the things we hear. Doubt has a place if it can stir in one an interest to go out and find the truth for one's self.

I should like to awaken in everyone a desire to investigate, to make an independent study of religion, and to know for themselves whether or not the teachings of the Mormon church are true. I should like to see everyone prepared to defend the religion of his or her parents, not because it was the religion of our fathers and mothers but because they have found it to be the true religion. If one approaches it with an open mind, with a desire to know the truth, and if one questions with a sincere heart what one hears from time to time, he or she will be on the road to growth and service. There are altogether too many people in the world who are willing to accept as true whatever is printed in a book or delivered from a pulpit. Their faith never goes below the surface soil of authority. I plead with everyone I meet that they may drive their faith down through that soil and get hold of the solid truth, that they may be able to withstand the winds and storm of indecision and of doubt, of opposition and persecution. Then, and only then, will we be able to defend our religion successfully. When I speak of defending our religion, I do not mean such defense as an army makes on the battlefield but the defense of a clean and upright and virtuous life lived in harmony with an intelligent belief and understanding of the gospel.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has this practical view of religion: that religion should help us here and now; that we should not have to wait until after we are dead to get any benefits; that religion as understood and applied makes men and women more successful, happier, more contented, gives them aspiration and hope; that religion is the vitalizing force, religion is that which gives men and women an ideal, an ideal so high that it may be seen from both sides of the valley of life.

The religion of the Latter-day Saints teaches youth that as children of God, they are expected to acquire experience as they go through life and that experience will ripen into knowledge, that knowledge will ripen into wisdom and intelligence, and that their greatness will be in proportion to their intelligence. So the religion of the Latter-day Saints is not just theory from a book or taught in church. The gospel is a plan of which God is the author, a plan of which we are all necessary parts. My religion sweetens my life. My religion, if properly lived, helps me to be a better friend to my associates, a better neighbor, a better citizen, a better father, a better man. If I am sincere in it, my religion forbids me to do to my neighbors what I would not want them to do to me, either in word or act. My religion, in other words, is that which is the greatest part of me.

I have been very grateful that the freedom, dignity, and integrity of the individual are basic in church doctrine. We are free to think and express our opinions in the church. Fear will not stifle thought. God himself refuses to trammel free agency even though its exercise sometimes teaches painful lessons. Both creative science and revealed religion find their fullest and truest expression in the climate of freedom.

As we all proceed to make our individual "declarations of independence," I hope we can distinguish between liberty and license, that we can realize that freedom is only a blessing if it is accompanied by wisdom and intelligence. At the same time, we all need to resist the down-drag of mental laziness which sometimes leads to the premature hardening of the intellectual arteries. And I would especially urge all of us to avoid sluggishness of spirit, which is the worst kind of lethargy. Some people are phlegmatic to a degree that would make a turtle seem intolerably vivacious. I admire men and women who have developed the questing spirit, who are unafraid of new ideas as stepping stones to progress. We should, of course, respect the opinions of others, but we should also be unafraid to dissent -- if we are informed. Thoughts and expressions compete in the marketplace of thought, and in that competition truth emerges triumphant. Only error fears freedom of expression.

Both science and religion beget humility. Scientists and teachers of religion disagree among themselves on theological and other subjects. Even in our own church men and women take issue with one another and contend for their own interpretations. This free exchange of ideas is not to be deplored as long as men and women remain humble and teachable. Neither fear of consequence or any kind of coercion should ever be used to secure uniformity of thought in the church. People should express their problems and opinions and be unafraid to think without fear of ill consequences. We should all be interested in academic research. We must go out on the research front and continue to explore the vast unknown. We should be in the forefront of learning in all fields, for revelation does not come only through the prophet of God nor only directly from heaven in visions or dreams. Revelation may come in the laboratory, out of the test tube, out of the thinking mind and the inquiring soul, out of search and research and prayer and inspiration.

We should be dauntless in our pursuit of truth and resist all demands for unthinking conformity. No one would have us become mere tape recorders of other people's thoughts. We should be modest and teachable and seek to know the truth by study and faith. There have been times when progress was halted by thought control. Tolerance and truth demand that all be heard and that competing ideas be tested against each other so that the best, which might not always be our own, can prevail.

Knowledge is the most complete and dependable when all points of view are heard. We are in a world of restlessness and skepticism, where old things are not only challenged but often disappear, but also a world of miraculous achievement, undreamed of accomplishment, and terrifying power. Science offers wonderful tools for helping to create the brotherhood of humanity on earth, but the cement of brotherhood does not come from any laboratory. It must come from the heart and mind and spirit of men and women.

We should continue to become acquainted with human experience through history and philosophy, science and poetry, art and religion... One of the most important things in the world is freedom of the mind; from this all other freedoms spring. Such freedom is necessarily dangerous, for one cannot think right without running the risk of thinking wrong, but generally more thinking is the antidote for the evils that spring from wrong thinking. More thinking is required, and we should all exercise our God-given right to think and be unafraid to express our opinions, with proper respect for those to whom we talk and proper acknowledgment of our own shortcomings.

We must preserve freedom of the mind in the church and resist all efforts to suppress it. The church is not so much concerned with whether the thoughts of its members are orthodox or heterodox as it is that they shall have thoughts. One may memorize much without learning anything. In this age of speed there seems to be little time for meditation.

And while all members should respect, support, and heed the teachings of the authorities of the church, no one should accept a statement and base his or her testimony upon it, no matter who makes it, until he or she has, under mature examination, found it to be true and worthwhile; then one's logical deductions may be confirmed by the spirit of revelation to his or her spirit, because real conversion must come from within..."

Lost Luggage Limbo

Back in January I was coming home from a trip to Austin, Texas. It was an evening flight and I was riding one of those smaller planes. I had my computer bag and a roll-away carry on. I had checked the carry-on at the jetway. In these cases they pull the bag out when you land and you pick it up on the Jetway right as you exit the plane. When I got off the plance at SLC I just walked off the plane and forgot to wait for my carry on. Just as I exited security I realized what had happened but by then I couldn't go back to the gate since I didn't have a boarding pass to get through security. I went to the Delta ticket counter to see if they could call down to the gate and have them send my bag through the luggage system so that I could simply pick it up at the carousel. After waiting in line, they told me to go to the luggage office by the bag claim area. I went to the luggage office and after waiting in line again they told me to wait for it to come out of the carousel. I suggested they call down to the gate and they said "Don't worry, they always just send the unclaimed carry-ons to the carousel. I waited at the carousel for 45 minutes and my bag never showed up. I got back in line for the luggage office and this time the line was very long. Apparently there was a lost luggage epidemic that night. The lady in front of me got on a cell and her conversion went something like this:

"Hello. Delta Airlines? I am standing in line at the luggage office at Salt Lake City and you have lost my luggage. I need someone to help me right now. I am warning you that if you don't do something RIGHT NOW I am going to have a nervous breakdown and something very bad is going to happen."

After about five minutes of this she closed up her phone and got back in line. Personally, I took her nervous breakdown threat seriously. She was in pretty bad shape.

Anyway, I finally got up to the counter and by this time I had been waiting for about 1.5 hours. I got a different lady this time and she had the good sense to call the gate (something they should have done right away). They told her that they would look for it and call her back. So I sat down and waited again. In the meantime, they let me look through the lost luggage room. No luck. Finally, she waved me over and said that they couldn't find but I should call back later that night since she was sure it would show up. I told her that I was coming back to SLC the next day and that I would stop and see if it showed up then. So I went home two hours after I got off the plane and still did not have my bag. Late that night (about 11:30 pm) I got a phone call at home from Delta Airlines. Here is how the conversation went:

Delta: "Hello, is this Norm Jones"
Me: "Yes."
Delta: "This is the luggage office at Austin, Texas and we checked on the computer and we understand that you lost a bag tonight."
Me: "Ummmm.... Yes, I did."
Delta: "Well, we have your bag here in Austin."
Me: "In Austin?"
Delta: "Yes, it appears that when you left your bag at the gate, they assumed it belonged to one of the pilots or crew and they put it back on the plane and the plane returned to Austin."
Me: "Aha."

They said they would send it back to SLC and that I could pick it up in the morning. So the next morning I go to the airport and stood in line again at the luggage office. They looked on the computer and couldn't find any record of the bag coming through. They took me back to the lost luggage storage room and we looked all over but couldn't see the bag. I was about to give up but noticed that there was another small area we hadn't yet searched. I asked if I could look there and they said "No, it won't be there." I kept insisting and they finally relented. Sure enough, there was my bag.

Moral of the story: NEVER FORGET TO PICK UP YOUR CARRY-ON!!!!

The Ultimate Fishing Experience

OK, time to report on the big fishing trip. On August 12-19, Lance and I went to Canada on one of those "once-in-a-lifetime" fishing trips. It was outstanding. Here is the play by play:

On Saturday, August 12th we flew from Salt Lake City to Seattle. We were supposed to go to Vancouver but it was quite a bit cheaper to fly to Seattle so we decided to fly to Seattle, rent a car, and drive to Vancouver. Big mistake (more on that later). We were traveling with my father (Sherm) and my brother (Aaron) so there were four of us. We got to the Hertz rentals at the Seattle Airport and discovered that the car would not be big enough. It was big enough to hold our luggage but there is no way it would hold all of our fish on the return trip. We checked into upgrading to a minivan or SUV but it would have cost us $1100 (compared to the original price of $400) for the week. We decided to check with some of the other rental car companies. We checked with both Advantage and Thrifty. They had minivans for about $550-600 for the week, but they both told us that we need to buy extra liability insurance (for $10 per day) if we were going to go to Canada. They say that the Canadian border patrol would not let us across the border without written proof of $300K in liability insurance on our vehicle. We decided to check one more rental company. At the Enterprise desk we got a quote for $517 for the week for a mini-van with a folding rear bench. We asked him about the insurance and he said "You don't need extra insurance to go into Canada. In fact, it is against the law for me to tell you that you need extra insurance." We pointed at the other two staff at the adjacent desks and said, "They told us we had to have it." He just shrugged his shoulders. So, we went with Enterprise. The service was great (more on that later, too).

We got the van drove to Vancouver that night. It took us about an hour to get through the border. This worried us a little since our schedule on the return trip was pretty tight. We spent Sunday in Vancouver. On Sunday afternoon we went to a park that had the "longest suspension walking bridge in the world". By the time you walk from one end to the other you have motion sickness. Here is Lance at one end of the bridge:



The next day we woke up at 3:45 am because we were supposed to be at the front of the hotel at 4:15 am. That was brutal. We went to the Vancouver airport and flew this plane from Vancouver to a village called "Massett" on Queen Charlotte Island. Queen Charlotte Island is North of Vancouver and just south of Juneua, Alaska. Massett is at the Northern end of the island.



We flew to Massett in a four-engine prop plane. It took about 2 1/2 hrs.



Then we got on board a helicoptor and took a 15-minute flight over to the Queen Charlotte Lodge.



Queen Charlotte Lodge is in an inlet at the northern end of the island:



Here is the website for the lodge:

http://www.queencharlottelodge.com/index.php

It is a beautiful lodge. The accomodations, food, and service were unbelievable. This is me in front of the lodge with one of my old mission buddies, Scott Bowden, who just happened to be on the same trip. He is a dentist now and lives near Lethbridge, Alberta Canada.



We hurried and got our gear on and jumped in the boats. The lodge provides the boats, fuel, rods, bait, clothing, food, .... everything. We raced out to the fishing grounds (see map above). It takes about 25 minutes to get out there. Within an hour or two, Lance and I caught a few pink salmon (smaller salmon that average 5-6 lbs) and then we both hooked into a couple of big kings at the same time. I landed mine but Lance lost his after about a 30 minute fight. Mine weighed in at 20 lbs:



An hour or so later, Lance hooked and landed a big silver (coho). It was 14 lbs. and was about the biggest silver I saw all week.



It was pretty much like that all week. We caught lots of huge fish every day. The pinks were very easy to land. The silvers averaged about ten pounds and were a blast to catch. As soon as you hook one, they shoot right to the top and start doing cartwheels in the air. They were very agressive. We caught quite a few kings, but the big kings were hard to land. They were so big that you had to play them just right or you would break your line or pop the hook off. We had to use barbless hooks, and that added to the challenge. A couple of days later, Lance caught a nice king very close to where I caught mine on the first day. This fish was 21 lbs:



My brother, Aaron, caught one of the bigger fish caught all week. It weighed 33 lbs. Anything over 30 lbs is called a "tyee" and they give you a pin and a round of applause at dinner each night. I think the biggest fish caught that week was 43 lbs. This shot also shows the boats we were using.



In addition to salmon fishing, we had a great time bottom fishing. We mainly caught halibut, but we pulled up lots of other stuff also. We did the salmon fishing kind of close to the shore in 60-100 feet of water but the halibut fishing was mainly done a mile or so offshore in 200 ft of water. We use salmon parts on a big hook with a one lb sinker and a big stiff halibut rod. It usually only took a minute or two to get something on, then you would crank for a few minutes to pull it up. Here is part of our catch for one day. Lance is holding a couple of halibut. Most halibut were only about 1o lbs, but Lance's two shown here were 14 and 17 lbs. This place is a nursery for young halibut so the really big halibut are kind of rare. The two reddish fish I am holding are red snappers. They were 8 and 10 lbs. They told me that the 10 lb one was quite large and was probably about 50 years old. They live to 110! I felt kind of bad about killing such an old fish.



We also pulled up rock cod and black sea bass. And I caught a "dog fish" which is a kind of shark.



They had a big boat called the "Driftwood" out on the fishing grounds. You can see the boat in the background of this picture. You could pull up any time and get extra bait, drinks, food, or go to the restroom. They fed us hot lunches each day. The rock in the foreground is called "Bird Rock 2". On the last evening my brother, Aaron, was fishing near the kelp by this rock and hooked into what felt like a huge king. He fought it for a bit and then discovered that he had caught a seal! A young seal had eaten his herring. He radioed for the fishmaster to come and help him out and he he cut the line right up by the hooks.



This is one of many commercial fishing boats we saw every day. They were fishing for salmon with long lines (trolling, basically).



Here is a shot of sunrise as we are just heading out to the fishing grounds:



This is Lance feeding one of the friendly black-tailed deer in the area:



Well, all good things must come to an end. That's not all bad; by the end of the week my hands were hammered:



We flew out on Friday. Each of us had two boxes of frozen fish. At the end of each day the Lodge staff would filet, shrink-wrap, and flash-freeze our fish. Lance and I each had about 80 lbs of filets. We ended up with our limit: 16 salmon, 6 halibut, and a few misc other fish (snapper, bass, etc.). The plane back to Vancouver was loaded down with frozen fish:



We got to Vancouver and loaded up the van and took off for Seattle. However, we got to the border and it took TWO HOURS to drive through customs, so we ended up missing our connection in Seattle. We called Delta and asked about getting on a flight on Saturday. The Delta agent (spoke with an Indian accent, by the way) told us that all flights were full and that the best he could do is fly us to St. George. I told Aaron to hang up and I called the Delta SkyMiles number. The next guy got us on a flight the next morning at 7 am. Lesson learned: don't always trust the first agent you talk to and be sure to call the SkyMiles number, not the general number. We got to the Enterprise office and they quickly found us an adjacent hotel that had a freezer big enough for the fish (barely). They drove us there and even helped carry in the fish. The service at Enterprise was OUTSTANDING. I was very impressed.

We got back to SLC the next morning and loaded everything in our Honda Accord. It was a tight fit:



All in all, it was an ubelievable experience. Now I just need to start saving money for next year. I am afraid I am hooked!