Super-Star Super-Saint

"Before there was Danny Ainge and before we even knew what a Jimmer was there was Krešimir Ćosić. Krešimir Ćosić was born in Yugoslavia in 1948."

I served the first eight months of my mission in Slovenia, which is one of the three countries of the former Yugoslavia to which we have Krešmir to thank for introducing the gospel. The picture of him jumping up for a throw hung in our kitchen in my apartment in Slovenia.  Elder Davis brought back memories of my mission when he posted Krešmir's story in the Mormon March Madness segment of his blog.
When I'd bring up the restoration with people in Slovenia, most people were atheists and very few of them had heard of Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon. Personally, they had no interest in it, but when I'd bring up Krešmir Ćosić they light up with interest and find a little desire to learn what he dedicated his adult life to. A great man that I helped to join the church was once personal friends with him.
Krešmir was an important part of my mission, even though he passed away before I gave any serious thought to going on mission. Thanks for sharing this. I'm glad that his efforts mean something to you too.

See Elder Davis' full post about how Krešmir Ćosić brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to the former communistic Yugoslavia and watch a video about Krešmir's inspiring life combining basketball and the gospel.

In Others' Words: Absolutely Essential

In Others' Words: Absolutely Essential:

I apologize for the last post. I'm simplifying. I will return to the real purpose of this blog and minimize my own commentary (soap-boxing) on the quotes I provide. I can't really say it any better anyway.

I am reprimanded by the words of a favorite author of mine, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In his book The Little Prince, the title character so truly teaches (as I have now illustrated):

"Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."

Saint-Exupéry was a French pilot during WWII. In spite of his involvement on behalf of his country, he despised war and viewed life with the eye of a poet. He wrote much concerning charity, which the prophet Mormon defines as "the pure love of Christ."

The insights of Saint-Exupéry are simple but profound. For fear of saying anything to detract from their greatness, I will refrain from comment, but merely place quotes in a pleasant order.


"Charity never humiliated him who profited from it, nor ever bound him by the chains of gratitude, since it was not to him but to God that the gift was made."

-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"If a man say, 'I love God,' and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also."

1 John 4:20-21

"For true love is inexhaustible; the more you give, the more you have. And if you go to draw at the true fountainhead, the more water you draw, the more abundant is its flow."

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"Love does not cause suffering; what causes it is the sense of ownership, which is love's opposite."

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Let go. Let God. Without charity, life is meaningless. With it, life is given energy and purpose. In it's pure unadulterated form, Love is the greatest thing in the world and the greatest absolute essential.

As a summation of his philosophy, we can take these words of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry to heart.

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye."

By Elder Thatcher

See his blog at http://inothers-words.blogspot.com/