Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Why am I blogging?

I have never really done something like this before. I haven't felt I had much to contribute to society. That hasn't changed, mind you, I just needed to keep a journal and this is easier. The leadership of my church has said the following about journal keeping, and I was really impressed by it's truthfulness;

"We hope you will begin [journal writing] as of this date. If you have not already commenced this important duty in your lives, get a good notebook, a good book that will last through time and into eternity for the angels to look upon. Begin today and write in it your goings and your comings, your deeper thoughts, your achievements, and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. We hope you will do this, our brothers and sisters, for this is what the Lord has commanded, and those who keep a personal journal are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives." ~President Spencer W. Kimball

He also said,
"Your private journal should record the way you face up to challenges that beset you. Do not suppose life changes so much that your experiences will not be interesting to your posterity. Experiences of work, relations with people, and an awareness of the rightness and wrongness of actions will always be relevant. Your journal, like most others, will tell of problems as old as the world and how you dealt with them.

Your journal should contain your true self rather than a picture of you when you are “made up” for a public performance. There is a temptation to paint one’s virtues in rich color and whitewash the vices, but there is also the opposite pitfall of accentuating the negative. Personally I have little respect for anyone who delves into the ugly phases of the life he is portraying, whether it be his own or another’s. The truth should be told, but we should not emphasize the negative. Even a long life full of inspiring experiences can be brought to the dust by one ugly story. Why dwell on that one ugly truth about someone whose life has been largely circumspect?

Your journal is your autobiography, so it should be kept carefully. You are unique, and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way than those recorded in any other life.

What could you do better for your children and your children’s children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved? Some of what you write may be humdrum dates and places, but there will also be rich passages that will be quoted by your posterity."

As a result, this blog! I don't believe anyone will come here, I certainly won't tell anyone about it. But it will do nicely as a place to keep a commentary on life. I have a lot to say that I don't because pen and paper are so awkward (poor Shakespeare!), but now maybe I can get a little of it down.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an amazing Blog. Clearly Miss Princess Buttercup is gifted, talented and wonderful. This has been a delight to read and I will visit this site often to better understand the inner workings of a princess.

Anonymous said...

Who knew you had a blog?