Adventure Games

As a young child I was fortunate that my family got a computer. It was extremely simplistic compared to modern standards, for example the internal hard drive was less than 100 MB, Yes megabytes. We also used actual floppy disks to play some of our games. A lot has changed since then and thinking about it is very nostalgic.

One of the primary activities that involved my early childhood on the computer was playing adventure games. Adventure games were different than many other games at the time, whose goals were getting points or killing monsters. Adventures games were problem solving games told in an interactive storytelling setting. I played a number of different Sierra adventure games series including Space Quest, Quest for Glory, but my favorite series was King’s Quest.

So in a blog that deals mostly about spirituality, why am I talking about computer games? Adventure games taught me a lot of important lessons and helped set the stage for my faith journey. King’s Quest follows the journey of a young knight named Graham, who belongs to a declining magic kingdom ruled by a dying King, Edward the Beloved. King Edward having no heir, promises Graham the throne if he recovers 3 magic treasures that had been stolen that will help heal the kingdom. What makes Graham and the story of King’s Quest special is that it rewards intelligence and creativity for solving problems instead of hacking apart monsters. Graham isn’t the brawny meat-head knight that carries a mighty broadsword, he is smart and kind. As someone that was clumsy and not physically coordinated, Graham became a model for my life of someone who could be kind, smart, and someone who got his happily ever after.

As I said the game helps the player develop creative and critical thinking skills. These skills would benefit me as I grew up and played a role in my spiritual journey, and these were honed playing these games. In the game, Graham recollects the advice of his father, a retired knight. He gives his son this advice, "If I have learned anything in my life, I have learned this: When in doubt, or in trouble, pick up anything that is not nailed down, and if it is, look for loose nails or boards. Check carefully into, under, above, below, and behind things. Read everything; you might learn something. Wear clean undergarments, brush after meals, and always remember: nothing is as it appears." Though it clearly has a little humor mixed in, some of this advice is very sound. The essence of this message has become one of the maxims that have guided my life.

For those interested in checking out the games I will include some links. The series of games were made over a number of years, so some fans decided to remake the earlier games in the style of the later ones, to find these fans remakes of the first 3 games check out: http://www.agdinteractive.com/. If you want to play the originals, the entire series can be purchased on http://www.gog.com/. The series focuses on Graham and his family, two of the games even feature a female main character, which was pretty unique for the time. They are a lot of fun to play and highly encourage you to check them out.

So what games or activities from your early childhood helped shaped you as you grew into maturity? What lessons or values did they instill in you?

Elementary School

Elementary school was fun and scary time for me. As a shy kid I had some anxiety about going to school. I repeated Kindergarten primarily because of my social development. My early schooling experience in California played a foundational role in the values that I would develop as an adult. We learned songs like Kumbaya and Baby Beluga. I remember learning about sharing from the story of the Stone Soup. We played with dreidels and sang the song associated with it. As I got older and more conservative the lessons I learned as a young child were somewhat forgotten, but I'm glad that I eventually rediscovered the powerful lessons of kindness, unity, respect for others, and peace that were taught to me as a young child.

As good as my memory tends to be I have no memories of 1st Grade whatsoever.I don't remember who my teacher was, classmates, or anything. I don't think I have any class pictures of 1st Grade either. So that means either there is a conspiracy at work, something extremely traumatizing occurred and I am repressing it all, or most likely it was extremely uneventful and boring.

2nd Grade wasn't very notable either. I remember my teacher Ms. Moore. She was really nice. I remember of focusing a lot of learning about time and the calendar. It rained a lot that year I recall. That's pretty much it for 2nd Grade.

3rd Grade was extremely important for me. My teacher was Mr. Rhodes. I had never even heard of a male elementary teacher before. He was really awesome. He encouraged our creativity and we did a lot of art projects. This played a role as I grew and developed confidence in my creative abilities. We had a pair of rats as class that we were allowed to take home and care for. I really enjoyed the responsibility. During the year we worked on a service project and we were the "See" Team,  we helped raise money to help blind people receive and train seeing eye dogs. This helped teach me the value of serving others and I remember meeting a blind man who talked with us kids about his life. This helped me develop appreciation for those that have unique lives and challenges. This probably played a role later in college when I would study American Sign Language and developed friendships with Deaf people. 

Also in 3rd Grade I became best friends with a boy named Jimmy. He was a bigger kid, which was good for me because I got teased and picked on a lot. Jimmy was a member of Jehovah's Witnesses. Looking back on it years later, it is kind of funny that the Mormon and the Jehovah's Witness would become such good friends. He told me about how he didn't celebrate his birthday or other holidays like Christmas. I thought this was kind of weird but didn't think too much about it. When I look back on it, my time with Jimmy was the first experience I recall realizing there was differences in the way that people believe or that there were really other belief systems outside of my family life.

So have you had any interesting experiences in your elementary schooling that have increased your moral attributes or taught you about other religious traditions?

Stuttering

There are a good deal many people reading this who know me in real life and quite a few who don’t. For those who haven’t met me personally, one thing you should know about me is that I have a stutter. Many people who know me have probably wondered about my stutter but probably were too embarrassed to ask about it. I am going to clarify a few things on the topic.

It is important to know that I was not born with a stutter. I began stuttering as I entered Kindergarten. It was the result of a rare side-effect of the immunization process that many children go through when starting school. This blog does not deal with political issues and and the topic of vaccinating children is a hot button issue, and I have friends on both sides of the issue. I am in the middle regarding this topic. There are serious side effects though rare that can affect a child that is immunized, it is important for a parent to do the proper research and assess the risks vs benefits of the process. In my case, I got the short stick. Especially for those travelling to remote areas in the world, it definitely is probably worth the risk.For those who think it’s merely a coincidence that I started stuttering when I did, do a search online and you can find dozens upon dozens examples of people just like me that began stuttering under the same exact circumstances.

My stutter has been a point of major frustration and pain in my life. It has cost me jobs, friends, romantic relationships, and many other opportunities. It made me the subject of teasing and bullying in school and other settings. I’ve noted that people upon meeting me usually treat me like I’m stupid or less competent because of my stutter. This usually changes as people get to know me better, but that doesn’t help in critical first impression settings like job interviews. This is one of the main reasons why I try so hard to show I’m intelligent and come off as a know-it-all because of the way I’m initially perceived. This even trickles into relationships with people I have known for a long time.

There are a number of different kinds or levels of stuttering, I can’t remember all of the technical terms but I have have a less severe form of it than others. Some people stutter on sounds, while others like me stutter on words mostly. An example of this would be “b-b-b-b-ball” vs "ball-ball-ball-ball”. The way that I often describe my stutter is that it feels like there a block or wall in front of my head that sometimes words have a hard time pushing through. I can sometimes tell in advance before I would say something that would cause me to stutter, to avoid this I will switch around the order of the words in a sentence (which makes me sound like Yoda), or I will substitute a word that I know I won’t stutter with, or I will say what I’m trying to say in a roundabout way or add awkward filler words. This adds to the problem of people not taking me seriously and me not sounding sure and confident in myself, which adds to missed opportunities.

My stutter is one of the factors that led to me becoming a writer. When I write I don’t stutter and I can convey what I want without people judging me and thinking I am less intelligent. A different times I’ve thought about how cool it would be to have a podcast or YouTube channel but I probably won’t with the way my stutter is. A part of me has wanted to become a public figure so I can do more good and promote important issues and causes but the idea of doing interviews on TV or radio is terrifying for me.

This blog is supposed to focus on my spiritual journey so how does stuttering tie in with all of that? There has been a couple of scriptural figures that I have studied and looked to because of this issue. Moses was said to be slow of speech and so Aaron became his spokesman. This has given me a little hope that I can still do good things even if I have a hard time speaking. Enoch in the Restoration scripture (the Inspired Version of the Bible) mentions being slow of speech as well. I have studied his life quite considerably as well. Finally I have thought often on Paul and he talks about in 2 Corinthians 12:7 about having a thorn in his flesh. Biblical scholars have debated what he means here, but regardless my stutter is something that I consider my personal thorn in my flesh.

I have to say that my stutter has made it a challenge in practicing my religion at times. My faith tradition puts a strong emphasis in ordinances, or religious rites. Nearly all of these rites need to be said clearly with the correct wording. Having a stutter makes this a challenge with participating in blessing the sacrament (or communion) or going to LDS temples which has very strict ways of doing things. Stuttering adds a level of anxiety to these religious performances that someone who has no speech impediment cannot understand.

I have hopes that someday I will overcome my stutter. Some individuals have gone into acting to help with stuttering (actors use a different part of their brain when performing). Hypnotherapy has been used quite successfully to overcome stuttering as well. When I have the money to spare I will look into some of these options. For the time being however it is a part of me and is something that God uses to help me be humble. I often think about a passage in the Book of Mormon found in Ether 12:27 (Ether 5:28 AV) that states, “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

I have been grateful for the people that have been patient with me in the times that my stutter is really bad. Those people who didn't make me feel like I was broken. I am especially grateful for Emily for loving me in spite of my stutter (she evens claims it is cute.) She may have experienced my stutter more than any other person and hasn't left out of frustration. I don't know how she does it. Thank you everyone for being so understanding.

This is my hope that perhaps one day that my tongue will be loosed and I will be able to say all of the things that I never did because I was too afraid to because of the awkwardness of my speech. Feel free to comment below, What are some of your great challenges, trials, your “thorns in the flesh”?

The Evolution of Christianity and The Latter-day Saint Movement

For those not familiar with the development of specific religious sects and the Latter-Day movement specifically I am going to cover a brief overview. I am not a scholar and for the purposes of this blog won't go into deep detail.

From the early primitive Christian Church established by the ancient Apostles, two primary sects evolved, The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Eventually Martin Luther and other figures "protested" aspects of the Catholic Church. These reformers started the Protestant movement. Lutheran, Church of England, and other sects evolved from different figures protesting differing elements and starting their own sects.

 Centuries later, America became fertile ground for religious revival. Many sects sprang up; they weren't specifically seeking reform or protesting earlier churches. They were seeking to "restore" certain biblical teachings or practices. This began the Restorationist movement, which occurred primarily in the early to mid 1800's. Some prominent sects that fit this general classification include: Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Shakers. Many Restorationist sects were not very long lasting and they disappeared almost as quickly as they were formed. One of the most prominent sects of of the Restorationist movement was the Latter-Day Saint movement.

The Latter-day Saint Movement (also called the Restoration Movement by some traditions) was established by Joseph Smith Jr. in 1830. Joseph Smith claimed he was called to be a prophet like the prophets of old. He brought forth new scripture: The Book of Mormon and a series of revelations called Doctrine and Covenants. They were nicknamed Mormons after the scriptural record that Joseph Smith Jr. printed. He tried establishing a church that was likened to the organization of the early Christian Church, that included Apostles, prophets, seventies, and more. In 1844 he was assassinated by an angry mob. This resulted in a succession crisis. 

Joseph Smith Jr. had chosen his brother Hyrum Smith to succeed him but he was killed along with the Prophet. With no clear replacement several individuals contended for leadership of the Church. Sidney Rigdon, who acted as Joseph Smith's counselor felt he should lead the Church. James Strang told the Saints that a heavenly messenger had ordained him and he was given an ancient record like the Book of Mormon that he translated and was called The Book of the Law of the Lord. He gained quite a few followers. Many felt the Joseph Smith Jr's son, Joseph Smith III, had been ordained to succeed his father though he was just a child. The Apostles that Joseph Smith had ordained stated that they should take over leadership of the Church, headed by the senior apostle Brigham Young. In the end many of the Saints followed Brigham Young and the Apostles west to Utah. This sect would retain the name The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

There were many Saints that did not go west with the Apostles. Many smaller sects were formed. They were given nicknames such as Strangite, Cutlerite, and Rigdonite. Dozens of small sects have formed since the beginning of the Latter-Day Saint Movement, many of them have come and gone, and most numbered less than 3000 members.

In 1860, Joseph Smith III, the son of the Prophet Joseph Smith, being promised leadership of the Church one day by both his father and grandfather, gathered together many of the Saints in the East, and took up the mantle of his father. The church would be called the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS). Later they would rename themselves the Community of Christ.

In Utah, Brigham Young embraced the idea of polygamy and many Mormons began practicing the principle. Under threat of the United States Government they were forced to abandon the practice by issuing the First and Second Manifestos abolishing polygamy. Some were not willing to abandon polygamy. They formed their own sects, which collectively has been labelled Mormon Fundamentalism, the largest group being referred as the FLDS Church.

Today the primary sects of the Latter-day Movement are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS or the Utah Church), The Community of Christ, and the FLDS Church. The LDS Church, headquartered in Utah, is the group that most are familiar with but often confuse them with the polygamist sects like the FLDS Church. Joseph Smith Jr. left a significant legacy for his followers and had an impact on the religious landscape of the United States that has spread globally.

If you belong to a particular faith tradition have you spent much time studying its history and how it developed in terms of theology and doctrine?

Missionaries and a New Church

Around the time I started elementary school was when the LDS (Mormon) missionaries encountered our family. They were referred by one of my dad's co-workers.

I remember that their names were Elders Garitt Slater and Kevin Freeman. Elder Freeman was British and was the first person I ever recall meeting that had an accent. He was a convert to the LDS Church and had tattoos on his arms. He also was the first person I remember meeting that had tattoos. He took an immediate liking to me and we shared a bond because of our same first name. Elder Slater was extremely nice and became connected with our family after his mission. I will discuss Slater further in future posts.

At the end of the first visit they told my parents if they had any questions to write them down and they would try to answer them during their next visit. When they came back, my dad was busy doing something so my mom invited them in. While they were waiting my mom remembered about the list of questions my dad had written and said that she would give it for them to read while they waited. She warned them that it was really long. They took it as a joke but a few moments later she came in with the list. It was like 5 pages long. A bit intimidated, they were able to bit by bit answer the questions that my dad had. As mentioned in a previous post my dad had lots of questions regarding religion, and the LDS missionaries were the first people to have the patience and give the answers that my dad was looking for. 

As they learned more my parents decided to join the Church. Though my dad had more initial interest, he wanted to make sure he was making the correct decision, but my mom decided to take the leap and got baptized. I remember my mom's baptismal service better than my dad's. I recall a special video that played that had music and pictures while my mom was getting changed after being baptized.

The decision of my parents to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was by far one of the most critical steps in my spiritual journey. For the next couple decades Mormonism would serve as my primary framework of understanding religion, theology, and God. It did cause some conflict with family, especially with Nona, but with time came understanding and acceptance. 

What factors were the most critical in choosing your spiritual beliefs? Did you, your parents, or other close friends/family choose a faith tradition other than the one they were raised in? 

Religious Experience Pre-LDS

When I was a young child my parents took my brother and I to a church, I believe it was a Baptist Church. It was the same Church that belonged to a couple of my parent's friends.

I don't remember much about my church experience there. We spent most of our time in Sunday School. They had toys which we thought were cool. I'm sure they taught us some basics about Jesus and the Bible but I don't recall anything about it.

I only ever being in a worship service once. It was because it was the baptism of one of my parent's friends mentioned above. I remember that it was done by immersion. They also offered communion or sacrament, and they served wine or grape juice for this ceremony.

Outside of my limited experience at the Baptist Church most of my religious experience was colored by Catholicism. My mom's family was from Italy and like most Italians they had a Catholic heritage. I remember Nona (Italian for grandmother, my maternal grandmother) had lots of religious icons. She had a large crucifix and some rosary beads that I remember.

There was some conflict in terms of religion when I was born. Nona had wanted me to be christened and baptized into the Catholic church as a baby. My parents declined to does this which caused some tension with her. Though I never officially participated in Catholicism, I learned a lot about it from my mother and Nona and see it as part of my spiritual heritage. Later in my Church experience when others would bash or belittle the Catholic faith I tried to defend Catholicism because of my connection with loved ones that were Catholic,

Have you ever attended a worship service of a religion that wasn't the one you were raised in? How did it make you feel?

My Religious Heritage

Before I continue much further I wanted to acknowledge how religion and spirituality played into the lives of my parents and my other ancestors. Though we are not defined by the past, I find it valuable to understand and learn about those who came before us.

My father was raised in a Protestant tradition. The primary religious figure from my father's side was my great-great grandfather who was a minster at a local church where he lived. Folk religion and some mysticism also colored the religious experience of my father's ancestors. My grandfather and his siblings were involved in dowsing or divining. This is the process of using a dowsing rod, a two pronged branch or stick to find water. My great-uncle was famous for the use of these skills in Michigan to help people dig wells.

 My dad's parents were not very religious but made sure that for at least for a while in his youth that he attended a church. My dad was a very intelligent and curious youth and asked lots of questions to those in his Sunday School class. His teachers were not very impressed and became annoyed with his questions. For all intents and purposes he was kicked out of Sunday School for his questioning. He would encounter others that were not very accepting of his questioning attitude regarding religious matters. As he got older and especially in college he investigated many different religions and spiritual traditions.

My mom came from a Catholic background. Her mother, Nona, was the spiritual head of the family. Nona's mother, my great-grandmother was said to have many visions and dreams. Nona inherited many of these aspects as well. Nona was not well versed in the scriptures but she was very intelligent and had ideas and opinions on all sorts of religious matters, even though some of them conflicted with the religion she was raised in. My mom enjoyed the formality and ritual aspects of Catholicism. They gave her a sense of comfort and predictability.

The heritage of my ancestors have played a critical role in my personal spiritual journey. My father's curiosity and quest for truth and spiritual knowledge has played a critical role in my own spiritual journey. My grandfather taught my brother and I about dowsing, it is believed to skip a generation in my family so my father was never involved in dowsing. I have never done much with it, but along with the dreams of my mother's side it reinforced to me about the concept and importance of spiritual gifts. The belief that spiritual gifts are given to many if not all of God's children, forms one of my most core beliefs (See 1 Cor 12:4-12). Though in my mother's family it appears that the gift of dreams goes through the female descendants, I feel I have inherited this heritage in my own life (apparently I have embraced my feminine side). I am grateful for the great spectrum of spirituality displayed in my ancestry. I believe that it has made my life more full and broadened my horizons.

Have you had a chance to study the beliefs and religion of your ancestors? What have you learned from their lives and how have you used it to enrich your own spiritual journey?