"Things of my Soul?"

   For the past several months, this blog has existed under my name, Elder Barnett. But, I have failed to post a single post. Fortunately, my companion, Elder Blackburn, has been very diligent in posting frequently. However, as of a week and a half ago, Elder Blackburn flew home to Utah, after finishing his two year mission. So, here I am, without Elder Blackburn to cover for me, and a desire to share something new, something fresh. 

    I've done a lot of pondering on the title, "Things of my Soul." First of all, the phrase comes from a passage in The Book of Mormon. Here, a prophet named Nephi writes that his father, Lehi, has just died. I do not know what Nephi was feeling at that point in time. Having never had an immediate family member pass away, I can only imagine how he felt. I would imagine that he was thinking about what was going to happen in the future. He was probably a bit lost without the anchor that his father was to. He may have been thinking about life after death, his own faith, and the things that his father taught him. I think, most of all, he was pondering on what was most precious to him, because he then writes this key phrase: "Upon these [records] I write the things of my soul."

     So, with that introduction, this blog will contain thoughts about what is most precious to me. It will show what makes up my identity, and my soul. There are many things that make up my character, from experiences to people, from the scriptures to personal answers to prayer. These things are what bring me joy, happiness, and peace in life. I love to share that with others. And, that's just what I want to do with this blog.

   

'Twas The Night Before Transfers

'Twas the night before transfers, when all through the zone

Not an elder was stirring, not even by phone;

The white shirts were hung in the closets with care,

In hopes that each elder would get to stay there;

The planners were nestled all snug in their vests,

While visions of baptisms danced in their heads;

Elder Barnett in his trench coat, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's tract,

Pie Heaven?

My sister and I had a favorite joke about pie, that was more of an inside joke than anything else.  A comedian named Jack Handey once said: “When you die, if you get a choice between going to regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if it's not, mmmmmmmm, boy.”  My sister could never remember the joke.  All she could ever remember was that it had something to do with pie heaven, and that it was funny.  So pie has become a symbol of humor in my family, simply becuase of her forgetting a bad joke.

The other day, my companion and I had a experience that I think is hilarious.  It relates to pie.  Elder Barnett wanted to buy a pumpkin pie for thanksgiving.  I suggested we wait until after thanksgiving because someone may give us a pumpkin pie, and we could never eat TWO pies.  He agreed.  Unfortunately, we didn't get a pumpkin pie.  Instead, we were given two apple pies and a cherry pie.  Determined to get a pumpkin pie,  Elder Barnett grabbed one, as soon as we entered the grocery store the following Monday.  It wasn't until we got home that he realized that he had grabbed a sweet potato pie, instead of a pumpkin pie.  Defeated, he gave up on pie and simply ate pumpkin bread instead.  He still topped it with whipped cream though.

Now we have a whole lot of pie, which brings me back to the point I made before: Mmmmmmmm, boy. Pie heaven!

(P.S.  As a missionary, I don't feel comfortable posting this without adding the disclaimer that there is no scriptural evidence that there is such a thing as pie heaven, only in a symbolic sense in our fridge :)

-Elder Blackburn