Firstlight Photography welcomes Molly! 

These pictures of Molly were taken within her first week.  It is a crazy time for new parents – even experienced parents like Molly’s (she’s their fourth girl!) but these early shots are so amazing.

Because it is hard for new parents to travel to our studio, we like to bring the show on the road.  Within minutes our lights and backdrop are ready to go – right in the comfort of your own home.  This is especially helpful for the parents of young children. 

Keep Firstlight Photography on speed dial and we can pay you a visit when your new addition arrives. 

Please call 253.335.7958 to find out about our winter portrait specials.

(read part one and two again)

Joseph Smith Jr., the prophet, is obviously the crux of Mormonism, past and present. Does he need to have been a perfect being to be who he claimed to be? No, I don’t think so. I won’t use Smith’s indiscretions to discredit him. I don’t need to. But certain things about Joseph Smith must be true in order for Mormonism to be true. Things like being instructed by an angelic incarnation of a Book of Mormon character to dig up an ancient record, translate it from “reformed Egyptian” into English, publish it, and start a church. This claim has to be true, or Mormonism is false. It really is that simple.

If Joseph Smith did not really translate the Book of Mormon, then it came from another source, one that is not divine. Whether it came from Solomon Spalding via Sydney Rigdon or Views of the Hebrews or Smith’s own mind is not as important as the simple question: did he translate the plates?

I believe that the evidence overwhelmingly indicates that  he did not. This is where the more devout Mormon (had they made it this far) would declare that I was going about this entirely the wrong way. I need to ask Heavenly Father whether it’s true or not.

Sorry. That’s a cop-out I won’t allow. The Book of Mormon was produced in nineteenth century America and we have an advantage over Biblical scholars in the evidence available to us. We can examine, discuss, and logically conclude what the evidence means without resorting to mystical ways of getting answers. Prayer has never been a reliable way of getting an answer about something scientific or – in my opinion – factually rooted in reality. Doctors don’t pray about how to properly administer medicine, math teachers don’t pray about how to solve equations, and you don’t need to pray about Joseph Smith Jr. to know if he translated an authentic, ancient American record via the hand of the creator of the Universe, the God of the Old and New Testament.

Now one way of (paranoid, cultish) thinking is to dismiss the power of evidence because of a supposed conspiracy to destroy the Church. I won’t allow that cop-out either. You’re free to do so, but it’s wrong and willfully ignorant.

Via Eric Norwood.org

If you have any interest in History you have seen for sale at places like ebay Roman coins and other ancient treasures in many other varieties.  If you haven’t just type Roman Coins in the search and you will see hundreds on sale in various conditions.

In some cases these are fakes seeking to dupe the unsuspecting.  A few years ago I bought a signed Bobby Thompson baseball which I am still not convinced is real, though the novelty of having a possible signed ball by the player who hit the “Shot heard round the world” makes it fun to have.

So if you bought a fake, sorry, it is ebay after all so you take your chances.  Much like our purchase of Sailor Moon Dvds for our daughter which obvious came from Chinese knockoffs.  The first big clue was on the packaging it was called Sail Or Moon… yeah that is sooo official.

While you might be miffed I am somewhat gladdened if you got a fake.  It means you are not supporting those who are selling history online for a few dollars.   While Roman coins are plentiful in many areas of Europe they can still be significant and important if they are in the ground.  In archaeology this is called stratification.  This means that the layers of soil can tell a story  of the area.  Much like tree rings soil can be found layered and each layer can represent a specific period in time.

When items like coins, broaches, clips, arrow heads or anything like it is moved it destroys the story associated with that object.

Sometimes this happens through plowing or erosion which will move objects from their layer unintentionally.  Sometimes however there are treasure hunters who seeking to make some money will dig up historical items and destroy the context they are in because they do not keep the same type of connection with the objects and where they were found.

Often in the 1700s and 1800s this was fairly common.  In truth much of modern archaeology comes from these older treasure hunters.  But today many of these people are not looking to preserve or discover history, they are looking for a way to make money.  People like me who love history are both tempted and frustrated by these attempts.

I have to admit I have wanted to buy one of these coins because I would love to make that connection with the past.  Just as I love the idea of having say a copy of the first Book of Mormon.

Let me tell another story related to this which might make it more understandable for North American readers.  My brother-in-law works at a sand and gravel pit, almost like Fred Flinstone.  It happens to be near a significant Native American burial sight.  There are artifacts and other items near enough that occasionally he would find an arrowhead or two on the ground during his years of working there.  Without context these arrowheads are just objects so not significant if they are found and taken.

On the other hand not long back he had an issue with a fellow who was trying dig up native artifacts for reasons only the guy knew.  Eventually my brother in law found him and turned him in.  The idea that someone would take from such a unique site angers me.  While it is not clear it feels like these people are either arrogant or ignorant enough to fail to see how they are stealing from us all.

The commitment we should make to future generations is that we will not steal the past.  Too often people have destroyed the past because they have no appreciation of it.  Just as people in Britain shock us because they will spray paint and destroy castles and other significant sites for their own amusement we do the same when we are knocking over grave stones and digging up dino bones or arrow heads because they are “neat”.  If you want to make it important imagine someone digging up your grandparents because they want to take their glasses or watch.  Appalling as that sounds is it really not that different.

If we want future generations to connect with the past lets stop trying to destroy history.

“We live in terribly complex times. We are confronted by very serious problems. Some of us are faced with sickness, with economic difficulties, with worry and concern over many matters. Our refuge, our peace, our well-being lie in walking in the way of the Lord.”

Ah, Betty Bowers. Whatever would we do without your scathing commentary on the crazy christian conundrum?

Laugh less, I suppose. In this rather amusing segment America’s Best Christian takes on the role Mormon’s played in passing Proposition 8 last year.

My favorite line: “Being lectured about what constitutes a traditional marriage by a Mormon is a bit like being scolded for loitering — by a crack whore.”

Watch the whole thing after the jump.

Ah, Betty Bowers. Whatever would we do without your scathing commentary on the crazy christian conundrum?

Laugh less, I suppose. In this rather amusing segment America’s Best Christian takes on the role Mormon’s played in passing Proposition 8 last year.

My favorite line: “Being lectured about what constitutes a traditional marriage by a Mormon is a bit like being scolded for loitering — by a crack whore.”

Watch the whole thing after the jump.

There was once a man who didn’t believe in God, and he didn’t hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays.

His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments.

One snowy eve, his wife was taking their children to service in the farm community in which they lived. They were to talk about Jesus’ birth. She asked him to come, but he refused.

“That story is nonsense!” he said. “Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That’s ridiculous!”

So she and the children left, and he stayed home.

A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. He looked out, but couldn’t see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window.

In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn’t go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.

The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It’s warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside.

But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn’t seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them.

The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them, and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread crumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn’t catch on.

Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe.

“Why don’t they follow me?!” he exclaimed. “Can’t they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?”

He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn’t follow a human. “If only I were a goose, then I could save them,” he said out loud. Then he had an idea. He went into the barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese.

He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn — and one-by-one, the other geese followed it to safety.

He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: “If only I were a goose, then I could save them!” Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. “Why would God want to be like us? That’s ridiculous!”

Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese–blind, lost, perishing.

God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us.

As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood why Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished with the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer:

“Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!”

Despite the down economy and big firm layoffs, college students are still beating down the doors of law schools in America.  More people — 60,746 — took the most recent LSAT on September 26 than had ever taken the exam before.   The number of LSAT takers has been on the rise since 2007, but this is the largest jump since 2001— nearly 20% over last year.

LSATs Administered 1988-2009

I won’t dig into the reasons for this increase too much.  (If you are interested, this thorough post on Most Strongly Supported has a good discussion.)  But for any person considering law school or a legal career, this is a good excuse to discuss the question of whether you really should go to law school.

There has been a flurry of articles and blawg posts lately about whether a legal education is really a good investment.  Vanderbilt Law professor Herwig Schlunk wrote an entertainingly-titled article “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be … Lawyers,” and Paul Caron of TaxProf Blog asserted that “Going to Law School Is Like Starting to Smoke.”  There’s a healthy dose of humor and pessimism in both those pieces, but even the most optimistic observers have to recognize that the legal profession is undergoing a shift that is destroying many of the institutions that made it so lucrative.  Aspiring lawyers must now realize that they might not have a job waiting for them when they graduate from law school.  And law schools, particularly those in the top tier, have become more like big businesses than halls of learning.  While the median income of lawyers increased by 25% from 1987 to 2002, the average law school debt increased 400% over that same period.  In 2005, the average graduate of a private law school had $78,000 of debt from law school alone.

Young LDS students considering legal careers should carefully consider these sobering number, in light of Mormon Church advice on avoiding debt.  I have heard many people within the Church say that borrowing money is okay for purchasing a home, obtaining an education, and sometimes to purchase a vehicle.  But given the housing market collapse and the rising costs of a legal education, students should understand that neither a house nor an education is always a good investment.

While some parts of the country are still under-serviced, there are probably too many people getting into the practice of law.  Last month Justice Antonin Scalia commented that he thought that America is “wasting some of our best minds” on lawyering, when other fields lack qualified applicants.  After last September’s jump in LSAT takers, the ABA Journal took the unusual step of suggesting that applicants “consider the alternatives.“

My advice to people considering law school is the same that it has always been.  If you are interested in the practice of law, then by all means, pursue it.  But if you don’t know what to do with your life and you know lawyers can make a lot of money, I think it’s a bad decision.  I also recommend that future law students find out for themselves whether they will like legal practice.  Most law schools will let you sit in on first-year law school classes, and you can volunteer or do internships at legal offices to find out what the practice is really like.  It is better to find out early on that you wouldn’t really like being a lawyer, and if you do like it, the experience will cement your decision.

     One of the basic tenets of Mormonism is that we are on earth to be tested and to work to become worthy of life in the celestial kingdom.  The following quote from Gospel Principles is representative of this teaching.  “By following His teachings, we can inherit a place in the celestial kingdom.  He did His part to help us return to our heavenly home.  It is now up to each of us to do our part and become worthy of exaltation.”  (p. 16)

     As a result, many Mormons have scoffed at the idea of that salvation is God’s gift based completely in Christ’s work for us – that salvation is by grace, through faith, without works.  For example, an LDS prophet stated:  “One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation.”  (Spencer W. Kimball)

      But there is a whole class of people that Mormonism says will be saved in the celestial kingdom without having to prove themselves.  I’m talking about small children who die.  D&C 137:10 says:  “And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.”

     This sparks a couple of questions.  If it was so important, according to Mormonism, that we had the chance to prove ourselves by wisely choosing the right, then why does God allow children to die before they have a chance to prove themselves?  And if the idea of salvation as a totally free gift is so obnoxious, why then does God give small children salvation in the celestial kingdom?

In much of the modern Judeo-Christian tradition, including LDS Christianity, Satan is seen as the personification of evil, a being who purposely defies God and attempts to thwart his plans for the world.[1] Because Satan is such a prominent figure in especially the Christian tradition, it is quite shocking that the notion of this archenemy to God is not really found anywhere in the Hebrew Bible, and doesn’t clearly appear until the intertestamental period (i.e., the period between the writing of the Old and New Testaments).

The semantic range of the Hebrew word śāţān is broad, but the best equivalent in modern English seems to be “accuser,” with “slanderer, (one who acts as an) adversary” as a secondary (and often complementary) meaning. The word śāţān appears in the Hebrew Bible to refer to both humans and heavenly beings. For instance, David is referred to as a śāţān, in this case meaning an “adversary,” to the Philistines in 1 Sam. 29.4, since the Philistine rulers worried that David and his mercenaries would switch allegiances when they fought in company with him against Saul and Israel. Other references to human “satans” include Abishai, a member of King David’s royal court, in 2 Sam. 19.23, and to military enemies (or better, lack of military enemies) of Solomon in 1 Kgs. 5.18. Additionally, Yahweh himself raises up two human “satans”—again referring to military adversaries—against Solomon in the persons of Hadad of Edom (1 Kgs. 11.14) and Rezon from Syria (1 Kgs. 11.23, 25). Finally, in Ps. 109.6 the author of the Psalm makes reference to a human śāţān who acts as a prosecutor in the context of legal imagery.

There are, however, references to heavenly “satans” in the Hebrew Bible. There are 19 occurrences of the noun śāţān in the Hebrew Bible in reference to heavenly “satans.” In 16 of these 19 occurrences, the word śāţān is used with the definite article, meaning “the śāţān” (Hebrew haśśāţān). The word śāţān in these instances is thus not a proper name of a specific person, but rather refers to a being who acts in a certain role. The most prominent example of this is, of course, found in the book of Job. Here haśśāţān is a full-fledged member of the heavenly court who presents himself before God in his heavenly abode with the other members of the divine council, i.e., the “sons of God.” Here haśśāţān dialogues with the God of Israel (and it is God who initiates the conversation) in his council and God grants him permission to test Job by killing his children, inflicting Job with boils, and killing his livestock. In this story haśāţān is not an antigod or the personification of evil, but rather is a member of God’s court and performs his labors under his direction. The other instance of haśśāţān is found in Zech. 3.1-2, where “the accuser” stands by the Angel of Yahweh while he accuses Joshua the high priest.

There are thus three instances left in the Hebrew Bible where śāţān is used without the definite article. However, in two of these instances the being referred to as a śāţān is the Angel (better: Messenger) of Yahweh himself. In the story of Balaam and his talking donkey, the Angel of Yahweh acts as a śāţān (Numbers 22.22, 32), or “adversary/accuser,” to Balaam, and rebukes him for his actions. Obviously in this instance, the heavenly śāţān, the Angel of the Lord, is not an enemy to God at all. The only other instance of a heavenly śāţān who is described without the use of the definite article is in 1 Chr. 21.1. This, then, would be the only instance in the Hebrew Bible where śāţān might be used as a proper name for a heavenly being. This passage reads in the NRSV as follows: “Satan stood up against Israel, and incited David to count the people of Israel.” Here “Satan” incites David to conduct a census for Israel. However, there are two complications concerning this passage. The first is that the passage might just as easily be translated without the definite article as “a satan stood up against Israel…” [emphasis mine]. The second complication is that in the parallel account of this story in 2 Sam. 24.1, it is Yahweh who incites David to take the census, and not Satan/a satan at all! 2 Sam. 24.1 reads: “Again the anger of the LORD [Yaweh] was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, ‘Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.’” If these passages are to be harmonized (rather than simply to stand in contradiction with each other), does this mean that it is Yahweh himself who is (a) śāţān?

Thus, in all of these references to a śāţān figure in the Hebrew Bible (whether with or without the definite article), the sense seems to clearly be that śāţān is a certain role, title, or function, and does not refer to any specific being who is the personification of evil as later developed in some segments of Judaism and Christianity. The earliest historical evidence for śāţān as a personal name does not appear until the intertestamental period in the books of Jubilees (23.29) and the Assumption of Moses (10.1), both of which date to around the beginning of the second century B.C.E. (i.e., ca. 170) (however, the name śāţān appears less frequently than do the names of other evil chief demons, such as Mastema or Asmodeus). Moreover, at Qumran śāţān never appears as a proper name; instead the name of the chief demon is Belial/r (a name also found in the New Testament). It is also interesting to note that it is not until this period that the serpent of the Garden of Eden story is identified with Satan (e.g., 2 En. 31.3). It seems, then, that the proper name Satan only became popular at a later period. The New Testament, for instance, uses the proper name Satan in reference to God’s evil archenemy some 35 times, and it is likely because of the pervasive influence of the New Testament that Satan is the word now in common use in the Western Judeo-Christian tradition to refer to God’s archenemy (although the New Testament also refers to Satan as Beelzebul, Beliar, and Apollyon, among other epithets; Lucifer didn’t become a popular name for Satan until the Middle Ages when the originally two separate traditions of Luke 10.18 and Is. 14.12 began to be read together).

For the ancient Israelites there was thus no well defined concept of an Evil One who stood in complete opposition to God, who was the source and personification of evil in the world, and who enticed persons to sin. Rather, in the Hebrew Bible, although evil was seen as existing primordially as represented by the darkness and chaotic waters in the account of creation in Genesis 1, God himself could be seen as the author of “evil,” calamity, and illness (see, for instance, Is. 45.7; Jer. 4.6; Amos 3.6; Mic. 2.3; Eccles. 1.13; and Job 2.10). It is often lamented that God has brought calamity upon humans when they suffer (e.g., 1 Kgs. 17.20; Job 9.17-18; 13.24; 16.7-14; 19.21-22; Ps. 39.10; 51.8; 60.1-3; Lam. 3.1-16). As was seen in our discussion of the book of Job just above, “God directs evil through the mediation of supernatural beings who afflict, deceive, bring harm, and do evil in general at God’s command” (see also 1 Sam. 16.14-16; 1 Kgs. 22.19-32; Ps. 78.49).[2] So while there are some slight indications that evil could be associated with a heavenly being in the Old Testament (e.g., Is. 14.12-15; Ez. 28.11-19), for the vast majority of the Hebrew Bible such a notion is almost entirely absent.

Notes

[1] For this post I have utilized throughout Victor P. Hamilton’s article “Satan” in the Anchor Bible Dictionary (Doubleday, 1992), ed. David Noel Freedman, Vol. 5, pg. 985-989; Hector Ignacio Avalos’s article “Satan” in The Oxford Companion to the Bible (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1993), ed. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, pgs. 678-679; Jeffrey B. Gibson’s article “Satan” in the Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2000), ed. David Noel Freedman, pgs. 1169-1170; and Samuel A. Meier’s article “Evil” in The Oxford Companion to the Bible (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1993), ed. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, pgs. 208-209.

[2] For this quote see Samuel A. Meier’s article “Evil” in The Oxford Companion to the Bible (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1993), ed. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, pg. 208.

 It’s that time of year.  Another year older and wiser.  I’m taking this time to tell family and friends that they have been a wonderful blessing to me.  I am so thankful that I get to speak to them all the time.  Thank you to the many that have emailed me from cyberspace.  This is the time of year I love for many reasons. One thing I have learned is if you trust a fool you are a bigger fool than them. Read God’s letter and you will be able to deal with anything that comes up in life.  I  can not believe how the  world is ever-changing.  Thank You Lord for protecting me.  I know you take care of your own. Wishing I could do more for the helpless families there are so many. I serve a living God. Trust him he will provide. Where there is a will there is a way. Remember God is not a seasonal God. God is always there, yesterday, today, tomorrow. God’s gives us victory. I’m going to read St. John Ch. 8   We are judged by God’s Law. “Be Free” 

Deuteronomy means:  these words.

GLENN BECK: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona.  She writes an open letter to our nation’s leadership:

“I am a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me.   Instead, we are burdened with Congressional Dukes and Duchesses who think they know better than the citizens they are supposed to represent.

There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you’re willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now.

You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut-job am I? Well, these briefly are the views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I’m not a racist. This is not to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the STIMULUS bill. I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you No, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three, Czars. I want the circumvention of our constitutional checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution, and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There are many conflicting opinions and it is too soon for this radical legislation. Quit throwing our nation into politically-correct quicksand.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision that will burden me, my children, and grandchildren. Don’t you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night without even reading it. Slow down!  Fix only what is broken — we have the best health care system in the world — and test any new program in one or two states first.

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. More is not better! Shrink it down. Mind your own business.  You have enough to take care of with your real [Constitutional] obligations. Why don’t you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes — how did they pull that one off? Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census with our taxpayer money. I don’t trust them with any of our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello! Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs — and that is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person! Why do you want me to hate my employers? And what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Every company must sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we’ll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. (Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid?) We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let’s have it. Let’s say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please stop trying to manipulate and appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Slow down and get some input from nonpoliticians and experts on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed-reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I’m busy.  I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not.

It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is needless urgency and recklessness in all of your recent spending of our tax dollars.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on bringing our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzwords like unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don’t want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we’re morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long, because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented… You think we’re so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work, pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone… and we are now looking at you.

You have awakened us, the patriotic freedom spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office.

We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn’t ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us who will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don’t care. Political parties are meaningless to us Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution, and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them… Because we will get you fired and they will not save you.

If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be, one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.”

In true conservative style, the town of Rexburg has created an event out of nothing.  Recently, Shawn Larsen resigned as mayor after the application deadline for those who would want to fill his vacancy.  Therefore, it was up to the city council to appoint who they felt would fit the position best.  Considering the demographic of Rexburg, Idaho, the choice was either a white Mormon conservative or you could appoint a white Mormon moderate.    The city of Rexburg chose the moderate, Richard Woodland.   Causing the Coulter conspiracy theorist crowd to claim the decision illegal because the council didn’t choose their candidate, Donna Benfield.

 As the law of local politics goes, the louder you are the more likely your claim will be investigated.  As the Rexburg Standard Journal states,

On Wednesday the Prosecutor’s Office submitted a motion for the District Court judge to appoint a special prosecutor who will investigate the matter and make a decision.

There’s that good old fashion fiscal conservatism at work; wasting public funds on frivolous investigations when you don’t get your way.  Luckily, I’m not the only person finding this whole situation ridiculous.  Take, for instance, what the local 9/12 organizer and former city council candidate Chris West has said on Rexburbia.com.

At last Wednesday’s meeting there were many Donna Benfield supporters. Having won the most votes the night previous for the City Council election and coming within 150 or so votes 2 years ago against Larsen, they all thought that she was the one for the job. So as the vote to appoint Woodland as mayor seemed closer to happening many of the Benfield supporters grew irritated. Some muttering profanity, visually showing their emotions and audible boos came from them. Forgetting that all of this was done within the laws of our land and that this was the way it was to happen, they still acted out of line against the Council. Maybe they should have taken a lesson from their leader, Benfield. I feel she is humble enough to accept the voter’s voice and serve no matter what position she is in.

So while there may be some out there that think that this new appointment was yet another example of corruptness in City Hall, I believe it was all done legally and with the best interests of the city at heart.

The most hilarious absurdity was that this group of fiscal conservative activists, who would abolish all social programs due to their belief that no one is entitled to anything, are outraged due to their sense of entitlement.  After all, they’re entitled to a win because Benfield got the highest amount of votes on a completely unrelated political procedure.

Funny Note:  Did anyone else notice that Shawn Larsen resigned because he wanted to leave politics to join his brother’s Multi-Level Marketing business Monavie?

When I was a Mormon a name they used for anyone who opposed the Church was an “anti-Mormon”. The term anti-Mormon covers a huge spectrum to the members of the Mormon Church. There’s a mindset within the Church that if you aren’t with them you’re against them. They expect Christians to just ignore the major doctrinal differences between Mormonism and mainline Christianity. They want all of us to just accentuate the positive things about their religion, not worrying about the rest.

Granted there are groups that do appear to be less than kind to the Mormon people, there are others who can love the Mormon people while at the same time highly disagree with the doctrines of the Mormon Church. Many of the Mormons I have spoken to have told me that they see no difference between someone politely conversing with them using the Bible and someone screeching at them on a street corner, sign in hand telling them they’re going to hell. Both instances are perceived to be anti-Mormon, and enemies of the Church. Through this experience I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter how you try to present the Gospel to the lost they will still find offence to it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is offensive to those who don’t believe. Especially to the Mormons when you try to show them how the doctrines of their religion are not in line with the Bible. You may wonder as I have why the LDS think that people, who oppose the doctrines of their church, oppose them as well. In the process reading and researching for this article I found this quote.

“Brothers and sisters, pray for the critics of the Church; love your enemies”. Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign May 1980

Two years later he says it again. “Be of good cheer, for the Lord is guiding His church. Brothers and sisters, pray for the critics of the Church; love your enemies.” (Ensign May 1982)

These quotes bring me to the title of this article. There is a huge difference in being against the Mormon people (anti-Mormon) and being against the doctrines of the Mormon Church (anti-Mormonism). For a Mormon to call someone an “anti-Mormon” is to call them something that is profane and vile. At least that is how the name was perceived when I was a Mormon. If a fellow church member called something or someone one anti-Mormon I knew to stay away. In Mormonism there’s this underlining persecution complex in the mindset of the Mormon. It usually kicks in not long after they are baptized into the Church when non-LDS friends and family start voicing their concerns about Mormonism. The new member my be exposed to literature that’s not church approved and paints the Church in a bad light, or they may run across someone who is a former Mormon who tells them about their exodus out of Mormonism. It’s just easier for the Mormons to slap the anti-Mormon label on an individual’s forehead or the cover of a book rather than take a step back and consider if there are valid concerns to be had about the Church. I know that there maybe a few people in the world who are against the Mormon people for whatever reason, I’m not going to dispute that. General speaking the people the Mormons are so quick to call their enemies and other names are just people who disagree with the doctrines of the Mormon Church. They have compared and contrasted their findings about Mormonism to Biblical research. I’m not talking about pulling stuff out of the air or off of just any random website discussing Mormonism. These people honestly looked at the historicity of Mormonism, its leaders, and its scripture. So if people are honestly researching, reading the materials the Mormon Church has already provided, and from there draw their own conclusion that Mormonism is a fraud does that still make them “anti-Mormon” or does it make them “anti-Mormonism”?

I believe the problem of being quick to judge someone who opposes the Church stems from the notion the Mormons have that tells them they are their religion. They put on a pure, happy, clean cut image for the world. When someone speaks against their church bring up historical facts and such about their religion it tarnishes the way they want to be seen. I think maybe when someone shows them the truth about their religion; on some level it hurts their ego. With all those thoughts bouncing around in their heads it’s no wonder the moment someone makes a less than flattering remark about the Mormon Church they going into a defensive mode and think they are being attacked.

I would love for the Mormon to understand that we aren’t against them. Sadly I know as long as they believe that only their Church holds all the keys to salvation they may never see the difference in an anti-Mormon and someone who is anti-Mormonism.

In Christ,

Melissa Grimes (melissa@lifeafter.org)

Well, this is hardly a weekly update anymore, but i promise im working on it.
I was transferred to Warren for what is probably my last area,
considering that after this one i only have 1 transfer left. To clear
up any confusion, i have not received my “trunky papers” but im sure
i’ll get those in a month or so.
Warren seems like a decent place. I’m still in a walking area, dont
ask me about that… heh, i guess im supposed to keep losing weight or
something. We’ve got a couple decent investigators but right now we’re
mainly focusing on getting to know ward members in different ways, and
looking for service. We also tract alot… once again, not my favorite
but it keeps us busy.

I’m looking forward to the holidays. we’ve got a big dinner lined up
for thanksgiving and a football game in the morning.
I’m doing pretty good myself, and i’m enjoying the work as usual.

Take care everybody, write me letters!

Last Friday a historical document called “The Manhattan Declaration” was released. It is a joint statement by Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant leaders addressing abortion, same-sex marriage, religious freedom and civil disobedience. I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

I have not signed it, but I do like it. I think it will influence few to the Christian perspective, but it at least intelligently and clearly states our perspective so that we can be understood. I think it is most timely and important on matters of religious freedom.

I think as Christian civil disobedience becomes a more prominent tool a lot of people will point back at this declaration for inspiration and justification.

Find it here: http://manhattandeclaration.org/decdocs/ManhattanDeclaration.pdf

The Society for Biblical Literature (SBL) is currently holding its annual meeting in New Orleans. The meeting began November 21 and will run to November 24. Abstracts of the many sessions are available online.

Of particular note is F. Rachel Magdalene, University of Leipzig and Humboldt University Berlin, who is  presenting Retributive or Restorative Justice: Reading the Nature of God, Justice, and Humanity in the Book of Job on Monday (November 23):

The traditional understanding of the transaction between Yahweh and the Satan in the prologue to the book of Job is that this constitutes a test of Job’s faith, one which the Satan initiates but Yahweh allows as the Satan’s superior. This understanding supports the omnipotence of Yahweh, but raises several other theological questions, as well as a number of literary and legal ones. For instance, this view may well challenge both Yahweh’s omniscience and his omnibeneficience. Moreover, this reading does not readily account for the presence of the dialogues, the plethora of legal metaphors throughout the book, and the distinct nature of the Elihu speeches. This paper will argue that the Satan brings a formal legal charge against Job in the Divine Council with which Yahweh must deal juridically in order to maintain his position as the creator and maintainer of cosmic justice. God does not impose the suffering on Job nor agree with its usefulness. This is the Satan’s claim, and, once it is proven incorrect, Job’s fortunes are reinstated in a manner that does not support the idea of retributive justice, but rather God’s restorative justice. The paper concludes that a reading of the book of Job that is sensitive to the legal materials of the book reveals that the book may well represent a far different theology and theological anthropology than has previously been thought. It may, in fact, disclose a profound divine trust in humanity that foreshadows the atoning work of Christ.

Madgaline (Ph.D. University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology and J.D. University of Colorado School of Law) provides a provocative perspective to the story of Job as seen through the lens of the “divine council.”

Matthew 7:15
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
Hebrews 13:9
Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace,
2 Corinthians 11:3
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 Corinthians 11:4
For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!
2 Timothy 3:13
But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Galatians 1:9
As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
2 Peter 2:1
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

If your carnal life is more important, then you’ve lost. You always get paid from God according to what you do.  A righteous person receives a righteous reward. If you get by with peace with Satan in the middle of it . Is it peace ?  As one disciplines in the word God will Bless us.

In sacrament meeting today we had talks about faith during times of adversity. For some reason, these talks mad me think about the lack of faith expressed by the Jews in the desert. Even though they had been led out of captivity by god and miraculously brought through the desert, they still griped and complained about everything. Their problem was that they failed to recall the miracles that they had already experienced and be thankful

Jeffrey R. Holland referenced this in his talk Cast Not Therefore Your Confidence Away ( Which I have written about in the past )

“That is exactly the problem that beset the children of Israel at the edge of the Red Sea. That is lesson number two. It has everything to do with holding fast to earlier illumination. The record says, “And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid.”

Some, just like those Paul had described earlier, said, “Let’s go back. This isn’t worth it. We must have been wrong. That probably wasn’t the right spirit telling us to leave Egypt.” What they actually said to Moses was, “Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? . . . It had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:10–12).

And I have to say, “What about that which has already happened? What about the miracles that got you here? What about the frogs and the lice? What about the rod and the serpent, the river and the blood? What about the hail, the locusts, the fire, and the firstborn sons?”

How soon we forget. It would not have been better to stay and serve the Egyptians….”

There is a famous Passover song that beautifully expresses this idea the Dayenu that expressed the appreciation that each act of God in and of itself is sufficient to deserve our praise.  It goes through 15 things that God did for the people of Israel in taking them out of Egypt and bringing them to the promised land. They progressively intensify from acts involved in leaving slavery, to miracles in the desert, to the formation of a spiritual relationship with God.

A typical Verse

“ If he had given us the Torah and had not brought us into the land of Israel – Dayenu, it would have sufficed.”

On this week of thanksgiving this is a beautiful way to become more thankful for all that we have. Recount your blessings beginning with the most simple of all—life itself. Realize that each blessing by itself would be enough to put us in God’s debt eternally. Yet, he has given us more and more infinitely. He has given us bodies, a loving and caring savior and a plan of salvation. He has let us be born in the fullness of time to be able to experience the blessings of the temple and to help our ancestors become more perfected. He has given us much more than we can ever adequately recall. What a lovely way to think about Thanksgiving.

The following is an interesting article and I wonder how long Dr. Hunt can remain at NIH once the powers that be get wind of this article.

Dr. Hunt is a social and cultural anthropologist.  He has had nearly 30 years experience in planning, conducting, and managing research in the field of youth studies, and drug and alcohol research. Currently Dr. Hunt is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Scientific Analysis and the Principal Investigator on three National Institutes on Health projects. He is also a writer for American Thinker.

Another Failed Presidency
An article from American Thinker by Geoffrey P. Hunt

Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly failed presidency since Woodrow Wilson.  In the modern era, we’ve seen several failed presidencies–led by Jimmy Carter and LBJ.  Failed presidents have one strong common trait– they are repudiated, in the vernacular, spat out. Of course, LBJ wisely took the exit ramp early, avoiding a shove into oncoming traffic by his own party.  Richard Nixon indeed resigned in disgrace, yet his reputation as a statesman has been partially restored by his triumphant overture to China.

But, Barack Obama is failing.  Failing big.  Failing fast. And failing everywhere: foreign policy, domestic initiatives, and most importantly, in forging connections with the American people. The incomparable Dorothy Rabinowitz in the Wall Street Journal put her finger on it: He is failing because he has no understanding of the American people, and may indeed loathe them. Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard says he is failing because he has lost control of his message, and is overexposed.  Clarice Feldman of American Thinker produced a dispositive commentary showing that Obama is failing because fundamentally he is neither smart nor articulate; his intellectual dishonesty is conspicuous by its audacity and lack of shame.

But, there is something more seriously wrong: How could a new president riding in on a wave of unprecedented promise and goodwill have forfeited his tenure and become a lame duck in six months?  His poll ratings are in free fall.  In generic balloting, the Republicans have now seized a five point advantage.  This truly is unbelievable.  What’s going on?

No narrative. Obama doesn’t have a narrative.  No, not a narrative about himself.  He has a self-narrative, much of it fabricated, cleverly disguised or written by someone else.  But this self-narrative is isolated and doesn’t connect with us.  He doesn’t have an American narrative that draws upon the rest of us.  All successful presidents have a narrative about the American character that intersects with their own where they display a command of history and reveal an authenticity at the core of their personality that resonates in a positive endearing way with the majority of Americans. We admire those presidents whose narratives not only touch our own, but who seem stronger, wiser, and smarter than we are.  Presidents we admire are aspirational peers, even those whose politics don’t align exactly with our own: Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Harry Truman, Ike, and Reagan.

But not this president. It’s not so much that he’s a phony, knows nothing about economics, and is historically illiterate and woefully small minded for the size of the task–all contributory of course.  It’s that he’s not one of us.  And whatever he is, his profile is fuzzy and devoid of content, like a cardboard cutout made from delaminated corrugated paper.  Moreover, he doesn’t command our respect and is unable to appeal to our own common sense. His notions of right and wrong are repugnant and how things work just don’t add up. They are not existential. His descriptions of the world we live in don’t make sense and don’t correspond with our experience.

In the meantime, while we’ve been struggling to take a measurement of this man, he’s dissed just about every one of us–financiers, energy producers, banks, insurance executives, police officers, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, post office workers, and anybody else who has a non-green job.  Expect Obama to lament at his last press conference in 2012: “For those of you I offended, I apologize.  For those of you who were not offended, you just didn’t give me enough time; if only I’d had a second term, I could have offended you too.”

Mercifully, the Founders at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 devised a useful remedy for such a desperate state–staggered terms for both houses of the legislature and the executive.  An equally abominable Congress can get voted out next year.  With a new Congress, there’s always hope of legislative gridlock until we vote for president again two short years after that.

Yes, small presidents do fail, Barack Obama among them.  The coyotes howl but the wagon train keeps rolling along.

Margaret Thatcher: “The trouble with Socialism is, sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.”

“When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both.” – James Dale Davidson, National Taxpayers Union

“The more corrupt the state, the more it legislates.” – Tacitus

“A Liberal is a person who will give away everything he doesn’t own.” – Unknown

Sometimes, in spite of how much practicing a musician does, mistakes will still be made.  I marvel at those who can play a difficult piece without a single mistake.  The link between my fingers and brain doesn’t work that way.  I can take a simple arrangement and play it perfect 3 times in a row and on the 4th time, totally fat-finger it.  Other times, I can never get it straight.  As much as I practice, it just comes out wrong.

Today was one of those days where I had to play a hymn that I couldn’t quite get it right.  However, when it came time to play it, the rough areas came out smooth.  I’m not saying I didn’t make a single mistake.  But, I made far fewer mistakes than I did when I was practicing.  This just goes to show that sometimes we receive extra help — divine help.

Years ago as a 20-year-old missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I remember a ward mission leader who was a machinist.  Brother Engle said the knew that God helped him at his work and made up for is inadequacies.  He said the equipment he used was only accurate to so many microns, but he was able to beat those tolerances.  I do not really think I understood what he was saying until this calling as ward organists.  Now I know what Brother Engle was trying to say.

Before I write another word, one thing must be clear: I am not an “anti-Mormon.” Those less open to this kind of dialogue like to cast people who embark on this kind of dialogue in the same camp as the Carthage Greys. Needless to say, it’s much easier to ignore criticism when it’s coming from someone who wants to destroy you.

Continue reading (free)…

This is one of the kindest things you may ever see. It is not known who replied, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey.. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, ‘To Meredith’ in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, ‘When a Pet Dies…’  Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey and Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away… Abbey isn’t sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven, I don’t have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by…

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.
I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I’m easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God


Forward to all your friends, and don’t tell me you’re too busy for this. Don’t you know the phrase ’stop and smell the flowers’?


Happiness keeps you Sweet,
Trials keep you Strong,
Sorrows keep you Human,
Failures keep you Humble,
Success keeps you Glowing,
But Only Friends Keep You Going!