25 June 2016

Brexit, a Blow to Social Engineering, and the Return of Family Sovereignty

It is amazing to watch the scramble happening around the referendum decision in Britain to separate itself from the European Union. I listen to the BBC as Lisa and I wake most mornings and the accusations and fear-mongering from many directions on the question has finally been settled. I, for one, am excited to see any people declare themselves the masters of their own destinies and free to choose their own course! Hurray for the British people!

Some thirty years ago, I was revealed as a bit of a radical as a college student when I was "outed" as a liberty-minded person. Many of my "sisters" in the home economics department were preparing for careers in "human services", "social work", or "education", mostly the bastion of the high-minded who believe that most people are incompetent to run their own lives and must be "managed" by educated "experts". I rejected this idea and came up with my own ideal worldview. I garnered a lot of strange looks from my peers but was lucky to have interested and encouraging mentors and professors. My fellow students saw the world separated into two groups: the managed mass of people and those who manage the mass. Of course, we were all in college to qualify for the position of the manager of others. I was a bit odd for saying that people should be free to associate and act as they chose - basically, I preach that everyone should have the opportunity to be either unmanaged by others or choosing their own management.

Over the years, I formulated an idea that I call family sovereignty. I realized that "rugged individualism", one of the hallmarks of the American experience, was a bit of falsehood and saw that individual people cannot be truly independent - they need other people to get along well and be fully realized. I also saw that collecting people into homogenized "communities" or "societies" has become the road to dehumanization and a domineering few "lording over" a repressed many through legislated governance and social controls. People need other people, but how do we provide maximum liberty and minimum tyranny? The solution that I found and still promote these days is the procreative family and the concept of family sovereignty.

My preaching on this subject is this:
  • Be a supportive member of your family by bringing honor to your parents and ancestors, and "lifting" each family member toward their potential.
  • Form your own procreative family by marrying, conceiving/bearing/raising children within that marriage, and looking to each other for fulfilling your needs.
  • Put the needs of your family members before your personal desires, especially as a parent.
It has been rightly said that the family is the basic unit of society. However, larger constructs (community, state, nation) and their institutions (corporations, schools, governments) have developed an attitude about the powerful social force that families can be:  either bend the family to service outside forces (example: "full-day schools") or weaken the family so individual family members can be dominated by outside forces (example: promotion of gay/single lifestyles). Agencies that claim to "help" families often do the exact opposite by training them to run to social workers or other "experts" to solve internal family problems instead of discovering their own answers. If other interests can break potentially strong families into dis-unified and relatively weak individual people, those individuals will come running to corporations, schools, and governments to help them meet their needs, often only to become practical slaves to these institutions. The basic unit of society (family) needs to become the most important and central group in any individual's life!

Brexit is a wonderful example of a smaller group taking back sovereignty over their lives from a larger entity. I already see that Scotland and even beloved Shetland are considering afresh their independence and ability to chart their own course. The idea of managing yourself and choosing your own associations, rather than having someone else choose for you, is getting traction in a big way and that is exciting to a liberty-minded fellow like myself!  Someday, I hope this attitude will rise to the point where families will realize their inherent strength and power, choose to stand up to domineering institutions, and chart a course that works best for their family and family members.  Hail, Brexit! 

23 June 2016

Re-editing Posts in the Wake of Orlando

You might think that I am here to tone down some of my previous words about LGBT(Q) "harlots" in the wake of the recent rampage at an Orlando gay bar. If anything, I went back to re-edit old posts to sharpen up my point that such attitudes and activities spend our cultural strength, run everyone down a cultural rat-hole, and waste resources and time we should be using to solve more deserving problems.

On an individual level, the shooting of so many people in Orlando is very tragic. No one deserves to die for simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. My heart goes out to families and friends that were truly touched by this despicable act.

I don't think we could have predicted a mass-shooting at a gay bar (never happened before), but what will happen next? Will LGBT(Q) cheerleaders demand larger gatherings that are better policed with more public funds? I daresay they will, if their craving for attention and their need to dominate conversation holds steady. They are loving partners with the anti-gun lobby, forces that would have everyone strip-searched at multiple opportunities each day, and those who use fear to oppress and subject everyone to the will of powerful interest groups. When the LGBT(Q) "prostitutes" come around, you must look about for their political "pimps" and the goals of these spin-doctors that profit off of the terror that incidents like Orlando create.

Orlando has become a wonderful opportunity for profiteers as professional "mourners".  I would look for more attention being demanded from excited LGBT(Q) leaders and their convenient friends. The anti-gun lobby and anti-family forces are secretly cheering the carnage as they first weep and then get indignant on-camera. You and I are being manipulated and forced down the convenient rat-holes once again by media-hogging harlots.  Thanks to the interest groups, Orlando has been cast as another battle in a handful of larger culture wars - why are we surprised when some professed cultural warrior decides to bring guns to the battle?

12 June 2016

Becoming an Authorized Priesthood Holder

I have written a few times (here and here) about the duties of priesthood holders and some might be feeling a bit left out.

Some people get hung up about Christian rites they have done in the past that God and his authorized priesthood don't recognize.  "Why do I need to be baptized again?"  It is simple - if you don't fulfill God's prerequisites, you don't get the priesthood. It is like wanting to make a fine wine but getting weird about crushing grapes in a certain way - You want the results? You have to do what is required!

Any man can qualify to be considered for priesthood ordination. I have not heard of any qualified man being rejected, only those not who choose not to meet the qualifications.

Please understand that I don't slight the role of women in God's plan:  they have the higher calling of motherhood that is built into their very bodies. Priesthood is something given to men as one compensation for their basic lack of in-born child-bearing and nurturing ability. I also won't go into it - you can read about the subject here if you like.

The priesthood is the power of God. An ordination gives this power to men to act in God's name and do what God would do. Scripture is replete with instruction on how the priesthood should be used and what sort of man you need to be to exercise priesthood power. It is the pursuit and study of a lifetime (and longer) to develop yourself into a worthy and powerful priesthood holder.  This is neither a casual nor a easy road to travel - God also puts those who accept priesthood responsibilities under covenant to rise to the challenge of it, proscribing great rewards for your efforts and punishments for a man's neglect of it. It is a very serious undertaking.

The whole purpose of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) in relation to men is to imbue them with increasing priesthood responsibility and a greater call to service, leading to the ultimate goal of become like God. All men are welcome to worship with us, but one must understand that we are about the goal: if a man is not interested in taking on priesthood duties and becoming like God ultimately, the LDS Church may be an uncomfortable place for that man. Though every man has the opportunity of taking on himself the priesthood, rejection of it is indicative of a man unwilling to fundamentally better himself, to walk a higher road, and to perform more meaningful and efficacious service to others as a life-long commitment.

Don't get me wrong - I honor all service performed by everyone in any capacity. However, to have the added spiritual ability afforded by having and honoring the priesthood is like having a hammer at a roofing "party": there is plenty of good work to do when putting on a roof if you don't have a hammer with you, but you could perform the central work of roofing better if you had that hammer and were experienced in wielding it! Likewise, having the priesthood and experience in using it effectively makes you so much more useful in God's larger work. Wouldn't you like to be such a man?

So, what are the steps for men to become authorized priesthood holders?
  1. Contact missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - chances are you see the familiar white-shirt-and-tie wearing bicycle riders that are Mormon missionaries.  Flag them down and invite them to your home.  If an on-line "flag-down" is more to your liking, you can click here and chat with someone who will set up a visit for you!
  2. Qualify to be baptized by an LDS priest - you will need to be a part of several lessons regarding Latter-Day Saint doctrine and practice, read parts of the Book of Mormon, and act on spiritual challenges to embrace a handful of good practices and eliminate certain unholy ones.  If you still desire baptism and meet the requirements, the ordinance will be arranged for you by missionaries and local priesthood leaders.
  3. Receive the Aaronic Priesthood and fulfill its duties - Shortly after baptism and the additional ordinance of receiving "the gift of the Holy Ghost", men are typically ordained as priests in the preparatory Priesthood of Aaron and given responsibilities during sacrament meeting (the LDS worship service) and to help with "home teaching" (priesthood visits to families in their homes), among other assignments.
  4. Receive the Melchizedek Priesthood - After some months, your dedication to fulfilling the duties of a priest are reviewed by priesthood leadership and, if satisfactory, you will be offered an ordination to the office of an Elder in the higher Melchizedek Priesthood. Elders fulfill several functions in the LDS Church, conduct meetings where assigned, may be assigned local priesthood leadership roles, and provide priesthood leadership within their families and other assigned families through home teaching.
For those of you who desire to serve God and your fellow man with the enhanced authority and power that the authorized priesthood provides, I hope you use those desires to qualify yourselves for it and join our ranks!