Logan Thoughts

Have you ever tried to see how many minutes you could pray? I have. As a child, I would try to peek at my clock to see how long it had been and I was always surprised. . . as with many things, time goes slower when you're peeking at the clock while you pray.

A few days ago Logan came to me with this question: How did *Enos pray all day and all night? Cuz I tried to pray as long as I could and I ran out of things to talk about after 15 minutes.

I didn't laugh--because like I said, I've totally had that experience (though I had never formed that question in my mind)!

So I thought about it for a minute and we talked about other prophets and stories in the scriptures that talk about prayer--and we came up with this answer: prayer involves talking and listening. The stories usually start with the person involved taking a deep question or concern to God (in the case of Enos, he wrestles before God and after many hours his sins are forgiven). I don't believe the concerns or questions were lightly stated, but thoughtfully explained and explored--just as we might talk to one another, with dialogue between the parties involved. Then somewhere along the way there is a sort of revelation, vision, or dream--information about how the world was made, how the world works, or what is going to happen in the future--you know, small stuff like that. Information like that might take a little bit of time, too. Some examples I can think of off the top of my head include Moses and Abraham, Lehi and Nephi, Enoch, and I'm sure you can think of others. Anyway, I'm too impatient to keep writing about this, only that I wanted to remember this conversation and the conclusion we came to that praying can take a long time if you are actually communicating with God and taking the time to listen to what He has to say. And if you do listen--you might learn an awful lot.

*The story of Enos can be found in the Book of Mormon. I can get you a free copy if you are interested in reading it. Even if you just want to read it as literature, you might enjoy the stories and you would become more educated on Mormonism. :) I love to talk about books, too, so we could talk about it. Or I could send some really smart and good looking people to answer your questions. :)
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Also, Logan came home today with a paper titled "Auction List" and an explanation that they had $2,000 to spend at the auction (fake money, of course). Here's what was being auctioned:

1. To be a famous rock star.
2. To never be sick.
3. To be extremely smart. x
4. To be a famous sports star. x
5. To help others. x
6. To be President of the USA.
7. To be a famous model.
8. To be a school teacher.
9. To graduate from a famous college.
10. To never have pimples.
11. To help underprivileged children. x
12. To be a doctor.
13. To raise happy children.
14. To be a successful artist.
15. To live a long life. x
16. To own whatever car I would like.
17. To have a successful business. x
18. To live in a mansion. x
19. To be liked by everyone. x
20. To be a famous movie star.
21. To help the homeless problem.
22. To have a lot of close friends. x
23. To be happy in life. x
24. To be a millionaire. x
25. To travel around the world.
26. To have a great relationship with my parents.

What would you spend your money on? Is there one you would be willing to spend the entire amount on? Would you split it between 2 or 3? Or would you take all the cheap leftovers so you could get as many as possible? 

Which one do you think was the most popular and went for the highest amount? I'll tell you in a minute. 

I could see which ones Logan had checked as possibilities (I put an x at the end if he marked it). I was surprised at how much thought he put into his bidding (he didn't get his top choice because EVERYONE wanted the top choice and the winner bid his entire bank account on it).

Logan was the highest bidder on two: To be liked by everyone, and to be a millionaire. He explained to me that if he was a millionaire, he could accomplish many of the options on the list--like 5, 9,11,16,18,21,and 25. He chose close friends because he believes that if he is liked by everyone (and has money) then he can be happy in life and have good relationships with his family. It was an interesting thought. Finally, he had $500 leftover, and with that he was able to purchase a secret box which was a fortune telling of what kind of job he would have. I don't remember what he said it was, though. Oops.

OK--the one that everyone wanted and went for the entire $2,000: 

#3. To be extremely smart.

I'm still pondering about what that means for our world and a class full of 9 and 10 year olds.