The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints doesn’t have paid ministers. Everybody in the church has a responsibility for some aspect of our worship services, Sunday schools, or other activities. It’s a beautiful system, and most of the time it works spectacularly. I love seeing how the members serve each other and make great things happen.

Last Summer, I was asked to be an Elders Quorum President.

The Elders Quorum is essentially all of the men who serve in our lay clergy, as well as men who are of the appropriate age but haven’t yet been ordained. It’s most of the men between the ages of 19 – 45 (ish). Along with two counselors and a secretary, I am responsible for the spiritual and temporal well-being of these men. It’s a daunting task for a volunteer who has a job, a wife, is a performer, and would like to have a social life.

Lest you think I’m complaining, there are rewards. Getting to know the men in my congregation better has brought me new friendships, especially with my immediate counselors. They’re great men. On top of that I get to see men change their lives by growing closer to God. It’s a special experience to see someone begin making decisions that affect the trajectory of their life in a hugely positive way.

Giving Service is Expected in the Church

“A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” – Joseph Smith, Lectures on Faith

There’s a story that goes something like this. A servant is asked to push a rock by his master. The dedicated servant knows that the rock is big, heavy, and doesn’t want to budge, but he pushes anyway. He pushes for days, weeks, and months, but the rock won’t move. Rain soaks him. Heat dehydrates him. He gets sick and recovers, all while pushing the rock. Finally, after some time, the master returns and the servant asks the Master why he was required to push the rock uphill. The Master responds by telling him that he wasn’t asked to push the rock uphill, just to push the rock. Then the master commands the rock to roll up the hill and it does. When the servant points out that it seems like a pointless exercise, the master responds by pointing out that the servant has developed finely tuned muscles. His hands are calloused from the work. His health is better, and he has a nice tan.

In the end, the rock didn’t go anywhere without the help of the master, but the servant gained much.

There is something ennobling about sacrifice. Parents probably know this best. When you give up something you want for something that other people need, there is a sense of growth, of growing closer to the divine. Of course, this isn’t always immediate. Parents might sacrifice for years before their children recognize what they’ve been given, and some parents may never see the rewards of their labor.

It’s the labor itself that is the reward.

A Snapshot of What I Do

On Sunday, my life is pretty busy. I have an early morning meeting where we discuss lesson plans for our Sunday meetings, home teaching assignments and results (home teaching is essentially an assigned buddy system that helps us care for the members of the congregation), as well as the progress of various men on their journey through the positions in the lay priesthood. Also, we discuss any families that might need help with temporal things – a new place to live, finding a better job, learning to cook and care for themselves, or even moving furniture.

Then I meet with the Bishop, our ecclesiastical leader, his counselors, and the leaders of other auxiliary groups in our congregation. We coordinate with other people in the congregation who can help with specific needs of our members. Everyone pitches in.

In our particular congregation we don’t have many youth, so our Elder’s Quorum is in charge of preparing the Sacramental bread and water, as well as blessing and passing it to the congregation. Then I or one of my counselors leads our men’s group meeting during the 3rd hour of church. At the end of the Sunday services, we put away chairs.

During the week, my counselors and I will sometimes visit those who weren’t able to make it to church because they were sick. We might minister to them, or just sit and talk for a while. We also visit new families that move into our congregation so we can get to know them and their needs. We are also in charge of finding those whose names are on the records of the church, but who, for whatever reason, haven’t attended in a while. They might not know where the church is, or don’t feel comfortable because they don’t know anyone there, or have just fallen out of the habit of attending. We try to love them back into fellowship.

My Testimony

I do this because I love the Lord. 15 years ago, I was a confused, angry teenager growing up in a world of drugs, alcohol and abuse. The Gospel gave me something to believe in, and the church gave me a place to put my beliefs into practice. I know some people dislike organized religion, but all of the things that I’ve outlined here would just be so much more difficult to do without the framework that the church gives. I can reach dozens of people every year by giving service through the church, and with each person, I grow a little more.

My faith becomes stronger, and I see, each day, what it means to be a disciple. I see it in the eyes of society’s outcast and downtrodden. When I help someone move because they finally got into affordable housing. When I sit and listen to a lonely person that society has forgotten. When I help someone find a better job or a safer place to live.

Faith is a principle of action. Faith without works is dead. Serving as an Elder’s Quorum President makes my faith come alive to me, and I’m grateful for that.

What do you have in your life that enables you to give service and grow spiritually?

image by mtsofan

I was speaking with a friend today about what he was going to do when he graduated from college. He’s a pretty interesting guy. He started college a little bit later than most people. He’s been a missionary and a firefighter, and now he’s going to school to find a career that’s more fulfilling for him.

It was interesting to talk to him about careers because we come from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. Our parents were blue collar workers. Laborers and mechanics. Neither of our parents went to college. We were also both married at a young age. He’s a few years younger than me.

The thing that made the conversation so interesting was that, career-wise, I see him as being in the same spot I was just six years ago. I knew that I enjoyed being an actor but I also knew that I was most likely going to need to have some sort of additional skill that would support me while I create my art. I had no idea what that additional skill was going to be.

He had no idea that $30,000 per year is a substandard wage. In the USA, nearly anyone can make that amount of money. What a blessing it is to live in a country where that is true. Six years ago, I didn’t know that was true. I’ve been truly blessed to meet a series of successful entrepreneurs and high-achieving professionals who have taught and mentored me, sometimes without even knowing that they were doing it.

It was an amazingly gratifying feeling to be able to share some of those experiences with my friend. Being pointed in the direction of books like Unique Ability, Think and Grow Rich, or even Rich Dad, Poor Dad changed my outlook on life and led me down the path that my amazing life is on right now.

It’s sometimes easy to get frustrated as an entrepreneur. It’s easy to feel like your business isn’t growing, that you’re not meeting the goals that you’ve set for yourself. If you are having any success at all, you can probably step back for a moment and be thankful that you are in a circumstance where an open flow of information is at your fingertips and you have the opportunity to better your life. You should also be grateful for the success that you are having. Even if your dreams aren’t coming true, is it all that bad? If you were shooting for a multinational corporation and all you got was a lifestyle business, is it that bad?

I don’t think so.

My first one-man show, Mormon Redneck Thespian, will premiere as a workshop at Fertile Ground in January 2012. I’m both very excited and very nervous about the show. It’s a deeply personal piece that I’ve wanted to share for years. I’ve been writing and rehearsing since June of 2011, and this will be the first public performance of the show.

What’s the show about: How to Overcome Abuse, Drugs, and Being a Redneck, and Start On the Path to Enlightenment

If you know me, I think you’ll be a little astonished at the content of the show. Part of my reason for sharing this story is to inspire others to make the changes in their lives that will make a difference.

I’d love it if you could do two things for me.

1) Sign up for the mailing list by going to MormonRedneck.com. The site’s still under construction, but the mailing list sign up is there.

2) Buy a ticket to the workshop and come see the show. You can get tickets on my Event Brite page.

Also, a huge thank you to Lynn & Lawrence from Portland Story Theater for their help developing this show. They have provided invaluable direction, feedback, criticism, support and direction throughout developing this show. Thanks guys!

The Occupy movement has caused my wife and I to talk, at length, about the merits of said movement. Why are thousands out in the streets protesting? Do I agree with what they have to say?

It seems as though many people are complaining about Occupy because they don’t have a unified message. They don’t have a spokesperson. They’re just fighting and whining. While this is certainly true in some instances, I can’t help but be puzzled that so many people are disdainful of a movement that includes thousands of people young and old, poor and middle class protesting the fact that 1% of our country is getting away with wrecking our economy and not being held accountable.

At some point, there will be a unified message. Populist movements are ever this way.

What Can I Do Right Now?

In our discussions, Lissie and I have considered whether it makes the most sense to go out and get arrested as an act of civil disobedience, or to work within the system. Where is the facet of this movement that I can get behind?

After much discussion and thought, I think I’ve seen something that I can clearly get behind. A campaign finance amendment.

In 2010, for reasons that make sense to only a few, the Supreme Court struck down 30 years of campaign finance law. They gave corporations, in the guise of corporate personhood, the ability to buy access their favorite candidates.

At the beginning of November 2011, NPR’s Planet Money podcast gave a good overview of how politicians in Washington DC are beholden to those who can donate money to their campaigns. They hold constant (daily) fundraisers that are only open to those who donate to their campaigns – and the required sums are not small.

There are a couple of ways that a campaign finance amendment could be worded. I like this one from Scott Turow:

“The Congress and the States shall regulate the direct and indirect expenditure of private funds on the electoral process in order to ensure that no group, entity or individual exercises unequal influence on an election by those means.”

I also like:

“Only individual persons may donate private funds to the electoral process. Corporations, Unions, Political Action Committees and other organizations may not donate money, directly or indirectly, to electoral campaigns. Corporate personhood does not apply to the electoral process.”

I also think that publicly funded elections are a great idea – but let’s just focus on getting big money out of elections for now.

As Scott Turow so thoughtfully points out, Citizens United essentially makes money the single most influential part of our political process. Those with unlimited funds have unlimited voice. Money should not equal political influence.

Okay. I Have A Vision. Now What?

While I am certainly passionate about the idea of campaign finance reform, I’m not sure how much support there is at large. In 1974, after Watergate, Congress passed a raft of legislation in a two-thirds override of a presidential veto. It’s taken 30+ years, but most of that has been undone.

Occupy has many facets, and no clear direction. I’m no political leader, but I’m making a public declaration that beginning today, I’m going to start learning how to make a difference.

Since I became old enough to vote, it has been my distinct displeasure to listen to people complain about the political process. It’s disheartening to hear people say that that their individual vote doesn’t make a difference. It obviously does – that’s how elections happen. I’ve always believed that.

So…if you were going to try to make a difference politically, what would you do?

Dungeons and Dragons by Cory Huff | Portland Story Theater from cory huff on Vimeo.

I had a blast with Portland Story Theater back in June, telling the story of how my teenage friends taught me to play Dungeons and Dragons, and how they changed the trajectory of my life.

Sometimes I am absolutely frenetic. I have dozens of projects in the air at once. People often ask me how I do everything that I do. Perhaps it goes back to that fear of failure thing.

Today I had a very grounding reminder that sometimes its best to just be still.

I auditioned for a theater company here in Portland, Oregon that I really would like to work with. Though they’re a very young company, they do the kind of work that I really love doing, and those involved are great people. I have auditioned for this particular director a number of times, getting called back every time, but never quite getting cast. I’m starting to look at it as a personal challenge (though I know it’s not).

I had prepared for this audition. Rehearsed my monologues, dressed nice, and was focused. I showed up early.

I got in the room and did my audition and I was a fountain of energy flying in every direction. I was giving it all I had – zany, hilarious Puck; sad, crazy Richard III.

I finished my two monologues and the director looked at me and said, “Do Richard again, but tone it way down and just speak to this one person.”

I’ve had this lesson before. I went to acting school, and it’s a particular weakness of mine. I rooted my feet to the floor, dropped my voice to barely above my “inside voice” level, and just spoke the text. I could feel the energy welling up, compelling me to move, to flail, to bust out – but I didn’t. I just focused it all into my voice, without raising volume.

If you don’t know the play, Richard III is a very bad man.

The director told me that I almost had him feeling sorry for Richard.

I know this lesson, but the frenetic pace of my personal life and my mind in general distracts me from the power of stillness. Perhaps as I age, I will remember.

A friend of mine said that Google+ isn’t just a new product. It’s Google’s new way of doing business. Their new culture.

I think he’s right. This is the largest project that Google has done since search, with more engineers on this than any other department than search. Also, Google’s new CEO, Sergey Brin, has tied 25% of bonuses this year to Google’s success in social. I digress. Back to the matter at hand.

It is my opinion that Google+ is the social network that should have been. It’s smart, easy to use, intuitive, and most of all, there is granular control over privacy and sharing. The granular control, combined with Google’s wide distribution, is what will enable Google+ to gain a foot hold in the social space, and eventually become a Facebook contender.

Sharing Granularity

Facebook sharing leaves a lot to be desired. Originally you could share with everyone or not share. Now you can share with all of your friends, friends of friends, or everyone, and exclude a few specific people. It’s clumsy. I’m not going to pick which people out of 900+ connections to exclude.

The thing that kills me is that Facebook could have done this. They already have the beginnings of it: friend lists at http://facebook.com/friends. This is an option everyone has when they add a new friend, and I’ve categorized most of my friends on Facebook. The problems with Facebook friends lists are that 1) there is no navigational way to get to these lists (that I can find), and 2) you can’t share content specifically with any lists.

Google+ allows me to sort my friends from the very beginning, like Facebook, with the Circles feature. I can add them to specific Circles at any time by simply mousing over their profile picture. It’s pretty slick.

Then things start to get really interesting with sharing. I can pick one of those lists there and share a link, picture, or video with just the people on those lists.

Notice that I can share publicly, with a specific list, multiple lists, or with just one person by adding their user name or email address. Incredibly powerful. It’s a sea change in the way that social networks operate, and it’s the kind of granular control that most people didn’t know that they were missing.

Last night, while I was playing around on Google+, Jesse Stay created circles for people he knew in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand. I saw another group for the deaf (more on that in a moment), and a host of other subjects.

Privacy

Facebook gets pilloried in the press for their privacy controls, and rightly so. If you’ve ever tried to lock down your profile, you know that it’s a hugely painful process, still leaving a lot to be desired. The privacy settings screen is 3 clicks away from your profile.

G+ solves the privacy issue by allowing you to mouse over your profile information and edit the privacy level of each individual piece. On top of that, you can share each piece of information with specific Circles. Powerful stuff. The control is in the hand of the user. Tack onto that the fact that you can control who is allowed to tag you in photos, which of your circles are visible to the public, and a host of other granular privacy controls.

Data liberation deserves its own mention. For some reason it’s okay with Facebook to sync all of your contacts to your smart phone, but you can’t download all of your Facebook contacts to your computer. Google+ allows you to export a .vcf file for all of your contacts, as well as download a file of all of your posts, photos, videos, and other content you’ve uploaded to the site. That’s amazing.

Google Hangouts

Skype’s announcement of their integration into Facebook chat pales in comparison to Google Hangouts. Don’t get me wrong. I tried out Fype Facechat, Skypebook Facebook video chat yesterday with a couple of friends and it seems to work, but most chat services have had video for years. One to one is nothing new.

Hangouts, though, are something entirely different. Last night I finally had the chance to try it out and I had a lovely chat with several people, including Alyson Stanfield and Eric McKirdy. Alyson is a fabulous art coach and Eric is a marketer/organ player/fellow Mormon. I know Alyson from Twitter and we’ve spoken on the phone and by email before, so we were mostly catching up and talking about how cool G+ is, but Eric I didn’t know. He saw my Hangout start and just dropped in. We talked for nearly 45 minutes, though we’ve never met before.

Hangouts are more than just video chat rooms. Google has figured out how to create a safe space for people to have meaningful interactions from hundreds of miles away. Facebook should be able to do this, but they must convince Skype to drop the fee for group video calling.

Distribution on Google Properties

The advantage that Google has that Facebook cannot match, no matter what they do, is that Google+ isn’t a standalone property. G+ is integrated into Gmail, Google Reader, Google Calendar, and more apps as time passes. I spend a great deal of my time in those three apps, and so do a lot of people.

Facebook can push notifications to mobile phones, but not to your desktop, unless you’re using something like Tweetdeck. Google+ allows you to get notifications while you’re working, as well as share status updates, links, and photos while you’re off of the site. Powerful stuff.

How will Facebook respond?

As you might guess, I think Google+ has a lot going for it. I like it better than Facebook, in fact. That doesn’t mean I think Facebook is doomed. They’re the incumbent player, with lots of money and a significant head start on what works and what doesn’t. Unfortunately for Facebook, their mistakes have educated Google on what the public wants, and Google has hit them really hard in their weakest spots: privacy, granular sharing control, and distribution. Hangouts is a killer feature for now.

Last night Google+ opened up a bunch of new invites and I added a whole bunch of new people. What are your thoughts on Google+ so far?

The LDS Community is abuzz over Newsweek’s Mormon Moment cover story. Some think it’s a great moment in the spotlight. Some think it’s a conspiracy theory to take down the LDS church. There is a great deal of discussion about Mormons. I can only see that as a good thing. I have conversations about my faith and my church with coworkers and people I encounter every day. These discussions spark interest, recognition, and, in some cases, investigation.

Like most people, I don’t enjoy it when someone says something critical of my faith. I do, however, look at what appears to be honest journalistic questioning and welcome the conversation.

It has been my experience that every person who investigates the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (as the Mormon church is officially known) with a sincere heart, in the spirit of understanding, at least comes away with a nominal sense of appreciation for the tireless efforts that the church puts into helping the poor. Most of the time people I know say that they wish they lived near more Mormons, because we’re kind, hard working, and we really strive to live our religion.

I look at the Newsweek article, the Book of Mormon Musical, the two Mormon presidential hopefuls (Romney and Huntsman), the Pew Research poll, and other press, as opportunities to engage in more conversations about the church. They’re calls to action for each of us individually. We are commanded to proclaim the gospel, yes? When could we ever possibly have a better opportunity to share the gospel?

I wouldn’t worry too much about what slightly not positive press or a profane musical will do to the church’s reputation. After all, we are the church that sends 50,000+ young men ages 19 – 21 years old out into the world as our primary method of preaching the gospel. If they haven’t managed to inadvertently drive the church into the ground, how in the world can the press do it?

The scriptures reference Zion being a fearful presence in the last days. The world will be united against Zion, and will also fear it. Looks like fulfillment of that prophecy to me. The scriptures also teach that the gospel will also be taught to every language, kindred, tongue, and people. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands rolls on. For those of the faith, we need not fear. Either the church is what the detractors say and it will fall apart, or it is true and we will continue on, doing good where we can.

The Standard of Truth

Before he died, Joseph Smith’s Wentworth Letter was published in the Chicago Democrat newspaper.

The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.

I welcome any, and all, questions and discussion about my faith. I have nothing to hide and I fear no criticism, for my faith is between me and my God – I simply share it with others that they may decide for themselves whether it is for them.

Here is a set of slides that I used in a recent presentation at the Hillsboro, Oregon Chamber of Commerce. I talked about how important Facebook is as a marketing tool for small businesses.

I’m grateful for everyone who came – it was a blast, and please let me know if you have questions!

Yahoo’s handy tutorial – just in case you’ve never used email before.

Thanks for getting rid of Delicious.com guys. Grr…