Uncle Ray - Man of God!

My Uncle Ray Infanger passed away this morning in his home in Salmon, ID at about 3:00 a.m.. I honestly don't know a better man on the face of the earth.

Growing up, Uncle Ray was the hardest worker I knew. He never was afraid to try anything new. In Pocatello as a young man he built homes. Then he moved his family to Salmon, ID and he built homes there too. Then he was a mink farmer. Then he focused on Heating and Air Conditioning. When the State of Idaho required that you have an electrician's license to hook up air conditioning units, Uncle Ray got his electrician's license. When Uncle Ray wasn't working, he was reading - - usually about the constitution of the U.S.A. or about church doctrine. He was constantly learning and he was self educated. He and Aunt Ver always lived frugal, self-sufficient lives. They milked their own cows for milk, they had their own gardens, they raised their own beef and pork. They truly exemplified the meaning of provident living.

Uncle Ray reminded me of the patriots that founded our country. He served in the State Legislature for 20+ years in the State of Idaho not because of a desire for personal power or personal gratification, but because he felt a keen sense of duty to country and his fellow men. When I was working as an accounting Intern at Grow, Rasmussen in Boise, ID in the winter of 1984, Uncle Ray was in the legislative session at the same time. Knowing that we would be in Boise for only 4 months, we left behind our TV and at nights we only had time to read or attend Institute classes at the Boise State Institute. On many evenings, Uncle Ray would come and visit after a long hard day at the legislature and we had many wonderful conversations about his purpose as a legislator, about the constitution, and about the doctrine of supporting and sustaining the constitutional law of our country. He taught me that we have a duty and responsibility to seek out honest and wise men who are committed to following the constitutional laws of the country and for this reason he felt a keen sense of duty to try his very best to make sure that his fellow legislators were held to that same standard.

Uncle Ray once told me that the biggest problems in government weren't with the lawmakers, but with the bureaucrats - - those who work in government positions for so long that they forget who they serve and the principles upon which our government is based. As I see how Uncle Ray lived his life - - one who wasn't afraid to try anything, who relied on the freedoms we enjoy in this country that allowed him to live the life that he did, I can see his total undying commitment to freedom of choice, to a free economy, to the principles of self-reliance, and to the principles of morality and fair play that are required for our freedoms to continue. He lived and actively pursued these principles not just for himself, but also for his fellow men.

I don't ever remember hearing Uncle Ray speaking evil of another man. I don't ever remember Unlce Ray making fun at the expense of another person. I don't ever remember him being ungrateful. I don't ever remember hearing any words of discouragement or hearing any expression of anything but optomism and faith in the future.

Uncle Ray had great love for his family that went far beyond his own children and siblings. Everytime we went to Salmon, Uncle Ray would openly express his love for us with loves and kissses. We stayed at Uncle Ray's and Aunt Ver's for weeks at a time and I never felt anything but a desire from them for us to stay. Uncle Ray and Aunt Ver always made me feel like I was loved more than they loved their own space and time. Their love is very evident by the love you see their children express to one another. They support and sustain each other in ways that I've never seen expressed in any other family (except perhaps the Ray family from Mesa, AZ).

Uncle Ray passed away today 6 days shy of his 84th birthday and 7 days shy of Easter Sunday. I think it's fitting that he passed away so close to the time that we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. Uncle Ray and my Dad are two of the best men that I know. Never have I known any better men on the face of the earth. They are both made out of the same mold and I think that's partially why they both got along so well and had so much mutual affection for each other. If ever I could emulate a great man - - a man of God in every way, Uncle Ray would be that man (as would my dad). May God help each of us to learn more about his life and strive earnestly to make the world a better place in honor of his memory is my prayer.

Just a Little Critique Never Hurt Anybody!

Well, I'm not supposed to criticize for 24 hours! What's up with that? How can anybody go 24 hours without a nice uplifting teaching moment or critique?

CRITICISM IS EVERYWHERE!

Let me give an example. I'm driving down the road at 85 minding my own business, when I see a sign that says speed limit is 65. Now believe me, I know that when the sign tells me to slow down, its making a statment about my driving that some may take as a negative. However, I think that the person who has a broken heart and contrite spirit takes it as a positive and says - - you know, driving at 85 might be too fast under the circumstances, I think if I slow down it could save me from some grief. So was not the criticism from the sign a positive? If I have the right attitude, of course it is. If I don't, I might say that the darn sign has no business telling me how fast I should drive. So, WHAT IS SO NEGATIVE ABOUT A GOOD OLD FASHIONED CRITIQUE?

I really don't know! When President Ahmadinejad of Iran tells that world that they are building a nuclear bomb what are we supposed to say? Good for you President Ahmadinejad, we are excited for your future prospects! No! President Bush is supposed to say, President A, you can never build your nucular bomb or else we'll quit buying oil from you and you'll miss out on the $200 price of oil that will result. He's merely assisting President A in making a better choice.

You see, if we didn't have the traffic sign, if we didn't have Presidential warnings, if we didn't have ESPN analysts in Sports, if we didn't have the Cobert Report, or Sean Hannity, or the Rush Limbaugh's of the world setting us all straight, our world would simply fall into chaos.

So, why is it that the very person who I want to help the most, who I feel the greatest need to inspire to become better, who I wish to warn from pending miserable outcomes wants me to cease any criticism for 24 hours? I can only imagine that this person has no understanding of the real role of a nice little critique. It's purpose is to keep the planets and stars in their proper order. But, if chaos at home is better than a nice little friendly critique from now and then and going 24 hours in total chaos makes the person I care about more than anything else happy, then I guess I'll take chose over the criticism. I still don't think that a little critique never hurt anybody!

I love Family Home Suffering!!!

I've finally come to the realization that Family Home Evening is encouraged to help parents stay humble!

I wish they would just say, look, you need to learn humility and here's a manual on what you can do to be humble. Instead, they tell us to have Family Home Evening - - and here's a manual on what you should try and teach your children. I used to think that the mocking during lessons, the seeming lack of caring on their faces, the look of "can't we just get this over with"? written on their foreheads - - all of that during family home evening lessons were indicators that I was a total failure as a parent. However, now I understand that the true purpose of FHE is to humble the parents - - not help the children. I no longer take offence at the mockery, the lack of participation and the non-caring attitudes. They are fully expected now that I understand the true reason for FHE.

The issue is this. They knew that all teenagers have brain damage and are going to act as previously described. It is impossible for that not to be the case. So what better way would there be to humble the parents than to give them a commandment to try and teach the gospel to their teenagers - - who will never really want to participate - - EVERY MONDAY NIGHT!

All I can say is it works! I used to think that I was a pretty good teacher. Actually I thought that I was better than most at teaching gospel principles (LeNell would have a real disagreement with that, but hey I though I was pretty good). Now, I realize that I must be on the bottom of the Totem Pole of gospel teachers, because I can't even get my own kids to sit up and stay awake during FHE let alone learn an important gospel topic.

So, FHE works. It has brought me to my knees recognizing my own nothingness and that I have absolutely nothing to offer my kids at home. Maybe now that I'm at ground zero, I can start to rebuild the tower in hopes of maybe giving a reasonably good speech at Ward Conference in October. I think I need to start now planning and preparing something that may keep the youth in our ward interested for the 10 minutes I'm supposed to talk.