A Curious Instrument

I have heard many authorities say something like - It is never too late to repent. True, but... This is one of those scriptures that let you know that a person can divorce themselves so completely from the Lord that: But behold, the Spirit of the Lord had ceased striving with them, and Satan had full power over the hearts of the people; for they were given up unto the hardness of their hearts, and the blindness of their minds that they might be destroyed; wherefore they went again to battle.  https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/ether/15?lang=eng&id=p19#p19 We can go so far away from the Lord that the Spirit will stop working to save us.  I tie this to my axiom of "don't count on it", that someone tests Christ's ability to overcome a pretty slimy and unrepentant personal nature.  We all need to do our best to come to Jesus humbly and fully repentant, not to challenge him like some sumo wrestler for how hard we can make it for him to rede...

I looked back at my working life and I saw that for the most part, I have always worked for either a government entity or a government contractor.  I am currently yet again a government contractor so the Donald Trump-pushed DOGE efforts have every chance of affecting me and my income directly. I am going to suffer a bit if efforts at "government efficiency" eliminate my employment. Regardless, the work of DOGE is absolutely essential to the government downsizing that needs to happen and that politicians have never brought themselves to do.  As long as government is ruled by the puerile desires of those who want to profit of the labors of others, it will continue to lead in the destruction of societies, families, and individuals.  Everyone accuses the adults of today for continuing the ruination which children will have to live with as they grow older.  Young social justice warriors love to scream this at their elders. I say this is the way to silence such obnoxious...

Standards: a level of quality or attainment. Exemption: the process of freeing or state of being free from an obligation or liability imposed on others. There are two basic sorts of people, those who measure themselves against standards and those who work to exempt themselves from standards, usually by eliminating measurement. These sorts tend to gravitate to the brightest light or the grossest darkness. James 4 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. It is far better to find the best standard by which you can live your life, especially one patterned after the life and teachings of Jesus Christ , rather than the fruitless search for exemptions from responsibility for those around you.

I once worked in a prison, keeping equipment running so that prisoners could call those outside of prison, among other things. The vast majority of the prisoners had people that would accept their phone calls, even though such calls were collect calls and very expensive. People paid hundreds of dollars to talk regularly with one inmate or another, helping them feel less lonely and more loved. Doesn't that sound nice? I also worked with other prison employees who monitored these phone calls.  Many of them were called "grooming" calls, where an inmate praises the callers and then would ask for favors, often illegal activities, from those called. There were regular prosecutions of prison guards as inmates "groomed" them into doing something illegal to prove love or loyalty to that inmate. Sometimes, it was just a game that bored inmates would play with gullible guards just to see if they could turn them into criminals. I saw it happen time and time again, watching ...

Some eager Latter-day Saints have an idea that everyone can seek repentance, even Lucifer and his followers. All they would have to do is to be contrite.  Although this sounds good and "loving", these rebellious souls sealed their fate by flatly rejecting Heavenly Father's plan. Lucifer and his followers cannot repent.  Repentance was a facet of Heavenly Father's plan which the Satanic rejected before it was even put into place.  Repentance is for those who received Jehovah as the Savior and participated in the plan.  The Satanic walked away from the plan before repentance existed. It is like buying a car with a $100,000 price-tag.  In a few months, that car model goes on sale for $50,000.  You get grumpy because now you feel like you paid $50,000 too much.  You can't retroactively go back to the car place and demand the return of $50,000 and actually get it.  You paid the price as set at the time.  Perhaps Lucifer's decision to oppose God ...

There is all sorts of talk about wicked people in high places. Depending on who you talk to, the American President is either one of the wicked people or someone who is trying to dethrone the wicked people. It has become quite the issue in the United States of American to either tear down the established bureaucracy or defend the "sweet" deal friends enjoy in service to the establishment. It really is a difference between government "reform" (not really) and tearing down the established evil. In the scriptures below, "it" refers to a group called the "Gadiantion Robbers" who work wickedness so that they can enjoy power (control) and gain (money) without interference.  See if you see the powerful and rich in the verses below. Ether 8:25 25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, w...

We live in a time and world that will pick apart everything that a person says or writes, often in the interest of destroying people. In a world where the greatest ability is to tear down you competitors in order to raise one's personal status. As identified later, this indicates a lack of charity. You make mistakes, I make mistakes, we would do well to be kind to each other. The Nephites, especially Moroni himself, says he has no great gift for writing. He was shown that there would be many detractors that would dismiss his words out-of-hand given the use of a wrong word or another. Ether 12 35 Wherefore, I know by this thing which thou hast said, that if the Gentiles have not charity , because of our weakness, that thou wilt prove them, and take away their talent , yea, even that which they have received, and give unto them who shall have more abundantly. 36 And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace , that they might have...