27 November 2008
22 November 2008
18 November 2008
Recent Past/Near Future
I gave the annual tithing talk on Sunday (my fifth one.) I'm hoping I don't have to do too many more. It's difficult to come up with new material or a new angle. You feel like saying, "Look, just do it. Okay?" It went well enough, though. I also spoke briefly about supporting the Church in the current political climate.
Lenore and I sat down on Saturday and planned out Jensen's BYU classes for her. It took a little brain power. But, we have it worked out pretty well. Just have to get her into some housing now.
I have to do my annual performance review at work in the next couple of weeks. This is one of the most onerous tasks invented by man. You would think after 19 years you could just call it in. I should keep all my old papers and recycle what I've written before. They make a big deal about this being our thing. We are in charge of it. Well, if I'm in charge, let's cancel!
We are looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday and also Christmas. With vacation days and extra days off I will be off early on the Weds before Thanksgiving (through the weekend) and then off the day before Christmas for 5 days and then one day of work and then another 6 days off. We should have fun. However, this could all change a little if anybody in the Ward dies. But, we are almost home free.
I think I've only had two funerals this year and one of those was for someone who moved out of the Ward years ago. We now have 9 people over the age of 90 and 35 over the age of 80. Poor Bishop Peaden. He's only been in 6 months and already done about 5 funerals.
Lenore and I sat down on Saturday and planned out Jensen's BYU classes for her. It took a little brain power. But, we have it worked out pretty well. Just have to get her into some housing now.
I have to do my annual performance review at work in the next couple of weeks. This is one of the most onerous tasks invented by man. You would think after 19 years you could just call it in. I should keep all my old papers and recycle what I've written before. They make a big deal about this being our thing. We are in charge of it. Well, if I'm in charge, let's cancel!
We are looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday and also Christmas. With vacation days and extra days off I will be off early on the Weds before Thanksgiving (through the weekend) and then off the day before Christmas for 5 days and then one day of work and then another 6 days off. We should have fun. However, this could all change a little if anybody in the Ward dies. But, we are almost home free.
I think I've only had two funerals this year and one of those was for someone who moved out of the Ward years ago. We now have 9 people over the age of 90 and 35 over the age of 80. Poor Bishop Peaden. He's only been in 6 months and already done about 5 funerals.
Firefly - A Very Good Show
SIMON: I'm trying to put this as delicately as I can... How do I know you won't kill me in my sleep?
MAL: You don't know me, son. So let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be facing me, and you'll be armed.
SIMON: (smiles) Are you always this sentimental?
MAL: I had a good day.
SIMON: You had the law on you, criminals and savages... half the people on the ship have been shot or wounded including yourself, and you're harboring known fugitives.
Mal looks out at the black sky.
MAL: We're still flying.
SIMON: That's not much.
Mal answers, almost to himself...
MAL: It's enough.
MAL: You don't know me, son. So let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be facing me, and you'll be armed.
SIMON: (smiles) Are you always this sentimental?
MAL: I had a good day.
SIMON: You had the law on you, criminals and savages... half the people on the ship have been shot or wounded including yourself, and you're harboring known fugitives.
Mal looks out at the black sky.
MAL: We're still flying.
SIMON: That's not much.
Mal answers, almost to himself...
MAL: It's enough.
05 November 2008
02 November 2008
01 November 2008
An open letter to Steve Young and all those disinclined to support California’s Proposition 8, especially LDS.
Shame on you.
We graduated BYU the same year. We even had a class together. I thrilled when you did so well in Football: The final game winning touchdown catch against Illinois in the Holiday Bowl; Your $40 million contract with the Express; Your great career with the 49ers.
So it is with utmost respect and brotherly love I say, you are wrong.
Now, I don’t know your specific reasoning for opposing this piece of legislation. You may have huge pressure from family or loved ones. I myself have people close to me whom I love dearly, who live a homosexual lifestyle or who struggle with those desires. I can only guess what your motivation is. Most LDS who oppose this proposition and who have trouble with other moral issues like it, such as abortion, wrongly think that establishing laws (actually in this case we are upholding a law) to proscribe behavior is somehow “forcing” people to behave in a particular way and therefore wrong. This arises from a misunderstanding of Agency and Our Heavenly Father’s plan.
It is not Satan’s way to make laws and punish for their infraction. That is how Heavenly Father works and how a good parent trains their child. Satan works by lying, persuading, obfuscating, He lied in the Garden of Eden and he lies today. Agency does not imply unlimited freedom to choose. A simple look at our world will show that each one of us has a differing level of freedom to choose. It would go counter to Heavenly Father’s plan to give everyone the same opportunities in this life.
Many people act like this is the natural progression of society, the natural next step. It is natural for society to tend ever increasingly towards permissiveness and amorality. But, it is not Progress. It leads toward no good.
Many people think homosexuals were born with a predisposition toward their unrighteous behavior. Be that as it may. Perhaps I was born with a predisposition to be promiscuous. That fact would not absolve me of the duty to obey God’s commandments and be bound by them.
Some homosexuals seek for relevance and approval for one of their behaviors. Since biology and nature marginalize them, in our day of brash open wickedness they make their homosexuality their most significant trait and thrust it on society to accept them. There was a time when Society’s mores kept amoral behavior in check. The shame of society kept unrighteous behavior hidden. You may say it is hypocritical to hide the truth. But, it does serve a purpose; to keep the encroachment of wickedness at bay.
As Pat Buchanan so eloquently said: “Homosexuality has gone from "the love that dare not speak its name" to "the love that won't shut up."
Some people say that allowing homosexuals this small insignificant favor does no harm. A careful study of the Atonement will bring you to realize that any wrong, any infraction of a Commandment, even an innocent offense contributes to the overall burden of the Savior and thereby does harm. It drags our world further away from its rightful place as a Heavenly world. There are no victimless transgressions.
You find yourself at odds with the Lord’s Prophet. That does not seem like a good place to be. I assume that you believe your great grandfather was a Prophet. At what point did our current Prophets lose their inspiration and direction from the Lord? At what point has the Church gone astray?
Our society has gone so far down the road toward ruin; it may be too late to rescue humanity. Perhaps the line must be drawn here. This may be our last stand. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed when it became impossible for the children to be taught correctly and have a chance to succeed in righteousness.
Satan has taught some of our society to see good as evil and evil as good. He paints with great skill and makes it difficult to see the way. He continues to try to thwart Heavenly Father’s plan by lying and persuading and telling us that we won’t have to face the consequences of our crimes. Despite those mocking from all quarters we have to hold to the truth and stand for what is right.
Shame on you.
You may call me a hater. But, I am not. You may call me intolerant. But, I am not.
UPDATE: I understand now that news releases of Steve's opposition to 8 may have been premature. He may be in a very hard place between his own views and those of his wife.
We graduated BYU the same year. We even had a class together. I thrilled when you did so well in Football: The final game winning touchdown catch against Illinois in the Holiday Bowl; Your $40 million contract with the Express; Your great career with the 49ers.
So it is with utmost respect and brotherly love I say, you are wrong.
Now, I don’t know your specific reasoning for opposing this piece of legislation. You may have huge pressure from family or loved ones. I myself have people close to me whom I love dearly, who live a homosexual lifestyle or who struggle with those desires. I can only guess what your motivation is. Most LDS who oppose this proposition and who have trouble with other moral issues like it, such as abortion, wrongly think that establishing laws (actually in this case we are upholding a law) to proscribe behavior is somehow “forcing” people to behave in a particular way and therefore wrong. This arises from a misunderstanding of Agency and Our Heavenly Father’s plan.
It is not Satan’s way to make laws and punish for their infraction. That is how Heavenly Father works and how a good parent trains their child. Satan works by lying, persuading, obfuscating, He lied in the Garden of Eden and he lies today. Agency does not imply unlimited freedom to choose. A simple look at our world will show that each one of us has a differing level of freedom to choose. It would go counter to Heavenly Father’s plan to give everyone the same opportunities in this life.
Many people act like this is the natural progression of society, the natural next step. It is natural for society to tend ever increasingly towards permissiveness and amorality. But, it is not Progress. It leads toward no good.
Many people think homosexuals were born with a predisposition toward their unrighteous behavior. Be that as it may. Perhaps I was born with a predisposition to be promiscuous. That fact would not absolve me of the duty to obey God’s commandments and be bound by them.
Some homosexuals seek for relevance and approval for one of their behaviors. Since biology and nature marginalize them, in our day of brash open wickedness they make their homosexuality their most significant trait and thrust it on society to accept them. There was a time when Society’s mores kept amoral behavior in check. The shame of society kept unrighteous behavior hidden. You may say it is hypocritical to hide the truth. But, it does serve a purpose; to keep the encroachment of wickedness at bay.
As Pat Buchanan so eloquently said: “Homosexuality has gone from "the love that dare not speak its name" to "the love that won't shut up."
Some people say that allowing homosexuals this small insignificant favor does no harm. A careful study of the Atonement will bring you to realize that any wrong, any infraction of a Commandment, even an innocent offense contributes to the overall burden of the Savior and thereby does harm. It drags our world further away from its rightful place as a Heavenly world. There are no victimless transgressions.
You find yourself at odds with the Lord’s Prophet. That does not seem like a good place to be. I assume that you believe your great grandfather was a Prophet. At what point did our current Prophets lose their inspiration and direction from the Lord? At what point has the Church gone astray?
Our society has gone so far down the road toward ruin; it may be too late to rescue humanity. Perhaps the line must be drawn here. This may be our last stand. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed when it became impossible for the children to be taught correctly and have a chance to succeed in righteousness.
Satan has taught some of our society to see good as evil and evil as good. He paints with great skill and makes it difficult to see the way. He continues to try to thwart Heavenly Father’s plan by lying and persuading and telling us that we won’t have to face the consequences of our crimes. Despite those mocking from all quarters we have to hold to the truth and stand for what is right.
Shame on you.
You may call me a hater. But, I am not. You may call me intolerant. But, I am not.
UPDATE: I understand now that news releases of Steve's opposition to 8 may have been premature. He may be in a very hard place between his own views and those of his wife.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
