Walter Mitty is Broken

Ben Stiller's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is my favorite movie and reflects people who are trying to cope with less-than-inspiring lives, which is just about everyone. 

https://archive.org/details/kohenmonkmormon/Walter+Mitty+is+Broken.ogg

Leaving Exaltation To Love

I know everyone says they love Jesus and that Jesus loves them, but are they just demanding favors by doing that?  Do you "love" Jesus because you want stuff you expect for free?  Would you stop "loving" him if you might not get the rewards you feel that you deserve?  Would you still "love" him if you saw others being blessed and rewarded and you didn't get the same?  if things didn't seem fair enough to suit you? 

https://archive.org/details/kohenmonkmormon/Leaving+Exaltation+to+Love.ogg

In God We Trust

 In the second of two recordings on trust and God, I ruminate on trusting God on a real level.  When God doesn't act the way you expect, do you stay loyal to Him?

https://archive.org/details/kohenmonkmormon/In+God+We+Trust.mp3

Engendering Trust

I broke the RSS feed to my main "on-the-road" podcast (without a backup), so I decided to drop the RSS feed and advertise the recordings (no longer a podcast) on the blog and on Facebook.  It is a bit duplicative, but I want to see which method is more "successful".

Anyway, here is the first of two recordings on the importance of trust as far as God seems to be concerned.  This first recording has to be with our earning the trust of God and meriting exaltation at his hand. 

https://archive.org/details/kohenmonkmormon/Engendering+Trust.mp3

Lots of Peas at Fritch Flop

There is much talk from Lisa and Jason about car problems, buying a property in Fritch Texas, and other things.

I'm going to start advertising recordings from the Princess and/or the Priest page on Archive.org here on the blog.  I'll see if it gets some notice from the universe.  Enjoy!

https://archive.org/details/princesspriest/Lots+of+Peas+at+Fritch+Flop.mp3

"...it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it."

Here is another time when the Lord takes credit for doing something horrible.  I used to think God did nothing nasty, but he does punish those who turn against him.

Mormon 8:

7 And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from city to city and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their fall; yea, great and marvelous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites.

8 And behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it. ...

This and so many other posts have been a study of mine toward a more accurate picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As I have done this, I find that many portrayals of Christ describe a largely extra-scriptural representation of him as extremely non-violent and loving to a fault, strongly aligned with modern attitudes of the superiority of unconditional love and behavioral anti-judgmentalism. That is a flawed vision of the Savior insofar as I have found.

Moving slowly through the scriptural record, a different portrayal of Jesus emerges. The record states that he rewards the obedient lavishly and, after a time to redeem themselves in his eyes, punishes the disobedient, the "wicked" in his words, in comparatively harsh ways. My impression is that he uses both carrots and sticks to bring souls to him, especially those already within covenant bonds.

Given the conditions of our lives and our dependence upon the Lord's continuing favor for our peace and success, it seems wise and prudent to be obedient and curry the favor of Christ.

We Want Virtuous People to Have Greater Freedom and Power

I have discovered that my wife really likes Dog the Bounty Hunter.  Duane Chapman and his family often convince the families of his bounties that they are better off in jail and drug rehabilitation, especially if that person's life is out-of-control.  Dog encourages some of the worst elements to get themselves clean, take responsibility for their actions and make their families a higher priority in their lives.  This is good advice for those who have used their freedom poorly.

People usually end up in jail because they cannot control their own behavior. We find that once we put them into a situation where their behavior is under tight external control, it isn't surprising to find that inmates don't develop any more self-control, though they have great incentive to do so. Upon release from custody, they will likely be even less able to control themselves, after a period of not having to control themselves at all while incarcerated, and will quickly find themselves back in prison.  Recidivism is an expression of a lack of ability to master one's life or lack of interest toward doing so. Some of these returning inmates actually prefer the controlling environment of jail - it imposes a framework of behavior that this person didn't have on their own under circumstances of greater freedom.

There are attempts to create "half-way" houses where released ex-convicts can be helped toward better self-control in the more free society. Their activities may be stringently monitored and certain abilities may still be curtailed toward easing people into a world that needs personal responsibility and virtuous living to function. These are places of hope where people move toward the goal of virtue lived through individual liberty in a free world.  We don't want them to be constrained - we want them to be the sort of people who can be responsible enough to live free.

It doesn't help when society and its government legislate and dictate away the ability of all people to develop and exercise freedom toward self-mastery. One can't learn how to wield power with noble restraint and self-control if "leaders" impose a smothering collectivism on all.  Such overseers seek to turn communities and states and nations into "half-way" environments that appear to be moving toward something that many call a "police state" where every person is institutionally managed and all behavior and speech is heavily monitored and tightly controlled, just like in a prison.  It is the gradual stealing away of liberty from all and the imposition of dictated control as if all people are convicts and can never be trusted to act independently.  In a way, we are all being eased into a prison, whether we are convicted of crimes or not.

My desire is to preach virtue and empower those who are virtuous.  In a republic like America, our government depends on elected officials to be women and men of virtue, putting good and right before the often selfish whims of the easily-stirred masses. Collectivism, as manifested in communism or socialism, says that societies don't really have virtuous people and most people will only do good when compelled to do so, like inmates in a prison. We must reverse the societal trend to monitor and control each other. I choose to see people in a better light, even those who have been incarcerated - we each can improve, help each other to gain more virtue, and reinvest in the liberty that our ancestors worked so hard to establish in the USA.

If you are a virtuous person, I implore you to seek positions of power and to influence others for good.  I pray that your virtue includes goodwill toward those around you in spreading the conditions of personal freedom and a more universal liberty to act. The more good people that take power to act will make our nations and our world a far better place for all!