The Townsend Faith Blog

A dear friend of mine sent me the following email.  It is something to be shared with all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnYbsAVdkYw Today as I was listening to the track "The Last March of the Ents" from "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" soundtrack and it occurred to me how this scene in the movie applies to our lives. In the movie, the Ents (the living, talking tree creatures) are told by Merry and Pippin of the evil that is taking over the world. It turns out that the Ents are quite apathetic to what is going on, they do not believe that the evil affects them, and that it is none of their concern what is happening to others. I thought about how we can all be apathetic at times, sometimes not taking thought to how evil affects us, our family or our friends. We sometimes don't take a second thought about watching that one movie, or retelling that one joke, or visiting that one Internet site, or using those words, or listening to that music th...

Recently our world has been rocked by many things.  Worldwide rumors of wars and dangerous weapons are stirring.  Nationwide our leaders wrestle with the dilemmas of local and foreign policy.  More close to home, management shifts at work are in process, and school is becoming ever more demanding as we move into higher and higher level classes and more time needs to be devoted to developing portfolios for career application. As I was stressing, hyperventilating a little, and sitting at dinner with a great friend Steven and his wife Amelia, I had to find a way to calm down.  I did something that has helped me to calm down in the past; broke down my life quickly to find core values and needs.  Here is some of what I concluded: Why am I here?  I am here to show my Father in Heaven that I can live honorably and obediently on this big, scary and dangerous Earth. OK, so what is needed to accomplish this? Be good to all of Father's other children. Honor,...

The "Come Follow Me" lesson topic for April is The Apostasy and The Restoration. I love the Restoration of the gospel.  I love the wonderful feeling of life, and growth, and brightness I get when I think about the Restoration.  I think about those wonderful days when I wake up early, and go outside early in the morning and accomplish some great task or have a great experience.  Most recently I have risen early to work on movies for school, or gone on hikes, or played Frisbee with friends.  On my mission we would run in the thick, wet air of the south, beams of sun lighting up the humidity looking like fairy dust falling from heaven.  Each of these experiences are filled with the wonderful feeling of endless possibilities and potential.  The day is young, and the world is waiting for us to experience it. In preparation for my lesson coming up this Sunday, a suggested reading came from the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph ...

Last Sunday we had the Stake Presidency in our Sacrament meeting. The Stake President got up after the Sacrament was passed and started his talk by stating we have a great ward and bishopric. He also stated that now that its a new year we have many opportunities to expand and grow. Then he said that by the authority of the First Presidency he will dissolve the Park 11th ward. Then he released  everyone. It was very sudden. very few people had any warning, so the news was kind of hard to take. The Stake President then left time for testimonies and needless to say, that Sacrament meeting went longer than any Sacrament meeting I have been to. When the Stake President made the announcement I was very sad, but it wasn't until he released me that I started bawling. I was so depressed that without warning I no longer had a calling. I felt so different being the  Young Women's President. I felt like I was guided by the Spirit far more than whe...

(To hear Ashley's talk, click here:  Ashley's Talk ) Good morning brothers and sisters, I'll just give an introduction as to who I am.  My name is Ashley Townsend.  I am married to Andrew Townsend.  We've been married for about a year and have lived here the whole time.  Both of us work together, live together, we're pretty much around each other 24/7so if you need to get a hold of us just call the other person if you can't reach us. If you haven't already figured out the topic it's the women's role here on Earth and in the Kingdom of God. One day me and my husband went to the Provo temple to do sealings and I stood up from the alter and took about a step and then I passed out and woke up with every body's heads around me and I guess I was trying to sleep walk or something because my husband was pinning me down saying to just lay down and don't worry about it and the sealer came in with a little can of orange juice and some crackers...

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...