"Return unto me and I will return unto you,..."

I might get the reputation of highlighting the hard Christ, the one who promises punishments for disobedience.  I do this because of the constant stream of platitudes from many, many popular sources that "God loves you the way you are" and the rejection of commandments and essential ordinances and repentance in favor of a supposed Christ's overarching desire to put aside everything he ever said and taught in favor of being oh-so-loving to everyone. If I were your only source for information on the Messiah, you might see him as a pretty hard taskmaster - I just feel this deep need to provide the better-documented (in scripture) counterpoint!

Here is a wonderful snippet to help you know that you don't have to be in the "hard" Savior's "doghouse" forever: 

3 Nephi 24 and Malachi 3

7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts. But ye say: Wherein shall we return?

This again is Christ Himself quoting Malachi because it was important for his followers in America to have this information.  That means that it must be of supreme importance to the Lord and to our allegiance to him.

If you don't feel as if Christ is a part of your life or you don't feel that you are having the spiritual experiences that he promised to send you through the Holy Ghost, it is because you have distanced yourself from him ("gone away from mine ordinances and have not kept them"). The way to resolve this lack of spiritual feeling and guidance is to "Return to me (Jesus)".  In the following verses, Jesus quotes the searing accusation that people rob God by not paying the commanded tithing as an example of how one can "return".  I choose to leave that concept aside for now, as I want to appeal to the folks that want the sweet and kindly Christ that can be found in a "properly interpreted" Bible (wink, wink).

Christ is always willing to get closer to us, but better proximity is always on the condition of repentance or change. It may be true that "God loves you the way you are", but it seems that his better presence and closer attention to your needs may be based on our striving to be a bit better than "the way you are".

I'm just restating the words of Christ himself - I hope that is not too "un-loving" for you dear readers!

God's Definition of Special

It seems everyone wants to find something special about themselves; something that makes them stand out from the rest. But what happens when you are special in God's eyes but that marks you for something seemingly bad as opposed to something good?

As an Aaronide priest, which marks me and my sons as a literal male-line descendants of the biblical Aaron and leaders in the tribe of Levi, the Lord himself has singled us out in a way not too appealing:

Malachi 3 and 3 Nephi 24

2 But who may abide the day of his (the Lord's) coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap.

3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. 

4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

There it is - the fate of my heritage: to be burned until pure and scrubbed until clean. The redemption of the Jews and Jerusalem must have pure and clean priests, of which I am one.  Doesn't that make a person feel special and loved, all warm and fuzzy inside?

I would say most people would rather avoid such a background, but it is inadvisable to hide from God. I didn't think much on these things in my youth as our family didn't really know our background, but now that we do, I get this need to rise to the station that my ancestry demands.

My life hasn't struck me as particularly hard, but there is a growing desire not to hang back from responsibility, not to avoid tasks that seem difficult, not to turn down opportunities that may force stretching and growth.  I am heartened by the regular blessings of the Lord that have helped me along the way and assured me that God is really there and mindful of me. That is a great reassurance that fire and soap will do its work and that I will end up pure and clean at some point in the future.

Be careful of the desire to be special - it isn't all wine and roses.

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident on GoodReads

The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer


Wonderful Archetype for the overriding love-service and responsibility of children to parents and the collection of powerful allies in mutual benefit toward individual goals - I will help you with your needs and you will help me with mine.

View all my reviews

"The Priest" is my Pronoun

There is much ado about pronouns these days.  Some rather inconsequential countries have even written laws about who defines personal pronouns, what are proper pronouns, and the punishments inflicted if uninformed bystanders dare to use the wrong reference, even ignorantly. I think we will see that governments which behave in this way will all be cast as foolishly inconsequential going forward and be largely ignored. 

As GUS (Government of the United States) consumers will soon be denied food for non-compliance, I will be using the following pronoun to placate the howlers:  the priest.

I know.  You say that isn't a pronoun. Are you really injecting logic at this time in this environment?  "Zim" and "zey" weren't pronouns five years ago, but be prepared for the screaming if you don't acknowledge them as pronouns today.  I can be just as creative as any other rainbow-haired howler.  Besides, "the priest" fits in any given pronoun-ed sentence. Try it anywhere you would use a pronoun and it works and it's actually good grammar to boot.  That makes it a pronoun in any sense to which I am aware.

Better than giving ourselves our own names and pronouns, we should let those who know us well (our parents?) do it instead - an arcane concept. God gave me "the priest" designation as a descendant of the biblical Aaron and who am I to question the understanding of a deity concerning my heritage and responsibility?

Even better, this sort of a pronoun also speaks to a higher state to which I can aspire.  If one can attach themselves to such a term, would one not be riddled with guilt and shame, yet strive to meet the expectation? I should want to be a good priest, one that brings honor and praise from God. This is much better than a pronoun that simply implies existence or something as modernly banal as gender.

As a counterpoint to modern ignominy, I offer some reasonably modern words from God:

 

Doctrine and Covenants 88

35 That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still.

I added the emphasis to help us see that as we seek to alter God's commands and perhaps set up one's own set of commandments, promised blessings and a happy afterlife will not follow. I find the term "filthy" especially appropriate to our day.

To speak on the subject of pronouns and names a bit more, people should be far more worried about bringing honor to the name that their parents gave them. Whether it is some family first name or the last name they have.  Far too many seek to redefine themselves by changing their name, basically tearing themselves from their own family, familial love and honor.

If people are going to throw aside convention, family, and perhaps God, at least let them create pronouns and names toward a higher purpose rather than pointless navel-staring.

Fred Reed is One of the Best Commentators of Our Times

I first discovered Fred about fifteen years ago.

I put links to some of his columns here because they are often blocked without some obfuscation.  He is not considerate of the howlers who scream at things that bother them, so social media typically blocks his writing, which is a terrible shame and recommends him most highly.  Fred is a real "straight shooter".

https://www.amren.com/commentary/2022/02/fred-reed-joe-biden-democracy/ - The Care and Feeding of Rabble: Democracy Its Own Self

https://www.unz.com/freed/blackness-fatigue-enough-is-too-much/ - This gives the best explanation of how "diversity" is at the root of most violence and wars.  Mixing strongly different people together is a bad societal idea. 

You can see Fred's recent columns here:  https://muckrack.com/fred-reed/articles

So, What?

There are many, many things that just don't really matter.  

Not that we don't care or feel, that we want to feel true to ourselves and allow everyone else to also feel true to themselves as well, but in the end, these sorts of things usually don't really matter in ways that are meaningful.  It is terribly sad, but it is completely true.  Someone has to tell you this and it might as well be me.

Lately, when I am confronted with someone pushing anti-bias-curriculum or transgenderism or some "feel-good-for-nothing" philosophy in my face, I simply respond with "So, what?" and walk off. I will tell you why I do this even though such a response qualifies as the height of rudeness these days.

I am essentially lazy, as many people are but are loathe to admit. When it came time to pick a career, I chose early childhood education. When I was a missionary, I spent much of my time distracting young kids while others talked about God and religion. I enjoyed my time with the kids and they seemed to enjoy it as well.  I spent three years in college studying toward a certification to run child care centers so I could have fun with young kids and get paid for it. Ultimately, I got a degree in something else, failed at the child care business (who wanted some man looking after kids?) in several ways, and ultimately figured out that I needed to do something completely different to provide for my family.

At some point, I found out that reality demands that we often can't do or be something that we wish for. Life just shrugged, gave me a "so, what?", and I had to become a computer guy and do more lucrative work. Sad but ultimately very necessary for the needs of my family.

I also don't understand when reality is trying to teach me something. For example, our oldest son is autistic and was diagnosed with autism just before he turned three-years-old. He was debilitated enough to get government disability payments and will likely continue to do so for the rest of his life. At one point, I was reasonably sure that most of our children and I were likely also on the autism "spectrum" and I even had the kids tested toward seeing if they were debilitated as well.  My very wise wife would not allow me to get tested, seeing that I was just wanting some excuse to be a bit more lazy than normal with disability payments. At the time, the diagnostic industry was suffering a backlash of over-diagnosis and no other member of the family was declared autistic. It was a good thing because it wouldn't have really made any of our lives any better - just lazier.  It was a big exclamation of "So, what?" that I didn't notice at the time.

Life is hard and it is rather natural that people will find exemptions from as many aspects of life as possible. Current in-sensibilities are doing a pretty good job of generating life-exemptions based on feelings and self-truth. Politicians and celebrities, eager to appear caring and "woke", are happy to exempt one or another based on nearly any attribute or attitude from successful behavior - punishing business and people who demand standards and coddling the bizarre in every realm. Ultimately, there will be a sigh of sick satisfaction when the first green-haired, bulbously tattooed, and beastialic counter-human is handed the reigns of power in the world by a cowed and defeated majority.  However, until that time comes, I will join those who shrug and say "So, what?" when various deviants demand life-exemption and fiscal support toward no worthwhile purpose, just as such a thing was said to me on lazier occasions.

Get to work. Engage with life. The thing worth the loudest cheering is that each of us overcome to make a real contribution to the world in ways that really matter, such as making a family, bringing children into the world, and raising them to also do things that really matter.

Everyone who accomplishes anything worthy of note had to meet the demands of the existing reality. There are no real exemptions to this, no matter our limitations or how one feels or thinks about themselves.  The "woke" are welcome to live the limited existence that their behavior deserves, but they must change and at the very least stop harassing others if they want to have more or better. Screaming and hatred will not be profitable long-term. 

For those who are disrespected in spending their lives loudly demanding acceptance and exemption from social norms for their deviant selves and comrades, "So, what?"

"I am he who doeth it."

I sometimes think that I'm a pretty lucky guy. Then I remember my blessings and I think again.

3 Nephi 20:

15 And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not repent after the blessing which they shall receive, after they have scattered my people—

16 Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

17 Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

18 And I will gather my people together as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor.

19 For I will make my people with whom the Father hath covenanted, yea, I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass. And thou shalt beat in pieces many people; and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. And behold, I am he who doeth it.

The "Gentiles" have had a great ride.  One can only look at the advances and, frankly, blessings that have come to Western civilization over several centuries to know that God has smiled on this people. Sadly, Jesus here tells that the ride will come to an end.

As we have seen in the past few decades, most of the gentile peoples and nations have been turning away from Christ and his God, either recasting them as something other than the scriptural record says, or simply casting them aside altogether.  In my mind, this is what they should "repent" of as referenced in verse 15.  As this has not happened, the time is coming as spoken of in Luke 21:24, when the "times of the gentiles" will end.

Christ is very, very poignant in these Nephi verses that the children of Israel will be scattered among the gentiles and be very destructive to them.  As a lion "treadeth down" and "teareth in pieces", relations between the followers of Christ and those who reject Jesus will be no peaceable "lion lying down with the lamb" situation!

Verse 19 makes it very clear: the Lord through the children of Israel will destroy "many people".  Jesus wants to make it clear that he will be the one behind it all and everything gained in the destruction will be the Lord's.  Then that last statement: "I am he who doeth it", which should remind us all, both those who conquer and those who are conquered, that this is done by Jesus' hand and by his means.

For those who do not repent of their lack of gratitude toward God, these results lie ahead: "none can deliver"; "all thine enemies shall be cut off".  The time to repent of ingratitude and to join the family of Israel through authoritative baptism is NOW.

The time of the Lord's blessing of the Gentiles is nearly through and the time of the rise of righteous children of Jacob is about to begin. There is very little time left to join the Lord's side - the side of righteousness and gratitude.