Last updated on March 31st, 2025 at 01:27 am
March 30, 2025
Here is the best thing I heard (What?), saw (Eye.), and read (Read.) this week, as well as the best idea (💡) I developed.
What?
Elder Russell M. Nelson, “Reflection and Resolution“, BYU Devotional, January 7, 1990:
- “When I first started medical school, we were taught that one must not touch the heart, for if one did, it would stop beating. But later I pondered the scripture that tells us that ‘all kingdoms have a law given; . . . and unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions’ (D&C 88:36, 38). I also pondered the scripture that certifies ‘when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated’ (D&C 130:21).
“With these scriptures in mind, I concentrated on the ‘kingdom’ of and the blessings of the beating heart. I knew that the function of even this vital organ was predicated upon law. I reasoned that if laws applicable could be understood and controlled, perhaps they could be harnessed ultimately for the healing of the sick.
“To me, this meant that if we worked, studied, and asked the proper questions in our scientific experiments, we would be blessed to learn the laws that govern the beating of the heart. …
“Hundreds of thousands of open-heart operations are now performed throughout the world every year, thereby extending life for many. But you should know that it was through understanding gained from study of the scriptures, and ‘likening’ them to this area of my interest, that I was able to make the advances I did in the field of heart surgery. …
“Liken the scriptures to the kingdoms that pertain to your own studies. Quietly effect a warm fusion of your faith with your scholarship. Then you will have power, even the power of God, which will bless you and enlighten your way. …
“Maintain your motivation and perseverance to do work of worth. It will be a measure of your individual righteousness. No matter what your career may be, the long hours of sacrifice and effort required to achieve excellence are really worth it.
“Meanwhile, in your quest for personal righteousness, go periodically to the mountain of the Lord’s house—his holy temple. There, learn of him. Covenant with him. There and wherever you are, pray to our Heavenly Father in the name of his Son. Merge your faith with your scholarship to give a spiritual depth of focus to all of your righteous desires.” - This quote pairs nicely with a quote that Clay Soelberg shared in General Conference Applied season 4 episode 32:
- Truman G. Madsen, “A House of Glory“, BYU Devotional, March 5, 1972: “‘A house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of study, a house of learning.’ One of the men who touched my life was the late Elder John A. Widtsoe, a man who graduated summa cum laude from Harvard after three instead of four years, who was given that last year an award for the greatest depth specializing in his field (which was chemistry); but they also gave an award that year for the student who had shown the greatest breadth of interests, which he also received. Brother Widtsoe has written perceptively about the temple and temple worship. I heard him say in sacred circumstances that the promise was given him by a patriarch when he was a mere boy in Norway: ‘Thou shalt have great faith, in the ordinances of the Lord’s House.’ And so he did. I’ve heard him say that the temple is so freighted with depth understanding, so loaded with symbolic grasp of life and its eternal significance, that only a fool would attempt in mere prosaic restatement to give it in a comprehensive way. I’ve heard him say that the temple is a place of revelation. And he did not divorce that concept from the recognition that the problems you and I have are often very practical, very realistic, down-to-earth problems. He often said, ‘I would rather take my practical problems to the house of the Lord than anywhere else.’ And in his book In a Sunlit Land he describes a day when, having been frustrated for months, I assume, in trying to pull together a mass of data he had compiled to come up with a formula, he took his companion, his wife, to the Logan Temple to forget his failure. And in one of the rooms of that structure, there came, in light, the very answer he had heretofore failed to find. Two books on agrarian chemistry grew out of that single insight-a revelation in the temple of God. The temple is not just a union of heaven and earth. It is the key to our mastery of the earth. It is the Lord’s graduate course in subduing the earth, which, as only we understand, ultimately will be heaven—this earth glorified.”
Eye.
Survivor Season 48 Episode 5:
- Joe comforting Eva, and Jeff Probst crying
- “Eva, it takes so much courage to play Survivor for anybody. But for you to come out here knowing something like this might happen and then be brave enough to share your story – because there is a young girl or boy just like you watching right now going, ‘Hey mom, hey dad,’ [Jeff Probst begins to cry] now you got me. I’m a parent too, and I do see it. And wow, this has never happened, but I see it too, and it’s why I love Survivor.”
Read.
“Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage” by Alfred Lansing:
- “Shackleton’s aversion to tempting fate was well known. This attitude had earned for him the nickname ‘Old Cautious’ or ‘Cautious Jack.’ But nobody ever called him that to his face. He was addressed simply as ‘Boss’ – by officers, scientists, and seamen alike. It was really more a title than a nickname. It had a pleasant ring of familiarity about it, but at the same time ‘Boss’ had the connotation of absolute authority. It was therefore particularly apt, and exactly fitted Shackleton’s outlook and behavior. He wanted to appear familiar with the men. He even worked at it, insisting on having exactly the same treatment, food, and clothing. He went out of his way to demonstrate his willingness to do the menial chores, such as taking his turn as ‘Peggy’ to get the mealtime pot of hoosh from the galley to his tent. And he occasionally became furious when he discovered that the cook had given him preferential treatment because he was the ‘Boss.’
“But it was inescapable. He was the Boss. There was always a barrier, an aloofness, which kept him apart. It was not a calculated thing; he was simply emotionally incapable of forgetting – even for an instant – his position and the responsibility it entailed. The others might rest, or find escape by the device of living for the moment. But for Shackleton there was little rest and no escape. The responsibility was entirely his, and a man could not be in his presence without feeling this.” - It has been interesting to contemplate what our Savior’s relationship with His disciples was like as I have watched The Chosen. This quote from ‘Endurance’ resonated with me and made me think of the Savior. Like Shackleton, Jesus Christ was “the Boss.”
💡
In my March 23, 2025, What? Eye. Read. 💡 Newsletter, I shared that I had listened to a podcast episode entitled “Are Millennial Managers Too ‘Soft?’” That podcast episode prompted the idea that I should ask my supervisor at work for feedback on how I can improve. The feedback I received was eyeopening and important and has already impacted my life, both personally and professionally, in a positive way.
Additional Content
Next Newsletter (April 6, 2025 – Newsletter Subtitle)