A Curious Instrument

 I have just been hit by two "blasts from the past" that conjuncted a few days ago. When I was in my late 20's, I took a very interesting job as a siesmic navigator on a boat for Petroleum Geoservices, better known as PGS.  I floated on exploration boats for two years and came back to on-shore work when the twins were going to be born.  That was late 1999. Not too many years later, Lisa and I decided to look at going to graduate school in Shetland, an island group above Scotland. We worked hard to get the arrangements together, but the UK finally said they wouldn't approve a student visa for us, so that plan went down the drain. Here, I see that a PGS ship, the Ramform Vangard, which was under constuction when I was working for the company, has had to have an extended stay in port at Lerwick (the capital of Shetland). I never thought much of the "Ramform" boats as they reminded me of luxury liners compared to the boats I worked on - they even had a European ...

When it comes to elections, my candidates rarely win. It would probably be useful to those who seek office to consult with me, just to be sure that I don't plan to vote for them, thus avoiding a nearly-sure loss. I am not an extremist, at least I don't consider myself one.  The current political climate is rife with extremism, from succession to the "green new deal", from racism to the "cancel" culture. Society is demanding that everyone pick a side in a ideological war where fringe groups battle in a "winner-take-all" fashion and victory will never be claimed until all opposition is destroyed. In the minds of some, a winner's political enemies must literally be killed if they cannot be turned.  I am not of that ilk at all - I want all of us to survive these times and your compelled conversion to one side or the other has never been my aim. It has been windy at "the Crash Site", which is where I sleep during the work-week.  It is a sa...

I have spoken about prosperity at least once before  and I have prospered myself in recent years. I don't know how much I deserve anything like it, but good things have happened regardless as I put myself in God's path. My continued slow reading of the Book of Mormon might shed some light on some things that bring prosperity, physical and spritual.  3 Nephi 5 21 Surely he hath blessed the house of Jacob, and hath been merciful unto the seed of Joseph. 22 And insomuch as the children of Lehi have kept his commandments he hath blessed them and prospered them according to his word. As it reads, God blessed the house of Jacob (those would be the tribes of Israel) and has been merciful to the "seed of Joseph", which are more specifically the descendents of Ephriam and Menassah, the sons of Joseph. This is relevant to the writer Mormon, who is a descendent of Lehi, whose children were of both sons of the biblical Joseph.  It seems that these scriptures make reference to a ...

These days, it seems that there are demands for respect all around us. It seems like everyone, no matter what they do, are suddenly worthy of respect from everyone around them. This is confusing for me, perhaps because I am of a different generation and culture than most others around me. I grew up with a very influential grandfather. Actually, he was my great uncle by marriage, but he later married my divorced grandmother and was the only grandfather that I knew on my mother's side of the family. He was hard-working, both kind and demanding, put others before himself, and served God with diligence. I remember most when he was often disappointed with me and wanted me to be more present in my surroundings. I ultimately respected his opinions and learned that when I disagreed with him, I tended to be wrong and he tended to be right. Even after his death, his advice to do technical work, which I rejected early on, turned out to be the right way to go and very lucative for me. When I t...

 I date myself all the time, more and more as time passes. On October 26, 1974 (yes, I was 7 years old), then Prophet Harold B. Lee spoke at the Hart Auditorium (I watched "Star Wars" at that auditorium 12 years later as a college student) on the Ricks College campus (now BYU-I).  I bring this up because of all the talk that the United States may cease to exist and break into any number of countries based on party or ideology.  President Lee said this many years ago. Men may fail in this country. Earthquakes may come; seas may heave themselves beyond their bounds; there may be great drought and disaster and hardships, but this nation, founded as it was on a foundation of principle laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail .  I got this from the Deseret News 1974 Church Almanac that I have in my front room. Times were hard forty-five years ago, and it is no better in 2020. However, we can hear the words of prophets of God.  It heartens me that our nati...

In a media-saturated world that is slanted heavily toward anti-God ideologies, I have always found it useful to get news and perspective from a variety of sources. It is getting tougher to find some balance when anything other than absolute submission to socialistic ideals is being touted as near-treason to Neo-socialistic sensibilities. Take for example a story from one of my favorite sources: Mercopress, a media provider in the South Atlantic where I can follow stories about the Falkland Islands and South America. I had never heard of  Earth Overshoot Day  before, but apparently this group marks the day when the world has used up all of a years renewable resources and then selfishly pillages resources that can never be renewed. However, God presents a more hopeful scenario: Doctrine & Covenents 104 :17  For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves. Much...

I fear some people misinterpret the Two Great Commandments that Jesus gave as a response to an interesting query. There is a temptation to overlay recent concepts of love on these two commandments and essentially reinterpret them in ways perhaps at variance with what was originally intended by the Lord. Matthew 22:36-40 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. The last verse says that the key to understanding everything else that has been revealed lies in the first two commandments. The first commandment indicates an active and all-encompassing reverence for God, which I interpret as obedience-in-action to his commandments. As God doesn't force you to obey, the desire to keep his c...