Witt's End

I spend a lot of time with bodies that are damaged, broken, harmed. Seeing what can go wrong oftentimes overshadows the biological marvels of the world around me. And there is so much to be thankful for. So much that it's hard to put them into words. The ability we have to stop harm and to help heal is incredible. But it's not without limits.  I've spent time in ICUs, long term care, hospice, surgical suites, urgent cares, ERs (emergency rooms), and EMS (Emergency Medical Services). And in that time I've been astounded by what we can do.  Technology, chemistry, our understanding of biology have made it to the point that we can save so many people. We can maintain life through artificial means to a point inconceivable to previous generations. Dialysis, bypass, ECMO. So many wondrous and astounding interventions. But they come at a price. We can keep a brain dead person alive. We can keep hearts beating when the rest of the body is shutting down. But we cannot stop the de

We’ve all seen the memes, read the tweets, seen the TikToks, I can have friends with a different opinion than my own. I can have people in my life with different lifestyles than me.  I think all of us can. But all of us leverage point where an opinion or practice becomes too much. Where an opinion becomes too much for a friendship to bear. That’s hard to hear. I know but hang on.  We can’t have a familiar relationship with everyone. Not even a friendship with everyone. That’s ok. Not establishing a relationship just means you’re not establishing intimacy and expectations. We can’t open up to everyone. It’s just not feasible. And that’s something we need to realize moving forward.  It doesn’t mean you won’t be kind. It doesn’t mean you won’t be respectful. It just means you’re not letting someone in.  It’s ok to set that boundary based on what someone espouses to believe.  Where’s that line? I can’t answer you, but I can answer it for me. Here’s the long-winded explanation.  Let's s

Where do we draw the line between our religion informing our morals and values and imposing it on others? That separation is real. “Our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics of geometry.” Thomas Jefferson "As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion" John Adams "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State." Thomas Jefferson That's the political governmental separation. We can look on the religious side as well. “claim no privilege but what we feel cheerfully disposed to share with our fellow citizens of every denomination.” Joseph Smith and the First Presidency How do I impose my religious views on othe

 I struggle with the idea of calling out sins in others. It usually just makes me feel like a hypocrite.  See I take the idea of taking the beam out of my eye before working on the mote in your brother's eye very seriously. I can't build people up or take them to where I am very effectively without being really really honest about where I am and where I've been. Part of that may be some of the peer support training I have. The idea that being in recovery, having that experience can allow us the ability to be an example to others. Be a coach, a help, and at times a mentor. But it has to be based in experience.  There's a reason most substance abuse programs want counselors who have the experience of addiction themselves. There are aspects of the process of recovery that are hard to explain if you haven’t faced the fire and hardship. There’s an authenticity missing. I think similar principles can apply to the gospel.  Now really important caveat here. One needs not pursue