“How backward became forward.” ~ Siosifa Tali’ehe Lolohea

Thursday, January 27, 2011. I am grateful for those who are brave enough to speak out in the face of countervailing social trends. Such a one is Siosifa [Joseph] Tali’ehe Lolohea. Today I am going to share some of his thoughts from his recent posting on his blog.

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Siosifa Tali’ehe Lolohea
The only son of Siale Tali’ehe and ‘Aselika Takuvaka Lolohea.


“How Backward Became Forward”

“I was reading the other day about a professional basketball player named Kevin Seraphin who plays for the Washington Wizards . . . .
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“Kevin walked on to the floor and played a few sessions with his shorts on backwards. Seraphin, a rookie, apparently didn’t know about the mistake until there was a timeout and his teammates informed him of it. Kevin switched them around and finished the game with his shorts on the right way.

“This reminded me of an old hip-hop group from the early 90’s called Kris Kross. They were famous for a catchy song called “Jump” and for wearing their clothes on backwards. This trend didn’t really catch on in Oakland but there were a few who were brave enough to try it out. I think they found out how hard it is to function with buttons and zippers not where they’re supposed to be.

“While pondering Kevin’s accident and Kris Kross’s purposeful experiment I started thinking about the trends of today. Not in regard to fashion but the lifestyles that people lead . . . .

“I had a co-worker tell me once that I was one of the few open-minded Mormons [members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] he knew because I didn’t judge him for his dirty language and crude humor.

“I told him that I just understood that dirty is the only language he knew how to speak . . . [similar to the situation on my mission in the Philippines where] most of the Filipinos . . . only spoke Tagalog. I told him, ‘Crude may be the only thing you know and I can’t really hold that against you.’ He thought it was funny.”

Thank you, Siosifa! Here is my comment on your posting:

“Siosifa Tali’ehe Lolohea, I am very grateful that you are alive and well and wearing your clothes on forwards. 😮 Thank you for being willing to put your beliefs and associated behavior ‘out there.’ I love your example of accepting people’s language as is, because that may be the only language they know, whether refined or crude. Blessings and Gratitudes, Doc Meek”

If you wish to read the rest of Siosifa’s post, it is re-posted below in the P.S. , or you can click on Siosifa’s link: http://celestialheir.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-backward-became-forward.html?showComment=1296134724707#c4955173359798885869

Doc Meek, Thursday, January 27, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA
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P.S. If you wish to read all of Siosifa’s post, here it is in its entirety (immediately below) and here is the link to his blog:  http://celestialheir.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-backward-became-forward.html?showComment=1296134724707#c4955173359798885869

How Backward Became Forward

I was reading the other day about a professional basketball player named Kevin Seraphin who plays for the Washington Wizards. The article was about how he had a wardrobe malfunction during a game. Kevin walked on to the floor and played a few sessions with his shorts on backwards. Seraphin, a rookie, apparently didn’t know about the mistake until there was a timeout and his teammates informed him of it. Kevin switched them around and finished the game with his shorts on the right way.

This reminded me of an old hip-hop group from the early 90’s called Kris Kross. They were famous for a catchy song called “Jump” and for wearing their clothes on backwards. This trend didn’t really catch on in Oakland but there were a few who were brave enough to try it out. I think they found out how hard it is to function with buttons and zippers not where they’re supposed to be.

While pondering Kevin’s accident and Kris Kross’s purposeful experiment I started thinking about the trends of today. Not in regard to fashion but the lifestyles that people lead. I recently moved to Salt Lake City to attend college and had a chance to mingle with some city folk. I was surprised by the way that they viewed members of the LDS church [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] and the morals that we live by. They would tell me that most Mormons were closed-minded because they were unwilling to accept what they saw as evolution. I had a co-worker tell me once that I was one of the few open-minded Mormons [members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] he knew because I didn’t judge him for his dirty language and crude humor. I told him that I just understood that dirty is the only language he knew how to speak just like most of the Filipinos on my mission only spoke Tagalog. I told him, ‘Crude may be the only thing you know and I can’t really hold that against you.’ He thought it was funny.

It is clear to me that the world has become purposefully backwards and being interpreted as forward. Morals in this day are now viewed to be as obsolete as a horse and buggy on the freeway. A person doesn’t need to be respectful with words or even mindful of their actions to be deemed as a praiseworthy citizen in this society. We are now seen as cavemen without minds because we hold dear to beliefs that a man’s thoughts, words and deeds make-up his moral character and ultimately determines his eternal destiny.

I could see how the world would find such beliefs to be out dated. These were the beliefs of the men and women that founded this country and even those that settled the great city they live in. Not all things that were done back then have relevance today. We don’t walk everywhere we need to go or grow any of the food that sits in our refrigerator. But that doesn’t mean we no longer need the basic morals that breed goodness and virtue. No matter how advanced we get with scientific technology all living things will need the basic necessities to sustain life. So it is with us and moral values.

The backward method has existed since the very beginning. When Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden of Eden they were told by God that “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” But it was Adam’s son Cain that was taught, for the first time, that the opposite way was the right way. Cain was convinced, not by God, that he didn’t have to sweat to eat bread. In his own words he proclaimed, “Truly I am…the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain.” He spoke these words after killing his brother Abel and taking ownership of his possessions.

There is no secret of what is happening in our world today. It has been going on since the beginning of time. There is opposition in all things. Bitter and sweet. Hot and cold. Good and evil. And because all people have inherited good from their spiritual Father they will naturally choose good. So it is the purpose of the opposition to convince us that bitter is actually sweet and hot is really cold. Only then will we open-mindedly choose evil over good.

We have all been duped once or twice. No one is exempt from the conniving tactics of the opposition. Any man can fall when sex is painted to be something natural and needs to be free. It doesn’t need to be bound by the bonds of marriage or hidden in the privacy of our homes. It should be open and televised for the whole world to embrace just like basketball. Evil never looked so good when we think about it this way.

There is definitely “a time to love” but there is “a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” There is no question of why we were given the gift of procreation along with a mind capable of finding the purpose for which it was given. So any man can understand that for every choice there is a result soon to follow just as pulling a trigger will send a bullet flying in whatever direction you point it. You better be ready to reap the product of the seed you’ve just planted whether your shorts are on backwards or not.

We must get to know the true meaning of being open-minded. It is doing our best to understand all things not just the things that everyone says is right. Because the majority can sometimes be wrong. Ask anyone who has voted in a presidential election and have been disappointed with who the majority chose. It is by knowing one side and rejecting the other that makes us closed-minded. True understanding comes from knowing both backward and forward. Then once we’ve got it down it will be easy to know what our purpose is on this side of the veil and its reward in the eternity that awaits us on the other side.

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