We're Confused

There is supposed to be a system to the naming of streets in King County, which includes Kirkland, Seattle, and many suburbs. Everything is supposed to be based on a street grid. "Streets" run one direction and "avenues" run perpendicular to the "streets."  If you know the orientation of the grid and the direction of "streets" and the direction of "avenues," you should be able to know your way around and know how to go where you want to go. That's the theory. 

This picture of an intersection not far from us illustrates the reality. 

On the signs - The street running north-south - to the left it is called 6th Street S. The same street only to the right is called 108th Ave NE. Intersecting with this north-south street is NE 68th Street.

In Kirkland "streets" supposedly run north-south and "avenues" run east-west. Here at this one intersection we have "streets" going three directions as well as a street/avenue combination. NE before a street/avenue name means one thing and something else when it comes after the street. 

We can't find any explanation for the street grid used by Kirkland. This wikipedia article tells about the grid system used in Seattle and King County - in most cities, but not Kirkland.

If you look at a map of Kirkland and zoom out to surrounding communities, you'll see that "streets" and "avenues" are oriented differently in Kirkland than in the rest of King County. We wonder how and why that happened. Was it deliberate? 

(The intersection in the picture is marked by Houghton Center, Starbucks, Bella Cleaner on the Google map.) 

Seattle Views

You have probably seen this view of Seattle. It's used in movies, news programs, and other media. 

The day after Thanksgiving was a great day for family pictures. It was sunny and the Kings had a rare activity free day. They knew about a great place to get a family picture and asked us to be the photographers. We met them at Kerry Park in Seattle. 

Again, you'll have to take our word for how beautiful and handsome these grandchildren are. Since they are under 18 we don't post their pictures on this public blog. You'll have to settle with a picture of us!

Salt Lake City - Granddaughter's Baptism

One of our granddaughters was baptized November 19. We drove to Salt Lake City for this special occasion. Weather events bookended our trip. 

It's about a 14 hour drive from Kirkland to Salt Lake City. The scenery is varied throughout the journey. In the Cascade Mountains just east of Kirkland the evergreen trees come right down to the road and you drive through tunnels of dark green, or snow-covered dark green on this trip, trees. Oregon, Idaho, and Utah offer grand vistas of fields and mountains. 

Snoqualmie Pass in the Cascade Mountains can be a challenge this time of year. Here's what it looked like going east on Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass. Fortunately snow wasn't a problem once we got through the pass. 

You'll have to take our word for it - Michael Todd's two daughters in Salt Lake City are beautiful little girls. We don't post pictures of our grandchildren on this public blog if they're under 18 (only one of our grandchildren is over 18). 

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints children are usually baptized after their eighth birthday. They receive lessons about baptism and make a choice. Baptism is done by immersion, following Christ's example. Then the person is given the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands. 

Michael & Joe Todd

Monday we drove from Salt Lake City to Pendleton, Oregon. Tuesday morning there were reports of snow and ice at Snoqualmie Pass so we opted to go west to Portland and then up to Kirkland. It's two hours longer than going through the pass. Weather reports said there would be rain. 

If you look closely you can see a rainbow starting at the guard rail on the right side in the middle of the picture. The rainbow spanned the Columbia River along Interstate 84 going west. We could see the complete rainbow. Soon after this we headed into hard, hard rain that lasted for five hours of the six hour trip we did that day. We supposedly drove right past Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier. We couldn't see them on through the rain. 

We're glad we could be with our granddaughter and family on this special day. 

We Are Children Of God

We are children of God. With the noise and busyness of the world it is easy to lose sight of who we are, where we came from, the purpose of life, and where we are going. Some of us come to this knowledge early on, others find it later in life. Once found, we need to hold fast to that knowledge. It will help us with the challenges of earth life and help us enjoy the journey. 

Recently I read an article about a talk in which Thomas Monson, a modern-day prophet, quoted scripture, a Jesuit priest, and Mufasa ("Lion King") as he spoke with college students about who they are and why they are here on earth. To his references I've added a few that came to my mind as I pondered his message. 

************

 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, 
that we are the children of God:

 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ+

************

"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; 

we are spiritual beings having a human experience."*

************

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar:

Not in entire forgetfulness,

And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home~

************

"Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. ... Remember who you are. ... Remember."^




+Romans 8: 16-17

* Pierre Teilhard de Charden; quote from Wikiquote
~William Wordsworth, Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood; quoted in Bartleby.com Great Books Online
^Lion King, Mufasa, the spirit of Simba's departed father; quoted in "Be a Light Unto the World"

Our Story - Part 2 - How Do We Know God Is Real?

WHO IS GOD?

HOW DO WE COME TO KNOW GOD IS REAL?

HOPE - BELIEF - KNOWLEDGE

PART 2 of Our Story

In Part 1 of the story of our relationship with God we told you how we starting asking questions about our beliefs in God. Missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were teaching us. We knew we needed to find out some things for ourselves.

We started with very basic questions. What were our existing beliefs in God and how did we come to those conclusions? Is there a God? If there is - What’s He like? What does He teach? Where do we find Him? How do we become more like Him and do what He would do? Does God connect with individuals?

Many people have feelings and opinions about God but deep discussion reveals that the opinion is based on hope or belief but not study, answer to prayer, or even knowledge.

Hope is a good place to start. It is often replaced with belief. Personal knowledge is the next step.

There is a significant difference between “believing” God is real and “knowing” God lives. Believing implies acceptance. And that is a good thing. First hand knowledge is a step further – it implies having personal experience or information that validates what we previously believed.

Personal knowledge of God does not come simply because someone tells us He is real. A religious expert, pastor,  scholar, missionary, friend, or family member might tell us God is real. Belief and hope might come from the words of such people, especially if we trust the person. If we base our belief and hope on a person, what happens if that expert or friend or family member loses his faith or says he no longer believes what he told us earlier? What happens if the person’s behavior isn’t in line with his stated beliefs? What if some other expert unearths different information?  In addition, belief and hope, if not based on first hand knowledge, may not be enough to get us through the challenges that come along with life on earth.

To move beyond belief and hope to first hand knowledge, we have to have a desire to know for ourselves. And that takes consistent effort.

Prayer and scripture study are places to start. Tuning into impressions from the Holy Ghost is another important aspect of determining the reality of God.

Our experiences have been such that we know without a shadow of a doubt that God is real. He knows us individually, He loves us, and He is a very caring Father.

Joe & Julia Todd

11/15/11

Part 1 - Why are we Mormon? posted 11/17/11

Joe & Julia

November 2011

Our Story - Part 1 - Why Are We Mormon?

WHY ARE WE MORMON?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Part 1 of Our Story

What do we believe and why? This is a frequent topic of conversation between us. Even more so lately because of the “I’m a Mormon” campaign recently launched in the Seattle area. You may have seen or heard media spots or even taken a look at mormon.org. We’ve been counseled to think about who we are, what we believe, and how we will answer questions when people, hopefully, ask us about being Mormon, or, more correctly, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We’ve decided to share our thoughts with you.

Here’s a somewhat short answer – to be followed by much more detail in Parts 2 and so on.

MichaelK came home from school the end of May 1981 and asked if we were Christians. We went to the library and got books for family discussions. We talked about how you can be Christian without going to church and all that. A few weeks later missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knocked on our door. We let them in because they could tell Michael about Jesus and we wouldn’t ever have to go to church! We were busy and just weren’t making church a priority.

The missionaries got us thinking and talking about what we did and didn’t believe. Is there a God? If yes, what are His teachings and where are they? Are the heavens closed? What do the scriptures teach? The questions just kept coming. Between us, Joe and I had many years of church experience in various denominations. Julia grew up in the Methodist Church. Joe belonged to the Episcopal and then Roman Catholic churches.

Over the summer we talked, prayed, read, talked, prayed and talked some more.  Much of the discussion took place without the missionaries. We liked the missionaries. They were nice, well meaning “boys” who believed in the message they were sharing.

We knew people who affiliated with specific denominations for a variety of reasons. Perhaps that’s where parents or grandparents attended or where their friends went or it was the “best” church in town. They might select a church based on who is the most politically correct with the current cultural trends. People might select a church based on the music, the beauty of the building, the preaching ability of the pastor – or a multitude of other reasons. Rarely did we ever hear someone say they attended a church because of the doctrine as taught in the Bible and they decided on the church after intense, long term, personal study and prayer.

We decided it was important for us to determine if we really believed in God. If we did then we had an immense responsibility to find out His teachings, build a relationship with Him, and determine which church taught doctrine that was closest to what He taught. We were baptized and became members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints October 25, 1981.

We made that decision 30 years ago. We still feel it’s the best decision we’ve made as individuals and as a couple. Over the 30 years there’s been much more study, conversation, prayer, questioning – and more study and prayer. All the while we have been trying to actively live what we’ve learned about being disciples of Christ.

More to follow ……………

Joe & Julia Todd  

11/4/11