Light . . . To See or To Clearly Know Where to Go?

“That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day” (D&C 50:23–24).


I heard a talk a couple of weeks ago specifically on the Light of Christ. As the talk was given and the figurative Light of Christ was explained, I latched onto a concept that I really liked. Light is what helps us to see where we need to go. The Light of Christ also helps us to see where we need to go. The Light of Christ helps us to know of the things that we must do to have happiness and to know how to make the choices that will most benefit our lives.

As I reflected on this I wondered if the Light of Christ could somehow illuminate our path even better than the light from our Sun. This made me remember the details that my aunt Rachel shared with me . . .

Rachel and her 12 year old daughter were hiking up Pine Mountain, a beautiful mountain range with a variety of trees and foliage. As you reach the final summit there is an amazing panoramic view that shows off most of Central Arizona. My aunt had hiked in the early winter and had made her plans around her husbands Boy Scout outing so she could make the travel with him and then she continued on with her daughter to the trailhead.

My Aunt reached the top and was coming back down when it started snowing. The trail covered with snow skewed their vision. Even with plenty of light out, the way to go was no longer clear. She back tracked over a few places; as she continued to re-evaluate her choices she soon was out of day light and the temperature was dropping. With no emergency kit and no daylight, her path was no longer clear and her return that day looked questionable. Realizing her predicament, she and her daughter prayed to know how to return to the trailhead. Still with much difficulty but with guidance of the spirit they made it to the trail head. They later learned the route they took was the most direct route possible. There she found her husband and authorities preparing to do a search for them.

Many times in our life we feel we are surrounded by light that seems to make our paths clear, yet a simple blanket of snow is all it takes to set us askew. If we don’t rely upon the Light of Christ then we can be lost in pure daylight. Many of our struggles don’t exist in only the physical realm. The Light of Christ teaches us to have goals, to have standards, to constantly improve and to recognize our errors and improve upon them. We have those who are called to provide direction to us in case our vision is momentarily too impaired to see this spiritual light clearly.

I’m grateful for all light in my life. I know we are here on this Earth to be happy and following God’s law is the key to having long term happiness. I am blessed as I follow these laws and spiritual light is given to me as I hike along my spiritual path in life. I know that at times my path will be unclear, it is these times that I must ask for and rely upon the spiritual light I need to return to my Heavenly Father.

Andrew "doesn't like getting lost" Brown

Friends who happen to be sisters . . .

I am enjoying a work-at-home-day and when I got up to get something out of the fridge I found my girls playing "Picnic". It was totally cute. When I went to take their picture they posed for me. You can tell that even though they are sisters they are also friends. I just thought this was too cute to not share.

Andrew "has cute girls" Brown

"Unto Whom Much is Given" . . . My Favorite Birthday Present

I have a picture next to my clock on my nightstand. It is a captured moment of my best birthday gift ever. It was October 2003 and the Peoria Pride Project was coming up and the date they picked to do this was on my birthday. Our ward was assigned 3 homes and I was made a captain of a home. We were asked to recruit folks from our ward to help us get the things done based on what the house needed. At the time I was in the Sundance ward and we were very small. As I tried to recruit folks I realized that the few folks that were going to be able to make it would be needed at the other homes assigned to our ward and so I went outside of the ward and recruited my 3 youngest sisters (the rest were married and not so available) to give me my birthday present by serving along my side on this project. My sisters were awesome and displayed an amazing ability to work (all of my Brown siblings have this ability) and we were able to get everything done but a couple of things without outside assistance. One item required a forklift to remove a solar water heater that had died many years earlier. The other item required moving a huge rock lodged in the front yard. As you can see from the picture I have some cute sisters so it didn't take much for them to flirt with enough young men from the surrounding projects to recruit them in moving this rock successfully. We scraped, painted, hammered and cut our way to successfully completing the project. I had the smallest team of all the projects but we were mighty. That day I grew much closer to my sisters. You can see how proud and happy I was to have them as my sisters in the picture. They gave me the picture in remembrance of this great gift. I sure do have some awesome sisters. Thanks Natalie, Kara, and Kensie for my best and favorite birthday gift ever - you guys are awesome workers and even better sisters.

Andrew "Spoiled Rotten" Brown

Thunder River/Tapeats/Deer Creek '09

About 2 weeks ago I finished my 4th trip to Thunder River. This trip automatically includes Tapeats and Deer Creek since if you are going to get into good enough shape to do one then you might as well do a loop and include the other two destinations.

In 2004 I had a bad experience on this hike and I needed to "kill my demons". To help me do this I recruited close friends, family, and people I respect. Since I planned the trip a year in advance, it was fun to see how the group came together and who actually came. I am grateful for those that did come with me and for putting up with all of vague descriptions of the trip, misleading information, and selective memories that seemed to be devoid of every single "pucker factor" event that we experienced on this trip.

The trip starts at Monument Point/Bill Hall Trail head which is about 35 miles southwest of Jacobs Lake on the North Rim. We had a great group of a diversity of people and hiking levels and experience. All are LDS.

My demons were conquered as this trip was an amazing success. Still there were trials for me and my friends assisted me with these struggles. I rewarded them with great views and unexpected adventures.

We enjoyed very steep trails the first day, followed by day two's narrow trails with cliffs on one side trying to push us off the narrow ledge into the "Alley" that had somehow become hundreds of feet below us (Upper Tapeats campground to Lower Tapeats campground). On day three we enjoyed what I had described to the group as a hike along the Colorado beach, which actually was more like bouldering and technical climbing with packs on as we navigated our way by the dictates of my vague memories of doing this trip before. Deer Creek was the most beautiful with the amazingly narrow slot canyon below, elevated views of the Colorado (and Cory catching the largest fish of his life on the banks). Deer Creek is so tranquil with it's gushing waterfalls and green valley.

Always was I so relieved to get to the next destination without having lost a member of our group. Many times I was sure that members of the group where going to jump me or sucker punch me due to the inconsistencies of what I had described and what we were actually experiencing on this trip. I was elated when their response was light hearted, appreciative, and amazed at what we got to experience. I honestly can't believe my memory had failed me so badly that I had forgotten so many harrowing parts of this trip - the adrenaline was flowing at emergency by-pass levels. I got teased that my memory only failed for those parts because it was so traumatic.

Hiking out proved to be a memory of its own. We got our fannies spanked coming out of Deer Creek and then again as we plodded up the long unending "flat part" of Surprise Valley to spend the night. The next morning we woke up and immediately got spanked hiking up the mighty red-wall. We walked it off on the esplanade and regrouped before ascending the white-wall. Wow!! We actually made good time and were rewarded with corn "scoops" and Pace Picante Salsa - oh that was good! We washed it down with Dr Pepper and were able to enjoy the view from Monument Point knowing we had conquered this most difficult trail. We then stumbled wearily the last 1/2 mile or so to the cars to clean up and head back home, enjoying a feast at Marble Canyon lodge and some tire repair experiences which got us into town around 1am.

Thanks to all that came and for the amazing experience that we shared - you all are awesome!! The trip was epic thanks to Jarret, Darin, Carey, Scott, John, Cory, Jacob, Justin and Ryan.

Andrew "how did I forget all the scary parts of the trail" Brown

"Unto whom much is given . . ." Darin and Jarret

A short preface to my main subject - while I was on my mission I would watch other missionaries and in my mind determine what kind of people they were. As I approached a transfer, I soon learned that I would be serving with Elder Maycock. He had been serving with a district leader up to that point and in my mind I knew he was the reason the district leader had been so successful. As soon as we were put together, knowing very little of each other, he and I worked our tails off every moment we were awake. We lived by the book and did everything to exactness. We didn't talk a lot and his driving in the snow horrified me, but we worked hard and at then end of one month had amazing rewards for our efforts. We were only together one transfer and then we were both transferred to other areas and didn't see each other until about 9 months later. When we did hook up again, we both shared how we had never before worked so hard with any other companions. I was floored; I assumed I was barely keeping up with his expectations at the time. As I was the younger companion, he didn't want to let me down by doing anything less than what he thought I expected. The month we worked together was awesome, hard, educational, and an amazing growing experience. Due to our anticipation of what the other expected, we both had served beyond our comfort zones and enjoyed the blessings of growth.

I share this story due to the parallels that I had many years later. I experienced the splitting of my ward, right down the middle, with dear friends being in a different ward. I was given a new calling in my new ward where I got to work with two specific people - Darin and Jarret. I had some experience in my new calling from my prior ward and brought many of my ideas into my new calling. Darin and Jarret were already amazing friends which made it intimidating to me being the recent addition. I took an inventory of these two brothers and determined that much would be expected of me to serve at the level they were serving. For two years, through the mantle of my calling, I always knew what I should do. I was constantly busy with so much in my life and these two brothers seemed to always be giving me new opportunities that I had never experienced - much growth and discomfort filled my life as I tried to keep pace with them and not let them down with my shortcomings. For a little over two amazing years we got to serve together and experience much - we were close, we loved to have fun, and we loved serving together in our effort to fulfill our callings.

I look back now and am grateful for the chance I had to serve with these two men, they have gone on to serve more intensely in their new callings and continue to be an example through their great love for the gospel and their desire to fulfill their callings. Recently I got to spend several days with them as we hiked the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Their strength was more intense and amazing then what I remembered. I was able to see that they have gone on and built upon the experiences we shared. I shared with Darin's wife how I always knew what to do when I was serving with them - I never lacked direction as we three were so untied and blessed to have the mantle upon us. What we had as mere mortals was truly amazing and a gift from our Heavenly Father.

I am still processing my thoughts and experiences that I enjoyed serving by their sides - even now, 18 months later. When I do sufficiently digest and understand how to communicate this experience I hope to put into words my thoughts. Until then, I wanted to express my gratitude to both men in all that they helped me experience and grow from during those two years

Never have I worked harder, never have I been inspired more, never have I experienced so much discomfort as I strived to keep pace with you. Thanks Darin and Jarret - you are my friends; you are my brothers.

Andrew "knows discomfort" Brown

"It's not my story . . ." Revisited

I just got a call from my wife - seems that Bradley was bound and determined to get a blue cast on his arm. He just re-broke his left arm in the same place as when he crashed his bike (see earlier post "It's not my story but I'm telling it anyways").

This time Glory was notified by the school (broke it playing touch football), went to pick him up from the school, was already sensitive to what she would do differently this time and was able to bring Bradley straight to the bone doctors and got his arm set, casted (with a blue cast), and sent home to enjoy his weekend with a broken arm. Classic!!

By the time I even knew about it, Glory already had everything taken care of and all I could do was say "Oh". I guess it doesn't get any better than "Hey, our kid broke his arm but before I bothered telling you about it I got everything all taken care of and so there's nothing you have to worry about. Just thought I'd let you know so you weren't surprised to see him wearing a cast when you got home."

All I gotta say is my wife ROCKS!! Hope your arm heals quickly Bradley.

Andrew "father of a glass child" Brown

What Motivates You?

“Only to the extent that someone is living out this self transcendence of human existence, is he truly human or does he become his true self. He becomes so, not by concerning himself with his self's actualization, but by forgetting himself and giving himself, overlooking himself and focusing outward.”

~ Viktor E. Frankl

I love this thought - I want to be human, I want to take advantage of all the things God intended for me as he setup the Plan of Salvation. I want to become my true self. Thanks for thought Mr. Frankl.

Andrew "wants to be truly human" Brown

Sahuaro Ranch Scout Outing - Chase stretching his limits

For those of you that know Chase, he can't swim much more than to save his life - or so I thought. He hung out with his old Young Mens group last weekend and they got him to stretch his boundaries and I gotta say that after watching this video I had to sew a few of my shirt buttons back on (for those of you that are slow, that means my chest swelled with pride). Special thanks to the adult leaders that gave him the extra leash to do this and to capture the moment on video. Kudos Chase!

Andrew "What was that kid thinking!" Brown

Political Quote - thanks to Van & Sarah

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else."

Author unknown

It's not my story but I'm telling it anyways . . .

My older boys have been working on their biking merit badge since last September. They had several distances that had to be accomplished, culminating in a 50 miler. On the way to this point they did 10, 15, and two 25 milers. Several attempts were made at having an overnighter to do the 50 miler but things kept coming up. On my oldest sons birthday I purchased entrance into the Pat Tillman run. The next Sunday we learned that the 50 miler would be on the same day as the Pat Tillman run - bummer. Chase and I did the 50 miler together earlier in the week on one of his days off from school.

On the day of the Pat Tillman run we had our own bit of excitement but had a great time running. As we were heading home Glory called to say that the Scout Leaders had called her from Northern Arizona to say that Bradley had wrecked and had a bump on his arm and the felt the should take him into the closest hospital (Cottonwood Hospital). Glory told them to tell Bradley to get back on the bike and finish the 50 miler; he still had 45 miles to go. Glory asked me if I agreed with her and I told her we should trust the judgment of those that were with him. She was really frustrated with the long process it has taken for the boys to get this merit badge and just wanted it to be done.

About an hour later we got another call and were informed that Bradley had in fact broken his arm. The hospital splinted his arm (but didn’t bother setting it for him) and sent him home. The details of the crash came out later that night as I attended the daddy daughter activity – here is the play by play:

Bradley can’t “hold a line” worth beans on a bike and they were biking down a road with a small shoulder. He managed to swerve off the road and overcorrected to get back on and took a spill going about 15 mph. His leader had been biking close behind him and was frantically trying to break and swerve around Bradley. Bradley just exploded when he went down with gloves flying off, bike flipping through the air etc. He “balled” up until he came to his final roll and at the conclusion he let his arms drop away from his body . . . just in time for his leader to run over the arm and break it. They ended up finding Bradley’s glasses in the leaders spokes. Besides his arm he had some small abrasions on his face, arm, and legs but nothing major.

When we were able to finally get Bradley in to get his cast put on they discovered the Cottonwood hospital had not set the bone. We scheduled to put him under the next day and re-break his arm and then cast it. He was pretty nervous about being put under. This was quickly overshadowed when he woke up from the procedure and realized he had a purple cast on. HA, HA, HA – tears – Ha, ha, ha – we was absolutely mortified and got real vocal about it to the nurse (male nurse) who he made sure his thoughts of a man ever becoming a nurse was made clear (Bradley doesn’t approve). Bradley was still groggy from the meds and he held nothing back as Glory looked on totally mortified by his behavior. Yeah, he wanted a blue cast and was mad he didn’t get to make his selection and got such a gender neutral color (ok, everybody gets purple now-a-days but he feels it is a girls color). This was the worst part of getting his arm broken and of course the family gave him plenty of grief about this.

To end this story on a fun note; he had his advisor, the one that ran over and broke his arm, sign his cast. He signed it after the words “I did it”.

Andrew "set the bone the first time!" Brown

How do we see problems?

We see problems, not as they are, but as we are. That's why attitude plays such a crucial role in separating those who lead from those who follow. Alfred Armand Montapert said, "The majority see the obstacles; the few see the objectives; history records the successes of the latter, while oblivion is the reward of the former." Leaders look at problems from a healthy, self-confident vantage point.

Provided by Laura deWolfe in the Supply Chain Management department of CHW

Postive Discomfort

We have all heard of peer pressure and it is normally associated with a negative influence. Positive peer pressure is your peers encouraging you to do good and amazing things. Positive discomfort falls under this same type of thought process. I heard of this phrase from David Lincoln – he is the descendant of the owners of Lincoln Electric, Lincoln Welders, Lincoln Laser, and John C Lincoln hospitals. One of his families lesser known business ventures was the one I worked for; Arizona Oxides, a pigment manufacturing facility. He was essentially my bosses, bosses, boss the entire time I was at Arizona Oxides. We would have meetings in which he presided and he’d sometimes get frustrated with a stubborn employee, customer, or supplier and he would mention applying positive discomfort. What he was trying to say was we are going to supply some pressure on all those that need to provide the needed growth or action. His intent was to bring about a positive response for all.

I am grateful for positive discomfort and what it has done in my life. School gave me much discomfort from kindergarten to my final graduate level class. My parents applied lots of discomfort through out my youth. My wife, kids, church leaders and God have all supplied plenty of discomfort. Now what I did with that discomfort was my choice – for the times I chose to make a positive situation out of it I am thankful. The growth I have received in my life has always been from positive discomfort or from having an example to learn from (and usually both).

Now I am in no means done with my share of “positive discomfort” experiences; however, I am no longer just a recipient of positive discomfort . . . I have learned that I love to dish out positive discomfort (smile).

My kids experience a lot of this – and honestly I’d have to say that I have some pretty good kids. My current ward youth view my positive discomfort with much apprehension (according to Chase my Teacher aged son). My Bishop has informed me that I’m like a “nice swift kick in the shins” in regards to my attempts to get folks on board with the missionary program. I may be a bit over zealous in my attempts to make others appreciate positive discomfort – but only because I’m grateful for the achievements in my life and I owe it to positive discomfort have provided my much of these opportunities. Some examples are:

-Serving a mission, knowing there is no way for me to comprehend what I am signing myself up for and leaving what seemed to be a perfect life
-Proposing to the love of my life before I had any idea how I would support her
-Deciding to have kids as soon as possible despite still not figuring out how to support a wife
-Going to school and sacrificing our lifestyle for a “feeling” I received from a prayer
-Buying a house after a late night conformational prayer and realizing it is right while still having no idea how the finances will be

These are just a few examples, some faith promoting, others caused intellectual growth and character growth. All of the experiences I am grateful for and I look forward to more experiences to come . . . and yes, I still look forward to causing a little positive discomfort for others along the way – after all I’m not selfish.

Andrew “causes discomfort” Brown