The Townsend Faith Blog

Two years ago I was in a town called Bartlett just Northeast of Memphis Tennessee.  I was serving as a missionary for the church, and was assigned to serve within the boundaries of the Bartlett Second Ward.  The ward had a fantastic Elders Quorum, filled with inspiring and spiritual men.  They achieved the impossible: 100% home-teaching.  Two months in a row! But what was more, the lessons I learned in those Quorum meetings have stayed with me, and I would like to share one with you. We were given a small quarter-sheet of paper with information on both sides.  One side has a large square with four squares inside of it. This was reportedly similar to a plaque found on Spencer W Kimball's desk while he was serving as the president of the church. The lesson our teacher was teaching was in reference to 2 Nephi 9:41. O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the...

In the office I work at some employees have become discontented with the amounts of bonus money they have potential to receive each month.  As a manager, though one that has little to no say in the bonus money, I listened to their concerns, and then brought them up with the department head. I discussed with him the valid points of my team's arguments, and related to him my feelings in the situation.  I told him I think it is sad that the bonus should be such a point of distress to any employees.  In it's definition, a bonus is something extra, not something to be disputed over in the first place.  I told him my budget never includes the money I may or may not receive in a bonus.  We were hired and accepted the job without the expectation of this extra money, but now that it is presenting itself as an option, suddenly everyone is all worked up about it's amount. He told me he agrees and wishes that it wasn't something people would complain about.  I told...