A Curious Instrument

The Book of Mormon has so many jewels that help us deal with troubling times! One of the recent manifestations of troubles is the rise of Social Justice Warriors, sometimes known as SJWs, and their increasingly successful forays into many political and social institutions.  It is easy to think of an SJW as simply a high-spirited defender of various rights and peoples, but all too often we see such folks engage in riotous behavior and some of their more punitive proposals codified in regulation.  They seem nice and good in the beginning, but as they gain some influence, we see many of them taking a decidedly dark turn. I was reading today in 3 Nephi 3 :11-12, where the prophet Mormon give us some insight into a powerful political group called the Gadianton Robbers  (v.11) and how the established government and their supporters chose to deal with them (v.12). I highlight in red a phrase that should ring true of the SJW, who might be identified as one current incarna...

After all the elaborate writing of Paul, I always find the epistle of James to be a wonderful and understandable respite, except for the fact that James highlights many principles of behavior and living on which we need to be working! Here is a bit of a list that I came up with.  Surely, all of you could come up with better lists, given how "meaty" James is! It is better to be a "low" person with afflictions than a rich man living in ease. (1:9-11) Everyone is tempted (not just "bad" people) - it is how we endure temptations that matters (1:12-15) Actually being and doing good is much better than hearing and talking about doing good. (1:22-25) Pure Religion - visit the fatherless children and widows - sounds like ministering! (1:27) You shouldn't treat people differently, rich or poor. (2:1-9)  You can't pick and choose the laws you keep, you have to keep them all. (2:10-12) "...faith without works is dead..." (2:17-26) Be car...

Climate is changing all the time. In what records scientists have been able to develop, there have been things like ice ages and warming trends in the past, among all sort of variations. These seem to have been happening for the entire lifetime of the earth, which length of life there is all sorts of debate. Basically, experts can't definitively agree on much about how the earth works, much less something as basic as its age. A first painful question:  How do we know if the changes were are observing now in the Earth's climate are really anything that we can affect? I don't think the actions of humans created the last big ice age - either there were far too few of us or we were more like apes and therefore, by politically correct (pc) standards, totally benign. Why did the climate make a big change then and why?  All we can do is shrug and say "wasn't us!" Some painful follow-up questions:  What if our heroic efforts to suppress temperature rise actually...

I listen often to a psychologist and college professor named Jordan Peterson and his insights into our current social upheavels. I was strongly impressed to share this snippet of one of his lectures on masculinity .  In his own way, he describes the sort of responsibility that is particularly resonate with young men that have often been cast aside as worthless and destructive to an emasculated world desired by some. For my part, I encourage everyone to seek wisdom and they will often find themselves at the feet of Jesus Christ . If you get there through the words of a psychologist or at the hands of a priest, it matters little.  Christ will help you find the true masculinity and transcendence that your soul demands.  I don't pretend to be some paragon of virtue, but I have become acquainted with Jesus and his teachings from many sources  and I invite all to find the truth of God through his prophets .  It is a worthy pursuit for any who seeks the divine m...

As I look back on my life so far, I remember again that I am profoundly blessed and I thank God for his watch-care for me and my family. It can all be summed up in one word: gratitude . My mom generously gifted the house in Tucumcari to us and we were initially preparing it for sale until Lisa suggested living in it, her continuing love of the area coming through. After a huge downsizing, she is snuggly nesting in her new place. I still work my weekdays about a hundred miles away in Portales and spend time with her on the weekends. I am grateful for the generousity of my mother! Speaking of the job, I am blessed to continue my work at Eastern New Mexico University , administering some computer servers and applications. It can be a bit more pressure than I prefer and I will surely appreciate retirement when it comes, but it is fine employment that lets me provide well for my family. Few jobs pay as much in this area and I have friendly people to work with, so I hope I am not found...

Young people expect a lot and they are angry and vengeful toward previous generations and often toward God for not meeting their expectations . Some of my kids find me to be a poor father. I am actually quite a lot like my own father and I think he has been pretty good in the main. Mom was a fine mother as well despite the usual imperfections. My wife and I worked to make sure that we had a better relationship than any of our parents could manage - my parents divorced when I was just entering adolescence and I was determined that I wouldn't do that when it was my turn.  I haven't divorced and my children didn't have to deal with that damaging situation . We generated better circumstances than the previous generation but that just wasn't good enough as far as some of my children were concerned. It is like climate change.  Children lack any sense of history , especially if their parents never read them Grimm's fairy tales , so they don't understand that thing...

Socialism is an imaginary human management system that will not work until every human is under its management. In no case will *every* human submit to such a system without some external and absolute tyranny, which also won't work. Liberty is the state of mortal being that is ordained by God. Every human enjoys liberty insofar as they exercise it. Everyone exercises some liberty even if they have no intention of doing so. You cannot fully abdicate your liberty to others, no matter how much they or you desire it. Sometimes, people are tricked into the idea that Socialism can create Liberty, but this is not so.  Socialism only spreads responsibility among the group and allows others to attempt to regulate an individual's actions. Liberty insists on full individual responsibility and full consequences for individual choices. Liberty sounds good but few actually desire it fully - most people are allured by the fiction that one can do as they please and a family, community, or ...