An open letter to the people who are fighting for freedom in the middle east...

First let me tell you who I am, I am a Christian and a conservative, born in the United States of America.  Many of you probably assume that people like me hate people like you.  First I want to clear this up, speaking for myself and fellow Christians and conservatives that I know personally.  We do not hate you, in fact we pray for you and read the news about you and hope for you and your families freedom and prosperity every day.  We respect your faith and your desire to simply be left alone.  The challenge we face is that there are people amongst you that would have us and many of our other friends literally wiped off the map.  So what do we do?  What would you do?

I personally have a large family by western standards, 8 children and a wife, I married young and have gone through many struggles, from losing a house, to having a child with epilepsy, to homeschooling my children, the daily struggle to feed them among countless others..  I have been blessed with the freedom to live as I choose and do what I will, that blessing, although I personally have not had to spill blood to maintain it, was bought with the sweat, blood and treasure of my ancestors and other great people in this country.

You now stand at a precipice, what do you do?   Do you make the leap over of your own free will?  Do you grab the powerful hand of the fundamentalists groups to help you over just to find out that they want to limit your freedoms, just as has been done thus far by the various dictators and nobility in your country?

I want you, each and every one of you to be happy.  I firmly believe that happiness can only truly be obtained by individuals when you have the liberty to do as you wish in your life and to work towards the goals you set for yourself.  You deserve to be able to worship freely!  You deserve to be able to raise your children, care for them and see them become who they want to be.  The only thing I ask of you is to not impose your specific religious doctrine on others, let them choose and be happy. 

Your God and my God are the same, let us live as children of that God not mortal enemies.  Peace be with with you my brothers and sisters.

Character Of The Happy Warrior

Who is the happy Warrior? Who is he
What every man in arms should wish to be?
It is the generous Spirit, who, when brought
Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought
Upon the plan that pleased his childish thought:
Whose high endeavours are an inward light
That makes the path before him always bright:
Who, with a natural instinct to discern
What knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn,
Abides by this resolve, and stops not there,
But makes his moral being his prime care;
Who, doomed to go in company with Pain,
And Fear, and Bloodshed, miserable train!
Turns his necessity to glorious gain;
In face of these doth exercise a power
Which is our human nature`s highest dower;
Controls them and subdues, transmutes, bereaves
Of their bad influence, and their good receives:
By objects, which might force the soul to abate
Her feeling, rendered more compassionate;
Is placable - because occasions rise
So often that demand such sacrifice;
More skilful in self - knowledge, even more pure,
As tempted more; more able to endure,
As more exposed to suffering and distress;
Thence, also, more alive to tenderness.
`Tis he whose law is reason; who depends
Upon that law as on the best of friends;
Whence, in a state where men are tempted still
To evil for a guard against worse ill,
And what in quality or act is best
Doth seldom on a right foundation rest,
He labours good on good to fix, and owes
To virtue every triumph that he knows:
Who, if he rise to station of command,
Rises by open means; and there will stand
On honourable terms, or else retire,
And in himself possess his own desire;
Who comprehends his trust, and to the same
Keeps faithful with a singleness of aim;
And therefore does not stoop, nor lie in wait
For wealth, or honours, or for worldly state,
Whom they must follow; on whose head must fall,
Like showers of manna, if they come at all:
Whose power shed round him in the common strife,
Or mild concerns of ordinary life,
A constant influence, a peculiar grace;
But who, if he be called upon to face
Some awful moment to which Heaven has joined
Great issues, good or bad for human kind,
Is happy as a Lover; and attired
With sudden brightness, like a Man inspired;
And, through the heat of conflict, keeps the law
In calmness made, and sees what he foresaw:
Or if an unexpected call succeed,
Come when it will, is equal to the need:
He who, though thus endued as with a sense
And faculty for storm and turbulence,
Is yet a Soul whose master - bias leans
To homefelt pleasures and to gentle scenes;
Sweet images! which, whereso`er he be,
Are at his heart; and such fidelity
It is his darling passion to approve;
More brave for this, that he hath much to love: -
`Tis, finally, the Man, who, lifted high,
Conspicuous object in a Nation`s eye,
Or left unthought - of in obscurity, -
Who, with a toward or untoward lot,
Prosperous or adverse, to his wish or not,
Plays, in the many games of life, that one
Where what he most doth value must be won.
Whom neither shape of danger can dismay,
Nor thought of tender happiness betray;
Who, not content that former worth stand fast,
Looks forward persevering to the last,
From well to better, daily self - surpast:
Who, whether praise of him must walk the earth
For ever, and to noble deeds give birth,
Or he must fall to sleep without his fame,
And leave a dead unprofitable name,
Finds comfort in himself and in his cause;
And, while the mortal mist is gathering, draws
His breath in confidence of Heaven`s applause:
This is the happy Warrior; this is he
Whom every Man in arms should wish to be.

By William Wordsworth

"It is my prayer that perhaps we can all become happy warriors." -JTL

Why Glen Beck converted to the LDS Faith.

Glenn, Tania, and his two daughters from his previous marriage began attending every kind of church they could find. When Pat found out about their church tour, he insisted that they give The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a try.

“Mary [Glenn’s oldest daughter, who has cerebral palsy] was the first one to feel the Spirit,” said Glenn. “As we were walking out of the chapel, there was a Dunkin Donuts coffee calling my name. The girls didn’t like the church tour at all, but Mary asked, ‘Can we go back there?’ It stopped us dead in our tracks. She said, ‘I just feel so warm inside.’” Glenn agreed to keep going until someone said something that made him mad, which he thought was sure to happen.

But it didn’t happen, and soon Glenn was seriously investigating the Church. “There were bodies of missionaries at my front door,” he laughs. “I think for seven months they were coming. The second, maybe the third discussion that we had, they turned white because I walked in with Mormon Doctrine. I had been reading it like a novel, and I was making notes because I wasn’t going to join something I didn’t firmly believe in. I really had turned over the stones and had really looked.”

Then came the moment Glenn knew he was going to become a member. “I was sitting in Priesthood, and a guy who I had dubbed ‘The Amazing Mr. Plastic Man’—because he was the happiest guy on the planet—was teaching the concept of Zion. It wasn’t a concept that I had really seriously considered before. He asked, ‘How can it happen?’ Tears started to roll down his cheeks and he said, ‘It can only happen if I truly love you and you love me.’”

Wiping tears from his eyes, Glenn continues his story saying, “During that Priesthood lesson I realized I was at a crossroads. There was no reason why I shouldn’t join the Church, other than I didn’t want to be a Mormon. And I thought, ‘Are you really going to let coffee, swearing, rated-R movies, and all that stop you?’”

Pat baptized Glenn on October 23, 1999—an experience that would be extremely emotional for them both. “It was the longest baptism ever,” Glenn recalls with tears streaming down his face. “We were standing in the water and he couldn’t get the words out. He had watched me struggle for so long. He’d waited for so long. And I couldn’t stop crying. I had seen just a glimpse of the power of the Lord and His promises if you walk in His footsteps. I thought, ‘If I do this, He’ll carry my load.’ I couldn’t wait for that to happen.”

By joining the Church, Glenn finally found meaning in his life and a new outlook. “The great thing about the gospel is that we know the end of the story,” he says. “That’s why I’ve changed. I still have high levels of stress, but not like before. As long as I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, to the best of my ability, striving diligently to follow the Lord’s footsteps, I can lose my job. The money, the house, it’s a total byproduct. It’s an extra little perk, where ten years ago it would have been all about that. My perspective has totally changed.”

The Good News...

Friends and Family,

So when I wrote that post a few days ago, I was exceptionally down. Frustrated and felt more or less useless.

I have great news that I am actually ready to share! I have accepted a new position with a company in Indianapolis that offers appropriate compensation for my skill and career level in addition to offering full medical benefits for my family.

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and publicly thank Heavenly Father for answering them. I am grateful for all that I have and excited at the fact that I am going to be able to take care of my family as I am commanded to. Now, the hard work of getting our lives in order can commence and I couldn't be more ready start it!

Look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

John

In Loving Memory of Margaret Mary Palermo

Nana passed away this morning at about 7am. While I am sad that she is gone and I miss her. I can't help but be joyful in my heart that she is now in Paradise, meeting up with our family already passed. The reunion must be joyus, much like the joy we feel when a new child comes into our mortal world.

To the woman...

...who drilled me in my multiplication tables until I got them right.
...who I loved to play cards with on Saturday mornings.
...who I told that I was going to get married first.
...who loved my wife like her own granddaughter.
...who I shared my new faith with first.
...who shared my love for Jesus Christ.
...who loved me unconditionally......

I love you and adieu.

Your Grandson,

John

C O L O R B L I N D

I look at society, I look at my coworkers, my family and my friends...

What is the first thing you see when you look at a person?

Do you move away from people who are different then you?

Do you write off one persons actions to represent their race?

I propose that when it comes to race we must become colorblind. We must not judge people by what we see in popular media, we must teach our children that the substance of a man is in his character not his color or creed. It is not enough to "not" teach racism, we must instead teach love. We must become neighbors, go outside of our comfort zones, learn about different peoples and places. Respect the diversity of culture and the richness of the peoples of the world.

The time is near that all the things we have won't be enough, in fact, it has come. The only race we should all recognize is the human race. We must reach understanding, that can only be had through love and service to others.

So, to the world I say... Become COLORBLIND! It is long past time....

My thoughts on a Sunday afternoon.

A Journey Thirty One Years in the Making

Shortly after I established contact with my birth mother Linda, I determined that I needed to go visit her. I thought about this for several days, then I contacted Helen (Linda's Mom) and told her that I wanted to make plans to visit Linda, but wanted to surprise her. She said she would get the message to Don (Linda's Husband) to call me. The in the next day or so I received a call from Don, got his blessing on the plan. Within a few days I had tickets to fly out to JFK late on December 30th, the red eye flight. Don agreed to pick me up at the airport, at 6:18 in the morning.

I spoke a lot to Erica about this, some friends, some colleagues at work. I spoke to my mom and dad, all asked if I was nervous about the trip. I had to say, "No", I have been at ease with Linda and Don since I first started talking to them.

I flew out to New York, arrived just before it started snowing at JFK, very tired and without much sleep. Don picked me up and drove me home. Linda still was not aware of what was going on. On our way home we met with several of Don and Linda's friends. As a welcome to me a number of Don's friends who are bikers got up early in the morning, met us on the Long Island Express Way. To honor Linda and I they they escorted us as far as they could, in what were slick and snowy roads.

We arrived home in a full blown snowstorm, I walked in, Linda was upstairs, Don walked ahead of me. He said to Linda, "Your Son." I then walked up the stairs and for the first time ever was embraced or even touched by my birth mother. I cannot describe the emotions present in me at the moment, the weight of 31 years of not knowing was gone. Linda was speechless.

In reflecting on this moment and the experiences I have had over the weekend. I will say that I am a changed man. For the love that Linda and Don have had for my brother and I over the last 31 years, I have to express my thanks to Heavenly Father. I am grateful for the decisions that were made, by both Linda, my mom and my dad. I am also grateful for Erica's support in this whole process and the patience she has shown me. I am also impressed and touched by the love that exists in Don's heart for Bill and I, he came into Linda's life after she gave birth to us, he choose from that point to love us as Linda had, as his sons.

I have much more to write, stories to share about my family, but I will leave off with pictures of both my sister Michele, brother Pete and me.

A Thanksgiving to remember.

Well, as many of you know I don't post on a daily occurence like my wife. Usually I post about a political issue or something that is on my mind. This time I have a story to tell.

In 2004 my son Gabriel had a siezure, he was just an infant, as parents do, we panicked, we had dozens of tests run on him. After about 6 months of personality changing medication and consulting with his doctor, we decided to wean him off of the medication. Since that time he has not had any seizures, we have come to the conclusion that they were development and that he would grow out of them, and that he seems to have done.

At that time I decided that I should find out any medical information I could about my birth parents. So I researched and found out about a mutual consent adoption registry that the NY Department of Health has online. I submitted my information to it. What I got back was a form stating very basic information about my birth mother, her age, race, etc. There was no medical information of any value, so I believed I had hit a dead end at the time. The form also stated that if she registered we would both get a "final consent" form for identifying information to be exchanged, I held hope that perhaps she would register at some point.

At this time I was driven to find out more information, so I searched the internet, even went as far as to call the hospital I was born at, all led to dead ends.

So we fast forward to October 2008, I have moved several times, relocated to Arizona, doubled the size of my family. I received a final consent form in the mail. This could only mean one thing, my birth mother had registered and also recieved that form. I decided it was time to move forward with things. So my wife and I filled out the form, got it notarized and sent it via certified mail to the State of NY. I was hopeful that within days I would hear something.

On November 21st I recieved the information, my birth mother's name is Linda, she lives on Long Island, NY. (I am sparing additional details out of respect for her privacy.) I was in shock, almost 31 years have elapsed since I was born and given up. What would I find?

Late Sunday night I received an email from Linda. She told me a little about my birth family, she told me that she remembered my birthday every year, that she prayed for and worried about what happened to my brother and I. She told me that I have another brother and a sister, a niece and a nephew. She told me that her and her husband, who she met after giving birth to us have thought about us throughout the years.

I responded with my story and was thankful that she made the decision that she made. I told her about my wife, kids and my brother. She went from having 2 grandchildren to 10! She is thrilled!

I am truly thankful for the very adult selfless decision that Linda and her parents made when she was only 16. I believe that God put things in place so that we could all be happy and eventually come back together to heal a family. I have room in my heart for my birth mom, my new brother and sister, cousins, niece, nephew, uncles and aunts and grandparents.

I hope as you read this you think about your family's blessings and they bring a smile to your face.

-John

A testimony of faith.

I have been watching the Saturday morning session of the conference tonight. I feel impressed to bear my testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, our True Church and in the Prophet and the First Presidency.

I ask all who read to consider opening your hearts and to consider that our God is a merciful God, One who loves all of His children, one who has provided a way for ALL currently on the earth and who have passed to gain Salvation as a gift and Eternal Life by Baptism through immersion and the ordinances given by authorized servants of God. You are a Child of God. Your life and soul has eternal value! He wants to welcome you home. Please consider this. Get a copy of the Book of Mormon, read it and pray about it. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain.

I write these things and testify to their truthfulness in all soberness of my heart and mind, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

100 Not So Random Things About Me and My Progeny

Well guys, you did it, this time I am the follower.

1. What BJ didn't tell you is that just after our Patriarchial blessings we both stayed at the Patriarch's house for a stake conference.
2. I don't ever let BJ forget that I baptized him, as he may be my only ticket to the Celestial Kingdom.
3. I hate the college classroom and because about 90% of college students care more about the next weekend's parties then the next semester.
4. I always wanted a saltwater fishtank, but settled on a freshwater setup.
5. I'm also waiting for the fish to die.
6. My wife doesn't eat enough, so I eat for her.
7. I need to loose 50lbs.
8. I just hurt my back.
9. I am getting a bike this week, hope my back feels better.
10. My superhero persona was "CHIP" a cyborg guy.
11. The personas were actually drawn up by Elder Stone, a missionary who helped teach me the discussions.
12. I didn't choose my persona, but it fits.
13. I married my best friend.
14. She is one of three girls that I ever knew that fit my qualifications for marriage. (I'll bet ya'll wondering what/who they are...)
15. I'm not going to share.
16. I love living in the desert.
17. I love warm winters.
18. I dislike hot summers, but that's what AC is for.
19. I miss my friends, BJ, Cali, Corey, Shiloh, Will. (Note I put this in alphabetical order as not to offend anyone)
20. I'm looking forward to our summer reunion.
21. I've had wild ideas about us all moving back to Brazil, IN to restart the now defunct Brazil Branch.
22. Yes, I know that's silly.
23. Nauvoo will be a blast.
24. I love my kids.
25. I think the world of them.
26. Rose and Sarah will both make the kind of wifes' that would have made my list up above, still working on Hannah, Margaret and Abbey. Their husbands will be lucky men.
27. I've been called "bold" recently by a good friend, had no idea I had that trait.
28. I think perhaps I was more "bold" when this particular friend was around, this individual is good for my self confidence.
29. I still love DnD.
30. I don't play DnD any more.
31. No close social group to play with, too many kids, too little time.
32. Ammon is our super boy, does everything he is told with exactness.
33. Malachi has an awesome imagination.
34. Gabriel is very loving, forgiving and affectionate.
35. My wife loves me.
36. Oh yeah..... I love my wife. (She is reading this over my shoulders right now, just bit me.)
37. She has been a real trooper in the last 11 years.
38. We've moved 13 times. (Insanity)
39. The moves and job changes almost match up with each kid.
40. I have managed to break that habit.
41. I like bike riding. Haven't had a bike for a number of years. Will be fixed, see number 9.
42. I like hiking with my wife and all the kids, and yes we get the looks also...
43. I am learning that living in the "bubble" has unique challenges.
44. Instead of "Baptist Mormons" we have "Gap Mormons"
45. We shop at Walmart and Target and are proud of it.
46. We drive appropriate vehicles for their tasks.
47. I have a small commuter car, good gas milage lots of airbags.
48. My wife has a big Ford van, not so great gas milage, but hey with 8 kids, what else can you ask for...
49. I don't like when people drive Surburbans and Escalades for their 1 child. It's wasteful.
50. I want a jeep when I grow up to...
51. I really don't like when people commute to work in gas guzzling trucks for no reason.
52. My night vision stinks, ask will he's had to guide me out of a few hairy situations.
53. I don't ever need to wear sunglasses.
54. I love swimming.
55. I miss having a pool.
56. We have a neighborhood pool, but I feel guilty about going without my kids.
57. I think I need to worry more about my own health.
58. I'm worried about getting to 100 without boring you to tears.
59. I like to take pictures.
60. I'm a closet photographer.
61. I'm growing tired of computers.
62. I can't believe I am 30.
63. I can't believe I could be a grandparent at 40ish.
64. I'm hoping to retire at 50.
65. That's not terribly likely.
66. More like 60.
67. I'm the only Priesthood holder in my family. (Leschorn Family)
68. I am the oldest Priesthood holder in my immediate extended family, (In-Laws)
69. I've recently taken and interest in working on my family history.
70. I'm Irish/Italian/Scottish/German/French (German and French are debatable, I am from a region that was disputed for centuries by Germany and France, yep, just learned that.)
71. I feared going to my last youth conference.
72. I knew that I would meet and marry a girl at the conference.
73. Rodney convinced me to go.
74. Look what happened.... :)
75. The Cunningham girls never let me lead in dances.
76. It all changed that conference.
77. Cali should have never let me lead, it gave me to much confidence...
78. I ended up meeting and dating my lovely wife.
79. My wife still doesn't let me lead in dances, (Perhaps she is more wise for that.)
80. I don't have any non-wrinkled clothes for work tomorrow.
81. My wife is pondering teaching my 9 year olds to iron. (Scary)
82. I wish Romney stayed in the race, and Huckabee never existed.
83. I wasn't going to vote for Romney b/c he was a Mormon.
84. I was going to vote for Romney b/c he was a temple worthy Mormon.
85. My wife doesn't like 84.
86. My Dad was also pro-Romney, voted for Clinton twice.
87. I can't stand when people polarize issues in politics.
88. Right and wrong are simple, moving the population to the correct mind frame is not.
89. My wife really doesn't like 88.
90. I'm a Reagan Republican.
91. I don't watch TV with my wife.... ever.
92. We have started "blogging" together.
93. We don't have cable.
94. I want the Gov't out of my life and my paycheck.
95. I dislike liberals.
96. I was an Elder when BJ was ordained.
97. Who's first for HP? (Will, BJ or John)
98. I share my Priesthood Lineage with Will.
99. Will Baptized me. (Like you all didn't know that.)
100. I belive in Christ.

Mary or Martha?

I have taken some time to review the last 10 years of my life. As we have explored, it has had many ups and downs. My marriage to Erica my sweetheart has been a tremendous growing experience. My faith is strong, I love the Lord, have a sure testimony of the Book of Mormon and the restored gospel, I could not deny it any more then the blue sky or the warmth that the sun provides.

But I have come to a realization. I am a "Martha" not a "Mary". Both loved the Lord with all of their hearts, they looked to serve Him and wanted to be taught by Him. But while Martha was running around preparing for the Lord, Mary sat at His feet and wanted to be taught by Him. Martha even took offense to Mary's actions and Jesus rebuked her. He told her that Mary chose the greater part.

My concern is this, I work hard every day for my family, to provide for them, we home school our kids and desire with all of our hearts to teach them the Gospel to give them a sure testimony of its truth. But I feel that perhaps we are missing the "greater part" that we need to take more time to slow down and teach the lessons of the Saviour. The problem is this, it seems that whenever we try to take a time out to do this things fall apart. This is a frustrating scenario, that Erica and I are working to approach with much thought and prayer. But I want to put this out here to my friends to see if anyone has any thought on this, perhaps those with more wisdom or experience can help us along in this process...

I look forward to your feedback.

-John

A Mormon Tabernacle Choir Experience

This was forwarded to me from a friend of mine...

My friend is in Alex Boye's stake and she receives e-mails from him.

This is a very wonderful account of a very special experience! I am sure it was amazing - oh to be a fly on the wall or one of the sopranos!!!

Thursday 31st January 2008
Last night, while in the Tabernacle rehearsing songs for President Hinckleys' funeral, President Mac Christiansen (Chairman of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) made a surprise announcement. He informed us that we were to cut our rehearsals short tonight, as we have been requested by the invitation of Elder Hinckley, (President Hinkley's son) to join with him and members of his family for a private viewing of President Hinckley. What an honor! We were instructed to bring our hymn books, in the likelihood of being asked to sing for the family. As we made our way through the halls to where our beloved prophet was laid to view, President Hinckleys son addressed us for a few minutes. He told us that his father found much pleasure, enjoyment, and pride for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and that he was happy with the choir. He told us that as we viewed his father's body, that it may be a seemingly sad occasion to us, but that it was not.

After his short address, he thanked us for our service in the choir, and told us we could stay here as long as we liked, but asked that we might favor he and his family with a few songs. Let me say this.... I have performed many songs in my short lifetime in many venues across the world. I have performed in stadiums filled with thousands of people, sung on TV shows broadcast to millions of people. But to be in that room gathered around the Presidents casket along with over 300 choir friends, singing 'God be with you til we meet again', that for me was the most amazing experience. That night, I witnessed a special outpouring of the spirit, and felt the presence of our beloved prophet in the room. We all did. Needless to say, there was not a dry eye in sight.

This single event will go down as the most significant, and most memorable performance of my life! How blessed we are to have been alive during the tenure of President Hinckley! During rehearsals last night, one of the choir members put it in a nutshell when he said to me, 'Not only have we lost our spiritual leader, but it also feels like we lost our grandpa'. I suppose that's the way we all felt about him. How blessed we are to have been alive during the tenure of President Hinckley, and to have witnessed the incredible growth of the church under his divine leadership.

I testify to all who are reading this entry, that the man I sang to last night was a Prophet of God, who held all the necessary keys and authority to lead and direct this church as the Savior would, if he where here himself, and that through his teachings, and counsel, we are surely better people as individuals, and as a Church, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

A (not so) brief history of me, John Leschorn... (Part 3)

Another entry in my history. Wow, where to go now?

My senior year in HS was a blast, most of the jocks respected us, (I'd helped them a few times with computer stuff...) I actually became fairly good friends with a few in the "popular" crowd, as good as that can get.... I was finally a member of the church I had so long desired to join. In my second semester I took 1/2 days to go work at my internet business, that was fun, I had lots of freedom.

Then came summer... I had quit Hardees, but went back, while the internet business was a blast, it was a "break even" proposition at best. Then came my final youth conference. I actually had made the decision not to go. Rodney requested that I go, I told him, "If I go to YC I will meet a girl and marry her." Well I went, and about 7 months later I got married. This was a tough time, on one hand I wanted to go on a mission and serve the Lord, on the other hand I was in love with a girl and wanted to marry her. For various reasons I chose to get married. I married Erica Dawn McCullough, she was a beautiful girl from Terre Haute 2nd Ward.

We started dating in August, our first date was at Turkey Run, (A familiar haunt...) We quickly decided that time was spent better together then apart. :) I purchased a ring for her in Honey Creek Mall, on my wonderful salary. (I think I was making about $6/hour at the time.) I proposed to her right their in the mall. During Thanksgiving dinner we announced our intent to marry, my family was pleased with the decision, my friends, not so much. This was understandable, we were both young and brash, but we moved to the Greater Cincinnati Area and got married January 16th, with no great affair in a courthouse in Boone County, KY. I won't pull punches here, this was against our Bishop's wishes. He was not supportive of us getting married, but my oh so wise stake president told me, "You had two good choices before you, you could have gone on a mission or chose to get married. Since you chose to get married now we need to get you to the temple." So that was that, in March of 1998 Erica and I were sealed in the Chicago, IL temple with most of our ward present. It was a wonderful experience, one that I had hoped for since I met Erica. We had a rough start but had made ourselves right with the Lord and were ready to begin a real family, and that we did in short order...

On June 18th of 1998 Erica gave birth to a pair of wonderful twin girls, they were very small and very beautiful. In a few weeks we were able to bring them home. Then the real work started, up all night, Erica trying to nurse two babies not having any past experience, me attempting to hold a job and be a good husband and dad. My parents had just moved to Hawaii, we were trying to go at this alone in KY. I think it's safe to say that the stress got the best of us. Erica ended up going back to IN and I followed shortly after, around Thanksgiving.

So in Indiana with no job or place to live I got very busy very quickly. I got a job at a small internet providor, called Terre Haute Internet Services, moved into a small rental in Rockville and worked to strengthen our family.

More to come later...

A (not so) brief history of me, John Leschorn... (Part 2)

I read my history, and I thought that this wouldn't pass as a biographical history, as I am only really writing about choices that have affected my life. But then again, what else matters. I mean I could write about all of my jobs heck even the video games that I played at each step of the game. But to me I believe we will all be judged by our choices for good or evil. I also think that satisfaction in life is very much dependent on the relationships we have and keep with our "soul mates", perhaps I am using the word incorrectly, but I think of a soul mate as a person who I will be friends with now 10 years from now, 50 years from now and into the eternities. In writing this blog I have mostly been journaling, didn't expect to have an audience, besides a few family members. But what I have found out is that my good old friends still want to know what is going on in my life, you know who you are, my soul mates.... I love you all.

So without further delay, here is a continued history...

The time between my fall and my Baptism was a whirlwind. I continued in Seminary, also took part in Clay Community Theatre (I have the pics, hope to scan and post soon...), continued in school. I started a business, internet service for Rockville, IN, played DnD with my buddies, and dated dated Cali and Shiloh in rotation (something about not dating the same young man twice in a row...)

So for the time of my baptism...

Well as I have previously written I investigated the Church for two years before I was was able to get baptized, my dad was not the issue, he really didn't seem to have an opinion on the matter. (Something about the fact that he saw aliens in Vietnam, really, and that if that is the case he isn't so sure about God...) My mom blocked it each time I asked, and did I ask and push and pry and ask and push and pry... We had several false starts and it just didn't happen. Finally in October of 1996 my Mom prayed about it, (FINALLY), low and behold she had her answer and let me get baptized. So things were put in motion and a few weeks later I was baptized, the whole Brazil Branch was present, my parents and my friends. It was very exciting, as I think about that day, I remember the feelings of love and the testimony of the Holy Ghost and of all of those who played a role. I remember when Daryl Cunningham conferred the Holy Ghost on me and the feelings I had at that time. My life was changed.

Wow, feels like an eternity ago, but at the same time, it could have been yesterday!

I think I will pause at that note, good night, more will come later...

Farewell to a Prophet.

The only Prophet I have ever known as a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints left this world yesterday to rejoin his wife and many family members on the other side of the veil yesterday.

I won't go through and list his accomplishments, as he would not want credit for them and you can find that information on any number of other web site.

I will do this; give you my testimony.

I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the one and only true church of God on the earth. I know that Joseph Smith did see the Father and the Son in the sacred grove, through the ministrations of the Angel Moroni he restored another testament of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon. In restoring this book he was given the task of restoring the gospel to the earth. The Holy Priesthood was also restored through Joseph Smith, it is the same priesthood held by the Prophets of old. I will testify that this is the final dispensation of time, that the Church will not be removed again from the earth. That each Prophet from Joseph Smith through Gordon B. Hinckley were and are men of God, specially chosen to minister unto the inhabitents of the earth in their time. That the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is led has always been led and will always be lead by men of God. I have a personal testimony of the power of the Priesthood, as I have ministered unto my family and friends, lives have been blessed and saved through this priesthood. To my Prophet Hickley I say farewell, your example is a light on a hill to me and my family. Thank you good friend. In all truth and soberness I speak these words in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Moving day is here....... Again.....

A good friend of mine recently announced that she was putting up a blog to share family news and such. I thought hrrm, better update my blog. So here we go...

The biggest change in my life is the fact that we have moved from the West side of Phoenix to the East side, after moving in May... About a month ago I came home to a notice on the garage door of the house I was leasing. This notice essentially told me that the town is owed a substantial for a special assessment and was selling this "debt" to the highest bidder, I sat down with Erica and told her, our initial reaction was panic, but Erica being the industrious level headed person she is, called the associated lawyer and got the details. Essentially the town created a lien on the property and was raffling it on the 14th of September. We decided to call our landlord and find out their intentions. They claimed ignorance and told us they would take care of the issue immediately. So we gave them the opportunity. Needless to say the 14th of September rolled on by without the debt being paid. Now we were at a crossroads. We had to decide to stick out the year in a house that we have no confidence in it's status, or move on and try to re-establish ourselves. My wife and I went back and forth, contacted lawyers, even looked at a few homes in the East valley. I then came to a decision myself that it wasn't worth all the expenses to move, I'd made up my mind. We knelt down to pray that night together, and even though I had decided the matter we asked the Lord to guide us in the decision. Well, like the decision to come to Arizona, I woke up with a clear direction from Him to go ahead and complete the move.

We started to house hunt in earnest with the decision made. We found a few nice places, but didn't feel particularly inspired. One listing stood out to me, in fact when Erica and I looked at it I stated that it would be nice if we could have a place like that, but I wasn't holding my breath. Literally hours later we received an email from the owner of the house asking if we would be interested. (We posted a "housing wanted" ad on Craig's list.) So we went to see the house, and I fell in love with it immediately, it was close to conveniences (translate: WalMart), had several parks in the neighborhood and a community pool. Erica was a bit slower to warm up to it, but I think she was looking at all of the work involved. (Understandable...)

A few weeks later here we are... Now I must also mention, that the timing of this whole thing was/is providential, I received a performance bonus from my employer this month, I am grateful that the Lord is looking out for us. Without that bonus this whole process would have been a big struggle.

On to something else, as many of you know we homeschool our children. As of late we have been concerned that while we are doing fine on the core subjects, we have not been able to give the children the breadth of knowledge they need to be successful in life. So with much prayer and research (mostly on my wife's part), we found an organization called Arizona Virtual Academy, they are essentially a publically funded charter school that provides structure and curriculum to children in Arizona, they are approved by the State Board of Education and this program is equivilent to going to a public school curriculum wise. We decided to give it a shot, and let me tell you, every time I turn around I am more impressed with this program. First of all they tailor the classes to the student, for instance I have one child who is a little behind in reading and math, but is very into science and history, so this student has classes at different grade a level per subject, in fact all of my children have tailored curriculums. It is very nice, they all have the same teacher and she seems to be very involved and interested in each student's progress. Now being in the "public" school system we now have to keep attendence and follow the lesson plans. Where we were initially concerned about this, we came to the conclusion that Erica's time would be better spent with each of the children teaching them instead of constantly worrying about planning lessons and making sure each child gets enough attention. The hard work of lesson planning is taken care of by AZVA. They supply a computer for every two children in the program (we have 4 school age kids right now).

I look forward to sharing each child's progress with you in the coming months. I think we have found what we need to give the kids the education they need while providing them with the moral foundation to move forward in life to make good decisions that will please the Lord.

The day to day...

For some people it is easy to make a change for the positive or negative with a single decision or action. I believe that for the rest of us our destinies are brought forth by a gradual day to day effort or lack of effort.

I have recently been able to get to know a young man very well, he is 19 years old. When we first got to know him he had a plethora of bad habits. No work ethic, was not true to his word, didn't see the value of controlling his behavior with girls he was dating. Through that, I could see that at his core he desired to be a good person and do the right thing. He just was never given the structure and the consistent example to follow to do it.

At this point after a year of much hard work and effort on his part he is over the worst of his habits. He has begun to understand the value of hard work, keeping your word and chastity. I am pleased with him and I believe the Lord is also pleased at his progress.

Yet I still have much concern that if the wrong people are involved in his life that he will bounce back to his old self. This concern is real, just like an alcoholic can't take one drink and stop, he may not be able to slip a little and stop the slide back into what he was.

So we have two options, for a man like this would it be better to serve a mission for the church? Or to join the military? Both options are service, one to God, one to country. I believe that he is still in need of much polishing and am concerned that his still poor study habits will hurt his missionary work. Now naturally this decision isn't mine to make but I do have a lot of influence in the matter.

Please comment, I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

A Fireside with Elder Uchtdorf

It's a rare occasion to be able to meet and speak and listen to one of the twelve apostles. Last Sunday afternoon at church my wife and I found out that Elder Uchtdorf was coming to the Buckeye Stake to give a fireside that night.

We were amazed to say the least. So we quickly went to work and arranged care for the little ones, Missi, Erica's sister gladly volunteered to watch the kids while we went.

We went ahead and picked up a friend of ours and headed out. Luckily it was pretty early, as we were told the incorrect building, it seems that due to this being planned on such a short notice it wasn't clear what building Elder Uchtdorf was going to be speaking at. After several phone calls and a lot of driving around we found the building.

As you could imagine the place was packed, I was a little disappointed when we had to go to the overflow room, but still very happy to be able to hear an apostle speak. While waiting for the talk he walked into the room, his wife commented about our babies and he told us that he was pleased to be speaking to our group.

His talk was a powerful testimony of the universality and truth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the Book of Mormon. He described his experiences around the world, people call our faith an American religion, he told us that he always counters that with the fact that the Gospel could have been restored in any country where there was true freedom of religion. America was the only place in the world at the time with the right conditions for the restoration of the Gospel. The Lord used Joseph Smith to restore the Gospel, only in America could the church have survived at the time. Now the Lord has seen fit to open doors throughout the world to our missionaries and more members of the church live throughout the world then they do in the United States, the church currently has almost 13 Million members around the world.

He then gave us an Apostolic blessing he blessed us that our "concerns" need not worry us if we are righteous, I took that as we can overcome our worldly concerns if we follow all of the commandments, the Lord will lighten our load.

I want to bear personal and direct witness that I felt the influence of the Lord, through the power of the Holy Ghost while Elder Uchtdorf was speaking of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Gospel. A simple experience can change a life. I ask whoever reads this to pickup a copy of the Book of Mormon, read it with pure intent and pray to know if it is true. I assure you that your time will not be wasted and you will receive a testimony of Jesus Christ and the Restoration.

You can find out more here: http://www.mormon.org/

The Beauty of Nature

I am grateful tonight for the beautiful creations the Lord has put here for us. As many of you know I live in Arizona, a desert. You would think that perhaps their is little beauty here. This is not correct. Here are a few shots I took at Lake Pleasant, AZ.

I decided to take some closeup images of some of the flowers, if you stop and look beauty surrounds you, even the desert.

The Atonement and Ressurection of Jesus Christ

In the center of Christianity is a single individual, The Old Testament looks forward to his coming, the new Testament Speaks of His life and teachings on the earth. The Book of Mormon testifies to His people and teachings in the Americas. Our modern day prophets expound on his teachings and liken them to us in our day.

Jesus the Creator of all the Earth, the Son of our Heavenly Father, chose a mission of pain and hardship, to be born of Mary, a simple mortal woman. This decision gave him power over life and death, the immortal parentage of his Father gave him power over not only his own life, but the elements and even the Adversary himself. The mortal parentage of Mary enabled him to experience the hardships of life, hunger, pain, suffering, guilt and death. These traits enabled him to choose to live a sinless life, to be a sacrifice to pay for the sins of all mankind, of this he chose freely, even when the presence of his Father withdrew from him. To enable us to become clean of our sins and return to the Father, suffering was not enough he had to pay the ultimate price. He had to make the choice to die, this was not a passive act, not a loss of willpower, but he willingly allowed the death of his body, in fact this single act bridged the spiritual gap between man and God. He became the great mediator, one who had sacrificed for all mankind that they may look to him and choose life.

With this great act His mission was not finished, as was foretold in the scriptures he chose on the third day to rise again, his mortal earthly frame was transformed into a glorified perfected body. In doing this he provided a way for all mankind to be resurrected with immortal bodies. That we may become more like our Heavenly Father, no longer subject to disease or death and the suffering of this world.

In a world of much pain, death and spiritual famine the reality Jesus' physical resurrection is questioned. Even many Christians cast doubt on this doctrine, a modern widely used textbook on the New Testament reads, “We need to keep in mind that the empty tomb was an ambiguous witness to the resurrection. It attests the absence of the body, but not necessarily the reality or presence of the risen Jesus.”(Reference)

We must be careful in our daily lives not to forget the importance of this doctrine, we have numerous witnesses as to the reality of the living resurrected Lord. In Luke chapter 24 is two angels spoke to Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of Jesus,"Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is ^arisen.

He later went and visited the disciples, they were discussing the events of the day, "And as they thus spake, Jesus himself ^astood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, ^bPeace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do ^athoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: ^ahandle me, and see; for a ^bspirit hath not ^cflesh and bones, as ye ^dsee me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and ^awondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be ^afulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their ^aunderstanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it ^abehoved Christ to suffer, and to ^brise from the dead the third day: And that ^arepentance and ^bremission of sins should be ^cpreached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are ^awitnesses of these things."

The resurrection is such a miraculous event that even those who tarried with Jesus through is ministry and witnessed numerous miracles did not immediately believe, it might have been through misunderstanding, but Jesus made it clear through partaking of food with the men and allowing them to physically examine his wounds that he in fact had been resurrected. We have further witness of the Lord's resurrection through the Gospels and the book of Mormon.

The resurrection of mortals, or the doctrine of the of the universal resurrection was made crystal clear in the Book of Mormon, In the May 2000 issue of the Ensign, Dallin H Oaks wrote:

The possibility that a mortal who has died will be brought forth and live again in a resurrected body has awakened hope and stirred controversy through much of recorded history. Relying on clear scriptural teachings, Latter-day Saints join in affirming that Christ has “broken the bands of death” and that “death is swallowed up in victory” . Because we believe the Bible and Book of Mormon descriptions of the literal Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we also readily accept the numerous scriptural teachings that a similar resurrection will come to all mortals who have ever lived upon this earth.

The literal and universal nature of the resurrection is vividly described in the Book of Mormon.

The prophet Amulek taught:
“The death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.
“The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; …
“Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame” (Alma 11:42–44).

Alma also taught that in the resurrection “all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame” (Alma 40:23).

Many living witnesses can testify to the literal fulfillment of these scriptural assurances of the resurrection. Many, including some in my own extended family, have seen a departed loved one in vision or personal appearance and have witnessed their restoration in “proper and perfect frame” in the prime of life. Whether these were manifestations of persons already resurrected or of righteous spirits awaiting an assured resurrection, the reality and nature of the resurrection of mortals is evident. What a comfort to know that all who have been disadvantaged in life from birth defects, from mortal injuries, from disease, or from the natural deterioration of old age will be resurrected in “proper and perfect frame.”

A true witness of the resurrection can only be gained through the spirit, Elder Calro E. Asay stated in the May, 1994 issue of the ensign stated:
"“Infallible proofs” of spiritual matters, such as Christ’s resurrection, are not of the hand, but of the heart. They are not seen with the naked eye; they are seen through the “eye of faith”. Nor are they established by a touch of a finger. The reality of spiritual matters is confirmed by feelings stirred through the spoken or written words of God. I say this because “the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be”. The Holy Spirit deals with facts, not with fancied happenings."

Through the restoration and modern revelation we have been given an even greater knowledge of the universality of the resurrection and the true nature of Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus and

These witnesses each testify to the reality of the resurrected Lord and a testimony of a Heavenly Father that in many ways is like us, flesh and bones. The doctrine of the Resurrection also gives us the knowledge through eyewitness accounts that death is not a final state for mankind, it is part of a much bigger journey to Eternal Life. We can take comfort in the fact that those who suffered from debilitating pain and handicaps, born with birth defects, suffered from all sorts of physical ailments will be restored to a perfect frame.

I ask each of us to pray about the reality of the resurrection, ponder the scriptures, and ask the Lord to give us a sure knowledge in our hearts, that the spirit will testify to us of the truth of it.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.