Why don’t we get drunk and –-

talk about the scriptures? (Apologies to Jimmy Buffett)

I’ve been intentionally having “scorecard moments” lately, where I try different experiences to see how they make me feel. I will arbitrarily not wear garments and see if I notice. I don’t. I will undress for some reason and be surprised not to find them.

Wife of Bath and I had a nice Mother’s Day dinner last night, and we shared the equivalent of a bottle of wine between us over dinner. How did it make me feel?

I am not what you would call a relaxed person. I am always seeking to “lengthen my stride”, always picking apart personal philosophies to see if they still hold water, always doing something. There is always laundry to do, things to pick up, books to read, etc..

It was nice to just sit on the couch and relax and talk, without feeling driven to get up and do something. We talked about Ps 104 and what it says about wine gladdening the heart. I shared things from a book I’m reading about less fundamental approaches to Christianity. In short we had a warm, relaxing experience. Often I’m too busy to listen, not only to those around me, but to the Lord. I felt the sort of warm glow that leads me to the scriptures to worship the Lord. I felt grateful for all I have been given.

I felt the sense of something from this world being used for a worshipful purpose, and thus being consecrated in a way. While this experience in this context felt OK, splitting a 12 pack of beer in front of a hockey game would not have been OK. It would have just been a drunk.

As Joseph Smith enjoyed a bottle of wine in his last moments in Carthage Jail, I felt uplifted in following the prophets in this way also.