Dallas Petersen

Okame hachimoku. My favorite Japanese proverb. One translation is “The bystander sees more than the player.” I first learned of it during my two years living on the island of Hokkaido in Japan as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It’s stuck with me ever since.

During my undergraduate English studies at BYU, this simple proverb’s underlying philosophy became manifest as literary critical theories. In genres ranging from Native American books to African-American studies to modern British literature, my professors encouraged me and my classmates to seek understanding and meaning using different critical theories; we were to peer through the so-called “lens” of a particular critical theory, and write about what we saw. Certainly, there are limitations to this endeavor—spending the proverbial moment in “someone else’s shoes” doesn’t make us that person. Our vantage point, while temporarily that person’s, is still borrowed. But, rather than discourage us from trying, that understanding should temper what we see with a bit of humility (even after years of study and doctorate degrees and how much we think we understand a person or people).

Notwithstanding the inherent difficulties, I’ve found it to be challenging, humbling, and—ultimately—enlightening to at least try to shift my perspective.

As others have noted, much has been said about President Hinckley over the past couple of weeks. I’d like to add my thoughts.

In Numbers 11 is one of my favorite verses in the scriptures:

“…Would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!” (verse 29)

Moses said these words thousands of years ago, but in recent times President Hinckley put it this way during the General Conference in which he was first sustained as prophet and leader of the Church:

Now, my brethren and sisters, in conclusion I wish to leave with you one thought which I hope you will never forget.

This church does not belong to its President. Its head is the Lord Jesus Christ, whose name each of us has taken upon ourselves. We are all in this great endeavor together. We are here to assist our Father in His work and His glory, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere. No calling in this church is small or of little consequence. All of us in the pursuit of our duty touch the lives of others. To each of us in our respective responsibilities the Lord has said: “Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5).

“And in doing these things thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy fellow beings, and wilt promote the glory of him who is your Lord” (D&C 81:4).

Further, “And if thou art faithful unto the end thou shalt have a crown of immortality, and eternal life in the mansions which I have prepared in the house of my Father” (D&C 81:6).

All of us in this great cause are of one mind, of one belief, of one faith.

You have as great an opportunity for satisfaction in the performance of your duty as I do in mine. The progress of this work will be determined by our joint efforts. Whatever your calling, it is as fraught with the same kind of opportunity to accomplish good as is mine. What is really important is that this is the work of the Master. Our work is to go about doing good as did He.

Per his wish, I have not forgotten the above passage. How could I? Even now, as I reread the talk this passage comes from, This is the Work of the Master, I am buoyed up and inspired by President Hinckley’s counsel. The tears that I’ve managed to choke down since his passing flowed as I read this talk again.

This world has seen much of false prophets. The media, often interested in exploiting the fantastical and outrageous in life just to scintillate viewers and keep their advertisers happy, provides a disproportionate amount of air time to them. Consequently, I fear, the word “prophet” has taken on a negative connotation in the world. What a shame. Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was a good man of God. He was a prophet.

I’ve known people who, through word and deed, helped me to feel the Savior’s love. President Hinckley was such a man. He inspired me to be a better husband, a better father, a better son of God. I pray my life, as limited in its circle of influence as it may be, might be as good and well-lived as Gordon B. Hinckley’s.

Much has been written/said of late about the demise of the album. The typical suspects are the aural wonder twins, iTunes and the iPod. Since the early days of rock in the 50’s, singles have a been a part of the record biz. The mass purchasing via iTunes of the best songs from an album does not a death knell sound for the full album. Certainly, singles are popular, but full albums, that are best purchased and listened to as a contiguous whole, will continue to be made and enjoyed. Here are a few of my favorite beginning-to-end albums (not all are conceptual albums, but have few, if any, weak singles):

1. U2’s Joshua Tree
2. Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon
3. Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here
4. Neil Young’s Harvest
5. The Decemberist’s The Crane Wife
6. Radiohead’s OK Computer
7. The Beatles’ Revolver
8. The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
9. The Beatles’ Abbey Road
10. Spoon’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
11. World Party’s Goodbye Jumbo
12. R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People
13. Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend
14. Traveling Wilbury’s Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1
15. Tom Petty’s Highway Companion
16. The Black Crowes’ Shake Your Money Maker
17. The Shins’ Oh, Inverted World
18. Jeff Buckley’s Grace
19. Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours
20. Jellyfish’s Bellybutton
21. Los Lobos’ Kiko
22. Peter Gabriel’s So
23. John Mayer’s Continuum
24. Soundtrack from Amadeus
25. R.E.M.’s Document
26. Sinead O’Connor’s The Lion and The Cobra
27. The Smithereens’ Especially for You
28. The Smithereens’ Green Thoughts
29. Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
30. Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions

Thanks to This American Life, I’m addicted to the New York Public Radio program, Radio Lab. In a word–with emphasis on the first syllable–su-perb. If you want to learn more about yourself and the world around… if you like listening to well-produced, entertaining programming… or, if you just want to make that 30-45 minute commute seem like a meaningful time of the day, do yourself a favor and start listening to this program.

If you haven’t subscribed to TED’s podcast, do it. It’s a great cross-section of talented leaders talking about everything from visualizing data to inner-city rejuvenation efforts. I can’t say I agree with everything TED’s presenters say, but it is always worth the listen.