What does my testimony depend on?

On Wednesday Night, I had the opportunity to go have an interview with a member of my Stake Presidency to renew my temple recommend.  When I got to the Stake Center, I noticed that everybody that was there for an interview was dressed up in Sunday dress clothes. . . . and I was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.  I decided to not let it bother me and sat down to wait in line for my interview.  

Well . . . after a few minutes, one of the stake clerks asked me if he could talk to me in private.  So, we went into a room and he told me that the Stake President asks that all members getting an ordinance interview to dress up in Sunday dress clothes.  I said that I didn't know that, but before I could say anything else, he said, "So . . . could you go home and change your clothes and come back?"  I did not expect him to ask me to do this and was not happy, because I knew it would take me about 20-25 minutes to do that.  Therefore, I replied in a frustrated tone . . . "I can just do the interview next week.  I live somewhat far."  He said, "Well, I guess so, but how far do you live."  I then decided that I should just go home.  I stomped out to my car very angry and embarrassed.

As I was driving home, I thought to myself, I can get really angry and offended, or I can be open to why the Stake Presidency would be so picky.  So, I took a deep breath, and thought about it and realized that if I have to be dressed up to go to the temple, I should be dressed up to go to my interview to get my recommend to go to the temple.

Therefore, I calmed down and changed and came back and got my recommend renewed.  As I reflect on this situation, I thought of how many members of the church get offended by things like what I experienced.  Many go inactive or leave the church, just because of these small and simple things.  When I experienced it, I realized the importance of remembering why I'm LDS and it's because of my testimony.  And . . .my testimony is not conditional.  I must keep strong regardless of experiences I have with members of the church.  Members of the church aren't perfect, but the church is, because its head is Jesus Christ.

Isn't that a great comfort?

I'm going to be a EFY Building Counselor this summer!

I just found out this last weekend that I'm going to be Building Counselor this summer at the Provo EFY (Especially for Youth).  

This is a great summer job for me and pays a hundred dollars more a week than what I was getting as a regular EFY counselor that last two summers.  It will be a hard, tiring job, but will be a great opportunity.  I've been having a hard time with finances in the last few months and I'm glad I landed a job that will give me more financial security for the next school year.

Publish Post

Man, the Lord just keeps blessing me!  I love it!

 

We need his help. We can't do it without him.

Today, I played for the final round of the BYU Concerto Competition.  I had felt so honored to get into the concerto competition in the first place and thought this final round would be a great opportunity.   I competed on the first movement of Khachaturian's violin concerto.  In the past, I have often left auditions feeling like I didn't play my best.  Well, I was determined for this audition to go well.  I was confident that I had put in the hard work and preparation needed.  Yesterday, as I was sitting in church I kept getting reminded of how much I need the Lord to be by my side in my endeavors.

  So, today, as I was warming up for my audition I took three 15 minute breaks to read the Book of Mormon.  It was a relaxing experience, helped me acknowledge the Lord.  I also prayed sincerely to the Lord that I would play my very best in the audition today and that I would play the way I wanted to.  When the audition time came, I was starting to shake, by when I stepped onto the stage of the Madsen Recital Hall, I started to feel relaxed and comforted.  When I played the first opening section, my hands and fingers went where I wanted them to go.  I was able to play loosely and with expression.  I felt I was able to express the music the way I wanted to.  I was allowed a ten minute slot in my try-out, but the three judges allowed my to play about 11 minutes of the 14 minute movement. 

As I left the recital hall, I turned to my accompanist, Jayne Galloway, and said, I think that is by far the best I have ever played that concerto.  Her reply was: "Jared!  You kicked butt!"

When I called my Mom about my experience, she told me how the family prayed for me at 10:30 A.M. when I tried out, and as I write this, it brings tears to eyes to know that the comfort that I felt when I went on that stage was the spirit of the Lord not only in answer to my personal prayers, but to my family's prayers.

A few hours later, I went to check for the results of the concerto competition.  I found out that I was not one of the winners.

Some could say that it was all a waste, because I didn't win, but that is far from the truth.  I'm not upset about how things worked out, because I know that I played my best and that the spirit was with me.  It was a good performance that I am proud of.

I want to thank all of you who kept me in your prayers.  I know that they helped.

I have included a two part you tube video with the recording of David Oistrakh (one of the best violinists of the twentieth century) playing the Khachaturian violin concerto so that you can get a taste of the experience I just described.  I will be playing it as my final number on my Senior Recital on Saturday, March 5th in the Madsen Recital Hall at BYU where I actually played it today.

Video 1 - the first half of the first movement.

Video 2 - the second half of the first movement

The Ups and Downs of a Single BYU Student

For those of you who have followed my blog in the past, I am pleased to finally post an entry after about 3 months of doing nothing.  Hopefully, this semester will be a more manageable one, so that I can keep up on my blog.

So . . . . in the last few months I have experienced many 

Ups  AND  Downs

                              Many of my Ups were tender mercies that helped me through the downs.  When I think back to last semester and what I'm going through now, the Blessings (the ups) were much more numerous than the Trials (the downs).  It's funny though how it can seem the other way around when you're going through trials. . . .

Up #1

Directing my Stake Choir in the Presence of an Apostle of the Lord 

 Back in October of 2010, after going for quite a few months without being asked to use my musical talents in my ward, the stake music chair asked me to be the stake choir director for a special Stake Conference where Elder Hales would be present. The choir was a little more than 50 people strong with two BYU Organ Performance majors playing together on the organ.  I can say that it was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. 

Down #1

Playing poorly in my violin master class and constantly feeling inadequate in my playing.

 There were many times this semester where I doubted myself as a violinist and questioned whether I should pursue it as a career.  It's easy to feel this way at BYU with all the wonderful violinists surrounding you.

Up #2

Friends Reaching Out to me in my Violin Woes

As I was struggling with my choice of major, I had multiple friends that reached out to me.  On an afternoon, I opened up my facebook profile to see that a violinist named Cari Sue, that I was good friends with, wrote me a heart felt note of how she had gone through similar struggles and reminded me that I was doing better than I thought I was.  Another friend of mine named Amy Norton listened to my woes and said, "Jared!  You were meant to go into music."  That simple statement is one of the things that keeps me going.  Another friend named Ammon Franklin listened to me and told me how much he admired what I was doing and how hard I worked.  Many other friends were there for me and I want to thank all of you for being there for me when I most needed you.

Down #2

Forgetting to put the Lord first, and struggling with the daily temptations of the mortal existence, because I was so stressed out with all my other obligations.

With all the obligations I had last semester it was easy to forget about the Lord and to easily get let in to that temptations the adversary uses against us.  He strikes you when your weak or overwhelmed.  There were many times where I wanted to cry because I was so busy.

Up #3

Making More Time for the Lord

Amongst my times of being overwhelmed, I was reminded by a good friend that I needed to put the Lord first.  So, I made some changes in my life.  I made sure my scripture study was longer every day and that I was praying.  I prayed for opportunities to serve and I was amazed at how the Lord led me to those opportunities.

Down #3

Being exhausted from my custodial job, and still not making enough money to sustain myself financially.

Last semester proved also difficult because I was working part-time custodial, but wasn't making enough money to cover my living expenses.  It was already a stretch for me to work custodial while being a full-time music major.

Up #4

Quitting my Custodial Job to Teach Violin Students Instead

At the end of last semester I quit my custodial job and decided to teach violin students instead.  This semester I have already acquired 4 violin students and possibly a cello student and will make a lot more money for each hour that I work along with improving my skills as a violin/cello teacher.

Up #5

Going to the MoTAB Christmas Concert with David Archuletta

On the Thursday of Finals Week I got a random e-mail from my friend, Kristina Willey, who said she had an extra ticket to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert with David Archuletta.  I had never seen a MoTAB Christmas concert and couldn't pass it up.  It was truly a wonderful experience.  I was very impressed with David Archuletta's singing, because I must admit, that I wasn't expecting much, but he proved me wrong.

Up #6

Being Chosen as One of the Violin Finalists for the BYU  Concerto Competition

This last semester I had been working very hard on the Khachaturian violin concerto in d minor, 1st movement, but kept feeling like my playing wasn't good enough, but when I played in for my violin juries, the violin professors seemed thoroughly impressed.  A few days later, I was shocked to see that I was one of the four finalists for the concerto competition.  I get to play for the second round of auditions on Martin Luther King Day.

Up #7

Getting a 4.0 GPA for this last Fall Semester

I have always had a goal at BYU to get a 4.0 GPA during a semester of classes, which is hard at BYU, because in order to get a 4.0, you usually have to have a 94 % or above in all your classes.  Even though I worked hard this last semester, I was pretty sure I would not accomplish my goal, but . . . . alas . .  I DID!

Up #8

Spending Time with my Family at Thanksgiving and Christmas

My breaks with my family were spectacular this year.  As you can see from the second picture above, I THOROUGHLY enjoyed my time with them.  Drinking some bubbly was very helpful :).  I love my family and I'm thankful for all they do!!!

Down #4

Straining my left hand so that I can't play much violin

On my second day back from school, I woke up feeling pain in the carpel tunnel area of my left hand.  Apparently, I had over practiced on my first day back from school and had some sub-conscious worries that were causing tension in my hands.  Therefore, the last few days, I have had to take a break from practicing my violin, which has been very hard for me considering I have to play in the concerto competition in about a week.  Luckily, I am going to a doctor on Monday to help me figure this out, but it's been hard on me just sitting around and icing my hand.  A good thing is that I've been able to do a lot a mental practice that has helped me connect with the music better.

Up #9

Being able to play the violin again for a little bit

On Friday, my hand started feeling a little bit better.  Therefore, I got to play my violin for about 45 minutes.  It was such a relief.

Down #5

Being rejected by another girl.

 

Today, I got a phone call from a girl I went on a few dates with last semester.  I had started to really like her, but unfortunately on the last date, she said that she had a family emergency come up and had to move home to California for the next few months.  Well . . .I was bummed about this, but I decided we could at least talk to each other on the phone.  Therefore, on Tuesday night I called her.  She didn't answer.  So, I left a message.  She called me back today and left a message thanking me for the call, but let me know that she was seriously dating someone else.  I tried to not be hurt by this, but I couldn't help it.  Every time I get interested in a girl, the girl ends up deciding that I'm a good friend, but nothing more.  ARGGH!

Up #10

My Friend is trying to set me up on some dates

Today, after being rejected, I talked to one of my friends about it, and he went through his facebook profile and tried to search for girls he could set me up with.  He made a list and said he would set me up with them and even offered to double.  It was so kind of him.  I am so blessed to have such good friends.

As you can see, my ups have made up for the downs I've had.  It's really important that we count our blessings, because, really, the Lord doesn't abandon us.