Marriage on the Decline in Middle America

An article in the Deseret News "Marriage on the Decline in Middle America" caught my attention this morning. Written by Hikari Loftus, it triggered a great deal of thought on my part.

"The retreat from marriage in Middle America means that all too many Americans will not be able to realize the American Dream," W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, told the Deseret News. "Adults and children fortunate enough to live in an intact, married family are much more likely to succeed in school and the workplace, to acquire a home of their own and to experience an upward of mobility."

We live in a fast food, satellite delivering, society which operates nearly at the speed of light. We want what we want and we want it fast. Speed we have, endurance we do not. Marriage is two people saying "I love you too much to want to live my life without you." And then, these two people make a covenant with God and between themselves and they stick. Good times. Bad times. It matters not, you stick. That's what a covenant is. That's what grown-ups do.

I am the first to admit there are marriages that should end. Those dealing with abuse, alcoholism, drug abuse, porn addiction, gambling addiction, serial adultery, and more, they have a right and need to get out and get out as quickly as they can. I understand that completely. But I have heard people say, "It's just too hard" and then walk away.

Those of you who know me can picture my face right now.

I don't believe my married life has been an easy one. With my sweetheart's health problems we faced job loss, poverty due to huge medical bills, and many hospital stays. But through it all, we continue to laugh, love and live. I adore this man and I wouldn't trade an easy marriage for the life I have with Alvin Salima. Our marriage has been a courtship from the beginning, and nearly sixteen years later it still is.

They say the main components of a broken marriage are due to financial problems, health problems or unemployment...Alvin and I just look at each other and laugh. We made a covenant with God and each other on May 4, 1995 in the Bountiful Temple in Bountiful, Utah. And this marriage will last through the eternities because we love each other. It hasn't been easy, and at times, when my husband is in a coma, it is downright difficult. But I love him, not the money we do or don't have.

Marriage is worth fighting for ... in fact, it demands that you do fight for it. Learn to love and respect one another. Learn to understand your divine roles and how they compliment each other. In fact, without each other you simply cut your eternal possibilities short. Learn to work together, pray together, develop goodness together and read together. Attend church, read your scriptures and books by trusted theologians, exercise, eat right and remember to take care of each other before you take care of yourselves. Become true partners, one in the sight of God, and you will have a marriage that will last throughout the eternities.

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by Candace E. Salima.

Hopes and Aspirations of the Utah Tea Party

I posted a note on Facebook about my answer to an elderly American with concerns about the directions our country is heading. From there, it continued to spread and Larry Jensen copied my response, duly credited it, as the hopes and aspirations of the Utah Tea Party. I wanted to share it with my Blogland friends as well.

(This is a letter from Utah Tea Party activist Candace Salima to an elderly woman by the name of Dora. It's a good summary of the aspirations of the movement).

Dora,

You do have every right to be concerned about America, no question. But two years ago an awakening began in America. On April 15, 2009 the first nationwide tea party, reminiscent of those patriots who threw the Boston tea party in 1773, was thrown. On that date, just shy of a million people showed up at different locations around America, including me.

Over the course of those two years, people began reading again, studying the Constitution thoroughly. They began studying American history for themselves, and not through the prism of progressive education. They began blogging, emailing, calling their congressmen, senators and the White House. They became familiar with and begin dialogues with local legislators. Townhall meetings began and they caught fire. They spread across the nation and those who could motivate others to action began speaking everywhere. I personally answered hundreds of emails a day, questions posted on my FB and Twitter pages as well as my blog. My phone rang incessantly and all asked questions about America, the government, the Congress, how things work, etc. Oh yeah, I found School House Rock again and started showing it to all the kids. Amazing how much was taught through music back then.

The wave grew greater and greater, until one year later on April 15, 2010 what had become known as the "tea party movement," was reported on national news as being over 39 million strong, and that was before Obamacare was signed into law. Our numbers have only continued to grow.

Scores of Utah Tea Party members attended the Restore America rally in August 2010. Between 400,000 and 500, 000 attended the event.

The left has attacked the tea party movement as a bunch of right wing extremists who hate our president because he is black. Not so. The tea party movement is comprised of housewives, farmers, ranchers, businessmen and women, doctors, lawyers, and Americans who punch a time clock every day of the week. We believe a Republic form of government is far superior to a pure democracy, socialism or communism. We believe the U.S. Constitution to be divinely inspired and the greatest document in the history of the world. We believe in free enterprise, no deficit spending - balanced federal budget, states' rights and so much more that fosters a free, responsible society. In other words, we believe in the resiliency of the American spirit, to the fullest.

Why do I tell you all this, Dora? Because all of this effort, education and active Americans standing up for their nation resulted in November 2, 2010 where Republicans retook the House of Representatives majority, over 230 elected to the House that day. In the Senate Republicans gained 6 more seats. Across the nation 687 seats were turned over to Republicans. 37 of out 50 governors are Republican. And in all these races, in most cases, most winners were not the status-quo Republicans. Americans began demanding stringent requirements of their candidates. Those who voted for TARP, OMNIBUS, etc. were gone. Those who had continued to vote for big federal government and ever shrinking states rights, were gone. In other words, in large part, we sent a whole new breed of politician, statesmen if you will, back to Washington, D.C.

State Delegates to the Republican Convention including many from the Utah Tea Party elected Mike Lee over long time incumbent Bob Bennett in 2010. The point? Elect leaders who walk the talk of fiscal responsibility and limited government.

This is a whole new electorate and political climate for elected officials. No longer can they function in the shadow with a trusting public. Americans are demanding complete transparency because of the rabid abuses of the government. We use several sites to track legislation, although my favorite is http://opencongress.org and I always double-check with the government sites (www.house.gov and http://senate.gov,) to keep track of what they are up to. My senators and congressmen, as well as my local legislators, know me by name, have my number in their cellphones and theirs in mine. I don't abuse the constituent/elected official relationship, but I contact them on key issues and legislation letting them know how I feel and what I want them to do. Dora, I am not the only one. There are millions of Americans across the nation doing the same. We are educating our children to the rights, privileges and responsibilities of being an American. We fly our American flags proudly. We make sure to keep ourselves educated so we are able to answer the questions of those who don't have the time to follow everything.

In other words, America is fighting back and we are winning. The new House of Representatives, to be sworn in on January 20th, will work with the Democrat controlled, barely, Senate to restore Constitutional government to Washington, D.C. and we once again have a president who actually loves America and wants to restore her to her former strength, we will begin that long journey back. Don't give up hope, we are fighting this war and have just won a major battle on November 2nd. Everyone elected knows they are going to be watched like hawks.

Candace

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by Candace E. Salima.

America Has Spoken

This was quite an historic moment in the history of the United States of America. At the conclusion of two years of the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress ignoring the American people and shoving socialism down our throats, the American voter issued a referendum on their agenda. That was a huge resounding HELL NO!

The Republicans retook the House of Representatives and gained six more seats in the U.S. Senate. The American people sent the message that we wanted the federal government to return to the U.S. Constitution, cut spending, be fiscally responsible, balance the budget, and remain within the limits of Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, where the powers of the federal government are enumerated.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

We want personal responsibility, free enterprise and capitalism. We want Obamacare repealed, defunded and then repealed again when we don't have a wanna-be king in the White House. We want our Republic back and socialism/communism stopped dead cold in its tracks.

The message was VERY clear. It was screamed at the top of our lungs. It was restated over and over at tea parties, on blogs, editorials, letters to the editors, phone calls/faxes/emails to Congress and the White House. The American people worked day and night to make sure Congress knew we were dead set against everything they were doing, and they went ahead anyway.

Hence the "shellacking" Obama and the Democrats took on Tuesday. And still, they don't get it. They really think, the Democrats and the liberals, that they just weren't clear enough in explaining to the "stupid" American people about why what they did was "good for us." So let me say it one more time:

We know exactly what you were doing. We actually read all the legislation even though you didn't. We know you were trying co-opt free enterprise and replace it with communist principles with your "redistribution of wealth" (thank you, Karl Marx and Barack Obama.) WE DO NOT WANT IT! Plain and simple. I don't know how to put it any more plainly than that. And if you still don't get the message, you don't belong in the White House, the Congress or working in the federal government. Because you're just too damn stupid to see what is staring you right in the face in mile-high, bold, red letters. WE WANT WHAT THE FOUNDING FATHERS GAVE US...NOT THIS COMMUNIST CRAP!

I believe in the American spirit of resilience, innovation, courage, strength and independence. I believe Americans can handle their own problems and we don't need the federal government poking its nose in our lives, our businesses or our states. 

So the Republican House of Representatives of the 112th Congress is going to dig in and get to work. First on the agenda, the extending of the Bush Tax Cuts in order to foster growth in the private sector. Second, the repeal of Obamacare, and then when the president vetoes it, the defunding of it until the U.S. Supreme Court rules it unconstitutional or we've replaced the wanna-be king with a real president. So please call your new Senators and Congressmen, as well as the ones who managed to be re-elected and tell them you support the repeal of Obamacare in its entirety. That is first on the agenda.

Next week, call and remind them about extending the Bush Tax Cuts, Obamacare and tell them you are adamantly opposed to Cap & Trade AND Obama's planned end run around Congress in regulating it through the EPA instead. I've contacted Speaker John Boehner and asked about legislation that will bring all of Obama's czars under the control of the U.S. Congress and the halting of anything the EPA tries that is under the direct responsibility of the U.S. Congress and not the EPA. 

In the third week, call and remind them about the Bush Tax Cuts, Obamacare, Cap & Trade, and demand a balanced budget and the end of deficit spending.

Then take a couple of weeks and enjoy Thanksgiving. And then the first of December, repeat the process. This is how we will stop Obama cold in his tracks, support free enterprise and best of all, keep the fire lit under the fit of the outgoing 111th Congress and the incoming 112th Congress.

Good luck to Senator-elect Mike Lee and all the other conservatives who were voted into office. We stand with you and will fight you to bring this nation back to the principles upon which she was founded. We will call or email your offices often, and when you need the American people to back the legislation we've asked for, call on us and we will give you all the support you need from us. Betray us and take to heart the words "Hell hath no fury..." and if you think a woman scorned is something to be worried about, betray the American people and you will find something that will promptly end your political careers. Mark my words, we will no longer Congress and the White House to operate independently of the American people. We have awakened, and we shall remain awakened.

Candace E. Salima

American Patriot

Tea Partier

Television Talk Show Host

Publisher

Author

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by Candace E. Salima.

Break from Politics and on to Skin Care

Ladies! I have to share. You have to know that since I got my own television show I had to start looking around for ways to make my skin look a little younger. (I know, vanity thy name is Candace.) Everyone always raves about how young I look, but I see the ravages of time (and Dr. Pepper) which have occurred over the years. I've found wonderful little things here and there, but there was one thing I wanted to try and see if it worked before I shared. Last time I shared about lash extensions (http://mylashenvy.com and I swear by Vivian and Kristy) and yeah, still swearing by lash extensions! Huge amounts of time saved. But now back to my face.

I've been using essential oils over the last few weeks to manage what's going on with my back. Largely, it is working. But I tried something else w/o telling anyone. I began using two particular oils on my face in the hopes that it would shrink my pores and give my skin a younger look. I kid you not, it worked. I asked Karen Hoover yesterday if she noticed any difference in my face and she noticed what I'd noticed. My pores were getting smaller and my skin looking better. I'm so stoked! No big money. No needles. No lasers. No chemical peels. I'm so happy. I'm not that fond of pain. :o)

Here's what I ended up trying. Be Young Essential Oil has two particular oils: Gergelim Baru (which is currently on backorder) and Palmarosa. Now I also use Oil of Olay's ProX skin care (that's what has ended up working best for me, another type of skin care might be your favorite.) So every night I would get a dollop of the night cream on the palm of my hand, one drop of the Palmarosa oil and 2 drops of the Gergelim Baru (don't ask me how to say it, I don't know.) I would rub them all together and apply it to my face and then go to sleep. It does warm your skin and there is a tiny bit of a sting, but not bad at all (if you try just the oils do 6  drops of Gergelim Baru and 1 drop of the Palmarosa - you'll regret it if you don't.)

My makeup artist Vivian Williams noticed the difference first. Then my husband and then finally I started to notice. I asked Karen yesterday if she noticed anything different and she noticed it too. That's when I finally decided to share with my Blogland and Facebook friends. Ladies, I am a happy woman. So take it for what it is worth. What worked for me, may not worked for you. But I wanted to share because it has definitely worked for me!

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by Candace E. Salima.

Utah Helps Save the Obamacare Lawsuit

Representative Carl Wimmer posted this on Facebook, I had to share!

"We should all be ecstatic about the news that Judge Roger Vinson is going to allow the state’s lawsuit against the national takeover of health care (Obama care) to continue (See here.)

"This was huge and is a massive blow to the federal administration who felt very confident that their motion to dismiss was going to be upheld. This is indeed the biggest victory for the 10th amendment in more than a half-century.

"There is a story behind the story that is not making headlines, but I wanted to make you aware of it. Quite frankly this story makes me proud to be from Utah, and even prouder to have played a small part in the bill which blocked Obama care in Utah. Furthermore, I am proud of every single Utahan who stood at the capitol and rallied, who sent emails and made phone calls, or who came to the committee hearings to help pass the bill that blocked Obama care (HB67-Health care amendments - C. Wimmer)

"This is the story behind the story my friends. It was told to me by our Attorney General's office.

"When considering the motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by the twenty states, Judge Vinson needed to be convinced that the states had standing. He was looking specifically for a state, any state that had a law on the books prohibiting the implementation of the health care take over before the federal law went into place. One by one he went down the list, and one by one there was no state who had a law in place before Obama signed the health care bill into law. Here is why.

"Arizona ran the first health care freedom act. They ran it a full six-months before Utah had a chance to, because we are not in session nearly as long as they are in Arizona. They ran a constitutional amendment which among other things prohibited any government from forcing their citizens from purchasing health care insurance. Several states followed suit and began to run their own constitutional amendments.

"As I and my friends of the Patrick Henry Caucus began work on what would ultimately be HB67, as the chief sponsor I felt compelled to NOT run it as a constitutional amendment. The reason was simple, time was of the essence. We knew that at any moment the Obama administration and congress could pass the takeover. We also knew that the one major problem with constitutional amendments is that they must be ratified by the people, which will not take place until November 2nd, 2010. So we ran a bill instead. Some disagreed with this decision, citing the fact that a state constitutional amendment is viewed as stronger than a law or statute in the eyes of some courts.

"I had inserted a clause in the bill which said that if the bill passed by 2/3 in both the House and the Senate, that upon the the signature of the Governor, the bill would take immediate effect. This is important, because sometimes if a bill passes in February or March, it won’t take effect until July 1st.

"Through the combined efforts of the legislature and the activist citizens, we were successful in passing HB67 through the legislature with the required 2/3 majority.

"On Tuesday March 23rd, President Obama signed the national health care take over into law.

"In a much less ceremonious signing on MONDAY March 22nd, Governor Gary Herbert signed HB67 into law, and it took...Immediate effect.

"As Judge Vinson was eliminating state after state from the list of those who had a law in effect prior to Obama care being signed, and just as the prospects of the lawsuit being dismissed on grounds of a lack of standing, began to look like a possibility, he came to Utah. Utah had a law. It had been signed and was in affect one day before Obama signed the takeover. The law had standing. The states had standing. The lawsuit would continue. (Missouri also had standing based on their citizen passed proposition in August)

"And the Democrats had called it a "worthless message bill."

"In March, just after Obama signed the health care law, the Deseret News ran a story about the health care battle that was brewing. Quoting them:

'The Utah bill's sponsor, Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, said Monday that he was disheartened by Congress' decision (to pass the health care bill) but proud of the Utah Legislature's move this past session to pre-empt possible federal mandates. 'I'm beyond disappointed that Congress chose to ignore the will of the citizens in passing this clearly unconstitutional bill,' Wimmer said. 'Now, I believe HB67 will turn out to be far more important than some critics, who called it a message bill, ever thought.'

More important than they ever thought."

Carl Wimmer

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by Candace E. Salima.

Vai Sikahema: Mormon Faith Infuses All Aspects of His Life

Deseret News: Mormon faith infuses all aspects of life for Vai Sikahema
by Doug Robinson

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Last in a three-part story. Parts one and two looked at Vai Sikahema's unlikely rise from poor Tongan immigrant to BYU and NFL football star who has become a media celebrity in Philadelphia. The final installment looks at Sikahema's commitment to his faith and an inspirational journey back to Tonga.

It should have been a thrilling moment. In 1996, just two years after he began his full-time broadcasting career, Vai Sikahema was invited to a meeting and offered a promotion to sports director and sports anchor. This meant he would anchor the sports news at 6 and 11 on weekday nights and cover the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. It was a dream job, but Sikahema's elation was tempered by one problem: He had just been called to serve as a bishop in his Mormon ward.

How could he reward his bosses' generous offer by telling them he had more compelling duties that would preclude him from meeting all the demands of his new job? How could he explain that he needed to be at church on Sundays, instead of traveling with the Eagles? How could he explain that he needed to be at his church on weeknights, as well, instead of the studio?

Sikahema sought inspiration in the temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and found it.

"I could see in my mind's eye exactly what I was supposed to do and what I was supposed to say to my bosses," he says. He immediately wrote these thoughts on the back of a business card, and two days later, he met again with station manager Pat Wallace and news director Steve Doer.

"There's something you should know," he began. "I don't know if this will make a difference in my promotion, but there might be some conflicts in my personal life."

He told them about his calling as a bishop and that it would require him to perform church duties on weeknights between the 6 o'clock news and 11 o'clock news and all day Sunday. Sikahema was surprised by what happened next.

"What can we do to help you?" Wallace asked.

Overcome with emotion, Sikahema told them how he felt about his church. He concluded by saying, "This is a call of God, and I will move heaven and earth to make certain that my professional duties will not be shortchanged if you allow me to fulfill my obligation."

Wallace generously offered to hire a part-time employee to research and write scripts for Sikahema and another reporter to cover Eagles road games on Sundays.

"You go fulfill your obligations to your church and to your faith," he said, with this caveat: that he arrive at the studio a half-hour before his two nightly newscasts.

Sikahema's faith infuses every aspect of his life. He currently serves as second counselor in a stake presidency, and he talks openly about his beliefs on the air when they are relevant to topics of the day.

"We know that his religion is very important to him," says Chris Blackman, WCAU's vice president of news. "It's a part of him, but without being overbearing."

During an off-the-air discussion about Tiger Woods with ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, Sikahema recited a quote from former LDS Church President David O. McKay: "No success can compensate for failure in the home."

Paolantonio wound up using the quote on the air, although he did not identify the source.

"He's a natural leader," says Ahmad Corbitt, the Cherry Hill, N.J., stake president. "His counsel is wise, measured and inspired. He's a man of God who's very committed to the gospel and to his family."

In the 1950s and '60s, Polynesian converts to the LDS Church made great sacrifices to travel to the nearest temples in New Zealand or Hawaii from around the South Pacific to perform temple work for their families. The Sikahemas, who had never left Tonga, scrimped and saved for 10 years and eventually sold their few meager possessions to take their children to the temple in New Zealand in 1967. They sailed from Nuku-alofa, Tonga, to Nadi, Fiji, then traveled by bus to the other side of the island to Suva, where they slept on the floor of a chapel and were fed by local church members. The next day, they flew from Suva to Auckland and drove two hours to the temple in Hamilton. They stayed several months in New Zealand while Loni, Vai's father, earned money for the return trip by shearing sheep for local church members.

It was Sikahema's religion that led him on his own journey across the country to settle in Philadelphia following his retirement from football. After returning to his off-season home in Phoenix, he was offered jobs by TV stations in both Phoenix and Philadelphia. He chose Philadelphia over his hometown "because it would allow people to see who I am and what I believe in an area where there aren't a lot of church members."

Sikahema wound up playing a role in the planned construction of an LDS temple in Philadelphia. He was contacted by the LDS Church to arrange a phone call between church leaders and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, a friend of Sikahema's. He was sitting in the mayor's box at Citizens Bank Park, watching a Phillies baseball game when the call came, and he remained on the line when they informed the mayor of their intentions to build the temple.

"I was given specific instructions not to tell the mayor what the call was about, only that the church had a major announcement to make regarding the city," recalls Sikahema. "I told him, 'Mayor, the church doesn't do these things lightly. It will mean millions of dollars to your city.' "

When issues later arose concerning the temple property, he was invited to attend a meeting between the mayor and church officials. He told them what the temple meant to Mormons and shared the story of his family's sacrifices to travel to the New Zealand temple.

"Vai is a very popular media figure here," says Corbitt, "and he has been instrumental in the acceptance of the Philadelphia temple."

It says something about Sikahema's standing in the community that when an interfaith group of ministers was formed to travel to New York City to counsel workers at ground zero shortly after the 9/11 attack, Sikahema was among those chosen. They consoled policemen, firemen and EMTs who were struggling to cope as they picked up body parts and searched for victims.

So who is Vai Sikahema? Maybe he is a devout Mormon and a soft-hearted man who comforts 9/11 workers and stays in contact with kids from his "Wednesday's Child" show and invites a station intern from the inner city to his home for dinner and encouragement. Maybe he's the guy described by Blackman when he says, "You can't say anything bad about Vai. I've seen him do things for people no one knows about. When he walks into a room, he lights it up."

But there is a tough, explosive side to Sikahema, the part of him that made him a pro football player and a boxer and a playground brawler, and he doesn't suffer nonsense. One day during his first year of TV work in Philadelphia, he and his photographer arrived late to the Philadelphia Phillies locker room without knowing it had been closed to media. Suddenly, Phillies second baseman Mariano Duncan emerged from the training room, screaming expletives at Sikahema for being in the clubhouse.

Sikahema dropped his microphone and moved toward Mariano, screaming, "I don't give a damn who you are; I will kick your (butt) right here right now! Let's go!" Teammates jumped in to prevent a fight, and things were eventually smoothed over.

"These days, I just bite my lip when I see a player or coach berate a media member," says Sikahema, but the truth is, there is still some of that Tongan warrior in his blood. In a way, that warrior spirit is what brought him to Philadelphia in the first place. During a BYU game in San Diego in 1981, fans were abusing the family of quarterback Jim McMahon in the stands. Sikahema's father left his seat and told the fans to shut up. It quickly escalated into a fight between two college kids and the elder Sikahema. The former boxer dispatched both of them quickly and spent the rest of the game listening to the action on his car radio to avoid the police.

"Jim McMahon learned about it, and it really endeared my father to him," says Sikahema. "Years later, when Jim was with the Eagles, he went to management and encouraged them to sign me. And they signed me in part because of that."

So it all came back to Loni again, one way or another. His father had brought him here and then unwittingly sent him to Philadelphia, where he lived his father's faith and even returned to his father's sport briefly.

In 2007, Vai, Kaela and their four children retraced the journey that Loni and Ruby had bravely undertaken with their children to the New Zealand temple 40 years earlier.

They traveled first to Tonga so their children, who had been raised in luxury and attended private schools, could see where their father began his life. He wanted them to understand why he scolded them when they wasted food or didn't take advantage of opportunities. They stayed in the former home of his grandmother in a small remote village without TV and only an hour of electricity a day. There wasn't a grocery store or 7-Eleven anywhere. The fisherman next door provided fish from the sea, and another neighbor provided vegetables from her garden. When the fisherman failed to catch fish one day, they ate only yams for dinner.

"This is how you lived?" Vai's children asked.

From Tonga, Vai and Kaela took their children to the Hamilton, N.Z., temple — Landon, 24, LJ, 22, Trey, 20, and Lana, 16. Sikahema had come full circle — "back to where it all began."

"I've got this dream life," he says, weeping quietly. "I married the most beautiful girl at BYU. My kids were all Eagle Scouts and missionaries. Why did this happen to me? There's not a day that goes by that I don't drop to my knees and thank the Lord. What did I do to deserve this?"

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Copyright 2010. Deseret News

Vai Sikahema: The Immigrant's Song, Vai inspires Tongan Youth

Deseret News: The immigrant's song: Vai Sikahema inspires Tongan youth

by Doug Robinson

Second Installment in a three part series

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Thousands of Tongan men and women have migrated to the U.S. since the '60s. At great expense, some leave behind family and friends and the balmy weather of their island home to come to a land of strangers, snow and menial jobs, with no education and no marketable skills or career prospects.

They work as airport baggage handlers, landscapers, furniture movers and concrete finishers.

They make these sacrifices so their children will have more opportunities for education and jobs.

But many of the Tongan youths aren't standing on their parents' shoulders to reach higher. They are passing up educational opportunities and settling for the same menial jobs their parents hold. They are wasting the sacrifices of their parents. It is a recurring theme in Tongan communities. It is a recurring theme in Sikahema's frequent speeches to Tongan groups in Utah.

"Vai is definitely a role model for Polynesians because they see someone who is so successful on and off the football field," says Robert Anae, a BYU assistant football coach and Sikahema's former teammate. "As much as he did in football, he's done more in life."

Sikahema has been a pioneer for his people. First Tongan to win a football scholarship to BYU. First Tongan to play in the National Football League. First Tongan to play in the Pro Bowl.

"I recognize what I've accomplished and what it means to Tongans," he says. "It's frustrating to me that these Tongan kids — the first generation of Tongan Americans — have been afforded every opportunity that American kids are afforded, and they are not taking advantage of it."

Sikahema continues. "I appreciate my life. Every day, I get up thankful. It's impossible to forget the sacrifices my parents made."

The Sikahemas' journey to America was long and difficult. Sione Loni Sikahema and Lupi (Ruby) Potenitila Sikahema left the islands first and settled in Hawaii, leaving their three children with grandparents until they could earn enough money to send for them. They worked in the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu for a year before they sent for Vai, the oldest child. Two and a half years later, they sent for the other children.

During their long separation, the children could not talk to their parents because their Tongan village did not have electricity or phone service. They communicated by letters and packages from Ruby. One of these packages contained a colorful Hawaiian shirt for Vai that his mother made so that he would be easy to find in a crowd when he finally arrived at the airport.

Vai arrived in Hawaii when he was 7, but the reunion was brief. Weeks later, he was forwarded to California and shuttled back and forth between relatives in San Francisco and San Diego for a year and a half while his parents continued to work in Hawaii.

Loni and Ruby finally earned enough money to unite their family in the U.S. Unlike so many of their peers, they decided not to settle in a Tongan community. If they were going to be assimilated, they needed to live among Americans. They settled in Arizona in 1970, moving into a converted garage apartment in Phoenix that felt like a furnace. There was no air conditioning, and the dry heat was new and unbearable for them. They spent much of their time sitting in the shade of a park across the street. They used a fan covered with wet towels to cool the apartment. The family hung sheets from the ceiling to divide the living space into small rooms.

Vai began attending school at age 8. He couldn't speak English, and he never really would catch up with his peers in the classroom. He learned the language by watching TV and talking to friends. While other kids were reading Hardy Boys books, Vai was reading Dick and Jane. He was a natural target for teasing, what with his struggles in class, the strange food he brought to school, his difficulties with the language and his strange name. The results were predictable.

"You can't imagine how many fights I got into because of kids teasing me about my name," he recalls. "By high school, I had developed a reputation as no one to mess with, but I always knew kids laughed behind my back."

If there was one thing the new kid could do, it was fight. One of the reasons Loni brought his family to the U.S. was to launch a boxing career for his son. Loni had followed the Civil Rights movement of the '60s and the career of Muhammad Ali; he believed that boxing, not education, was the path to success for minorities, and he ingrained this in his son. During monthly LDS fast and testimony meetings at church, he nudged Vai to state his intentions publicly. The boy would walk to the podium and tell the congregation, "Brothers and sisters, I'll be the heavyweight champion of the world. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen." And then he returned to his seat and a warm embrace from his father.

Loni started his son on an arduous training routine in Arizona. Vai woke at 5 a.m. each day to run five miles before school. In the evening, he trained for a couple of hours in the gym. He did this year-round; there is no off-season in boxing. He boxed in tournaments around the Southwest, with father and son sleeping on a mattress in the back of the family truck. Knowing his son would usually be the smallest man in the ring, Loni trained Vai to fight taller opponents, absorbing a half-dozen punches to work inside and pummel the bigger man's body and then unload his left hook. Vai posed a winning record in his 50-plus fights (his precise record and other memorabilia were lost in a house fire).

Loni held down a couple of jobs to support his family, stirring refried beans in a big vat at a Mexican restaurant by day and making pastries at a bakery by night. He had been forced to give up his own boxing career after he married and started a family. Now he wanted his son to fulfill his lost dream.

But Vai's boxing career never happened. He discovered something else when he turned 14 and was starting high school: football.

"I saw an opportunity to play a team sport and be with other kids and not have my head punched in," he says. "I jumped at it. I never went back to boxing. My dad was crushed."

Ruby, who stressed education, was thrilled. She loathed fighting and cried over his bruises. She never watched his fights. When she learned that universities offered scholarships for football, she encouraged her son to play the game and believed he could transfer his boxing skills to the gridiron. Four years later, BYU offered Vai a football scholarship. A poor student, he might never have obtained a college education any other way.

"I thought football was the easiest thing I had done after what I was doing in boxing," says Vai. "Boxing was the reason I was adept at returning punts despite not being fast. It's moving the head and shoulders just slightly and making people miss. You've got to be able to snap your hips to throw punches to bring the force of your legs with you. And the courage it takes to stand under a punt — I never had any fear when I played football."

Football reaped other rewards. As Vai's football career took off in high school, his name began to appear in the newspaper regularly. One story mentioned that his father had never seen him play because he worked at night. Someone saw the story and invited Loni for a job interview at the high school as a security guard. Loni got the job, and it paid well enough that he no longer had to work two jobs. He wound up working that job for 30 years.

"What I learned was that what I did on the football field had an impact on our quality of life," he says. "I also realized the power of the media."

Vai earned a permanent place in BYU lore during his sophomore season by returning a punt for a touchdown against SMU during the legendary 1980 "Miracle Bowl." Following that season, he served a two-year Mormon mission in South Dakota and then returned in time to play for BYU's 1984 national championship team and the 1985 Citrus Bowl team. Undersized and relatively slow afoot, he wasn't drafted until the 10th round, the 254th overall pick, yet managed to turn it into an eight-year career that included two Pro Bowl appearances.

In the end, his parents saw all their dreams — paid for with a life of sacrifices — realized. Vai graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism at BYU in 2002 — 17 years after he left the school to join the NFL. His sister Lynette is completing a doctorate and his brother Kap has earned a master's degree. "I'm referred to as the dumb, rich, famous one of the family," Sikahema likes to say.

Sikahema thinks about all this and turns serious. "I am in awe of what my parents did, coming to the U.S. It was incredibly courageous — but not unique. My grandfather boarded an open, wooden boat with 16 other men to look for work across the ocean, using stars as navigation. It's part of the culture to be adventurous and strike out and find new lands and new lives. Maybe that's why always driven to be accomplished and do things."

All you need to know about Sikahema's drive is this: For nearly 30 years, he has carried a pocket dictionary everywhere he goes to develop his vocabulary and speech. When he encounters a word he doesn't know, he turns to the dictionary.

He carved out a broadcasting career with a second language he didn't undertake until he was 8 and learned from watching TV. A poor student, he managed to earn a degree by persisting years later. He made a football career standing only 5-foot-8 and possessing only modest speed, never running faster than 4.6 in the 40.

Sikahema's diction and his obvious command of the language is no accident. While serving a church mission, one of his companions — future trial attorney Dale Afferton — made Sikahema his personal project during their free time. He required Sikahema to read aloud to him every morning. Each day they opened a dictionary, closed their eyes and pointed to a word, and then found a way to work it into their discussions that day.

This has served him well. He gives speeches every week at schools, churches (of all faiths), Eagle Scout courts of honor, charity events. And then, of course, it has enabled him to make a career of speaking on TV and radio.

When he saw the power the media wielded in helping his father find work, he made a mental note of it. While his teammates barely tolerated the media, he viewed their interview requests as opportunities and answered their questions thoughtfully. As a result, reporters tended to gravitate to him.

When Sikahema played for the St. Louis Cardinals, a St. Louis TV station asked local professional athletes to do guest spots. Most couldn't be bothered. Sikahema filled one spot and then hounded the station for more. When the team moved to Phoenix, he was a media favorite — the hometown kid who made good and was articulate and cooperative. He did TV work and wrote a column for the local newspaper (as he does now for the Deseret News). When he retired from football, TV jobs were waiting for him in Phoenix and Philadelphia.

"The thing I tell Tongan youth is that I wasn't a good student, either," he says. "I struggled in school and overcame that because there's something in the American system that allows it. There's a place for you if you work hard."

Kaela, who married Sikahema when she was 18, recognized these traits early in her husband. "Really, we had no real plan," she says. "But in the back of my mind, there was always this thought that things were going to be OK. I knew he was ambitious. It was one of the things I loved about him."

COMING TOMORROW: The importance of faith and family to Vai Sikahema and an inspirational journey back home

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Copyright 2010. Deseret News

Vai Sikahema: From Tonga to the NFL

Deseret News: From Tonga to the NFL: Vai Sikahema

by Doug Robinson

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(I am going to include the entirety of the article on this blog, including the following installment. Doug Robinson did an incredible job of writing about Vai Sikahema, a great man who also happens to be a dear friend of my husband and me. He is inspiring to any and all willing to look at how he's lived his life and what he's done with and use it for inspiration to reach for the highest stars while putting everything you have into that dream. You must work hard, keep your eye open for opportunities and then be prepared for those opportunities when they come along. So enjoy this series of articles by Doug, because you are going to walk away with a new hero for your children and yourselves.)

First in a three-part series

Vai Sikahema tried to warn him. An agent representing Jose Canseco, the former Major League Baseball slugger, called to propose a boxing match between Sikahema and Canseco. Sikahema, the BYU graduate and former professional football player who is now a popular TV sportscaster in Philadelphia, thought the fight was a bad idea.

"You called the wrong guy," Sikahema told the agent. "He's got no chance."

This was the summer of 2008. Sikahema was 45 years old by then and hadn't played football in 15 years or boxed in 31 years. Canseco, famous for home runs, his bodybuilder physique and his admitted use of steroids, was a year younger and much bigger and still trying to hang onto his baseball career in the bush leagues. Divorces and legal issues had beset him with financial difficulties, which is why he turned to boxing.

"You don't want to do this," Sikahema continued. "Canseco is going to be in trouble."

The agent was surprised. How big are you, he asked?

"5-8. 200."

"Well, Canseco is 6-4, 250."

"I'm telling you he's in trouble. Does he know what a Tongan is?"

"No."

"Well, he'll find out. I come from a warrior culture and we fight till one of us is lying on the ground. I grew up boxing."

"Canseco has five black belts."

"OK, we'll see."

Canseco and his backers didn't know that boxing was the reason Sikahema had come to this country in the first place. They didn't know that his father had brought his family from Tonga to live in a hellish hot garage in Arizona so he could train his son to be a fighter. They didn't know that he spent his youth boxing around the West, living out of the back of a pickup truck, and that he might have fulfilled his father's plans for him if he hadn't discovered something better. There was one other thing they didn't know: His father had trained him specifically to fight big men, because he knew all his opponents would be bigger than his son. He had been taught to weather blows to get inside, then pummel the body and unload that left hook.

The fight was arranged for Atlantic City. The Philly media jumped on it. Channel 10 — Sikahema's employer — ran special half-hour programs on the bout. Sikahema knew a defeat would risk his considerable popularity in a fight town like Philly, but he wasn't worried. If he appeared overmatched to most observers, his victory would be considered that much better. As a local leader of the Mormon church, he was more worried about how the fight would be perceived by fellow church members than by Canseco.

"This guy is big and a bruiser," Sikahema's cousin, Danny Humphrey, told him. "If you go out there and get beat up, it's bad. There's your TV career and your position in the (church) stake presidency. What will it be like if you show up at church with black eyes?"

"I'm not worried about winning," said Sikahema. "I just want to make sure it's the right message to send to the youth of our church."

Humphrey sounded another warning in the locker room before the fight — "Vai, this guy is huge. All he needs is to hit you with one punch."

"He's not going to touch this face," said Sikahema.

Canseco went down the first time just 30 seconds into the fight. Sikahema burrowed in close, dropped low and came up with a hard left hook that had all of his weight behind it. Canseco went down the second time with an overhand right and stayed down. The fight had lasted 1 minute, 37 seconds.

Sikahema donated $5,000 of his winnings to the family of a slain police officer.

"It was unfair," says Sikahema now. "I feel sorry for Canseco."

Isn't it like Sikahema to pull off such a feat? His life has been a series of victories over great odds, and every time you think you've heard the last of him, he remakes himself and pops up somewhere else.

His is the classic American success story and the fight a symbol of his life. He immigrated to the U.S. from a tiny island in the South Pacific and, through fierce determination and work ethic, he became a star football player at BYU, a player in the NFL, a college graduate, a popular TV journalist and personality, a beacon for his fellow Tongans and a regional leader of his church. And he's not finished yet.

"He's pulled it all together," says LaVell Edwards, Sikahema's coach at BYU. "It seems to be the way his life has been."

Who is this guy? Who is Vaiangina "Vai" Sikahema? When I contacted him about writing his story, Sikahema replied with an e-mail: "Send me your address and I'll send you a book you MUST read before we do an interview."

"Minerva Reef" arrived in the mail a few days later, a worn, green hardback by Olaf Ruhen. It was accompanied by a hand-written note.

"It will explain for you much about my life and why I succeeded as I have," he wrote.

The book chronicles the story of a shipwreck. In 1962, the Tuaikaepau, a 51-foot wooden cutter, was scheduled to travel from Tonga to New Zealand. Sikahema's father, Loni, a promising 21-year-old heavyweight boxer, signed up along with 16 other Tongan men to take the journey in search of fights and odd jobs to support their families. On the morning the boat was to leave, Sikahema's grandfather, Vaiangina Unga, came to the wharf and insisted that he should travel in Loni's place so the younger man could remain with his wife, who was eight months pregnant with Vai. After a brief argument, Vai's grandfather prevailed.

A couple of days later, the Tuaikaepau crashed into Minerva Reef. They were considered lost at sea, and when Vai Sikahema was born he was named after his supposedly dead grandfather. But 12 of the 17 men survived, including Unga, after enduring 101 days on the reef. It is a legendary tale among Tongans and one that matches the more widely read "Mutiny on the Bounty" in the chronicles of sea adventure and survival.

"It displays all the best characteristics for which Tongans have become known — courage, faith, sacrifice, love and an incredible toughness," Sikahema wrote. "It will help you understand why I was driven to succeed in my life."

The book tells where he came from. Now jump ahead some 48 years to see where he went. Just two generations removed from the Tuaikaepau, Vai Sikahema, like his seafaring forebears, has struck out for a distant place, far from poverty and the Pacific, settling in the sports-mad, blue-collar, gritty city of Philadelphia. In his post-football life, he has made a second career of talking about sports on TV and radio. He earns a big paycheck, owns a nice home, has a wife and four children, and the respect and love of an entire city.

"Hey, Vai!" people call out as he makes his way around Philadelphia. "Yo, Vai, you da man!" He is approached by well-wishers and fans in restaurants and standing on corners and walking the street.

"He is loved in Philadelphia," says Danny Humphrey, a financial analyst and Sikahema's cousin. "He hasn't paid a toll in years. The toll booth attendants know him by name. They say, 'Vai, your money's no good here.' "

Humphrey witnessed the lovefest for the first time a few years ago during the first of many visits to Philadelphia. He was standing on a corner with Vai when a bus passed by with Vai's bigger-than-life photo splashed on its side, and then a cab pulled up that also featured Vai's visage.

"I've been here five minutes, and I'm sick of you already," Humphrey told Vai.

This was shortly before he saw a couple of commercials on Ch. 10, the local NBC affiliate, promoting its lead sportscaster with a song called "My Vai," sung to the tune of the Mary Wells hit "My Guy."

"Vai and Bon Jovi run a tight race for which one the blue-collar folks love the most," says Humphrey. "He has everything they embrace — he's a minority, a blue-collar type athlete, a man who wears his feelings on his sleeve, a Rocky figure who overcame all the odds to become a pro football player and, finally, the man they turn to on TV for their sports news."

After stints with the Packers and Cardinals, Sikahema played the final two years of his NFL career for the Philadelphia Eagles as a running back and return specialist. He endeared himself to Philly fans forever with one play: During a 1992 game against the rival Giants in New York, he returned a punt a club-record 87 yards for a touchdown and then squared off to the goalpost and began pummeling it repeatedly like a boxer on a speed bag. The goalpost stunt has followed him everywhere, and even now fans who see him on the street will imitate him boxing those goalposts.

After his career was finished, Sikahema made a smooth transition to TV and radio. He has served as sports director and sports anchor for WCAU/Ch. 10 since 1996. He is the most popular sportscaster in the fourth largest TV market in the country. He also co-hosts a daily two-hour sports-talk show with John Gonzales called the "Vai & Gonzo Show" on ESPN Radio/The Fanatic.

Three times a day he drives the 40 minutes to Philly from his home in Mt. Laurel, N.J. Up at 7, he runs five miles, showers and then drives to Philly for the radio show. He returns to New Jersey to work out at the gym and run errands, naps for a half-hour, showers again and leaves in time for his evening TV news show at 6. He returns home again for dinner and then drives back to Philly at 9 p.m. to do the 11 p.m. news, arriving at home at about 1 a.m. On Saturdays he sleeps till noon.

"It's a crazy schedule, but I love my jobs," he says

His popularity has transcended sports. He does a weekly TV segment called "Wednesday's Child," featuring a child who is up for adoption. His employers have capitalized on Sikahema's engaging personality and wide appeal. The TV station has chronicled his personal life, including a pilgrimage he and his family made to Tonga, his family history, his graduation from BYU eight years ago, his speaking engagements at church firesides, his American citizenship ceremony a decade ago, his volunteer work at Ground Zero, and the buildup to his boxing match with Jose Canseco. The radio station features a "Vai Vs." series in which he undertakes various challenges — running a 40-yard dash under five seconds, performing 100 pushups in less than a minute and so forth.

"There is no one like him," says Chris Blackman, WCAU's vice president of news. "He's got a sincerity that is just infectious. He's immensely popular here. He's just a good person and it comes through."

So it has all worked out for the kid from Tonga. He could serve as a poster child for the poor immigrant who overcomes all the odds — language, money, poor grades — to succeed in America. Now he has arrived at another crossroads in his life. With his children nearly grown, his athletic career finished, his TV career going strong, his finances secure, Sikahema is looking for new challenges and causes.

He will continue to urge his fellow Tongans to work hard and seek education with his frequent firesides and speeches. He is considering a teaching career and the pursuit of a master's degree and a mission for his church. And then there's his current passion: He has invested money in technology that utilizes turbine engines floating on the sea to generate hydrogen, which is then converted to electricity. The prototype will be operable in Australia later this year and then Sikahema hopes to see it employed by Tonga and the other island nations.

"It could power all of Tonga someday," he says. "It would cut the cost of power to a fraction. Yes, I stand to gain financially, but I can live without any of this. What is significant to me is that I'm involved in a project that will significantly improve the quality of life for the people of my country and relieve them of the grip of fossil fuels."

Sikahema might easily settle into a life of ease as he nears his 50th year with a long list of accomplishments behind him — a life of golf and country clubs — but it is his nature to achieve and undertake new challenges.

"I always had this sense of my life that I would do things, and do a lot of things," he says.

Tomorrow, see installment two of Doug Robinson's series of articles on Vai Sikahema.

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Copyright 2010 - Deseret News

Morgan Philpot to Debunk Blue Dog Myth on Fox Business Network

Campaign Media Alert

Philpot to Debunk Blue Dog Myth on Fox Business Network

Salt Lake City, UT October 5, 2010 - Morgan Philpot announced today that he will be a featured guest on “America’s Nightly Scoreboard” with David Asman, on Fox Business Network. The live interview is scheduled to air tomorrow evening at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. Morgan Philpot will discuss unseating Blue Dogs.

Time: 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time)

http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/scoreboard/index.html

Place: Fox Business Network, “America’s Nightly Scoreboard” with David Asman”

Check your local listings for channel information.

Date: Wednesday, October 6, 2010

More information about Morgan Philpot’s plans will be available at www.philpotforcongress.com.

# # #

Media Inquiries:

Lyall Swim

801.995.8369

lyall@philpotforcongress.com

Cindie Quintana

801.696-1066

cindiequintana@msn.com

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by CandPublish Postace E. Salima.

Chris Williams: My Burden Was Made Light

How often do we come face to face with our faith? And when that time comes will we walk the walk and talk the talk? Will we be able to turn it all over the Savior and allow Him to apply the Balm of Gilead to our shattered hearts and souls? 

I have been in a time and place where my heart and soul were shattered. I don't know that I lived up to my faith as deeply and completely as Chris Williams. I can only pray, study the Gospel and attend the temple when I am able and hope that I become even a fraction of the man whose life was shattered that day.

There is no one person between Heavenly Father and ourselves. That is the amazing thing about prayer. We don't "place a call" and have to work our way through CSRs, low-level managers, secretaries, assistants or voice mail. We pray and we get Heavenly Father. He truly does listen, love and watch over us night and day. He never stops loving us, ever. No matter what we do. Perhaps it is time we kneel, pray and talk with He who always listens. And here's the awesome part, if we learn to listen we can hear what He wants us to know. It's a little thing called "conversation."

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by Candace E. Salima.

Boyd K. Packer: We Stand Strong in the Gospel of Jesus Christ

God bless you President Packer. You have made it very clear that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not dictated by man, but directed by our Father in Heaven. What was true 5 thousand years ago is still true today. What was wicked then, is wicked now. Latter-day Saints stand strong with the word of God and we believe wholly and completely in the sanctity of the family unit. For we know if the family unit is ultimately destroyed no nation can withstand the unrelenting attacks of its enemies.

We know the family unit is an eternal unit. Our families here are patterned after the family we left behind when we came from heaven. A father, a mother and children. It is the ultimate responsibility of parents to teach their children and prepare them for the world. We can do this by: 1) Learning goodness together. Teach your children what is right and what is wrong. Instill in them the ability to listen to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. 2) Praying together. In teaching, by example, the immense power of prayer, we teach our children how to communicate with our Father in Heaven and have a guide which will never let them down. 3) Read good books together. Literature teaches, lifts, enlightens and inspires. There is good literature and there is bad literature. If after reading a book your spirit is heavy, your mind muddled and your heart weighed down then that book is not good. If at the conclusion of reading a book you feel strengthened, renewed, uplifted and enlightened ... that is a good book. 4) Work together. If you work together as a family, parents working alongside their children, you teach your children a strong work ethic. This is sadly lacking in the world today.

All of these things will strengthen the family unit and make it nearly impenetrable. President Gordon B. Hinckley mentioned the aforementioned items and issued a prophetic promise if all families would do these four things that society would turn completely away from its impending destruction within a generation or two. So simple, and yet so few do this.

Again I say, God bless you, President Boyd K. Packer.

President Packer referenced The Proclamation on the Family. I have included it in its entirety:

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

© 1995, 2008 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
English approval: 5/08. 35602

The Family: A Proclamation to the World 

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by Candace E. Salima.

Behind the scenes of the Herriman fire from my perspective- Rep Carl Wimmer

In the words of Representative Carl Wimmer:

It has been just over a week now since the community of Herriman was shaken to the core by the possibility of losing hundreds of homes to wild fire. I had an interesting perspective on the fire, and feel without divulging any confidential information, that I can share with you my perspective.

Sunday evening I had gone for a walk with my kids, and stopped to let them play at the park for a few minutes. We already knew about the fire, but the smoke was getting increasingly worse. We went home to get out of the smoke filled air. At around 7:00pm (give or take) the flames crested the hill. With how large the flames were and with how fast they were moving, I figured evacuations would be imminent. Not long after, Mayor Josh Mills issued an evacuation order of certain areas of Herriman.

I decided to get ready and go to the middle school where the evacuation point was set up. I am a CERT block captain as well as the State Representative, so I wanted to offer my assistance where I could. I drove to the middle school and was told that the evacuation point was being moved to the High School, and the command post was at city hall. My first impression was how prepared the citizen CERT team was. They were lined up, manning the evacuation points as if they had done it hundreds of times. They were very professional.

I drove to Herriman City Hall to the command post and there met with Mayor Josh Mills. Mayor Mills was dealing with the emergency in the most professional way one could possibly imagine. He was deciphering information which was coming in very quickly. For the most part I was drafted to be one of the “decision makers” along with the city wide elected officials, but most the decisions at that point were being made by the fire professionals, as should have been the case.

I helped where I could. We received word that people at the evacuation site were in need of water for their pets, as well as pet food. I called the Smiths in Herriman and they offered all they had, without hesitation.

I stayed close to Mayor Mills, ready to do anything he asked, but the citizen CERT, The Unified Fire, and the National Guard had every assignment under hand. The fire was out of control, and the winds were extremely high. Workers feared the worst if the winds did not change. At one point it was reported that the fire was moving at a pace faster than any human being could run. The evacuation area was expanded to include my home. A group of us gathered in the office of Mayor Mills. There we knelt in humble prayer, asking literally, for a miracle. We asked God to do something that we had zero control over, we asked that He protect the remaining homes (three had already burned) and to change the wind direction away from our homes. It would be less than 12 hours later when we discovered just how powerfully Gods hand moved this night.

I walked outside to attempt to drive and get my family and there was simply no way. The roads were at a standstill. It was like a movie where an entire city was being evacuated and no one is moving because of traffic. I dug in at the command post, as I realized I would be there a long while. I called home, but none of the cell phones were working. I tried texting and 9 out or 10 times they bounced back to me. I had to notify my wife to get out of our home. I do not know how the idea to use Facebook came about, but I typed in my status update for Sherry to evacuate and she almost immediately saw the post. There were so many good people who expressed such loving concern for my wife and kids that I get emotional just thinking of the kindness expressed. After some frantic moments, and some fear by me, Sherry and my kids were able to fully evacuate and go to her parents.

Governor Herbert arrived at the command post and I met with him. We went together to the Herriman High School to meet with the Red Cross and the evacuees to show our support and help where we could, even if it was just helping to carry in cases of water. Water was arriving in droves, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Smiths, all bent over backwards to help. Councilman Craig Tischner used his connections with Home Depot to get them to donate dust masks, and days later, filters for 200 homes. The community was pulling together as I have never seen. I was extremely proud at that moment to live in Utah.

Congressman Jason Chaffetz arrived at the evacuation point and he connected with Governor Herbert and me for the remainder of the evening. If I can divert for a moment and tell you the funniest story. As Congressman Chaffetz and I were walking through the High School, a young man stopped him and said “I know you!” Jason shook his hand and introduced himself “Hi I am Jason Chaffetz” the man said “Ya! You used to kick for BYU right?” and Congressman Chaffetz said “yep!” To this the man said “wow, great to meet you, what are you doing now days?” I about died laughing! The man recognized him for being a BYU kicker but not a Congressman. That’s a football fan.

At around 2:30am Governor Herbert, Congressman Chaffetz, Mayor Mills and I were driven close to the fire line to view what was occurring. The flames were extremely hot, very high and showed no sign of stopping. The foreseen devastation was horrible to imagine, as we were once again told that they had 0% containment on the fire.

Governor Herbert had arraigned for he, Congressman Chaffetz, Fire Chief Jensen and myself to go up in a chopper at 6:00am to view the damage. We decided to leave so we could sleep for an hour or two before flying. Mayor Josh Mills stayed. He was not about to leave his city to go sleep, when so many were still in desperate conditions.

The next morning we met and boarded the chopper. All of us on board were prepared for the worst. We knew how devastating the fire looked just three hours before. Nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to see...Not another house had been destroyed, not one. Yes, some were damaged. But not a single home had burned to the ground with the exception of the three which had occurred earlier. Chief Jensen explained that after we had left the fire line around 2:30am, the winds had changed direction, the firemen had been able to do “back burns” to stop the fire, and one brave bulldozer driver had helped by making fire lines next to the homes.

The black charred earth was next to many homes, but the homes were still standing. The vast majority of the flames were out. Governor Herbert called it a miracle, and it was. Our prayer in Mayor Mills’s office had been heard. Not only did He change the winds, but he buoyed up the men and women who worked ALL NIGHT to help save people’s homes. There were no serious injuries reported.

The loss of the three homes is tragic, and the devastation to those families cause my heart to ache. I do not diminish their loss in any way, just to say that it was a miracle that more were not lost.

I am eternally grateful to the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our homes. The firefighters, police, National Guard, and citizen volunteers. I am grateful to the community businesses who donated so much to the cause: Wal-Mart, Smiths, Home Depot, Walgreens, Pizza hut, McDonalds and I am sure there are more I am missing.

I am grateful to the Herriman city staff, Mayor Josh Mills, Councilman Tischner, Councilman Day, Councilman Robinson and Councilwoman Raquel Deluca.

God moved on Herriman that night. Of this I am certain.

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by Candace E. Salima.