Hey Wait....Where'd They Go?

Everyone in my family has played soccer at one point or another growing up.  Usually it is the first sport my parents sign us up for.  This may be because my dad is obsessed with soccer (seriously though, he watches it on the Spanish channel (he doesn't speak Spanish....)), but also because it's just plain awesome.  When my family moved from California to Utah, one of the things my parents made sure to do was to sign us up for soccer.

Game day.  You know what that means; put on the uniform, socks, shin guards, cleats, hair up, war paint, and game face.  Okay, no war paint, but the rest is true.  We loaded into the stereotypical soccer mom van and headed out.  On the way there it was the pep talk: "remember what you practiced this week."  "Doesn't matter whether you win or lose, as long as you have fun."  And all the good parent pre-game talks.  There was an addition to the regular talk.  This was "now, your soccer coach will be taking you home.  So be sure you remind him." 



I'd like to say I remember the game, but I don't.  Cut me a break, I was eight.  But, I think it went well.  After the game we high fived the other team before getting the long awaited treats!  For better treat enjoyment, we had to eat them while playing on the playground equipment.  Every child knows this.  What treat doesn't taste better as your hands touch all the play equipment? 

Dinosaurs come from.....

A few nights ago I was asked this question: "what is your belief about dinosaurs?"  What small child hasn't played with, pretended to be, or dreamt about dinosaurs?  Well, as we all know, I am still that small child.  The question made me think back to the beginning of my mission, many moons ago.  Admittedly, I wasn't the best at always using my time wisely.  This question came to my head and I decided to find out the answer.


What did the Bible say about dinosaurs?  Nothing.  The Book of Mormon?  Nothing.  Dead end after dead end.  Of course, I can speculate and propose the "doctrine of Sister Nestman", but we all know that would be incredibly blasphemous.  So we won't go there.  I answered the question of this individual with my simple answer "I don't know."  Honest and precise.  But, my companion Sister Tucker had the answer.

She whipped out her scriptures and said "well, the answer is right in the Bible dictionary under 'Mystery.'"  All I could think was "No way?!?!?!  How could I have missed that?!"  Looked it up, and this is what it says:

Mystery. Denotes in the N.T. a spiritual truth that was once hidden but now is revealed, and that, without special revelation, would have remained unknown. It is generally used along with words denoting revelation or publication (e.g., Rom. 16:25–26; Eph. 1:9; 3:3–10; Col. 1:26; 4:3; 1 Tim. 3:16). The modern meaning of something incomprehensible forms no part of the significance of the word as it occurs in the N.T. See also Alma 12:9–11; 40:3; D&C 19:10; 42:61–65; 76:5–10. On the other hand, there is no spiritual gain in idle speculation about things the Lord has not revealed. See Deut. 29:29; Alma 37:11.

And the match winning hit goes to...... Sister Tucker!  How many of us get caught up on the mysteries of life?  How many of us sit and speculate when we could be doing something much more productive.  These types of questions aren't on the final test.  In fact, Heavenly Father doesn't give us a multiple choice test.  If we obey the "first and great commandment," then all will be fine.  We can leave the mysteries behind us.  All we need to do is "...love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."  Don't worry about the things that we weren't meant to know.  Focus on the things that matter.  Love God, choose good, and be happy.