This week Francis Collins gave a speech at BYU that I enjoyed watching. Here is the link and this post will give you the highlights. He started out talking about his impressive career which included being the head of the National Institute of Health for many years, including during COVID. He headed up the Human Genome Project and also did research, finding the genes for cystic fibrosis and Huntington's Disease. He got a Ph.D. in chemistry from Yale and then went to medical school at University of North Carolina. He also talked about how he became a Christian. Before medical school, he was an atheist, but it was at the bedsides of people who were dying that he started to realize he wouldn't know how to handle that. One woman who reminded him of his grandmother told him about her faith in a compelling way and then asked him a question, "Doctor, what do you believe? " He realized that he had spent almost no time pondering this extremely important question. He said he ...
On New Year's Eve, my sister's family visited us and they took a tour of Scott's lab and the anechoic chamber. Then that night we went to a game night at my parents' house. On New Year's, we headed to St. George for slightly warmer temperatures and a general getaway. We rode the train at the Dinosaur Park. We also spent some time at Snow Canyon State Park which is always a good time. We visited the St. George temple which has some beautiful decor. Scott, Katie, Camille and Mindy did baptisms while I went in the main part of the temple. And here is a random picture of some turkeys I saw in the cemetery.