Love is a Pot of Gold

President Gordon B. Hinckley taught this at a BYU devotional:

...forget yourselves and reach out. Occasionally, put in the background your own personal, selfish interests. Reach out in service to others. In so doing, you will find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. "Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it" (Mark 8:35). Those words are as true today as when they were first spoken. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."

President Thomas S. Monson expanded on this idea:

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) observed: "Love … is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet it is more than the end of the rainbow. Love is at the beginning also, and from it springs the beauty that arches across the sky on a stormy day. Love is the security for which children weep, the yearning of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage, and the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death. How rich are those who enjoy it in their associations with family, friends, church, and neighbors." Love is the very essence of the gospel, the noblest attribute of the human soul. Love is the remedy for ailing families, ill communities, and sick nations. Love is a smile, a wave, a kind comment, and a compliment. Love is sacrifice, service, and selflessness. Husbands, love your wives. Treat them with dignity and appreciation. Sisters, love your husbands. Treat them with honor and encouragement. Parents, love your children. Pray for them, teach them, and testify to them. Children, love your parents. Show them respect, gratitude, and obedience. Without the pure love of Christ, Mormon counsels, "[we] are nothing." My prayer is that we may follow Mormon’s counsel to "pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that [we] may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that [we] may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him."

Everything we seek after (peace, love, happiness, etc) can be achieved by forgetting ourselves and loving and serving others.

Source: Forget Yourself
Source: As I Have Loved You

The one with Potato Salad: The Musical!

I dreamed that Jen had written a show called Potato Salad: The Musical! She had recruited a large number of youth to put on a production and was holding rehearsals in our backyard. The rehearsals were all day long and very noisy.

Jen was in the middle of a rehearsal one a late Saturday afternoon and she started to be concerned that our neighbors might be getting annoyed. She asked me to go check on them and find out how things were going.

In my dream there was a gate in our backyard that gave me access to the two cul-de-sacs behind our house. I went through the gate and walked up to the first house. It was totally dark inside. I rang the doorbell and waited a few minutes but nobody answered.

I went to the next house and the same thing happened. At the third house I could see people inside but they turned off the lights and pretended not to be home. I looked down the street and all the homes looked totally abandoned. It was clear to me that our neighbors were really annoyed by the rehearsals and they had almost all moved or at least gone on long vacations.

By this time it was starting to get dark, so I went back through the gate to our backyard to report back to Jen. The rehearsals had paused for dinnertime. The kids had been split up into groups, and each group was sitting around a campfire cooking hot dogs and s'mores.

It was really dark now and I was having a hard time finding my way around all the campfires to find Jen. I was also really hungry and was trying to figure out where I could get a hot dog or some stuff to make s'mores with.

I finally found Jen and told her about the neighbors moving away. She seemed concerned but said it was important to continue the rehearsals. I asked about where I could get some food and she said, "I have this cheeto that has been dipped in cheese whiz," and handed the cheeto to me. I carefully took it from her so I would not get cheese whiz on my fingers. I really like cheetos but I don't care for cheese whiz.

Recently I have been trying to be more willing to try new foods, so I popped it in my mouth. At first I had the satisfying crunch of the cheeto but then the nasty tasting cheeze whiz started filling my mouth like a gooey paste. I tried to spit it out but no matter how many chunks I spat out it seemed like there were always more in my mouth. I finally got enough of it out that I could talk. I told Jen that it was disgusting and asked her where she got it. She said that she had just found it lying on the ground.

Dreamed around Jan 2022

The one where I change my name

Last night I dreamed that I legally changed my name to "Whom it may concern". By utilizing an obscure legal loophole I was then able to claim ownership to all mail addressed "To whom it may concern".

For some reason I thought it would be a great strategy to become rich and powerful. Instead my entire house quickly filled up with unending piles of useless junk mail. I'm not sure why my dream self thought any important letters would be addressed anonymously. 

Dreamed on 1/7/2022