Lehi vs Lex

The movie Batman vs Superman makes a religious claim that is false. In Luthor’s rant to justify his attempt at killing Superman he says he must because God must be brought down. Sure, he might have just been talking about Clark Kent in a cape but the assertion must be addressed from a Christian point of view.  Lex says,  “If God is all powerful, he cannot be all good, And if he is all good, he cannot be all powerful.”

This is an old philosophical argument that even has its own name.  Theodicy. It is a discussion about apparent paradox between good and power.  It questions why God would allow evil if he is good. It appears in all periods of history when people have lost the truth that God loves them but wants them to learn and grow. God is good but allows evil so we can experience it. Our test is how we react to it. This is part of our Heaven Father’s plan for our progression. As Lehi said,

22. And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.

 23 And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.

 24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

 25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

 26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon

Read the whole chapter, it is quite good and could have solved the problem for people like Luthor, and saved a lot of trouble and anguish.

The idea of experience and agency is one that sometimes gets lost in the philosophy of men. But a clear head will find the truth.

Three times that I changed my mind

I always want to fight. But sometimes I am told not to. That is confusing at first but usually the best course. Three recent examples where older and wiser voices prevailed in my thinking.

1.       When the ranchers protested in Oregon I wanted to fight. I think the federal government is wrong and that it is illegal for them to own land in a state. They abuse the ranchers and make life difficult. If someone was going to stand up to the feds then I wanted to support them. However, the church denounced the armed rebellion and said this isn’t the way to go. I agree. We need to use legal means to right wrongs.   

2.       When the Supreme Court ruled wrong on marriage I wanted to fight. When the Supreme Court is wrong then bad things happen. For example, I think the Dred Scott decision, that also negated the compromise of 1850, spun the country into Civil War. When the court changed the definition of marriage then a county clerk protested by refusing to issue licenses. Seemed a good way to make a point and stick it to them. However, the counter argument was given that we must do our sworn duty to uphold the law. Again, you shouldn’t use illegal means.

3.       When the young muslim men streamed into Europe I wanted to fight. These rude, ungrateful invaders needed to be controlled before they hurt more people. Kick them out, I thought. However, I learned that there are also some real refugees in the crowd, women and children fleeing destruction. The best way to solve the problem is to serve.

Snow machine story

A story of a Snow machine on Mirror Lake. We used to take the snow machine to Mirror Lake after a fresh snowfall. I loved racing full throttle. To me it was like trying to break the sound barrier across the salt flats. I also went up a few trails on the other side of the lake. I was racing between the tall trees up a hill, trying to get enough speed to jump at the top when I had a quick vision of danger. If someone was coming the other way, it would be ugly. I had the impression to get off the trail. I couldn’t see over the ridge ahead. I was afraid to leave the trail because if I got stuck in the deep snow I might never get back on the trail. I reluctantly slowed and pulled to the side, short of the top of the hill. A snow machine flew over the ridge and landed next to me on the trail and continued on. Had I continued we would have met at the peak, boxed in by the trees on either side, with no time to react. I was able to continue on. I finished my ride and returned to give someone else a turn and wondered about what had happened. It was nice to be spared the emergency room visit. But I figured there must be a reason. If God didn’t want me to die then he must want me to do something. So I spent some time trying to figure that out. 

Thoughts on Faith

Elder Neil L Andersen spoke about faith in the priesthood session of the last general conference. He began by saying-

“The Savior perceived the strength or weakness in the faith of those around Him. To one, He said approvingly, “Great is thy faith.”¹ He lamented to another, “O ye of little faith.”² He questioned others, “Where is your faith?”³ And Jesus distinguished yet another with, “[In all Israel] I have not found so great faith.”⁴

I ask myself, “How does the Savior see my faith?” And I ask you, “How does the Savior see your faith?”

Elder Andersen gives a description of faith. 

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is not something ethereal, floating loosely in the air. Faith does not fall upon us by chance or stay with us by birthright. It is, as the scriptures say, “substance … , the evidence of things not seen.”⁵ Faith emits a spiritual light, and that light is discernible.

So how does the Savior see my faith? How does the Savior see your faith?  Faith is a gift. Faith grows or diminishes based on our choices.  The Savior knows us but we must learn to perceive our faith and know where we stand. 

Elder Andersen addressed his comments to men of the priesthood, in that conference session. He said we must have faith and that we have an obligation of service. We are no longer on neutral ground, he said. We are different and have to protect our faith because the adversary wants to destroy it. 

Elder Andersen gave several examples of people who required faith and exhibited it. You may recall the story of four members of a family in Utah that were killed in an airplane crash. The bishop’s son was on a mission and continued to serve while others helped care for his younger brothers.  His seventeen year old brother spoke at the funeral and expressed his faith that families are forever.  Their faith was by choice.

Another young man wanted to serve a mission after joining the church in Brazil. As he prepared, it was discovered that his mother was dying of cancer. He had to stay and take care of his family. He worked and saved everything he could. Later however, he received inspiration that he should go.  Through several miracles his younger sisters and brother were able to live without him while he left to preach. His faith was by choice. 

These hard times remind me of one of my favorite talks - Come What May, and Love it by Elder Joseph B Wirthlin. Conference Oct 2008. He says that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.  His mother taught him when he was young, when he lost a game or fell down, to come what may and love it. This advice stayed with him all his life. 

His advice is first,  to learn to laugh. Linette has that one down. She loves to laugh when people fall. Katherine use to expect applause after her tumbles. It is normal in our house to laugh first when someone gets hurt. As Elder Wirthlin explains, when everyone participates then no one is hurt and we can enjoy the moment later. 

Seek for Eternal perspective - As with the family that died or the missionary who almost couldn’t serve we need to have an eternal perspective when dealing with our problems. No one is exempt. Elder Wirthlin says that some people assume that the General Authorities don’t experience problems, disappointments, suffering.  But that is not true. A man not of our faith said, that “the only people without any problems are people we don’t know well”. Even Jesus suffered. When we learn that afflictions shall be but a small moment then we can take comfort. Jesus suffering can heal our own.

There is a Principle of Compensation. The Lord compensates the faithful for their losses. Death cannot separate us from God and all the blessings he has for us. 

Trust in the Father and the Son - God loves us and gave his Son. Men are that they might have joy. God wants us to be happy. Jesus descended below all things so that he could lift us up. He knows the worst of what we will go through. We need to trust in his relief. 

Going through hard times in our life, while difficult to bear, stretches our understanding, builds our character and increases our compassion for others. 

My sister recently sent me a quote - “Faith and fear both require us to believe in something you haven’t seen yet. You choose which to believe.” 

We are choosing everyday to be faithful or fearful.   For me, faith is translated as hopeful and happy. I can deal with setbacks because I am optimistic about the future and my abilities to handle the problems.  I don’t think that means fear, like some people are afraid of spiders, but rather an anxiety over future outcomes. Fear for me isn’t shrieking at the sight of a nasty critter but rather, fear is a shrinking perspective, losing sight of my goals, because I can’t see past the current sorrow. Like a child that can’t see the beauty of the Grand Canyon as I hike along the path because all I can think about is the little rock in my shoe. Fear is thinking that no solution will work. It reminds me of one of my favorite hymns: Abide With Me

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;

Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;

Change and decay in all around I see;

O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Change and decay. Sometimes that is what life looks like. Like everything in the house is broken. For me, fear is a depression that limits my ability to think and to react properly. Fear is the opposite of faith and represents a lack of hope that my Savior can save me or that an all knowing God forgot where I am. BUT we can choose faith, as Elder Andersen said. God does not change and will abide with us. Come what may, and love it. This puts President Monson’s quote in perspective. He said:

“Fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.” -President Thomas S Monson, That from another great talk on joy and faith in hard times from April 2009 conference. We know the outcome in the end. Faith is remembering that loving end today, in the middle of all the mess. 

1. Nephi can give us a good example. Every time we start the Book of Mormon we encounter this hero. He appears to do everything right. He gets the Brass Plates from Laban, builds a ship and sails to the promised land, has the vision of the Tree of Life. Nephi had faith. But he had lots of trials. The way he reacted to adversity showed his faith. The account that we read is made on the plates many years later after Nephi when he was older in the promised land. That gave him perspective. We shouldn’t think that it wasn’t hard for him.  Think of the time that his brothers beat him. They were sent to get the plates so they would have the scriptures when they left. Laman went in to ask, but got thrown out. Then the brothers gathered all the treasures and were going to trade them with Laban for the plates. Laban took the gold and chased them out and tried to kill them.  They escaped the guards but Laman wanted to finish their job and was beating Nephi with a rod. An angel came to stop him.  Laman and Lemuel didn’t pay any attention to the angel and started arguing with Nephi as soon as he left so I don’t think the angel was there for them. They didn’t learn anything. My guess is that there was a real risk of death or serious harm to Nephi so the angel stepped in to make sure he could fulfill his mission. We are lucky to read Nephi’s account that he wrote probably 20 years later. If he had posted on social media we might hear complaints about his bruises, see a picture of his black eye or a video of Sam trying to get him to laugh with his broken rib. My point is that we know Nephi got beat and tied up several times and we only read the polished version written long after. Life is hard. 

Nephi’s posterity remember their ancestors being brought by the hand of the Lord to the promised land. Sounds easy. Samuel and Nephi remember traveling without fires to cook their food because it was too dangerous to light one.

2. Another story about Nephi and having perspective.  His life wasn’t easy. He was blessed with a vision of the promised land. He saw the Savior’s future birth and then the end of his people by the Lamanites. The Nephites were wiped out. Then the scattering of the Lamanites by the gentiles that came here. Nephi had faith. How does the Savior see my faith? Could he tell me that all my great grand children will be killed by my brother’s posterity and I will still praise him and think his plan is wonderful?  

Why care about current events and vote for good men as leaders when everything will fall apart before the second coming?  I have been blessed to not suffer from dramatic events like Elder Andersen described but everything we do requires faith.  Example - going on a mission to Germany during the first gulf war and right after the Berlin wall came down in 1989. Sometimes we didn’t wear name tags and spoke only in German to avoid being targets. Getting married takes faith, having children when the world is against it and we know they will grow up to be teenagers. Studying hard and finishing school is a choice of faith.  Living the gospel standards takes faith. 

Elder Andersen also talks about another aspect of faith when he said,  “Faith emits spiritual light and that light is discernible.” Remember he said faith is something that we choose. He said, “Faith never demands an answer to every question” If we could get an answer to every question then we would know and that wouldn’t require faith.   

“Faith never demands an answer to every question but seeks the assurance and courage to move forward, sometimes acknowledging, “I don’t know everything, but I do know enough to continue on the path of discipleship.”

We can get answers to all honest questions. Life is hard - and there are some hard questions. We have the tools and the instructions. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him.” Elder Andersen gives an example of Joseph Smith’s critics. For years, people have tried to find ways to discredit him and the events of the restoration.  The faithless won’t learn the truth. We can know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and move forward, believing that our understanding will increase in the future. For the faithful that don’t yet understand, we can study and we can pray. The Lord gave us many resources for learning. Prayer, scriptures, the spirit, fasting, parents, sunday school teachers, quorum leaders, bishopric. The Apostles and prophets receive revelation to lead the church. Guidance of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve help protect our faith.  This will continue as Paul says,

“…Until we come to a unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God. 

Elder Ballard reminded us that James did not say, “If any of you lack wisom, let him google.”

 Elder Anderson

“Your faith is either growing stronger or becoming weaker. Faith is a principle of power, important not only in this life but also in our progression beyond the veil.⁸ By the grace of Christ, we will one day be saved through faith on His name.⁹ The future of your faith is not by chance, but by choice.”

Socialism videos are lame

There are a lot of videos pushing poor ideas about socialism.  Here is a rebuttal to one.


Garbage video made for ignorant millennials who already like socialism. How many falsehoods can you cram into 3 minutes? Here is my rebuttal: Fascism and monarchism are not extreme forms of conservatism. Socialism is a bad idea, it is not okay as long as people vote for it. Medicare and Social Security are good examples of socialism and they are failures, like socialism is designed to do. The reason we have a military is not because of socialism. More obviously, we have the military to defend the country and we pay people to do that job. The niceties of society (roads, water treatment etc) are an increase in the standard of living based on the success of free enterprise. Education - yes, if you wrote the script for that video I would believe you are a victim of our education system that is being taken over by the left, that approves of socialism. Free education and "not pay a dime". This is an infant's view of the world. Everything just appears, ready for consumption. But in fact, education in the US is very expensive. An average of $1,000 a month for every child. But other people pay for it so the children are oblivious. College is more expensive. It isn't free. We have to raise taxes to pay for all this. Those advocating for this don't pay taxes now so they have no fear of this. They want to eat the rich. Their envy leads them to think that equality will benefit themselves at the cost of others. It is simply greed, what they accuse the rich of. Equality of outcome is a value of the left, not of the right. We prefer excellence. Europe does not have a higher standard of living. Nothing beats the US. Everyone would rather live here.

Government in education

My thoughts after reading this:

http://www.edchoice.org/who-we-are/our-founders/the-friedmans-on-school-choice/article/the-role-of-government-in-education/

The first section talks a lot about values. That seems to be more important than STEM or other curriculum, which is not mentioned. They argue that schools are used to create a neighborhood effect and are required for a stable society. "Carried to its extreme, this argument would call not only for governmentally administered schools, but also for compulsory attendance at such schools." Question is about values, then do we trust government to dictate values? It is a popular (and false) notion that we can't legislate morality, yet we are to allow the government to force some unifying values on our children? The other consider is money. Of course, it always come back to who pays. Because whoever pays, gets to decide. That rule works for lunch decisions, as well.

Vocational training is important but the government doesn't need to be involved. There is no government interest here. I believe they have it exactly wrong. "..there is clearly here an imperfection of the market that has led to underinvestment in human capital and that justifies government intervention..." Wrong, wrong. Markets are the collective decisions of millions of people. That power is usually right. Government interference to manipulate people is what causes the problem in the market. People can handle this without being told what to do. Mike Rowe has this area covered perfectly. Listen to him. http://profoundlydisconnected.com/

The government, like a person, acts in its own self interest and expects some results from the massive amounts of money given to education. That is why there is no much money wasted on administration. Someone has to be accountable and make sure all the requirements are met. This is the best proposal I see in this document: "Government, preferably local governmental units, would give each child, through his parents, a specified sum to be used solely in paying for his general education; the parents would be free to spend this sum at a school of their own choice..." Ok, good. freedom reigns. My question is, Why does the government take the money from parents in the first place? Why are we taxed and then given the money back to educate our children?

Are we all socialists?

Ignorance is on display today with Twitter’s #SocialismChecklist. Bernie Sanders matched Hillary in Iowa caucus so that has encouraged his supporters to expose their embarrassing support for a socialist. So much ignorance of history and economics on display. Most of them are very funny. There appears to be two flavors of socialists out today: angry and clueless.

The angry socialists are hammering on evil corporations.  Walmart dared to make a profit, which means they stole money from every consumer that should have been given to government as taxes. Their evil lawyers and lobbyists helped them get away with because Wall Street is controlling every decision we make. And Koch brothers.  

The clueless socialists are creating checklists of all the good things that socialists have done. Essentially it is a list of things that people agree are good about America and crediting socialism with their existence. We wouldn’t have schools, bridges, fire departments or libraries without socialism, they say. Therefore the government should be in charge of healthcare and minimum wage should be $15 an hour, they say.  

One thing that socialist don’t lack is a sense of futility. They don’t know when to quit. I will give them that. All experience has shown that socialism is a failure but that doesn’t bother them. They just want to try again and experiment with a more pure form of socialism because the last was tainted in some fashion.  Their arguments are destroyed but their zealous belief is not to be swayed.

Benjamin Franklin is famous for many things. Among them is the establishment of a public library and the first fire department. Does that make him a socialist? Only by today’s definition that all good things are socialist. However, the books and the building were privately owned. Access was open to the club and later to the public. The collection remains as private property with access to the public. The fire fighters charged for services.

This is not socialism. Not even so-called democratic socialism. You can’t vote that the library belong to the public. The problem with socialism is that violates property rights, which are essential to liberty. What about the fire department? It is socialist unless no one makes that evil money providing a service to the community? 

Are roads socialist? No, although if the socialists would limit themselves to bridges and roads then I would have less gripes with them. The problem is that they want the government to run everything. We will all just share everything. That’s the economic failure.  Socialism is forced sharing. But people don’t like to be forced to share. It is against human nature. Roads are a good use of government. The establishment of roads is called for in the Constitution. The Romans built roads. It makes sense for everyone to share and benefit. It is an asset that makes other functions of government and society possible. Do you want your healthcare run like roads? We will have committees gather to review reports that take years to write. Open meetings must be called for public input. Tax rates must be established by legislature. We will bid out the work to get the best price and see what pieces of the project should be delayed because there are almost never enough funds. Open books help to combat fraud and abuse. Just try that with cancer surgery. Most medical decisions are personal and quick. No one wants public comment and a vote before your knee surgery. Or a photo review of your kidney stone removal. And they only take out half before they run out of money. Stitches provided by the lowest bidder. The fact is that government should be involved in some things, but as few as possible.

I would like to hear the result of the argument between the angry and the clueless socialists. We need free bridges and health care. Everyone must have fire departments and libraries.  Who is going to provide it? Are the evil car manufacturing corporations supposed to provide free fire trucks? Must the evil corporatist book publishers be forced to fill libraries at gunpoint? What entity is going to build and maintain the roads if not the evil corporations?  Imagine how the hospitals get built, the supplies are made and shipped to each nurse’s cabinet by socialist good feelings alone. Can’t be done. It’s been tried.  The beauty of free enterprise is that people can make money providing what others want or need.

Let’s recap. Socialism is bad. It is a stupid idea that fails every time it is tried. People go hungry when government involvement restricts resources and incentives.  This is the history part. When people try it they end up running out of simple things like bread and toilet paper. This has been the case from the Mayflower to Venezuela. Bastiat tore apart the socialist argument in 1830. Socialism should have died then but someone always has a new flavor. Bernie and his wise and experienced youth vote think they can make it happen. If only we didn’t have socialized education.

Bernie is a socialist

The perfect counter to Bernie and the socialists was given thousands of years on Mount Sinai. Thou shalt not covet.  That commandment is still in force. What other people do with their possessions is none of your business.  The rights of life liberty and property were enshrined in America’s founding and helped guarantee our fabulous success. (The success that some now envy.) When French philosophers were thinking of new ways of destroying wealth and liberty they invented socialism. It is a statist system, where the group has powers and rights that individuals do not, and compliance is enforced by government in terms of fines, jail or worse. Frederic Bastiat wrote a perfect response to their illogical and destructive proposal. Socialism should have died there, if only a good argument was a cure for ignorance. Sadly, the idea lives on that you can make your life easier by stealing a little from everyone else. And when everyone is stealing and the government makes it legal, even required, then we just need deeper pockets and more poor people to give it to.  

Does Canada prove socialism works?

No, socialism is still evil. I am not impressed with Canadian style socialized medicine. I recognize that socialism comes in degrees and that Canadia is not a soviet gulag. However, there are too many bad examples of slow and insufficient health care. Our system is better. Face facts. One argument for Canadia’s system is that it avoids bankruptcy due to a single horrific event. But that exception to the rule is no reason to abandon property rights, which are vital to liberty. If only socialism was voluntary. But it cannot be. No one can ever opt out of such a benevolent, and therefore mandatory, government system.  Like ACA (Obamacare) you WILL participate. There is no option. Comply or die. That is government socialized healthcare - because if you don’t buy healthcare then you pay a fine. If you don’t pay a fine then you go to jail. If you won’t go to jail then you are arrested. If you refuse to be arrested then you will be shot. Law is force and only has effect if backed up with violence. That is why constitutionalists believe in small limited government. Law should only be used where necessary. But back to bankruptcy….

Socialism is the worst of many cures for the fallen state of man that includes death and disease and now debt. A simple catastrophic health care insurance plan would do the same thing as Canadian healthcare and perform much better. The solution already exists and works. The goal is to spread out the risk of something like cancer treatments destroying your life savings or a car wreck limiting your ability to earn a living, right? That is always the risk of the human condition. Socialism doesn’t fix that. It cannot overcome debt by stealing from others. Gofundme would be a better route, relying on the generosity of others to ease your sudden burden. Church and communities have taken care of these types of problems in the past but the goal of socialism appears to be the elimination of normal support networks. Socialism is a great lie, imitating what it doesn’t have the ability to deliver.   

Bundy in Oregon

Some Mormons are involved in this, which I think is one reason that the church made this comment. The other is the danger of so-called "right wing fanaticism". I consider myself way to the right. I have a lot of sympathy for the ranchers. But the ballot must come before bullets. We need to do more to take control of our government and prevent situations from becoming so bad that people are thrown in jail by stupid judges. I am opposed to violent takeover and believe that we must suffer evils while they are sufferable. This is not a time to throw off government. No crazy stuff. But action is required. We need to follow the law. DC has no authority to hold federal lands. They should be immediately turned over to the states. The Constitution in Article I, Section 8 allows for 10 square miles for federal government of the United States and also allows for necessary forts, magazines, arsenals, dock yards and other needful buildings. Are we going to follow the Constitution or let them own 38% of Arizona?

Pres. Obama is wrong about solar

President Obama from 2016 State of the Union:

“Look, if anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You will be pretty lonely, because you’ll be debating our military, most of America’s business leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it’s a problem and intend to solve it.” 

He’s wrong and I will stand lonely against this nonsense. The threat of man made climate change is a hoax. Solve what? There is no identification of a problem and no proposed solution. Carbon dioxide? It’s plant food, not a pollutant. This is nothing but government control over people’s actions. Windmills and solar panels cannot power the world. They work by consolidating diffuse energy and converting it into a usable form: electricity. Clever, but it is inherently inefficient. Luckily there isn’t that that much energy in the wind and sunlight or we would blow over and get sunburned all the time. Great for powering a remote farm or charging a cell phone while camping but it will never keep up with your AC unit. The nice thing about gas, coal and nuclear power is that the energy is already concentrated. It requires an internal combustion engine to slowly release the energy and convert the power into motion. My suburban will go 400 miles on a tank of gas. New energy scams can’t beat that. We don’t need the government involved in decisions about how we produce and use energy. Go away.

How to treat the Islamic State?

What is the Book of Mormon response to Islamic State? 

The scriptures don't talk about Islamic State directly, obviously, but there are principles we can learn to guide our actions. 

There is evil in the world and it must be resisted. But how? What is the proper response? In the stories from the Book of Mormon the people were physically separated from their enemies in different lands. Nephites are the good guys in the north and the Lamanites are the bad guys in the south. The Nephites were often invaded and many people were killed.   The Nephites were always focused on defense. They never invade the south. There is an expedition worth noting that went to the Lamanites to reclaim their lands, led by Zeniff. They wanted those lands because that is where they had all come from. The group was small and could never have taken over all the south but they wanted to establish their kingdom there. This is the story of the bad King Noah, Abinadi, and Alma. The people, led by Limhi, ended up enslaved to the Lamanites and were miraculously rescued and led back north to the Nephite lands. In all the wars mentioned in the Book of Mormon, that is the only reference to something that could be called military action in enemy territory. 

The focus on defense is evident but is never stated as policy. The people defend their lands and recover cities they have lost but they never invade.  The Lord has said that he will deliver his people. At the end of their history the north is overrun. The Nephites always lose when they attack the Lamanites. Was this due to geography? No, it is a problem with motive. They sought vengeance. Attacking enemies isn't the answer. Although, according to Teancum, killing their leaders is an option.

The most effective thing was the missionaries. When the sons of Mosiah taught the Lamanites they changed the hearts of many.

Another important lesson learned is to shelter those that join your side. The Ammonites were bad guys turned good and would have been slaughtered had the Nephites not taken them into their lands and protected them with their armies.

So we need to find a way to defend against Islamic state and shelter those that need it. 

bad ideas

Some ideas should not be introduced.  Once thought, they cannot be un-thought. If encountered they must be strictly rejected by adhering to true principles.  Thoughts are altered by exposure to ideas, good or bad. Bad ideas lead to bad things and the innocent must be protected against them.  Perhaps one may think this is a form of censorship. Yes, I think bad ideas should be censored. There must be a word that represents the protection of innocence without the negative connotation of censorship. The only way to combat the bad thought is by correct principles that let you recognize the idea as negative and destructive. Then a logical choice to avoid the bad is easy to make. So good principles must be taught. The difficulty of introducing evil before a principle is understood is that it can often cause confusion.

Example: I have heard and read that copycat suicides are a real thing. Once the mind is opened to the possibility of death by suicide then it becomes an option. When a young person kills them self then others see it and consider the option of suicide. If they do not know it is wrong then it may be an alternative they choose to deal with problems.  Copycat suicides are a real thing. A bad idea leads to more bad results.  Because of the danger, action must be taken. There is urgent and immediate response: education, counseling, hot lines. Quiet conversations that explain principles are effective. The worst thing you can do is advertise it. Loud media coverage only spreads the contagion to more people.

Agreed? I would be glad to hear arguments against this.

Because if one's thoughts can be altered about killing oneself by just hearing about it then I think it only a small leap to consider that it change one's opinion about same sex attraction.

Kate's Faceplant

One time we went out and Katherine did a faceplant. First question- which one? Yes, she was an adventurous lass and often got hurt. She frequently got herself in sticky situations. On a nice evening Linette and I went out for ice cream with Dan and Casey in Phoenix. We were standing outside on the sidewalk enjoying talking and treats. It must not have been summer. I don’t recall if Linette was holding Asher or if he was old enough to try to follow Katherine around. That was his favorite thing to do but it took a long time before he was good at it. Most likely he was sitting and eating his ice cream, preparing the bulk he would need to stretch to 6’-3” later on. Katherine was climbing up and down a wood slat bench and jumping off. She had crashed so often in her life that Linette and I had become immune to such behavior. She was wearing sandals, I think. Linette loved salt water sandals. On one of her jumps the front of her shoe caught in the wood slat as she leapt forward. Her foot stuck fast and her momentum catapulted her face first down onto the concrete. Four adults gasped. This was going to be a bad one. Were we going to finish our ice cream on the way to the urgent care center? How many teeth would she lose? Sprained ankle? Well, a bloody nose for sure. We were all too far away to catch her, with just enough time to lean forward. Then someone kicked the diaper bag. Just right. Katherine faceplanted into mom’s magic bag filled in diapers and bounced right up to climb the bench again.

We all looked at each other and let out our breath. Yikes, that was close. No broken bones were likely but the fall would have ended a delightful evening. I turned to congratulate someone on the soccer skills. It was a perfectly timed, perfectly aimed kick. Right under her nose, just in time, without overshooting. I didn’t see who did it. Everyone denied touching the bag. Odd. I wasn’t even sure where it had come from. I swear we had left it next to the bench. We questioned each other and laughed. None of us new what had just happened and Asher wasn’t telling. 

I think Dan was the first to suggest something incredible had happened. We didn’t know what exactly but it was unusual, perhaps miraculous. I think it was angelic protection after having had time to think about it. It was nice to think that we could receive such simple assistance and didn’t need to deal with tears that night. We were grateful that the accident was avoided. It was a small miracle but loving proof that even the insignificant events, like ice cream night, don’t go unnoticed. 

The video is not the most honest three minutes on TV

Rebuttal to the “Most Honest Three Minutes in Television”

Great acting sure, but terrible ideology. This 3 minute youtube video is edited, less convincing in it’s original form with him hallucinating about the lady in the audience writing him cue cards. 

First, I am sick of the profanity.  His language is unacceptable. 

The video is about a forum, apparently on a college campus, where a conservative, a liberal and a TV show guy are being asking questions, moderated by a fourth person. The left are right are shown to be endlessly bickering. A girl asks why America is great. The first answer from the is the best. America is the greatest nation because of freedom. Short and simple. If our standing is diminished, it is because of loss of freedoms. The man in the video (Will?) claims that all countries have freedom. Not true, and which would you move to?  None.  He lists some great countries and I am glad that they are allies. They have some freedom but they are less free than the United States. I would love to visit Australia, but they have a gun control problem, in that the government restricts gun ownership. Perhaps because everyone knows that Australia is entirely peopled with thieves. 

Will lists some stats about education, none of which are meaningful. Are these numbers from mandatory, high stakes testing that we all revere so much? What matters with his statements is results. US produces the best equipment, cars, technology etc. The US is not 178th in infant mortality. It’s a lie but the numbers on infant mortality are misleading. US has the best medicine and the highest regard for human life.  We try to save even the most hopeless of cases and have incredible success. We are constantly improving and teaching the rest of the world how it is done. There are some bad numbers for infant deaths in the US but in most countries these don’t even count as viable pregnancies.  Stats and lies. I am not sure what being fourth in labor force even means.  

Where do we lead the world? He lists three. First, incarceration rate. Maybe we need to get some religion back in schools and teach people some good behavior. Impossible to say what he meant by this. Does he think we have an increase in bad ethics or unlawful imprisonment? Not sure. Is it about drugs? If so, I have little sympathy; the marijuana obsession needs to stop. Second, Americans believe in angels. Good, I am Christian so I believe in angels and I think it is a good thing if people do. Third, defense spending. I think we spend too much on weapons but much of our budget is spent defending the next twenty five countries combined. We don’t use the funds to attack them. And again the numbers he gives are not correct. The two countries behind us are not our allies.  That would be Russia and China and they are currently being aggressive militarily.  

We don’t wage war on the poor. He says we used to wage war on poverty instead. Yeah, that was tried.  A huge socialist failure. It was never designed to help the poor, and they still are poor. That is the goal of socialism. Will lists a lot of good things that America has done. Art, building, technology, space exploration. He says, “We were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed.” I don’t get it. Informed is pretty vague. Informed about what? What are we not informed about now? He says in the next sentence “by great men” but he doesn’t say who they were and why they were revered. I think Washington is great but some think that Marx or Cronkite was. It’s meaningless without some context. My guess is that if you find his statement profound it is because you are thinking of someone you think is great and you would love to have learned from them. But I am certain it is not the same revered person as the liberal was thinking of when he wrote the script. 

I think America is still the greatest country in the world. We have problems, and I agree with him that the first step in solving a problem is recognizing it. One of the biggest problems, in my opinion, is that people don’t value liberty.

Thoughts on Trek Part II

Thoughts on Trek, Part II - Wait

The hardest trial on trek seemed to be waiting. Our children didn’t mind the dust, the cold, the lack of smartphones, the pulling, the heat, the food, the rain, the amateur acting. The only complaint was stopping once we had begun to roll. Or while waiting for our turn to join in line. Is standing still the greatest struggle? We stopped often, rarely knowing why or for how long. We would stop and start with little warning. Occasionally we knew the cause. For example, when the cart just ahead had to re-tie a rope that broke. One time a girl got hurt and we waited while she was treated. I tried to share what info I knew about the delays. But mostly we didn’t hear or see any reason for the traffic jam. We just stopped. And waited. Why was that hard?

Mostly I think it was because they were young and impatient, hoping to plow through and be done. Overcoming impatience seems to come easier with age.  I tried to think of some other lessons to be learned.

I think we must be careful about our trials of faith. Could we be like Naaman? Perhaps we need someone to remind us that humility is required. Naaman went to Elisha to be healed but when told that the cure was to wash in the Jordan he went away in a rage. His wise servant stopped him, saying “If the prophet had bid thee [to] do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?”  Naaman washed and was healed. Elder Faust gave this explanation in his Oct 2001 address.  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/10/some-great-thing?lang=eng

He are two quotes from that talk,

“We do not prove our love for the Savior only by doing “some great thing.” If the prophet personally asked you to go on a mission to some strange and exotic place, would you go? You would probably make every effort to go. What about doing your home teaching?”

“May we all be faithful in doing the day-to-day, ordinary things that prove our worthiness, for they will lead us to and qualify us for great things.”

Everyone pulling the cart was pleased with their accomplishments of pulling up a hill and over rocks, through the mud. That was a great thing. We must also be prepared for day-to-day waiting. We must never be looking to do a great thing and over look daily scripture study and prayer.   

We must be also patient in our faith. This was a great talk about waiting upon the Lord from Elder Robert D Hales in the Oct 2011 conference.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/waiting-upon-the-lord-thy-will-be-done?lang=eng

He says that we must stand fast in our trials. To be immovable in our faith. To have hope and to trust. This is especially hard when we don’t understand the cause or the purpose of our trial. He concluded with this. “I bear my special witness that our Savior’s promise is true, for He says, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” May we wait upon Him by pressing forward in faith, that we may say in our prayers, “Thy will be done,” and return to Him with honor.”

 Those boys could surely run and not be weary. I am certain that patience will come.

Thoughts on Trek Part I

Thoughts on Trek, Part I - Go to Work
A few words I wanted to share with our group but couldn’t find the source while on the trail: I later found the quote from Elder Christofferson in 2014 General Conference that I had in mind. You may recall his funny story about the man who wouldn’t accept personal responsibility. When offered corn while on the way to his grave because he refused to feed himself, he turned it down because the husks were not removed. Right after that, Elder D. Todd Christofferson had this to say: “It is God’s will that we be free men and women enabled to rise to our full potential both temporally and spiritually, that we be free from the humiliating limitations of poverty and the bondage of sin, that we enjoy self-respect and independence, that we be prepared in all things to join Him in His celestial kingdom.
I am under no illusion that this can be achieved by our own efforts alone without His very substantial and constant help. “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” And we do not need to achieve some minimum level of capacity or goodness before God will help—divine aid can be ours every hour of every day, no matter where we are in the path of obedience. But I know that beyond desiring His help, we must exert ourselves, repent, and choose God for Him to be able to act in our lives consistent with justice and moral agency. My plea is simply to take responsibility and go to work so that there is something for God to help us with.”
https://www.lds.org/…/10/free-forever-to-act-for-themselves…
We have to do something if we wish for God to help us. We will never see miracles playing video games and bingewatching Netflix. Trek was something hard that required help and so the evidence of His assistance can be more evident. Our Father wants us to grow and to become. We have to learn to want the same thing.

More marxism in education reform

My rebuttal to an article written by Bill Raden. http://www.psmag.com/…/what-if-education-reform-got-it-all-…

I will try to answer the points in the order of the article. 

War has never been declared on America’s public school, but it is about to be over Common Core. The left has assaulted and taken over public education, any push back is then considered a declaration of war. Stupid premise which I don’t accept. 

The author appears to be a marxist, tying everything back to money. The education argument fails because the author is really only talking about money. $$$

Reformation is declared to be a failure. Truthfully, it hasn’t been tried. Vouchers and charter schools are a type of reformation. I see little else but mandated curriculum. 

Income inequality is just another word for socialism. People don’t like to be called socialists so they talk about income inequality. I don’t care about income inequality. It is a good thing. It is preferred to have those with more that have an opportunity to help those in need. It is also true that there is always some one richer than me. Seeing as I follow the commandment not to covet then it is no concern of mine. Another important point is that the money equates to their personal property to which they have an established right. 

The author says that teachers are assumed to take the blame for the problems. I don’t think that is ever the case. Everyone blames the administrators and the boards and yet they are never held accountable. The problems with government education have nothing to do with dedicated teachers. I disagree with this assumption of blaming teachers and the conclusions based on it. 

Test scores are not the problem. If the test scores bother you then stop testing. The numbers have little value. Just teach the kids what they need to know. Only government statisticians need those numbers and they shouldn’t be involved in education. I believe in a wall of separation between government and schools. 

Raden talks about resources $$$ but this is the system that the education establishment has set up. They made the stupid rules, I don’t see why they are upset that they don’t work. Yes, privileged (marxist word) have more resources. So what? 

One point he gets right is that education can lead to better pay. $$$ Immigrants worked in factories so their children could go to college and be doctors. Unfortunately, it is easy to undo. The children of doctors smoked pot and decided to waste their parents money. The problem isn’t education or finances but morals and virtue. And those subjects are not allowed in government school because it looks too much like religion. 

Primary education is supposed to be set up to improve “life outcomes” for children but all the important factors are left out, like intact families, religious communities and consequences. 

Author complains about California school results but I would be curious to know his position on English language requirements and the ability of schools to review legal status of students. Our current system makes it impossible because they are forced to accept Spanish speaking illegal aliens. The system makes inquiring about citizenship a criminal activity and then complains they need more money. That doesn’t lead me to believe they are concerned about learning. As a side note, it is funny to hear California get beat up for not spending enough on education. $$$ They spend a vast amount. every state seems to be ranked the lowest in spending somehow. 

Ellie Herman complains that there is not enough money for poor schools and that they have no libraries and enrichment activities as a form of apartheid. She must not know what apartheid really is. 

There is an admission from the study that finds “that parenting and home enrichment matter as much as, if not more than, what happens in the K-12 classroom, especially in forming a child’s cognitive ability and personality in the years before children start school.” Then why do you need money? Just go away and leave the children with their parents. What matters most is the home but let’s get those kids in daycare and all day kindergarten as soon as possible. And of course we need more money. 

If you claim that schools are doing their job but society isn’t then solution is not to fix schools but to fix society. That can’t (and shouldn't) be done by government because it would necessarily infringe on freedom, property and virtue. These are the things that government is organized to protect. We need a religious revival, not another budget over ride.

In the last paragraph the author pretty much says it all. The problem is not enough socialism. If only we take over everything, then it will all work great. I will just add a few words to make it clear. “I think fundamentally the problem is that other developed nations have social systems that support families and children in a variety of ways: with [government] childcare, with good [government] health care, with [government] recreational opportunities—with lots of things that support healthy development.” My guess is that they are interested in the development of more productive drones.

Healing Stone - Book review

Review of Healing Stone by Brock Booher

First, a disclaimer that I know the author, Brock.  Does that sway my opinion of this book?  Maybe.  I purchased the book because I like him and wish him success as a writer.  He is, however, a good story teller.  Better than I would have guessed actually,   I have a stack of books on the table next to my bed but curiosity forced Healing Stone to the top.  As I completed my other book and dropped it to the floor I wondered if this one would be worth reading.  Brock convinced someone to publish his book but could he really pull off a good story?  Yep.  First chapter was good, the accident with the dog is shocking to read, bad enough to waken Stone's healing powers.  But they are healing powers that he can't control and that only cause more problems.  Stone's parents are sincere and loving, each wanting what is best for both of their boys.  All the characters feel like they are well established, with writing clues helping me think I had known them for more than a few hundred pages.  Although I knew the book was set in the fifties I hadn't expected the stark depictions of poor blacks and some white people's treatment of them.  I would say this book is aimed at teenage readers but there is nothing in it annoying to adults.  There are great touches that share Stone's experience of being distracted by pretty girls and driving too fast along with chores on the farm and ice cream with friends.  There are frequent references to good music.  All the elements combine well to create a believable atmosphere in which a 17 year old boy tries to figure out how and why he can heal people.  

 

Republicans I won't vote for

I am creating a list of Republicans that I won't for.

1)  First in the news - Jeb Bush.  Never going to happen.   Because I don't want another Bush in the list of American presidents.

I agree with his mother.  Wise woman.  No more Kennedys, Clintons or Bushes.  There are other families.

2)